2017 - A Year In Review

As I'm writing this I'm sat with dye on my hair, aiming to recreate the hair look I've realised is basically my hair at its best, and the one I entered 2017 with. When you read this I'll be heading down to London to see in New Year the way I usually do, with my best friend and no defined plan - my favourite type of New Years Eve, to be honest. I'll have a shelf of new books waiting to be read when I get back, and a pile of magazines to get through, this year hasn't been an easy one for reading - thank goodness it's at least been a little better for writing. I hope I can do more of both next year.

This isn't about next year though, and it isn't (thank goodness) about my hair, it's about this year. 

2017 was A YEAR.

My friends asked me to rate my year this week and I gave it a staggeringly high 8/10. I wish I could have told first half of 2017 me that by the end she'd consider 2017 to be an 8/10 year. Maybe she would have enjoyed it more that way, but more importantly, maybe she wouldn't have beaten herself up so much about being unhappy in the first place. You can call it rose-tinting if you wish, but I have to say that feeling more peaceful by the end of the year does make me feel better about the whole 12 months. So with that in mind, let's take a little look at what 2017 brought me. 

• I lied, there is more about my hair - but finding my skin/makeup and hair happiness has been quite the achievement, I look forward to having those things locked down in 2018 and just maintaining them rather than endlessly googling 'best face oil uk'.

• I wrote - so much more! I pitched and got published and rejected (more the latter) and wrote this blog more and realised I only want to do it if I enjoy it. I don't want being a freelance writer to be my livelihood, or even a side-hustle, I want writing to be something I do as a passion project to relieve stress and make me happy. I'm glad I tried but also recognised I didn't enjoy any aspect of it (I love working in offices with other people - who knew?) and that I could be a writer without needing to send ten thousand emails a day trying to tell other people I was one. 

• I travelled - a lot. I just did a Twitter thread on my best moments of 2017 and after I'd finished realised I'd missed out so many day trips and city breaks. Next year will be more UK-based, but I hope I can still find time to take trips to every corner of the country and see the people I'm so lucky to have there. Travelling in itself isn't an achievement, but since I wasn't sure I'd ever get to have a year like this, it has made me very happy to look back on it and realise I had it, and I have loved every moment of it. The freedom and flexibility has truly been a blessing.

• I used my voice - I said what I thought, in public, in private, in public places but having private conversations because I have no sense of polite behaviour. I stood up for the things I believed in and myself (note for next year: make yourself something you believe in) and I met other people who thought the same. I didn't back myself and then I did, and you know, more than anything, I sleep much better now I do. 

• I made so many friends - I love other people and that's no secret so this one needs no explanation. 

• I have learnt so much - Arabic, French, politics and so much more from everywhere I've been and everyone I've encountered. 

It has been A YEAR. Maybe if I thought about it too hard I wouldn't call it a good year, but this is adulthood and it's HARD friends. If I can find a way to say it's a good year, if I can find a way to say I needed to have had those things happen to grow and change and just be in my twenties, and still class it as 8/10 because I know that's how I should feel - then maybe that's enough. May 2018 be the year I see the good things for what they are and the bad things as chances to learn. 

May we all have a little more peace and sleep as well as is humanly possible. 

*****

I'm on Twitter - @clairegillesp - where I'm realistically reviewing the year, talking about achievement and also posting my favourite photos from 2017.

I'm on Instagram - clairegillesp - where snow photos are available.

I'm reading Jeremy Bowen's War Stories and I love Loyle Carner.

xx