My timeline on every channel is full of 'Good riddance 2016' type posts and statuses.
However I'm feeling sad that this year is over. While it's been challenging it's also been one of the best years yet for me.
I started 2016 feeling stressed, anxious and panicked and as we begin the New Year a lot has changed for me. I made 8 goals back at the beginning of 2016 and I've surprised myself by achieving most of them.
I've completed my masters project and received a mark I'm really proud of. My bound copy of it now proudly sits on my bookshelf along with my 3rd year mapping project as a constant reminder that although it seemed impossible at the time, I still managed it.
2016 also saw me graduating from the University of Southampton with a 2:1 MSci in Geology. It only seems a few moments ago I went to look round the campus for the first time and now I have finished my masters degree. My 3rd year at uni was tough for me and I struggled all the way through my final year feeling like I wasn't good enough and that I didn't deserve a place on the course. But I proved everyone wrong and I think it is fair to say that I am really proud of myself.
My plans for life post graduation were fairly simple. Move home, get a job and then regroup from there. What I didn't expect was to be made redundant from my job (along with the rest of the team) just weeks before I graduated. I hadn't even received my degree certificate yet and I was already being made redundant. Not the plan I had in mind.
I signed up to a temping agency and a few days later they contacted me asking if I could start a temping job in 3 days time. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for but I said yes. 3 weeks of temping later and the company offered me a full time role with them. It turned out that finding a job post uni was not as hard or as scary as I had feared. Now I am settled into my full time job and have learnt a huge amount about the new industry I am working in.
While all of this happened without as much difficulty as I had feared it has been a huge period of change in my life. On top of that my family dynamic has changed massively. When I graduated and moved home my parents also invited Jared to move back home with me so that we can try and get our own place together. I absolutely love him living here and how well he gets on with everyone, although it was a big change to get used to. We now have to share quite a small space together but coming home every day and getting to spend time with him is just the best.
Looking ahead to 2017 I want to make some new goals to help challenge and focus me throughout the coming year. I didn't achieve all of my goals in 2016 and some of them I have put on hold for a while, but hopefully the New Year will be as good as the last.
Money Goals:
1. Reach my saving goal for our house deposit. This is the biggest goal for the year, Jared and I are trying to save enough money and while we have made a pretty good start already the next 12 months are crucial if we want to stay on target. Money is tight for me while I'm saving so its going to have to be quite a frugal year but having a house of our own has got to be worth a few years of scrimping.
2. Pay into my pension. Now that I work for a pension company I feel I actually understand what a pension is now. Don't laugh I know most of us have no clue either. The one thing I have had impressed upon me is the importance of small but regular contributions throughout your life. Over the course of a working lifetime it can really add up but the key is to start right away, not leave it until you're older. Although as I've previously said I could really do with the extra money I am trying to look at it as additional saving that I am doing for my future.
3. Donate to some charities that mean something to me. While I have been at uni (without the reliability of a steady wage) I have not been as generous as I would like to be with my money. This year I would like to choose three charities and make a small donation. Not because someone is waving a collection tin in my face, but because I think their cause is worth helping. Sometime we can feel pressured by others into donating and I would like to take the time to support charities that matter to me, as well as those that matter to other people.
Travel Goals:
4. Visit Norway. Going to Scandinavia has been high on my bucket list for ever. This year we are going on a cruise to Norway and I cannot wait! Luckily this was already paid for by working overtime from my old job while I was at uni so it shouldn't affect my saving plans.
5. Visit Bath. Considering this is pretty close to me I have only ever been there on a couple of nights out that feel like a lifetime away now. I'd really like to take a day trip there and actually explore the city. There is no excuse really as it is only an hour away.
6. Visit Ann in Exeter. My best friend is graduating from the University of Exeter this year and I've been trying to go and see her since she was a fresher. Now that I don't have deadlines and exams to fill my weekends I am hoping to make it down there soon!
7. Visit Oxford. On a similar note to Bath this isn't very far from me and I've never visited. I'd like to have a wander about and see what's what. As I haven't got a huge amount of spare cash at the moment a proper European city break is out of the question so I'd like to visit places on my doorstep instead as a compromise.
Development Goals:
8. Read 3 'classic' books. One of my goals from 2016 was to read more and now that I've left uni I am actually relaxed enough to find the time to read. I've always been someone that reads what I enjoy, not necessarily what challenges me. There are so many books that I should have read but haven't got round to it. So I'm going to start small with some of the books many people read at GCSE (Animal Farm anyone?) that my school didn't cover.
9. Practise my German. Since I've left school the amount I've forgotten is shocking. I was by no means fluent (lol) but I could get by on trips to Germany and Austria (where is the toilet, how much is this etc). I want to get my butt back on Duolingo and get practicing again.
10. Become competent in all processes at work. As I've only been working there for a few months there is still a lot of stuff I don't know how to do. Over the next 12 months I'm hoping to learn new things and keep improving.
We'll see this time next year how many I've managed!
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