Firstly I want to start this blog off by wishing everyone a very happy and bright new year,..2017 is finally here… it is crazy how quickly last year passed us by, some good things happened in that year and others, things we would rather put behind us and forget.
2016 was quite a good year for me personally I turned 21 in Summer and celebrated it A LOT including an over night spa break with mum swimming, jaccuzzi, steam rooms, saunas, massages, facials etc, meal out with family and family friends, night out for dinner and clubbing after with friends another weekend, lots of champagne and drinking going on there.
I left my job at McDonald’s that made me so desperately unhappy and traded it in for an apprentice position at a local day nursery, a massive pay cut but it has been worth it because it’s not about the money the job is just genuinely making me so happy.From my interview, starting up until now a couple of months in I’ve felt nothing but welcome there and am getting on soo soo well with everyone I’ve enjoyed nights out with the team I work with including celebrating an engagement, birthdays, just general nights out and even recently our Christmas do.Not once have I felt like I don’t belong or like an outsider or unwelcome, nothing like what I experienced in my previous job at all .
I had my bedroom redone and updated in January of this year into something that feels more me and a little more grown up .I’ve gone for a vintage themed room with pink and white floral wallpaper, had a tea shelf added in for my vintage cups and saucers, new bed and head board, new mattress literally in with the new and out with the old.
There’s been a lot of social activity I’ve spent a lot of girly nights with my friends eating out , ordering in takeaways and watching films with snacks, catching up in town over a coffee nights out for friend’s birthdays such as quasar, cinema trips , outdoor cinemas, lunch out, drinks out etc..
I’ve spent more time for me this year too such as treating myself a little more such as getting my lashes lifted and tinted, as well as my brows waxed and tinted as a little something for me as I really feel this year I;m starting to become happier and on the right path heading to places I want to be headed, and I mean it’s nice to sometimes take the time out to focus on myself and that’s not in a vain way at all.
There has been some good things happen too such as I was officially discharged from Great Ormond Street Hospital in January this year after 20 years and 5 months which was actually really hard, as I’ve never had a time in my life where I’ve been completely hospital or medical treatment free and especially not so from GOSH .I’ve been .. well I guess I say I was travelling to and from GOSH since before I was even born before being taken on as a patient from 3 months old and having regular appointments and treatments with them ever since.It was filled with very mixed emotions I mean the staff, the teams, the wards and the hospital itself became home and my second family ..But I suppose I know it’s a good thing really but just a horribly odd feeling and I still cannot thank them enough for everything, nor do I ever think I will be able to.But I will always be incredibly grateful to them and owe them absolutely everything and more, They will forever hold a special place in my heart and I will never forget them.If anything this makes me more determined to continue fundraising and raising awareness in any way I can and with my blog too.
It has also been a hard year too as my sister has been battling with her anorexia and 2016 saw her spend 4 and a half months in hospital , However 2016 did see her get extended leave in January until her discharge, which made me the proudest big sister ever to see her fighting and kicking anorexia’s butt. Although it was rough seeing her readmitted only 11 short weeks later for another couple of months and then again a little later on into the year too.
2016 also saw us bring home our gorgeous pug puppy Mowgli who has become such an amazing addition to our family, especially through the tough times with my sister’s treatment and hospital, stays he basically became our rock and our little escape and therapy dog, well at least he did for me.When things got too much and I just needed to get out Mowgli was the perfect excuse, take him for walks and a good cry to clear my head, a friendly face to see after returning home from those god awful visits to the hospital and seeing the state my sister was in.
I did my first aid, first response training with Girlguiding back in January to something I really enjoyed doing and something that has always interested me in doing .2016 was also a year I found out who my true friends really are and who really is there in times of need.
Other things that haven’t been great this year has included having to go up to Head Office of McDonald’s due to being treated badly by my employer and abused because of my disabilities…But in April I finally had the guts to take a stand against everything that had happened in the past four years and put a stop to it by going up to London Head Office to argue my case of discrimination , in what my dad (who accompanied me as my witness) said I did in a very dignified and professional way despite intimidation to drop the proceedings.It wasn’t easy nor something I ever want to have to do again was horrid but I’d gotten to the point they’d given me no other option and enough was enough I wasn’t putting up with it.. this is definitely a moment of 2016 I don’t want to remember and want to put behind me.
May 2016 saw us celebrate my beautiful mums 50th birthday which was such an amazing night and a night I will not be forgetting in a hurry…There may have been some wine involved… I, of course, am completely innocent and know nothing about that 😉 .2016 also had a lot of 21st and 18th celebrations including mine and my sisters.. Although it was really hard an emotional having to spend my sisters 18th birthday in hospital with her but the main thing was we got to see her, she got some time out of the hospital locally and to stay in a hotel with us overnight we also celebrated our friends, peers and year groups too ,so was a fair few parties this year..I totally remember my 21st birthday night out with friends………
I started a couple of months voluntary work in a local preschool for 6 months to get experience and to help me on my way to getting a job in a nursery which I absolutely loved and was sad to leave but had to do so, as I was offered my apprentice position at another nursery.
I’ve had some great fun with the brownies and guides including taking the brownies to gig for girls really early on a Saturday morning to dance, sing, be silly and give the girls that concert like experience whilst all getting to let our hair down and have a laugh too. I also completed my adult leadership officially with the brownies which was great, a lot of work went into it but every second of it has been worth it to become a fully qualified brownie leader, meaning now I can give the girls a lot more opportunities as well as getting more opportunities to do things within Girlguiding myself too. Other Girlguiding experiences have included spending a whole week camping with the guides locally at an international jamboree, meaning other girl guides and scouts across the world all came together to spend a week of fun, taking part in activities together and generally celebrating guiding…This was something I had vowed never to do again after bad experiences camping as a guide myself, but I have to say I loved every second of it and will be going along to jamboree in 2018 too hopefully.
this year also saw me have some good quality family time such as seeing grease sing along at a local outdoor cinema in the summer with mum where we took our own picnic of snakcs, wine, and prossecco, seeing my favourite film and book come alive on the westend stage as a 21st birthday present (Matilda the Musical) with my dad (mum had already seen it) and had an absolutely amazing time dressing up with the red hair ribbon and dress that was similar to Matilda’s in the film and spending the day in London with dad visiting M&M world (my favourite chocolate), drinks in the pub and a spot of shopping too. Disney on Ice recently with mum and my little sister for a girly day out seeing as dad didn’t want to join us.
I also got my second tattoo done which was my Peter Pan silhouette tattoo for great Ormond street (I’m sure I’ve done an actual blog post on this and my reasons why it’s for GOSH and how it helps represent them, if I have go check that out, if not let me know and I’ll post it) .I also in 2016 decided to become an organ donor and signed the register,I mean I love helping people now why not help people when I’m gone not exactly as though I’ll be needing my organs at that point so why shouldn’t they go to someone who needs them.
So my goals and aims for 2017 are firstly for my sister to finally recover from anorexia and get to come home so we can enjoy more family time and be together rather than split.To continue doing my best with my coursework and everything for my apprenticeship , try to continue to be happier and confident in myself and just try to enjoy life and let life leads me, rather than me trying to lead it all the time and hopefully there will be a lot more fun, adventures and memories in 2017..