New Year | 2017

2016...What a year. And I cannot wait to see the back of it!

For humanitarian reasons, it wasn't really a great year. We saw the likes of Brexit, Donald Trump being elected as president of the US, and a growth in racial hate crimes. Despite all this, for me it has been an okay year and I cannot wait to see what 2017 holds. 

 A lot of people dedicate themselves to change each new year. What with all these "new year, new me" statuses we all see trickling down our social media feeds. But rather than changing ourselves, isn't it better to upgrade ourselves? Learn new things, adopt new habits. 

I am not usually one for making new years resolutions. I like to embrace each year and learn from the experiences I have, rather than trying to plan things for myself and dictate what happens. However, this year there are a few things I would like to upgrade. I'm happy with how I am as a person, and we all should be. We deserve to be. But for my own personal development, this is what I plan to do during 2017: 

• Lose weight: I have noticed this year that people have been quick to try and comfort people who have said they are aiming to lose a bit of weight, and have tried to tell them this is a "wrong" and "unhealthy" resolution to take because we should all be confident and body positive already. Correct. But people have the right to do what they want with their own bodies, unless it is grossly unhealthy and can cause them significant harm. I have never been particularly big, and people have already questioned and judged this resolution because of this. People need to realise there are many different reasons why people lose weight. For me, I have an under active thyroid gland so I am more prone to gaining weight, becoming tired and letting myself become lazy! I prefer to stay active so my thyroid condition doesn't get worse. I'm also not comfortable with my current shape, which is my choice, and would prefer to tone up a bit! I'd be a lot more confident if I was more slender and toned. 
• Take more responsibility: I have had a very sheltered life, and now that I am twenty years old, I think it's time I started to get a little more independent and learned to do things for myself with minimal help, unless absolutely necessary. For example, cooking. I really need to learn to do this because one day I won't be able to have my mum's delicious home cooked meals every single day. It's best I expand my culinary skills and ensure they go beyond boiling an egg this year! 
• Give myself a break: Say no to things I don't want to do, and congratulate myself when I've worked hard for something even though the result wasn't what I expected. And also, give myself time to breathe rather than constantly working! 
• Get more support: 2016 didn't exactly treat me well, mental health wise. And I kept this under the covers quite a lot. What really didn't help was having a support plan denied by my GP when I really needed counselling and help from university for my mental health issues. Especially my PTSD. I plan to go to the doctors and get something sorted out soon so that things can run a bit more smoothly this year. 

What are your new years resolutions? Let me know in the comments down below!

Happy New Year, and love always...

Liv x