In a few hours a lot of people will be very happy that 2016 has finally passed. According to my Twitter newsfeed, everyone has had a pretty tough year. People are quite disturbed by the events that have occurred throughout the year (Brexit, Trump, Syrian refugees, Zika virus, various attacks and shootings, many icons passing away etc.) and have been left in hopes that 2017 will be a much better year. I am actually one of those people who have high hopes for the next year (maybe not so much in regard to the global scale events, but more so in relation to my personal growth and achievements).
2016 has been the most challenging year of my life. I've had so many ups and downs this year, but I guess that's what happens when you are transitioning from a teenager into an adult. I'll try to summarise my year without getting in to too much detail, because later on in the New Year I want to make separate posts on some of the experiences I had this year.
The year started on a really good note. I turned 20 in February and for my birthday my husband and I went to Latvia for 3 days. I hadn't been in my home country for almost 4 years, so it was really nice to see my extended family. Less than 2 weeks later I got married. Although we didn't have a wedding, it was still an amazing day that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Thereafter, everything just went sour. Although, I wasn't really in my own skin before the year started, I became very anxious and I completely lost all my confidence. As mentioned in my previous post, I stopped attending Uni. It was hard for me to leave the bed. I didn't have any love for myself anymore. I couldn't make myself do basic daily tasks such as brushing my teeth or my hair. I lived off 2 minute meals. My husband was working very hard and at times I would only see him once a week which was very tough on both of us. I felt very lonely. My husband didn't really know what was going on with me. Around April I looked at the grades I got for my assignments and I was ashamed. I realised that living the way I was is not ok. I talked to my husband and we looked at the ways we can solve the problem. I went to see my Personal Academic Tutor and requested to retake the academic year. As I mentioned earlier my husband was working very hard because we had a few financial goals. One of the goals was to furnish our apartment in South Africa. Despite everything, we managed to buy all the furniture, as well as ship everything from the UK to South Africa in the space of 6 months. I'm very proud of that.
At the begging of June, my husband and I went to Latvia again for 2 weeks and it cleared my head a lot. It made me realise that I need to get my life back on track. I went to have a couple of blood tests done, had my lungs and my heart checked. Everything was fine. However, the tests revealed that my thyroid gland is becoming underactive. It made my husband and I very upset, because one of my doctors told me that problems with the thyroid gland can affect the development of a baby's brain in case I become pregnant. It was another blow to the head, because I really want to have kids later on in life. I also went to see a surgeon because since the age of 13 I've wanted a breast augmentation. I found out that my ribs are actually slightly deformed which made one of my breasts look almost non-existent. 3 weeks later I went back to Latvia for my surgery. I finally achieved one of my biggest dreams and for that I'm forever grateful to my husband. The surgery went super smooth. However, the recovery was quite rough, because my implants are placed under the muscle which prolonged the recovery and made it a lot more painful. I'm very happy with how they came out though and it has boosted my confidence a lot. Whilst recovering I had the chance to catch up with my family which was lovely. I came back to England in September. I felt refreshed and like I'm ready to finally take action to sort my life out. Sadly it wasn't as easy. My husband and I almost ended our relationship. We decided to spend some time apart to reevaluate ourselves and us as a couple and although it hurt a lot, it made us a lot stronger and we are now happier together than ever. He quit his demanding job, and I have him around every day which makes me very happy and helps me to stay motivated to get better. I got back to Uni in October and so far I'm very proud and happy with my progress. At the beginning of December I had 2 examined presentations on the same day which was ridiculously stressful for me, but I managed to get a 1st and 2:1 which proved me that I can do this. It now acts as my motivation for 2017 to keep the good grades up and just set my mind to what I want, because I can make it happen. The same week also marked a year since I quit smoking.
Reading over this summary and adding on the other things I went through besides what I've mentioned, I can definitely say that I have achieved a lot this year. I may have had those downs, but they have helped me to take charge of my mind and not let my demons absorb me.
At the begging of the year I felt like I had lost myself completely, but now I can say that I never really was myself before. Only now, I'm finally shaping into who I am supposed to be. I learnt a lot from my mistakes and they are guiding me to become a better person and to achieve my goals.
I encourage you to reflect back on your year and see what you've achieved/learned. I also hope 2017 will make you filthy rich. Rich in adventure, in health, in knowledge, in laughter, in family and most importantly love.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
-A
