10 Things I Learnt In 2018

The turning of a new year has come around again. Normally I’m never really fussed by New Year’s, I never really make  a new year’s resolution and I never have a ‘New Year New Me’ mentality. This year however is a bit different. 2018 has been a big year for me, a lot has happened and a lot has changed. I would say 2018 has been a year of learning but not in the conventional sense from school or further education but I’ve learnt a lot from life. Because I’m struggling with this New Year’s period I thought I might share with you the 10 major things that I learnt throughout the year in the hope that I able to tie a nice bow at the end of 2018 and start 2019 with a truly fabulous bang!

Number 1: Finding a colour I love and wearing it!

I cannot remember exactly how I came across this piece of wisdom; I either heard it on a podcast or read it in an article somewhere. This little piece of wisdom I am talking about is finding a colour you love and wearing it! I know this might sound a bit obvious to wear a colour you love, because you never walk out the house in something you hate (unless maybe it’s something your mum bought you and you’re trying to pretend that you like it). However what I have learnt from this theory is that if you are wearing a colour you love, you not only love the colour you are wearing but you feel confident, cool and powerful. My chosen colour is pink. I now wear it every day. Every day I feel great, every day I feel ready to take on the world.

Number 2: How important ‘The Pub’ is to Northerners’

As of recently I have opened a new ‘office’ shall we say up north in the incredible city of Liverpool. I am very proud to be southerner and love my home town and county however I have now been welcomed into northern culture…I love it! The biggest cultural change I have learnt about and have learnt to love is the importance of ‘The Pub’. I’m used to meeting up with my friend for a sweet bite to eat and a pot of tea for one; I know stroll down the road to our local and grab a glass of rum and coke or pint. When I first started doing this I really wasn’t sure if the pub life was for me, turns out I love the pub life. I now think there’s nothing better than sitting gassing away with my friends, eating salty snacks and having a drink or two. Thank you to the special northerners’ in my life that said ‘let’s go to the pub.’  

Number 3: Nike is right ‘Just Do It’

I now live away from home most of the time which has its peaks and troughs. I miss my family and home comforts but I love my freedom. I’ve learnt living on my own though that you really have to live your life by the famous Nike saying ‘Just Do It’ because it is relevant in every aspect of life. For example: Shall I add more garlic to my pasta sauce? Just Do It. Shall I do my washing now instead of rushing to do it in the week? Just Do It. Should I try adapting this sewing pattern for Halloween? Just Do It. I’ve found myself saying this more and more over the recent weeks and everything seems to fall into place once I’ve done it. So if there’s something you’re questioning just do it already!

Number 4: Creativity takes Courage

It’s no secret that I am a creative person, creativity just runs through me and that’s who I am. I think being creative a person means at times you get lumbered with tags that have oddly negative connotations or it’s just something you don’t want. ‘Quirky’ is the word I got. I spent a lot of time being ‘quirky’ which is fine but always felt like it being used because people didn’t understand where I was coming from and I didn’t quite have enough confidence to tell them. I’ve learnt throughout this year, but mostly in the last few months that I am quirky cos I’m creative. What I have now though is courage. I am the creative theatre designer I’ve always dreamt of being and its courage that got me there this year.

It was in this outfit I realised Creativity Takes Courage.

Number 5: Spoons can be a nightclub!

This is possibly the biggest revelation of my life let alone this year. At home Weatherspoon’s is an old man’s pub, a place for pres and really cheap date if you’re poor. So when I rocked up to my new local spoons up north and was welcomed by a nightclub atmosphere I was shooketh to say the least. I am now on a mission to find another spoons like this somewhere in the country so if anyone can help me on this quest I will probably love you forever.

Number 6: Friends

Now I’m not talking about the hit 90s sitcom, I know that show like the back of my hand. I have however learnt about friendship this year, I remember watching the ‘Secret Life of Four Year Olds’ and the presenters said that at 4 you are making the major steps in how you make friends throughout your life. I am no expert however I think as you grow older and you’re at that point in your life where you know yourself and can actually pick your friends, everything changes. If I am being honest with myself I lost a lot of friends this year all for different reasons, we’ve grown out of each other, petty arguments and where the friendship has sadly become one sided. Obviously loosing pals is heart breaking because at some point in your life they were everything to you but I do believe everything happens for a reason. What I have discovered this year is how bloody terrifying it is making friends as a young adult, I think back to when I first moved up north I made friends with my housemates but then I kind of was alone for 3 weeks. I was scared of making friends again. I was scared of going through the whole process and letting past fears get in the way. However one day I was walking back to my house and smiled at my neighbour through the window she smiled back and gestured for a cup of tea. I am now surrounded by a group of people I truly love. I have made friends with the people I have been missing all my life, we all have our own little issues and we all have our own little quirks but I know we’ve never been happier. So to the friends I no longer talk to I’d like to say thank you, we had a blast and a part of me will always think of you with fondness and if you ever want a cup of tea and cake a few years down the line let me know. And to the friends that have stuck around for a while now you mean the world to me, I couldn’t be happier when I see you pop on my phone for a chat or tag me in a funny meme, thank you for always being there. Finally to my lovely new friends, you guys are brilliant and I love you, thank you for asking me round for a brew.

These beautiful humans are  friends. Some of them are old pals and some of them are new. They are all beautiful though.

Number 7: Social media as a hub of positivity

Despite the glorious heatwave and lovely sunny evenings during the summer I was in a bit of a rut. I spent a lot of time trying not to get sunburnt, working to earn money and scrolling through every form of social media and probably ending up in tears, upset or angry. I could only do so much for the sun burn and I had planned on working throughout the summer for a long time so I couldn’t change much there either. That meant I came face to face with my ultimate demon, social media. Originally I was going to be incredibly dramatic and erase any footprint I made on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat but then I realised that really isn’t the solution. I must admit I have deleted Snapchat, personally it was caused the most upset but I also realised the self-centred nature of it. The major change I made was making an Instagram account for this blog. It’s by far one of the most positive things I have done this year, I only follow really close friends and family members on this account alongside instagramers who I find truly inspirational. The accounts I follow are either relevant to fashion I love, hobbies I partake in, independent shops at home and in the north and of course Miley Cyrus. Whenever I go on Instagram now I always leave the app with a smile on my face. I still have my original account, I rarely post pictures there anymore or scroll my feed but it is still there so people know I’m alive. I wholeheartedly suggest that anyone who looks through Instagram or scrolls Facebook and leaves it feeling really down start again with it, change who you can see on Facebook and re-evaluate who you follow on Instagram, I promise you won’t regret it.

Number 8: How wonderful a cup of tea is

2018 is the year that I started drinking tea. It has been a major change in my life and I have learnt to love nothing more than a cup of tea. Previously I thought tea was just grim hot water and then one day at an interview I was handed a cup, I was nervous so I happily accepted the mug and drank the tea without thinking. That moment changed my life. Tea is a lovely drink. There are so many kinds and so many ways to have it, for example: my every day tea is decaff Yorkshire but if I want to really treat myself I might go out and have a loose leaf earl grey. Tea is there for every occasion. It is also such a lovely communal thing, I love nothing more than popping over the road to me friend’s house and being welcomed with a steaming brew and knowing we‘re gonna have a good old gossip. Tea is truly wonderful… I’ve actually made myself thirsty from this paragraph…

Number 9: How deep my love for the radio lies within me.

As I’ve mentioned previously I have moved away from home and one thing that has been the biggest change is the lack of the radio. At home the radio is always on, I can tell what time of day it is by which radio 2 DJ is playing, there’s something very warming and comfortable about having the radio on. I sadly don’t have a radio up north and I have realised how much I miss listening to it. I was a given a radio for Christmas and cannot wait to restart my love affair with radio 2 later this month.

Number 10: Love

I’ve really been debating whether or not I should review this life lesson, for one reason it’s a very big broad topic to cover. I have realised however the most important thing I have learnt about love is that when you find the right people to give it to all your problems blow away. I’m a very giving and loving person but I have come to realise that at times I give my love too freely but now I’ve learnt who I should give it to and how much of it I should let them have. I love my family unconditionally. My new friends in the north have slowly been growing into a very special place in my heart and I love them too. I love my old pals in a warm fuzzy way. I’m excited to see what I’m going to love in 2019 and what else I’m going to learn about it.

This my sister who I love more than anyone else...oh and she's really clever!

Those are 10 things I have learnt in 2018. I guess this post evolved as I wrote it into a bit of a yearly round up. Thus far in 2019 I’ve eaten a lot of food so I know it’s kicked off well! Don’t forget everything is coming up roses!

NV x

P.S. Also I now have a cheeky little Instagram account for my blog (rosy_tinted_world) where I’ll post links to my posts hot off the press and I’ll try and fill your newsfeed with some bright, fun and happy content!