At the end of 2014 I wrote a piece rounding up my year, and the result was a ridiculously nostalgic post written when I was honestly really sad after battling through a bad breakup and a generally bad end to the year. And that's not what I want to do this year.
Truthfully, 2015 has been another difficult year, but I didn't want to do a self-depreciating "new year, new me" post, so instead I decided to look back through my instagram and share some of my favourite moments from the year!
Technically this photo was from 2014, but last New Year's Eve was easily one of my favourite moments as I got to ring in the new year with two of my absolute besties and it really helped me move into the new year feeling happy and hopeful with my gals by my side.
2015 was the year I met Rachelle, who was such a positive ray of sunshine in my life right when I needed it. All my memories with Rachelle consist of being overly hyper, going to strange local gigs and laughing so hard my eyeliner was cried off. Rachelle is the perfect example of why female friends are essential and I'm massively thankful for her.
One of my favourite part of this year was the opportunities this blog gave me such as having the chance to collaborate with This Material Culture, an absolutely lovely brand that gifted me this necklace. It was so nice to work with such sweet people and honestly it made me feel so appreciated as they wanted to work with me and my teeny tiny little blog. And this arrow necklace has become my safety blanket, I couldn't love it anymore.
Before this year I was always super nervous about changing my hair (or really changing anything) but as the year went on my hair decisions have become braver and my chops have been going shorter and shorter (as my hair dresser says, "you'll come in one day and just ask me to shave it off!") But since having shorter hair I can't imagine going back to my long-lock days, I bloody love it! Possibly one of the best decisions of 2015.
This year I've become much more politically and socially aware. I spent a lot of time reading articles and re-searching issues that seemed to go amiss from mainstream media. I've learnt so much about the transgender community and issues they face, the massive issue of police brutality in America, struggles women face around the globe and I think I've generally become a more knowledgeable, aware person. I can't suggest enough that you take 5 minutes daily to read some articles on twitter, you'd be surprised how much BBC news doesn't tell you!
One of my favourite parts of 2015 has been my friendship with this lady. Immy has been my ultimate besties since we were in nappies but this year our friendship has become so insanely strong and we've supported each other through anything and everything. Love this gal all the world, the best friend a girl could have! Yay for strong female friendship!
Obviously being in the presence of queen Taylor in Hyde Park was a highlight. This was definitely one of my favourite moment of 2015 as not only did I get a sunny weekend in London, but me and my sister got to absolutely lose our cool over Taylor Swift (and Kendall Jenner, Karlie Kloss, Martha Hunt, Cara Delevingne, Gigi Hadid, Serena Williams). She was insanely amazing and the day was magical, long live Queen Tay Tay.
One of the best things I did this year was get the chance to work with Daisy-Chain Scott and have the chance to write lots for her blog. Learning more about political and social issues massively impacted my writing as I started to focus more articles about politics, social injustices, movements that weren't getting enough media attention etc as well as specifically focusing on the work of teenagers doing amazing things in an attempt to prove that we aren't all lazy slobs. I loved loved loved having the chance and the freedom to write all these pieces and sadly Teenage Mysticism no longer exists, but you can visit Daisy's new blog HERE.
In the summer I re-decorated my bedroom. It may seem trivial, but to me this was a big step in leaving the past behind (deep) and coming into myself more as my new bedroom feels way way more me. I now love my bedroom, it's so calming and cosy I never want to leave it.
Starting KILORAN was easily the best thing I've done this year. At the start of 2015 I was determined to start actually acting on my dreams, so in the summer I started my own online magazine working with the most incredible team of writers/photographers/creators. We've now released two issues of the mag and I've never been this proud of anything. So much hard work went into these two issues and seeing the result and having people say lovely stuff about it has been absolutely amazing. Also, KILORAN introduced me to some ridiculously talented people and helped me surround myself with amazing, creative people. I can't wait to see where KILORAN goes next year and if you ever want to contribute, don't hesitate to get in touch!
2015 was the year I passed my driving test which is a big milestone in anyone's life! I looove driving and since passing my test everything has been a lot easier so woo go me! (also 2015 was the year crazy snapchat filters took over my life)
This year Things The Books Forgot got a makeover that was long overdue! Since re-designing my blog banner I've felt so much happier with the site and it's helped me focus more on creating what I want to create and not what I think my blog should consist of. I'm hoping to really branch out in 2016 and include more social/political, culture kinda posts as well as more about films, lifestyle and fashion. Again, super excited to see where this blog goes in 2016 and I'm hoping it will keep on growing. Massive thank you to everyone that's been reading my silly rambles this year, I adore you all!
I think if I had to give 2015 a theme it would be 'loss and growth' as this year I really struggled as a lot of my closest friends in 2014 were no longer in my life in 2015, however I think this year has forced me to become a healthier person in that I've learnt that it's okay to walk away from negative situations/people and learnt how to treat myself better and care for myself when things get difficult, something that's been so beneficial this year, and my friendships have become a lot stronger and more valuable.
But on a whole, 2015 has been a year that’s hard to pin down as for most of the year I haven’t really felt it go back. The majority of this year has been spent focusing on specific things- working towards being happy after the negative event of 2014/early 2015, revising hard for my AS levels, throwing all my efforts into projects like KILORAN, this blog and writing other things. Looking back it’s been a strange year and honestly I'm glad it’s over! The last couple weeks of 2015 have been super happy and thinking about all the exciting things to come in 2016 like going off to uni makes me feel so hopeful!
I hope you all had your happiest year yet and if not, I hope your 2016 brings you nothing but strength and joy! Thank you all for sticking by me and supporting my tiny baby of a blog, and I hope to see you all again in 2016.
Truthfully, 2015 has been another difficult year, but I didn't want to do a self-depreciating "new year, new me" post, so instead I decided to look back through my instagram and share some of my favourite moments from the year!
2015 was the year I met Rachelle, who was such a positive ray of sunshine in my life right when I needed it. All my memories with Rachelle consist of being overly hyper, going to strange local gigs and laughing so hard my eyeliner was cried off. Rachelle is the perfect example of why female friends are essential and I'm massively thankful for her.
Read post about this necklace HERE |
Read post about my haircut HERE |
This year I've become much more politically and socially aware. I spent a lot of time reading articles and re-searching issues that seemed to go amiss from mainstream media. I've learnt so much about the transgender community and issues they face, the massive issue of police brutality in America, struggles women face around the globe and I think I've generally become a more knowledgeable, aware person. I can't suggest enough that you take 5 minutes daily to read some articles on twitter, you'd be surprised how much BBC news doesn't tell you!
One of my favourite parts of 2015 has been my friendship with this lady. Immy has been my ultimate besties since we were in nappies but this year our friendship has become so insanely strong and we've supported each other through anything and everything. Love this gal all the world, the best friend a girl could have! Yay for strong female friendship!
Obviously being in the presence of queen Taylor in Hyde Park was a highlight. This was definitely one of my favourite moment of 2015 as not only did I get a sunny weekend in London, but me and my sister got to absolutely lose our cool over Taylor Swift (and Kendall Jenner, Karlie Kloss, Martha Hunt, Cara Delevingne, Gigi Hadid, Serena Williams). She was insanely amazing and the day was magical, long live Queen Tay Tay.
One of the best things I did this year was get the chance to work with Daisy-Chain Scott and have the chance to write lots for her blog. Learning more about political and social issues massively impacted my writing as I started to focus more articles about politics, social injustices, movements that weren't getting enough media attention etc as well as specifically focusing on the work of teenagers doing amazing things in an attempt to prove that we aren't all lazy slobs. I loved loved loved having the chance and the freedom to write all these pieces and sadly Teenage Mysticism no longer exists, but you can visit Daisy's new blog HERE.
See more photos HERE |
Read KILORAN mag HERE |
2015 was the year I passed my driving test which is a big milestone in anyone's life! I looove driving and since passing my test everything has been a lot easier so woo go me! (also 2015 was the year crazy snapchat filters took over my life)
This year Things The Books Forgot got a makeover that was long overdue! Since re-designing my blog banner I've felt so much happier with the site and it's helped me focus more on creating what I want to create and not what I think my blog should consist of. I'm hoping to really branch out in 2016 and include more social/political, culture kinda posts as well as more about films, lifestyle and fashion. Again, super excited to see where this blog goes in 2016 and I'm hoping it will keep on growing. Massive thank you to everyone that's been reading my silly rambles this year, I adore you all!
But on a whole, 2015 has been a year that’s hard to pin down as for most of the year I haven’t really felt it go back. The majority of this year has been spent focusing on specific things- working towards being happy after the negative event of 2014/early 2015, revising hard for my AS levels, throwing all my efforts into projects like KILORAN, this blog and writing other things. Looking back it’s been a strange year and honestly I'm glad it’s over! The last couple weeks of 2015 have been super happy and thinking about all the exciting things to come in 2016 like going off to uni makes me feel so hopeful!
I hope you all had your happiest year yet and if not, I hope your 2016 brings you nothing but strength and joy! Thank you all for sticking by me and supporting my tiny baby of a blog, and I hope to see you all again in 2016.