As promised in my last post, today's post is going to be a more detailed overview of what I got up to in 2019. 2019 was an insane year for me, I still can't quite believe that it happened at and that it wasn't a dream. This post is going to be split up into sections- uni, travel/things I did, reading and writing, and personal elements of 2019.
University
At the moment, I am second year Creative and Professional Writing student in Bristol. In 2019, I finished my first year of university and then started my second year. It is going by so quickly, I really could do with time slowing down for a little bit. I don't feel that it would be appropriate for me to talk about the personal side of my university life as it isn't fair on those that know me, but I will mention that like any other part of my life, there were ups and downs. Academically, I definitely enjoyed the second half of 2019. I think for me it was because the first year of any degree is all about building the foundation and that was very similar to doing Creative Writing as an A-Level. So far this year, I feel I have been challenged way more and am getting stuck into it. It terrifies me that I am graduating next year. But for now, let's focus on the present.
Travel Bug
I think the title of this section nicely sums up a fun part of my life in 2019. Although I didn't do any major travelling apart from visiting Bruges in August, I did so many amazing things in 2019. I posted a month by month thread on my Twitter account (@carenzaonbooks). I saw so many incredible stage plays in 2019 that I will never forget. I think there were only two months last year where I didn't see a single play. I also finally got to see my favourite band, Bastille, live in February in London. It was a life-changing experience and made me realise that I really love concerts and new music. I've touched on it, but travelling to Bruges was one of my highlights of 2019. I hadn't been on holiday in almost six years and finally going was amazing. I've 100% caught the travel bug and am already planning my next adventure.
Reading & Writing
For me 2019, wasn't the best for reading and writing. I think I was so focused on other things that I forgot how much I loved them both. I only read 88 books, which is still a lot, but ended up being less than I read in 2018. Writing wise, I only started two projects and I did not finish them. I think my problem is due to the fact that I do a writing degree, so it can feel like my time is consumed with it. This is a bizarre way to think about my dream future job, but I am someone that gets very demotivated easily. I mentioned this in my previous post, but one of my goals for this year is to make time for a non-uni writing project.
Personal
Without going into details, 2019 was one of the worst years for me mentally. I struggled way more than I have done in the past. It got to a point that was so bad I reached out for help for the first time. It's something I need to follow up on as I'm still not at a mentally stable place I want to be, but I am way better than I was last year. It won't be a surprise as my 2019 was crazy busy and I never really gave myself any time off. While that might sound like my 2019 was bad, it was also filled with some great moments in my personal life and many that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
Like the title suggests, 2019, for me, was a year filled with ups, downs and straight up ordinary moments. Despite it being a roller-coaster-esque year, I wouldn't change a thing about it.
All the best,
Carenza x
