2017- A Reflection| CarenzaOnBooks

As cheesy as it may sound, it does feel as if it was yesterday that I was writing my reflection for 2016. It was as though I blinked and here we are, welcoming 2018 in. I am someone who loves the New Year, I see it as a time to change and reflect on the person we were in the previous year. But, for the first time in my life, I am not going to be setting resolutions to follow. Why? Because I never do. The nature of my life is ever changing and I have a habit of setting unrealistic goals, so I am going to change it. I am going to let 2018 take me where ever it wants to take me.

It has to be said that I started 2017 in a much better mindset than in 2016. If you saw my post from 2017 about 2016, then you will know that 2016 started badly for me. Well, 2017 didn't. Unless you count catching a nasty cold 3 days into the year, my 2017 started well. I went to the Harry Potter studios for the first time with my college and had an amazing time. I also got back into my singing lessons and am preparing to take grade 6 in the New Year. January was a great month, I discovered what my passions were again and it made me feel much happier than I did in 2016.

Probably the biggest and most important thing that happened to me in 2017 was that I decided (finally) what I wanted to do with my future. I had been dancing around the subject of university for a while and while I was adamant to go, I had no clue what I wanted to do. Then I saw a phenomenal play called Snow in Midsummer at the RSC and it clicked. I want to become a writer. I fell back in love with the theatre and have lost count of how many shows I have seen this year (but I would guess it's probably not far off 100). Another incredible play I saw was Angels in America. The National Theatre production blew my mind away as I had never thought about theatre on such an epic scale. To know what I want to do with my life has really helped me channel my energies into my studies and help me get the good grades I need.

With making this somewhat huge decision, I went through the joyous process of applying to university. I sent my application off in November and by the end of term, I had all my offers back. Knowing I have something to look forward to is really motivating me to do well. I have found an amazing course at an amazing university and I can't wait to start there. A part of me knows it will be here before I know it and that I shouldn't wish 9 months of my life away, but I'm so excited to start. I've been that person that always wanted to go and to have it so close actually makes me burst with happiness.

2017 was a very good reading year for me. There may have been a few dips where I fell out of love with reading or when I was very busy, but I managed to meet my Goodreads reading challenge. As I am writing this before the New Year, I don't know what exactly my final reading target will be, but I imagine it will be between 66-68. I read some great books this year and began to move away from the YA. I still love YA, but I am really enjoying branching out. Something I have decided to do in 2018 is to be stricter with my book buying. I have set myself a limit of only buying 50 books in 2018. This may seem a lot, but between December 2016-February 2017, I got over 50 books. I am doing this because of financial reasons and because I don't have the space to store books anymore. I also have a lot of unread books that I can read, so doing this might help me narrow down my TBR.

For me, 2017 was a year of Harry Potter. I went to the studio tour twice (once with college, once for my birthday). I finally saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and it was amazing. Harry Potter has always been a safety blanket for me. Something to fall back on when I'm having a bad day or I need to feel better. I have made several posts about my love for Harry Potter and I know I will never stop loving something that taught me to love reading. 

2018 brings many exciting changes. It's the year I become an adult. It's the year I move out and go to University. It's the year I get my shit together and stop putting so much pressure on myself. It's the year I learn to balance fun and work. It's the year I get to spend with my family and friends. It's the year I get to do many amazing things.
Carenza x

New Years Resolutions for 2017| It'sCarenzaB

Hey Guys!
How are you?
Happy New Year! 2016 is finally over and this means that there is now another chance to do the things that you said you would do. I can safely say that I failed my 20116 resolutions, but I plan to be more successful in 2017. I 7 resolutions I want to focus on in 2017, but I have some other things I am going to focus on which I am going to list as well.

New Years Resolutions

1) Learn To Balance Work and Play

For the whole of 2017, I am still going to be in full time education. This means that I learn that I am going to have to learn to balance my school life and my personal life. I started to get good at this towards the end of 2016. My personal life is a bit all over the place, with having to travel between two houses frequently and keeping up with reading and blogging. I also have coursework starting in January and major exams in May, so I am going to be quite busy this year.

2) Read More Than One Genre A Month

In 2016 I read mostly fantasy. While I love fantasy, I do want to branch out. I want to start reading more sci fi as well as more adult books like classics. I received some biographies for Christmas, so I am hoping I can read more books that are out of my comfort zone.

3) Improve Fitness

This is a resolution that I set myself last year and this year I intend to see it through. I am fed up with feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. I always feel very self conscious around others. I also want to improve it to prevent ill health in later life.

4) Be Happy

I haven't ever spoken about my mental health on here, but in 2016 I really struggled with happiness. I haven't been diagnosed with anything, but there were periods were I would feel happy or sad. I want to focus on my mental health in 2017. This does time in with learning to balance work and fun.

5) Be Organised

This is something that I improved in 2016 as in April I started bullet journaling. This has changed my life. I have become so much more productive as it helps me keep on track. I plan to start organising my revision to make it more efficient. I also want to become organised to help reduce my TBR. I also want to start writing blog posts in advance. Towards the end of 2016, I would write the blog post on the day it was suppose to be posted and I found this very stressful. I plan to start writing posts in advance, as well as taking photos in advance.

6) Join In More

I am someone who is very happy to sit at the back of the room and not join in, but this is something I want to change. I very rarely contribute in class and I want to become more involved in the book community. I feel that this will help me to grow as a person.

7) Have Fun

I want to make 2017 the best year it can be. I want to travel a bit and explore the area I live in. I want to have fun with my family and make lots of memories. I just want to have a year that I can smile at.

Two Things I Want To Focus On

If you have also read my reflection post, then you will know that I want to focus on my mental health and family in 2017. My mental health was all over the place in 2016 and I really want to improve it. I hated feeling so sad and empty all the time last year, I don't want to let 2017 be the same. I want to focus on my family as my family means the world to me. My parents are amazing and very supportive. They have done so much for me and I want to start giving back to them.

The Little Things

Every year I always forget the little things I want to change and they are as equally important as the big things. Here is a list of the little things:

• Complete my exams
• Get good grades in my exams and courses
• Move back with my family
• Go to a few bookish events
• Go to YALC in London
• Grow as a person
• Finnish writing the stories I've started
• Be more involved in the book community
• Take more photos- more photos that aren't of books
• Cuddle my cat every time I come home to see him
• Drink more water
• Explore new places
• Travel around the country
• Stop putting things off that I don't want to do

So those are my New Years Resolutions for 2017. I hope that you all have an amazing 2017. Just a quick reminder that my update posts will be posted every 3 months rather than every month. In this posts I will keep you updated with how things are going.

Love,

Carenza x