My 2020 Vision: Goals for the Year Ahead

Hi! Happy New Year! Hope it's treating you well so far.

2020 is going to be a big. year. It may not seem like it yet, as I sit in bed drinking endless cups of tea and watching the latest season of You on Netflix - which I found myself doing most days at the back end of 2019 - but this is the year in which, to put it lighty, everything will change. And now that I've finished You and remembered life outside my bedroom walls exists, I thought now would be as good a time as any to lay out some 2020 goals for this major landmark year.

graduate and find security in a job 

So the big big reason alarm bells go off in my head when I think about 2020 is that this is the year I graduate. Yep - it's goodbye to university, adios to the security of full time education, and a sad farewell to my student discount. And while the idea of going into a career I'm passionate about and truly enjoy is super exciting, the fear of the unknown post-graduation - and all the work-load leading up to it - is really quite petrifying. So, my main goal for this year is to work hard and treasure the time I have left surrounded by all the incredible people I've met over these past 3 years, earn whatever grade I deserve and move on from uni, and into a job, with my head held high. I know that jobs might not come automatically, but I hope that if and when that is the case, I know how to deal with it. It's going to be an overwhelming change and one that's going to take a lot to get used to, but I *think* I'm just about ready for it. 

travel more 

I'm not really one of these people that has a long list of countries to travel to and cities to see, but I do think it's important to spread your wings while you can and explore. So far this year I have three trips away planned, and I'm buzzing like a bee for all of them. I absolutely love a city break, so my mother-daughter trip to Budapest to celebrate my 21st is sure to be a 2020 highlight, as will some sight-seeing in Dubrovnik with the rest of the fam over summer. My first trip away with my boyfriend comes soon after we leave uni, and the sandy beaches of Crete will defo be calling my name by then. I said in my 30 Things I Want to Do Before I'm 30 post that New Zealand, Amsterdam and New Orleans were top of my list to visit, and as this is more of a decade-long goal, let's hope I can find the time - and the funds - to do a bit more globe-trotting over the next 10 years.

live healthily and sustainably 

Firstly, isn't 'healthily' such a strange word? I was convinced I was spelling it wrong, but apparently not. Secondly, you may have seen from my 5 Little Sustainable Changes or How to Be a More Sustainable Shopper posts that in 2019, I made a bit more of an effort to live a little more conciously. That being said, I know I can still improve a lot - my shopping habits often get the better of me (*hides the two new dresses I just bought*) and my constant need for a Starbucks, but constant forgetting of my flask, is a real issue. So, goal number 1 in this department is to start following my own rules better - and since I recieved some bees wax cling film alternative for my overnight granola, and a rather snazzy Hogwarts coffee flask, I'm well on my way to more sustainable 2020. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who has put 'try to be healthier' on any new year's resolutions or goals lists. Being a vegetarian isn't always the healthier option - Maccies fries are veggie too, you know. However, I'm going to try and cut down on the chocolate digestives, and who knows - maybe this year is the year I finally join a gym? Watch this space. 

read more 

Reading is one of my favourite hobbies, and I wish I found more time to actually do it - or, you know, maybe just choose to read instead of watching yet another Brooklyn 99 repeat. Last year I only managed to read 2 books (Never Greener by Ruth Jones, and Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, both brilliant), but this year I really want to up that total. I have a few on my list already - Perfect Sound Whatever by James Acaster, both of Sally Rooney's novels, and Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald has been sat in my bookcase since my first year of uni. With the holidays and trips away coming up, I'm hoping I can get lost in a book while soaking up the sun with a Magnum in hand - the absolute dream. 

accept and embrace change 

And what a nice cheesy note to end on. But, in all seriousness, the idea of 'change' sends shivers down my spine. I'm a home bird, and I like routine. I've already said countless times that 2020 is going to bring a lot of change with it - who knows what graduation and job searching will bring? - but I think taking opportunities and trying not to be completely terrified of actually exciting things that could come of my hard work is healthy and good for me. I don't like stepping out of my comfort zone, but 2019 was my comfort zone. New Year's Day was always going to hurtle me into a year full of the unknown whether I liked it or not, and I need to remember that while that's really scary, it's also really cool.

So come on 2020, show me what you've got - I'm ready for you.