A lot has happened this year. I've had some really good times and some pretty bad ones too, which I suppose is fairly normal!
JANUARY
January seems like such a long time ago because so much has happened since then! I had my first set of exams at university as soon as I got back after the Christmas holidays, which was lovely! January was the month that I began blogging again, which was possibly the best decision I made this year!
There was a snow day in January, and I remember running outside in the cold and running around campus taking loads of photos. I miss the snow so much since I moved from Canada, and for a little while it almost felt like I was back there with the Canada geese that live by the lake.
FEBRUARY
In February one of my best mates came up to stay at my uni which was fun! We had ice cream, and went out clubbing. It was one of the best weekends, it was so great.
I also was dragged to a quiz night by my flatmates. We were hopeless, but it was actually a lot more fun that I expected.
MARCH
Near the end of March me and my family went up to Birmingham to go to a craft fair at the NEC. Comicon was on at the same time, and we bumped into Chewbacca which was rather interesting!
While at the exhibition my mum and I took part in a Guinness World Record attempt to break the record for the longest chain of knitted or crocheted strands.
Thought I'd just include this photo of me with the biggest rabbit in the world who I met and was able to cuddle when I visited the pet store. His owner had brought him and his friend in to get their nails trimmed, and she saw me looking at him so asked if I wanted to hold him.. er yes? I desperately want a rabbit, and definitely once I graduate from uni and have the time and space to look after one I'm going to get one!
APRIL
In April it was my Easter holidays so I was home for the month. I had a lovely trip to the beach, which I wrote about here.
April was also the month that I started work at my new job, which I'm still at now! It was a pretty pivotal month for me in terms of confidence and happiness.
MAY
In May I explored my uni town more and had a look round the castle thats near my house. I took my camera and took some really pretty (in my opinion) photos. If you're interested in seeing more, then come check out my post here.
May also brought my surprise free tickets to BeautyCon. I'd entered a competition earlier on in the year and completely forgotten about it until I received an email a few days before saying I'd won two tickets! I met many of my favourite YouTubers, and had an amazing but exhausting day wandering around.
At the end of May two of my friends from back home came up to visit, which was a much needed boost after all my coursework was completed & before all of my exams started!
JUNE
June = exams for the end of semester 2. It was a struggle, but I survived, and passed all my first year modules. Woo! I moved out of my first year house at the end of June & back into my home in Kent. I talked about my first year of University here if you're interested.
Being at home for a while in the summer was a nice rest after my exams. I saw my family and friends, and of course went out and took loads of photos of the pretty flowers before I missed them.
JULY
In July I was finally able to spend a day with my best friend, who I met up with in London. We've been besties since we were 3, but she lives up north so we only manage to see each other once or twice a year. It was so nice to do lots of touristy things together, we had an absolute blast. Spending time with old friends is precious. We went to Harrods, the Disney store, M&M world and more. I have no idea how we managed to pack so much in!
I also got to see my grandparents in mid July, which was nice as again I don't get to see them as much as I would like to. Having lots of family in one place is often challenging (lots of strong personalities clashing!) but it's also nice, as it's good to spend time with those who are close to us.
Near the end of July I went to Hastings beach which I'd never been to before, and got absolutely sunburnt. I could barely move it was so bad. If you're heading to the beach next summer definitely don't sit and sunbathe for hours without suncream, especially if you're as pale as me! I 100% regretted that, it's so dangerous, not to mention incredibly painful! Even my hands got burnt!
Me and my family went for a weekend away in Liverpool at the end of July, and it was a really nice time. My family come from up there, so it's always great to visit it. We did touristy things like visit Liverpool One and go on the Mersey river, and I took a million photos. If you've not visited Liverpool you definitely should, it's one of my favourite cities.
AUGUST
I moved into my new student accommodation in the beginning of August, and then went back to work. I live in private accommodation, and I thoroughly dislike it. But it's better than nothing!
I spent a few days in London at the beginning of the month, and I stumbled upon the Serpentine gallery which I didn't know existed. I walked in and thought there were a bunch of actors posing, however upon closer inspection I realised they weren't alive. These sculptures looked so realistic, it was incredible, and slightly disconcerting!
One of my best friends from Canada came over for a week and spent a few days with me at my uni house and in London. I'd not seen her in two years, but we speak nearly every day which is so nice. We've stayed such good friends even though we're in different continents. We went to the V&A and the Tate Modern.
SEPTEMBER
At the beginning of September I went for a walk at the park near where I study, which was a really fun day out and it was great to explore more of where I live. I wanted to take full advantage of the long free days I had before I had to go back to uni. I want to go back in the springtime when all the flowers are blooming!
Freshers Week started at the end of September, and I went to go and see Lawson who opened the week. They were incredible! I stood right at the front and held Joel's hand!
OCTOBER
October is another stressful month, because it's when uni starts again in ernest and coursework deadlines start piling up. The BioSoc had a pub crawl where we all dressed up in 'nerdy' outfits which was quite fun, it was my first ever pub crawl!
The Vet school at uni was officially opened in October by the Queen and Prince Philip, which was amazing. I've seen the Queen before when she unveiled a statue while I lived in Ottawa, but it was my first time seeing Prince Philip, and he came right past me and waved at us all which
was really cool! The horse from the play the War Horse was there as well.
At the end of October I went to Waterstones to meet Sue Perkins! Which was one of the coolest, but also most intimidating things I've ever done. She was really lovely though, and could tell I was shy so was really complimentary and chatty!
NOVEMBER
On the 5th of November I went to go and see the fireworks in the park for the second year in the row.
I wrote a full post on the celebration here.
DECEMBER
December is always my favourite month, not just because of Christmas but because it's my birthday month too!
I had my work Christmas party in mid December, and then finished for Christmas the week after after finishing all my coursework and writing my exam, so I'm home for Christmas now, and loving it.
And now I have Christmas and my birthday to look forward to! How have your years been? What have your highlights been?
Love,
