You are correct, I am writing that inevitable end of year blog, but would I be me without sticking to some silly cliché? So prepare yourselves this one gets quite emosh (deep breath).
1. Be grateful for everyone that comes in and out of your life. I live by the clichéd saying that everything happens for a reason and I believe that this is the case for the people who make an appearance in your life. Whether that be for a short or a long period of time, everyone comes in with a lesson to teach you and no matter what this lesson is, whether negative or positive, they should all be appreciated.
2. Being on your own does not mean that you are lonely. I always thought that in order to be happy and content I must always surround myself with other people or a specific signifcant other, but that is really not the case. One thing I learnt from my year abroad is that sometimes you are your best company and that loneliness really is not an emotion that is present all that often.
3. Being selfish should be celebrated. Doing things for you needs to be put in a more positive light. Too many people are going about their daily lives trying to please and make others around them happy and letting their own happiness be pushed aside. One thing I try to remember is that my happiness should be a priority always. Now I’m not saying that in order for this priority to be fulfilled I will go about making everyone else around me unhappy, what I’m saying is that there needs to be a balance and ultimately that starts with yourself.
4. A good work ethic is a very attractive trait. Gone are the days where I would fall for the cool, bad boy who had more time for parties and the casino rather than working on making a career for himself. I’ve realised this year that men who focus on their future and career not only are super attractive but also push me to focus and work ever harder to pursue my own career to get to where I want.
5. The motto “Work hard, play hard” is one I want to continue living by. I honestly believe that without this balance between work (whether that be school, university or a job) and play (socialising, playing sport etc.) no one can effectively work or socialise. Equal amounts of time should be put aside for both as life continues in order for a good balance of happiness to be reached.
6. You don’t need to speak to or see friends everyday in order to be close to them. When I left Singapore I was very worried I would lose friends who had become the people closest to me during my time out there, all because of an eight hour time difference and the prospect that I had no idea when I would be able to see them again. However I’ve managed to stay close with these friends by putting time aside every so often to catch up and also through the amazing technology that is social media. Moreover, being away from home for nine months really taught me who my real friends are, those that put time aside to chat and who were there when I needed them the most and I am forever grateful for those friends, you know who you are.
7. Family always have your best interests at heart no matter what kind of messy situations you get yourself into. The phrase “Mum knows best” (and Dad, lets be equal here) sadly is very true, as much as I hate to admit it. My mind has been blurred in the past by a false sense of security and also immaturity and I have often believed that my parents and my wider family were in the wrong as they weren’t as emotionally invested in certain situations that I was involved with myself. This often led to issues and as per usual, the situations ended with me reluctanctly admitting that my parents were right. Essentially they have a lot more life experience than me and more often than not, have been in similar situations and so know what the best thing to do is. Sometimes I just need to get off my high horse and listen to them .
8. You won’t know what you are capable of unless you try. Now this may seem pretty self explanatory but it is very true. I’ve achieved things in the past year that I never thought I would be able to do; I moved to another continent knowing nobody, I worked two summer internships in my dream industry, I travelled to three new countries, I finalised plans to move away from home once I graduate and I finally ended a very toxic three-year relationship. Without pushing myself out of comfort zone and taking a chance with these things I would never have known just how strong and independent I was capable of becoming.
9. Appreciate everyday as it comes. As clichéd as it sounds, anything could happen in a day and I think this is important to think about when making everyday decisions. I mean this in terms of how you react to certain things that happen, how you interact with people and how much time is taken up in your head by things that, in the grand scheme of things, really don’t matter. I don’t think I need to go into detail here about what I mean as I think most people subconsciously know what I’m on about.
10. Life will not be perfect and neither will you. I hate the word “perfect” because it is interpreted differently by everyone, each person has their own opinion on what perfection is and how it can be achieved, if it actually ever can be achieved. I prefer to strive to be “perfectly imperfect” someone who tries to be the best person they can be for themselves without comparison to others and knowing deep down that you will always have flaws and differences but that these traits make you individual and unique. Moreover, life will throw all sorts of things your way, both positive and negative, but as I’ve already mentioned everything happens to teach you a lesson so just keep this in mind when life does throw what it will inevitably throw at you.
So there it is, my 2018 round up. If you got this far, congrats for putting up with my blabbering and here’s to more clichéd blog posts in 2019. Let’s see what the year ahead will hold. Happy New Year!
Love
Danni
Xxx
Daniela Mizzen 
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