2014: a Recap, and Resolutions

Happy New Year, all! May the coming year be bright and merry. Confession: this post was originally supposed to air on the 1st, but given the two day Scottish holiday (we take our drinking seriously), I got rather side tracked. 

I try and do resolutions every year; it's a thankless tradition for the most part (and you're probably sick of reading them) but they work if one keeps several things in mind: they should only be guidelines for how one wants the year to turn out, they should be enjoyable, achievable, and you should never feel guilty if they don't happen. It is worth assessing how you got on with them, though, and for that reason I'm taking a look at what I resolved to change last year.

2014: The Year in Review

• Cut down on PDA. Success! I'm naturally very physically affectionate with everyone, and swing/blues dancing have probably assisted in this resolution (when we're not dancing, we're rolling about in a cuddle puddle). 
• Switch from Digital to Analogue. I've definitely been offline a lot less in the past few months, and I think it's been a good thing; I've had the chance to do more art, and do more in person.
• Do something with my hair. Fail. More on this, next year. 
• Not be afraid to wander down new paths. This was specifically a style and music resolution, and in someways I've come full circle; I spent a lot of last year broadening my interests and even relegating my appearance further down my priorities, and I'm now ready to come back to home base, with a wider range of influences. Success!
• Make my study time more effective and relax more. I have been relaxing more, and I've learned how to get tasks done, but studying is something I still need to work on. 
• Clear out my closet. This is, obviously, an ongoing project, but looking at my wardrobe, and considering I hit a point where I actually needed to buy new clothing, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at. 
• Wear every colour of the rainbow for lipstick. Success! Keep your eyes on this blog over the next few months.

I listened to music. Notable pieces which defined the year -

• Nico Vega - Iron Man
• The Only Lovers Left Alive soundtrack. 
• Joy Division's Closer (when is that not a defining work?)
• That one cover of John the Revelator that I could never write down because I was always too busy dancing to it. 

(Honorary mentions to Peaches, Disco Tex and the Sexolettes, and Macklemore, for Boys wanna be her, Get Dancin', and Thrift Shop respectively, for being my party tunes.)

Photo by Indre. Here's to not caring how disgusting your hair is because you're too busy doing tandem charleston. 

I lindy hopped. That's been a massive part of this year.

I posed moodily. Multiple times. 

I knew myself, and myself likes to party.

She also likes setting unreasonable challenges for herself. But 50/100 isn't bad - and you guys even got some exciting DIY tutorials out of it!

2014 was, like every year, a mixed year. It was a year of finding a home in a cuddle puddle of people I'd do anything for, of hiding in empty rooms to calm down, of wandering and coming back home happier, and of realizing that I need to do what's best for me. I made some radical (and some not so radical) attempts to change my life, and I think I even pulled them off. As a result, it's been one of the happiest years of my life, and I'm going to look back on it fondly. 

The Year Ahead

Finally, the year to come. I didn't have my tarot deck to hand, but I might do a reading once I'm back in Dundee. I want the year to be an academic one - I'm planning on applying for a BMSc, and I really, really need to pass the year - and I want to travel; I haven't been out of the UK for a couple of years, and the wanderlust is really biting. And, of course, to accomplish a few specific things -

• Learn how to do a beehive.
• Somehow, find more clothing space. I don't feel my wardrobe is unreasonable, but I do need to find somewhere to keep it. 
• Go to more swing workshops. Whilst workshops aren't the only thing that make one a better dancer, it probably wouldn't hurt. 
• Work on NGAF. Or, 'not giving a fuck'. Time to put things I can't help behind me!
• Learn how to read a goddamn ECG. Really? I should know this by now. 

I would also like to add 'make more memories and take more photos' to this list, but that's a life mantra to live by, not a resolution.


All the best for the new year, and I hope it's a special one!

Fiona C.