Well friends, it is officially 2020. (I’ll probably be writing the date as 2019 until April, at least.) I’m in Edinburgh for my first Hogmanay and I want to welcome this new decade with open arms.
2019 was a year of massive change. Some of which I haven’t written about yet. There’s been a huge career change for me – undergoing my PGCE and teaching English and Drama in secondary schools. Being a student again whilst being a teacher has been full of highs and lows. Kids can be so hilarious and rewarding, but the PGCE year is known to be one of the most stressful years as a teacher in the UK, alongside your NQT year.
I also became a UK citizen this year after nearly a decade of Home Office and visa trials and tribulations. That meant that I was able to vote in my first ever UK election a few weeks ago. And whilst it clearly did not go the way that I hoped, it was amazing to finally get a say in a country that I’ve been living, studying, working and paying taxes in for the past 9 years.
I made it to the last round of Bake Off auditions; I was a finalist in the York Literature Festival; I was in multiple plays; I had poetry published in a print collection; I’ve gone to multiple concerts; I’ve stayed up late laughing; woken up early crying.
Friendship groups have shifted; some friends have moved away, others have started families of their own, and some friendships have dissolved with time. It’s an inevitable but melancholic part of getting older.
I’ve traveled a lot less this year than in the past several years because I’ve had so much going on in life. I’ve also had to take a step back from blogging and social media for similar reasons.
2019 was a very hard year but we’ve made it to the end.
2020 might not promise to be bigger and brighter. I’m not going to become smarter or more talented. I won’t be thinner or richer.
I’m hoping to nurture the important friendships I have in my life. I want to spend mornings in bed drinking coffee and reading good books. I want to spend evenings on the sofa wrapped up with Harold. I want to graduate from my PGCE year and gain my QTS. I want to have a teaching job lined up for my NQT year. I want to go on one or two really good trips this year. I want to act the sh*t out of the part of Lady Macbeth this spring. I am hoping for happiness and simplicity.
I don’t expect to change radically change anything in my life. But I’d like to continue to settle into the person that I have become.
If you liked this post, you might also like:
A Life Update: PGCE Training
I am now a UK Citizen
Why I Solo Travel
