As 2018 draws to a close, I wanted to reflect on everything that happened in my life in the past 12 months. It was a year filled with adventures, new ventures and trying to deal with the shadow of bad news.
Two thousand eighteen was a mostly positive year. I welcomed the beautiful 🐶 Alice into my life and enjoyed watching her grow (and chew). I was able to have adventures with Claire and go to more events than I ever had before. I even started a new business which embraced my passion for cute art.
Even with the positives, it has also been conflicting. In February I received some bad news about a family friend. I want to respect their privacy and not give any details, but I will say that it is a rare condition that has no known cure. I try and support them and share as much love as I can. It did make me somewhat withdrawn, but I am lucky to have a fantastic family and supportive friends who helped me too.
While I am proud of the things I was able to do this year, I can’t help thinking that I could have done more. I believe my biggest disappointment is that I did not finish and publish a children’s book. I have wanted to self-publish a new book each year, but maybe that is not as realistic as I thought. The main thing is to work creatively and create books that I am proud of, however long that takes!
👑 2018 Highlights
- I welcomed 🐶 Alice into my family
- Was affected by bad news
- Started studying Graphic Design/Photography at CSU
- Turned 31
- Said farewell to 🐈 Molly
- Spent time with Claire in Sydney
- Watched Bob Dylan in concert
- Saw Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Dubbo
- Launched Cute Magic as a business
- Began creating simple animations
- Attended Bon Jovi in concert
⭐️ 2018 Goals
- 👩🏻 Focus on Me
Yes and no. 🤪 - 🎓 Work hard at Uni
I did pretty well at Uni. I did get a distinction instead of a high distinction, in my last class of 2018, so have to work harder! - 🚖 Take driving lessons
Haha. I seem to fail on this one continually. 2019 will be the year Idoooo it. - 👭 Spend time with friends
Yesss! I had a lot of adventures with Claire. - 🌠 Get a tattoo
No. I started to get annoyed that I had listed ‘get a tattoo’, just for the sake of getting one.. I want to get a tattoo that means a lot to me, and I will know when the time is right. - 👓 Get new glasses
Tick! - 🤳🏻 Take a selfie???
I did take some selfies, but I didn’t share them. I guess that is progress?? I am not very confident, but hopefully, I can work on that in 2019. - 🙋🏻♀️ Help others
No. 😣 - 🍏 Learn new things
I had a lot of fun spending time learning how to animate in Adobe Animate CC. While my animations have been very simple, it was a lot of fun to know I could do it! - 🧠 Share personal posts about living with mental illness
I did not share many personal posts in 2018. I had grand plans on doing this, and I hope I can devote time to it in 2019! - 📚 Finish third & fourth children’s book
I can’t believe I thought I was going to complete two books, I didn’t even finish one! 😂
✨ 2019 Goals
- 👩🏻 Make health a priority
- ☀️ Be confident
- 🎓 Work hard at Uni
- 🚖 FINALLY, take driving lessons
- 🙋🏻♀️ Help others/volunteer
- 🍏 Learn things that challenge me
- 📷 Capture my world through photography
- 🎨 Create designs that inspire happiness
- 🧠 Share personal posts about living with mental illness
- 📘 Work toward completing third children’s book
I hope you have an amazing 2019! 😍
💬 Questions
- How was your 2018?
- What are you most proud of doing in 2018?
- What do you hope to achieve in 2019?
15 Responses
☺️ Happy new year! 🥳
While you didn’t set out to achieve everything you wanted to do in 2018, I’m glad you had a positive year with Claire and welcoming Alice into your family! She’s growing up so quickly! 🐶
It can be hard writing about mental health. Like with the tattoo, you will kind of know when the time is right and when it comes naturally. ❤️ It is already a huge first step to making mental health less taboo by wanting to write openly about it and be vulnerable.
Don’t be too hard on yourself, a Distinction is just as impressive!! 😄
Happy new year! Don’t be too hard on yourself, one book a year is a big thing and getting it done well rather than getting it done quickly is the right way to do it.
You’ve achieved so much this year, it’s amazing, you should be super proud of yourself 😀
Also, Alice is just the cutest, I love CKC dogs soooo much.
I love how you made a goal list. I think I should do that too. It’s a really good idea!
How was your 2018?
🙁 I wouldn’t say that it was the best, I can’t remember much because I was so busy. But I would’ve liked it to be better. It was a tough year.
What are you most proud of doing in 2018?
I think I came into realisation of what I was good at doing, and I managed to force myself to go to the gym. I visited Melbourne and rediscovered a place I visited before but was too young to understand or appreciate anything. And of course, more tattoos!
What do you hope to achieve in 2019?
I want to get back into illustration and get serious on it (although I was never taught how to draw properly, but infact I think that’s the best thing)…and I need to get my art blog up.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Sorry that you had to get bad news in 2018 🙁 Dealing with a condition with no cure sounds really rough. I’m glad you’re there to give them as much support as you can.
I’m also glad that your year was mostly positive though. Alice is so cute, and congrats on starting your new business! You had a lot going on last year, so I don’t think you need to be so hard on yourself. I remember when you wrote about how you work on your children’s books, and it’s a lot of work! It’s too bad you didn’t publish another book, but I think it makes sense to take the time you need!
Good luck on your 2019 goals! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Congrats on completing some of your 2018 goals. I wouldn’t worry that you didn’t do everything, sometimes life just happens. I can’t even remember what my goals were last year, so I doubt I’ll have completed them. Good luck with your goals for 2019!
Sorry to hear about your family friend and hope they’re getting all the support they need. Hope you’re coping with it all okay, as well. Sending love.
Sorry about the sadder stuff, but overall it seems like you had a good year. You should be proud! Let’s beat the crud out of this year!
I’m sorry about your family friend. D:
I’m too scared to list goals for this year because I know I’m not going to accomplish them. xD My goals for this year are very broad, like reading more, which I’ve done in the past few months, so we’re starting on the right foot. Ish.
Happy New Year! I’m glad to hear that you had mostly a positive year and I’m sorry to hear about your family friend. At least your surrounded by supportive family and friend <3 Alice is absolutely adorable!
How was your 2018?
It was mostly positive, as well. I had some negative times, but that's normal!
What are you most proud of doing in 2018?
Overcoming my depressive state and realising dang girl, you good looking as eff with/without hair!
What do you hope to achieve in 2019?
Finish my damn novel! Haha
Don’t put yourself down for not getting more done because it sounds like you’ve actually done quite a lot. Between the bad news about your family friend, and little Alice (she’s so cute omg 💕), and Uni, and Cute Magic and all the other things… Sounds like a full year to me. You should be real proud of yourself 🙂
I hope you find time and inspiration to complete a new book in this new year tho! And everything else on your goal list as well 😊
Happy new year! 🥳 I’m so sorry to hear about your family friend, but I think it’s great you’re there for them and trying your best to be a positive light in their life. Every year comes with good and bad, so it’s all we can do to try our best.
My 2018 was interesting. Definitely something special… There was a lot of good and a lot of bad, but it was overall a decent year. I don’t have too many complaints. I just really hope that 2019 is a better year with more accomplishments and more focus on myself and the people closest and most important to me!
Kassy,
You still got WAY more accomplished than I did. 2018 was my year of feeling sorry for myself and not seeing how I can better my life. I definitely understand letting situations, especially tragic of super stressful ones, get the better of you. I am also extremely guilty of doing this. However, you also seem like 2019 is going to be a year you make your own, and I know you can because of how much you accomplished last year when things were down!
Even though 2018 had some downs, I am very proud of you for what you were able to get done. You know that I think you’re amazing. I am also so glad that you started Cute Magic as a business. I used some of your designs to attach me my Christmas cards and they were a big hit!
I hope that 2019 feels like a more productive year to you! I look forward to your children’s book but it is okay to take your time. Greatness often takes time =)
I never make myself goals for the new year. LOL I will never do it or even remember…. XD
Alice is so stinking adorable!!! I bet she is a handful though, hehe.
Sorry to hear about the friend. ♥
With my one tattoo I always thought I would regret it. I really don’t feel much towards it. It might be because it is in a spot that is hardly ever seen by anyone or even myself (only when in shower haha). I can understand waiting until you really know what you want.
Keep truckin along. I will do my best as well. ♥
I’m sorry to hear about your family friend. It can really be heartbreaking to hear that someone close to you is dealing with a sickness with no known cure.
Other than that though, it sounds like 2018 was for the most part a positive year for you. Even though you were not able to finish your children’s book, I still think you’ve achieved quite a lot! I really think launching Cute Magic as a business is one of your biggest highlights for 2018, and you should be proud of that <3
I originally didn't set goals for 2019 specifically, since I'm doing longer-term goals (with a 2021 deadline!). But going through the motions of this year has made me realize that 2019's theme would be self-love and living mindfully. So, that's what I will work on for this year, and I think I'll be talking a lot about it on my blog as well 🙂
I’m so sorry to hear about your family friend, I am thinking of you.
These are some great goals for this year! I’m sure you’ll nail it 🙂