So, my plan was to put together a sort of series of new year posts, but since it's nearly the end of January already (where did the time go?) that's possibly not going to happen but I'll try my best to get as many done as I can, even if they'll be a little outdated now!
Before I start this post, I have some exciting but scary news: I've now left my day job. Although it was only part time, working there alongside doing my degree (where I'm usually in Uni a good 28 hours a week) was completely draining me, both mentally and physically. I haven't photographed any conceptual pieces since September, and haven't even taken any portraits since November. Also, my blog posts have obviously become very sporadic. Creating art has always been an escape of mine, and has always managed to calm my nerves and lessen my anxiety. Obviously because of all this, my mental state has been shocking for the past few months and my anxiety is through the roof. Although it's going to be a bit scary in terms of money, I knew that quitting my job was the right thing to do to ensure I have time to take photos, blog, and even just to ensure I actually get a day off at least once a week.
So anyway, hopefully I'll now be a lot more active on here again!
This post is mostly just to record my plans and aims for the year - I don't tend to make resolutions as, to be honest, I just never stick to them, so I'm going to write down a few goals that I'd like to at least try to achieve over 2016.
1. Travel
Travelling is always something on my wishlist, and I know for sure that it'll happen at least a bit this year! In April I'm heading to Iceland for just under 2 weeks, and have recently booked a short trip to Prague for September. These are two of my must visit places, so I'm so excited that I get to explore them both this year! I was also hoping to try and get out to Berlin or Amsterdam at some point in the year, but we'll see how that goes!
2. Shoot more film
The other day I dusted off my old 35mm Pentax P50, and remembered how much I used to love using it whilst doing my photography degree. This week I'm going out and buying a tonne of film, in preparation to carry it around with me on every trip out and all my travelling adventures.
3. Start (and hopefully finish) my dissertation
This September I'm going into my third year at Uni (again - where on earth has the time gone?) and so, of course, will be handing in my 8000 word dissertation in April 2017. Since I've already got my question planned and started to buy books, I'm definitely planning on getting ahead of the game.
4. Read at least 50 new books
Of course, a new year means a new challenge on Goodreads! My 2015 challenge was initially 40 books - I ended up reading 52, so this year I'm starting with a goal of 50 and hoping to get to 60 or over.
5. Find a house
This is the slightly scarier one for the year! Jordan and I are due to move out of where we're currently living over summer, so need to start looking for somewhere to actually move to. Since neither of us currently have permanent jobs, this is going to be a challenge, but hopefully we're going to find a way and end up in our perfect first house!
That's about it for now! Since most of these are necessities, hopefully I'll actually find the determination to stick to them this year ;)
I'm planning to hopefully get a (very late) what I got for Christmas post up, as well as a post with some gems I picked up in the January sales. Watch this space!
