A very happy new year to you all. It seems like yesterday I was typing away, wishing everyone the best successes of 2017. 2016 had been a busy year personally and a ghastly year politically. I dreamt, though doubted, that things could get better. Thankfully, progressive, rational, sustainable politics is, though slowly, gradually re-entering the political sphere. Mrs May lost her majority in the June election. Donald Trump has been forced back on some ludicrous legislation. Marine Le Pen, an open racist, was triumphantly defeated by Emmanuel Macron in France (though he is yet to prove his potential). Roy Moore, probably the worst candidate for any election of any sort in the world, lost in Alabama, one of the most staunchly Republican states in America.
These are all reasons to be happy. We should be allowed to celebrate. Though the divide between 'somewheres' and 'anywheres' remains, though populism is rife in every corner of the world, a sense of order has broken in. It must stay. While these small victories can be cherished, challenges to the world order are going nowhere. Brexit remains the issue of British politics, the costs of it both damaging for the economy, society and sucking away attention from other areas of needed government intervention. Donald Trump is still the President of the USA. Though we have survived a whole year without a nuclear war, conflict between the US and North Korea seems inevitable. Bunkers will soon race to the top of Amazon orders. On a slightly lighter note, long term readers (thanks for staying!) may remember I wrote '17 New Year's Resolutions for 2017' exactly a year ago on this very blog. I'll admit, I didn't look over the resolutions again once I had published the blog, so my chance of succeeding in even half of the resolutions look to be unlikely. Nevertheless, I thought it would be interesting to see how many resolutions I completely subconsciously, unaware I was fulfilling a list I made in the dawns of 2017. 1) Get the best GCSE results I possibly can; revising as hard as possible - I was over the moon with my GCSE results. They allowed me to get into my first choice of sixth form college and made me very happy. I began revising in the February and regularly tried to achieve 5 hours a day. The process was exhausting and occasionally stressful, but totally worth it. Right, 1 out of 1! 2) Continue my blog to the highest of standards; trying to write at least one post each week - Well, I'm still typing this blog a year later, so, if nothing else, I've still continued my blog. While it is, of course, impossible to please everyone (unless you're J.K. Rowling), I've enjoyed writing every blog over the last 12 months. While my quality may vary, it has been curious to write about more issues outside politics that I may not have explored, had there not been a weekly blog post that needed completing. A blog a week has worked well, especially while undertaking my A-levels. 3) Become a vegetarian from January 1st, maintaining this for as long as possible - This is still the case and I have no plans to change. I'll admit, initially my no-meat policy was to include fish. However, three days I into the resolution and I purchased tuna with a jacket potato. Whoops! Swiftly, my vegetarianism evolved into pescetarianism, the norm for many. Honestly, I don't miss meat. I can live without it. While I'll never be an animal rights activist (mainly because I support animal testing in some cases), I never intend to eat meat for as long as I can last. 4) Develop further the range of teas I taste; attempting at least one new type per month - This is where my resolutions begin to tumble. I know, me, a tea lover. How could I not try every single tea that's ever existed? I'm a fake fan, just like people in fandoms who don't know every single piece of trivia for the fandom they support. To be honest, I just like the tea I drink. English breakfast tea and Earl Grey tea suit me just fine. I've tried some flavoured teas and, while they aren't awful, they're just not my...errr....cup of tea. 5) Read books for pleasure; expanding the types of genres I tackle - Absolutely! After my GCSE exams concluded, I made a list of every book I had read since. This gradually expanded into a 'goodreads' account, which has been a personal library to me. There are over 600 books on my 'to be read' list. I'm sure this will only grow as the year goes by. I wish to read classics books as well as less well known authors. Hopefully, this blog will contain more book reviews come 2018. 6) Watch more period dramas; for example Downtown Abbey - Sadly, I am yet to enter the Abbey phrase. Darn it, I knew there was one Christmas present I had forgotten to ask for (!) Interestingly enough, I am watching and listening to some countryside dramas. My interest for 'The Archers' on Radio 4 has spiked, so when doing any form of monotonous work, the themetune and setting of Ambridge will greet my ears. The BBC's Christmas box set splurge on iPlayer has meant I am working through 'Wolf Hall.' Set during the reign of Henry VIII, it masterfully covers the rise of Thomas Cromwell. It's confusing, granted, but a worthy watch. 7) Develop my cooking skills; buying and using more cookery books to help - Oh dear, another failure. In this resolution, I've half failed. I have cooking books. On my bookshelf, I count 4 chunky books, full of recipes that would occupy my taste buds for many years. And that's just in my bedroom. The only issue is...they haven't left my bookshelves. While my eyes probably wondered over them every day as I rose to turn on my computer, only the spines have had the pleasure of being greeted. The pages remain close, recipes trapped together instead of opened up to be tried. This resolution, like the Lottery, will rollover. 8) Maintain my journal at this important chapter of my life; writing at least 1 entry per week - I still have a journal and still write in it, but it would be fair to say my posts have been far less regular. During exam season, the prime time for documenting my stressful though, I abandoned it for two months. It's entertaining to look back on, especially during holiday. Nearly all entries begin 'Yet another busy week....' 9) Continue YouTube videos on an occasionally basis (1 per month) - Sorry about this. YouTube has certainly not been a priority. While I plan to leave all my videos up as archive footage, I have no plans to upload a video on 'Tea Talks' anytime soon, especially when what I say can be written down. Amusing to look back on, yes, but not something I plan to pursue in the near future. 10) Expand my use of the English language; learning a wider range of words and relevant synonyms - I have partially done this by noticing how often I hear certain words in conversation. The adjective 'good' has left my vocabulary, as I always try to think of more expressive ways to convey something positive. My thesaurus can come in useful, as well as Google, but this will definitely need to be something I expand in 2018, especially as I take essay based subjects. 11) Go on more social outings with friends - whether that be to the cinema or restaurants - I could definitely do this more. Mostly, when meeting my friends, it's at their houses. Though, with the uncontrollable advances in technology, it's so easy to just talk online and catch-up on life. As for restaurants, I am definitely trying to eat in a healthier manner for January at least. No more cakes, biscuits or chocolate. 12) Continue to develop political views and opinions -This has not stopped. I feel very pleased not to have aligned myself to one particular party. It becomes so much easier to call policies as I see them. In a politics lesson, I proudly voted for 'none of the above' in a secret party political ballot. It's the truth. No one party has all the policies to help Britain. When it comes to voting in the future, I intend, unlike normal people, to read every major parties' manifesto: cover to cover. 13) Learn one practical life skill every month; such as laundry - Erm....not so much. I feel like the knowledge of practical skills will be essential when I go to university, as I live alone and fend for myself for the very first time. The time to learn the skills, to ensure they are perfected by September 2019, is now. So, once again, a resolution rollover. What a great catchphrase. 14) Sleep for longer; going to bed by at least 10:30pm every school night - I am improving at turning off my computer earlier and coming off technology. I'm only 16, but already, screens late at night hurt my eyes. I don't necessarily get to sleep at 10:30pm because of how much reading I do. Therefore, my screen must be turned off even earlier! 15) Eat food no later than 8pm every evening - This seems to have been achieved. Normally, it will be teas I have late at night, as I read my latest political thriller. Dinner is usually around 5:30pm to 6pm, so, apart from the obvious exceptions like Christmas, eating food late at night certainly doesn't feel like the norm. Long may it continue. 16) Attempt to buy more items from charity shops and donate more to charity in general - I'm proud to say I bought all my Christmas cards and some of my Christmas presents from a charity shop. Thy are truly great organisations, both for the people they help and the unexpected, reduced finds lurking in the most surprising of places. Whenever I go into town, I will always browse charity shops, especially the book section. As for donations, books that served their purpose can nearly always find themselves in a plastic bag. Destination: charity shop. 17)And, most important of all, be friendly and civil towards all people I meet and stay as happy as possible - I hope to have done this. Obviously, I cannot judge whether I have been friendly towards others. Only they can do this. But I have always tried to remain kind and, during a passionate political debate, agree to disagree and don't make issues personal. Attending a sixth form with loads of new people has allowed me to socialise, mainly in my classes. It's been pleasing to discuss topics that wouldn't have arose at secondary school. So, not too awfully. I thought I had done far worse than my actual performance, so to see the truth is a relief. I'm not going to compile a list for 2018, but instead focus on reading, people, cooking and altruism. Like 2016 and 2017, 2018 will be a busy year. Yet, looking ahead, it feels even busier than the last two. I have my three A-level subjects, my Extended Project, UCAS, Universities, my future, driving lessons, socialising with others, reading and writing lots, eating healthily and staying (physically and mentally) sane. Everyone is in the same boat of life. It's about helping others to steer in the direction to success as well as myself. I, and I hope you, look forward to it.
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