2018 Recap | 2019 Hopes

December 15, 2018 in - 3 min read

Can we all just agree that this year went by really fast but then it dragged at the same time?

For all of us, every year has its ups and down and some years have more ups than downs and some have more downs than ups. This year has been the most consistent year of my life – there was a perfect balance of ups and downs and the downs were my very unnecessary depression episodes. The greatest β€˜up’ of the year is me finding out 24 hours ago that I have completed my degree. The year is over now and in this last post of the year I will be reflecting on what happened, my feelings towards the year, any lessons learnt and my hopes for the year ahead.

What happened in 2018

Undoubtedly, this year has been a year of adventures. Honestly, I would say loneliness is what pushed me to start doing things I had planned to do aeons ago but I will get to that in a bit. I explored almost all the spots in my city and out of it, I literally had something to look forward to every single week and not only was I exploring physically, I explored mentally too by spending more time researching/learning something from the internet than being on social media.

For the first time in 8 years, I was single for longer than 1 month and strangely enough it wasn’t necessarily because I didn’t want to be in a relationship but because this year I was overwhelmed with so many things that needed my time and attention. School stressed me before it even started, I had to keep my blog alive and popping, I wrote for 4 companies (3 international and 1 local) to improve my CV and gain experience, I was in and out of doctors’ rooms and even got diagnosed with anxiety and sinus. Too much was going on which resulted in my loneliness and isolation – I literally had no time for anything else.

School has been the sole reason behind my depression and anxiety and I am beyond thankful to my mother for calming me down every single time. In all my academic years, this one was truly the toughest of them all and it’s purely because I was really hoping to get that degree so I can focus on doing what I want to do and after all that stressing and oversleeping and mental breakdowns, I got my degree!

Hopes for year 2019

I already sense that the year ahead will be a good one purely because I am not a student anymore and creatives will understand because they know how hard it is to stay in school. I don’t have new year’s resolutions per se, I just hope that some things happen. I hope that I will stop doubting myself because I actually know what I am capable of and I hope luck follows me every single day.

I want to travel and see more of the world through my own eyes, I want to capture every authentic moment and all the beautiful scenery. By β€˜capture’ I mean writing, filming and taking pictures. My main focus will be living in the now and exploring as many places as I can and as much as I can. Also, I am hoping to do more research online and really expand my horizons in every way possible.

Not taking care of my mind and body will not make any of this possible so I need to nurture myself and this year really showed me the importance of this. There are also a number of rituals and routines that I am hoping to practise which include meditating and unplugging. That’s all – travelling, capturing and taking care of myself are my only β€˜goals’ for 2019 and I have kept it that simple because there is no need for me to put myself under pressure by trying to achieve multiple β€˜real’ goals, I just want to take it easy.

That’s it for now and that’s it for this year. Thank you for reading this post, visiting my blog, subscribing to my blog, recommending my blog to someone else and reaching out to me, your loyalty and love makes a huge impact in my life. Happy holidays and love and light to all.

22 Comments

  • dominiqueescapearoundtheworldcom January 9, 2019 at

    Congratulations on completing your degree! I hope you have a wonderful new year πŸ™‚

    • Mbalenhle January 15, 2019 at

      Thank you so much sisπŸ’ƒ! Have yourself a good year tooπŸ’—

  • seaofwordsx January 3, 2019 at

    Such a beautiful written post! ❀️ I’m proud of you for getting your degree. Congratulations πŸŽ‰ I also suffer from anxiety. I’m here for you. I hope this new year you will travel and do all the things you want to do ❀️ Lots of love x

    • Mbalenhle January 15, 2019 at

      Thank you so so much πŸ€—! And thanks for all your warm wishes, I hope you have yourself a beautiful yearπŸ’•

  • chasingsakina January 3, 2019 at

    I’m so glad that I stumbled across your blog because it’s people like you that inspire me to keep writing despite mental health challenges. Thank you for being real and honest about the ups and the downs! Wishing you all the best with your goals and keep budding beautiful soul ✨

    • Mbalenhle January 15, 2019 at

      I’m so happy to hear thatπŸ€—. We really shouldn’t let our mental health challenges control us, let’s focus on all the good and show gratitude for all that we haveπŸ’–. Have yourself a beautiful beautiful year, wishing you all the bestπŸƒ

  • Amelia in Hull December 27, 2018 at

    2018 did fly by but also drag! Congrats on getting your degree. I hope 2019 is amazing for you xx

    • Mbalenhle January 15, 2019 at

      Thank you so much Amelia🀭! I hope you have yourself a beautiful yearπŸ’—

  • astoldbyali December 18, 2018 at

    Happy Holidays! Congratulations on getting your degree. Wishing you the best in 2019 xoxo

    • Mbalenhle January 15, 2019 at

      Thank you so much Ali, I’m still finding hard to believe ☺!
      Wishing you all the best too in 2019πŸƒ

  • diaryofatwentyyearold December 17, 2018 at

    Happy holidays too!
    Waiting on more from you, even in 2019!! ✨

    • Mbalenhle January 15, 2019 at

      Thank you so much, I won’t disappoint πŸ€—πŸ’–

  • Jess T. December 15, 2018 at

    I agree that 2018 wasn’t the best year. I’m looking forward to starting anew come January 1st!

    • Mbalenhle January 15, 2019 at

      Wishing you all the best JessπŸ™‚πŸ’•

  • TheAyeshaSite December 15, 2018 at

    Happy Holiday Mbalenhle. This was an amazing post. You were nominated by me.

  • Liz December 15, 2018 at

    Have a good 2019.

    • Mbalenhle January 15, 2019 at

      Thanks Liz, have yourself a good one tooπŸ’–

      • Liz January 15, 2019 at

        Thank you.

  • Tracy Muso πŸ’• December 15, 2018 at

    Am hopefully 2019 will be better than this year…

    • Mbalenhle January 15, 2019 at

      Sis, I’m so hoping so tooπŸ€—

    Leave a reply

    About Me

    About Me

    Hi and welcome! My name is Mbalenhle K but everyone calls me Mbali for short (say: mm-bah-lee). I am a freelance copywriter who loves all things art, experiences and aesthetics (big time Pinterest gworl 🧚🏽)! I am the founder of Budding Regardless where I talk about mindfulness, self-development and self-nurturing for creatives. Read More

    Mbalenhle K.

    Subscribe & Follow

    Subscribe to blog via email

    Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 2,111 other subscribers

    Popular topics

    Latest Posts