Hello 2018, Goodbye 2017!

Hola Lexicans! So.. today is the 31st December aka New Years Eve aka THE LAST DAY OF 2017 yES oml I know, this year has gone so incredibly quickly!! So I thought today I would share with you my New Year's Resolutions, recap my year and share what I'm excited for in 2018! (This is going to be so long, so I do apologise - I've split it into chunks though, so if you're only interested in my Recap, for example, you can find that section). BUT FIRST.. Abby, this is amazing + lovely human from Ups + Downs (which you can check out here!), has spent ages producing this gorgeous blogger yearbook, featuring lots of lovely bloggers (including myself!) and I just had to share it with you, as I love it and Abby did an amazing job. Only problem, is I'm not the most technogically advanced my grandma could probably do more than me so I didn't manage to work out how to drop the magazine in the post, so instead go check it out at the link here: https://www.yumpu.com/s/PgiBQFCswNz9MaV2!! (EDIT: just realised that I don't actually think there is a way to insert it in this post.. so that was a waste of time ahahah!!) Anyway it's really cool and let's get into the post:

New Year's Resolutions
New Year's Resolutions (NYRs) become a more controversial and talked about topic every year, and more and more people decide they give them up within about two weeks and so they won't bother making them every year. I do agree, NYRs are often given up or forgotten about once the initial motivation leaves after just a couple of weeks of January, but this year I'm setting myself goals that I genuinely really want to achieve, and that realistically I think I can. Also, a key with NYRs is being able to show progress - if you can see that you're improving, particularly with stats, it keeps you feeling motivated.

Grow my blog's Instagram more. I'd like to focus on growing my blog more as a whole but something specific I'd like to work on is my blog's Instagram. I got an account for my blog over a year ago, but I never really spent much time on it, rather I would just post a photo, DM some of my blogger friends and go through my timeline every so often, but that was it. Over the last couple of weeks, I've just sat down for even just 10 minutes and gone through my Instagram, being active and following new people, and I've already seen my follower count increase (even if it is still only around 350). I believe if I really work hard, by the end of 2018 I could potentially have 1k followers. (P.S. if you don't follow me on Instagram check me out at @whatlexielovesblog!)

Running. I'd like to get healthier and fitter more in general, but a specific aspect of this is running. I'm currently working towards my DofE Bronze (if you don't know what that is, it's a youth awards programme, in which you learn a skill, do volunteering and do a physical activity for 3-6 months and then go on an expedition) and for my physical, I'm doing running. Because of this I kind of have to run anyway, but I want to do it for myself, not just because I have to. I'd love to be able to feel confident in my running by the end of the year.

Interrupt people less. Sounds like a weird one, but it's very basic - I interrupt people quite a bit when they're speaking and I want to stop!

Count the books I read. This has been a NYR of mine for the last two years, and I always forget or lose the notebook I'm writing in, but I'd love to very simply list every book I've read in the year, so when I get to the end I have a list of every book I read that year.

Do NaNoWriMo again, and Camp NaNo

Write blog posts more often

Continue doing our charity successfully. My sister and I have a charity and it's going very well at the moment - we've helped a lot of children which we're obviously really happy about. (To read more about our charity, you can visit our website here.)

Finally start my YouTube channel and keep it going! I've wanted to start a YouTube channel (and not give up) for ages now, and I used to have one but gave it up quite quickly. I think I'd love it, I just need to actually do it!

2017 Recap:

Blog Life:

So personally 2017 has not been my year for this blog. I feel like I haven't posted regularly at all, and whilst I haven't had Blogger's Block as such (I've had lots of blog post ideas), I haven't actually felt that motivated to write the posts (which is definitely the hard part!). However, I've still written just under 50 posts this year (bear in mind some months I only wrote two posts!) so it's not bad, I just know I could do a lot more. On the positive side, I had lots of cool opportunities with my blog this year - I wrote 3 sponsored posts and received lots of lovely books from lovely publishers. I also did #7DaysOfWLL, where I wrote a post everyday for a week. I really liked my Who Am I? blog post (which you can read here) and my 100 More Things That Make Me Happy (click here to read).

Writing Life

I DID IT. I wrote 24k of a novel in a month, so fiiinnnallllly I've brought (a large chunk of) my ideas to life, rather than just thinking of the book idea and then forgetting about it. That's pretty much it with my writing life, but I'm still happy with it.

Personal Life

Not that blogging + writing aren't part of my Life Life (tbh I don't really think I do have a life out of those two things*

*ahahahha... ahah.. hehe.... nah I'm joking aha don't worry.... *shh*

So one of the best things this year was my holiday with my family. We went on a roadtrip in California and Nevada (we went to LA, Newport Beach, Palm Springs and Las Vegas) and I had a great time. We went to the USA in 2012, but it was the East Coast and I was a lot younger so it was a totally different experience! Two of my favourite memories from the whole year where on this trip, the first being when we first entered our apartment in Palm Springs and being so happy at how lovely it looked, and then a meal in Las Vegas where we met our grandparents and aunt (they also went at the same time us to Vegas!) overlooking The Strip; it was such a lovely meal. I'd love to go back at some point as well.

Friendship wise, I think it was a hard year - I lost a few friends, but I gained lots as well. I have no 'enemies' or hard feelings with anyone, and I'm definitely ending the year happy in that sense.

Other notable (couldn't think of another word for it!!) things this year were: my holiday to France, the Summertime Ball, my school's dance show, going to Blackpool to watch my brother dance in the Nationals, becoming obsessed with Brooklyn Nine-Nine, holding a really fun birthday party and going to the Shard. I've had a lovely year personally wise, although it's had its challenges.

Outside Of My Personal Life

To be honest, outside of my personal life, I don't think it's been particularly good for our world. It started off with Donald Trump becoming president. I don't know what you think of him, but to put it very simply in my opinion, he is awful. I don't understand politics too well, but I know enough to know that he truly is a dreadful, rubbish President. Then there was Brexit, and as I said, I don't know that much about politics, I can't tell what's going on, but from what I've heard from adults and people around me is that it's not going very well.

There was the Grenfell Tower disaster, which was truly a tragedy, as well as multiple awful terrorist attacks. Whenever these come up in the news (which is way too frequently), I feel such a sinking in my heart. I understand Grenfell was an accident, but the terrorist attacks aren't and they make me feel so so upset and I just end up with no faith in humanity. After a bit that restores, but then it happens again:(

Reading Life

Most of the year, I read a normal amount, reading every single day but now towards the end of the year, I haven't really read that much. yes. I know. And it makes me so sad but I'm definitely going to stop that, and head into 2018 with a willing to read!

This is just going to be a short chunk (don't worry!) but there are many things I'm excited (or nervous) for in 2018. A big one that I'm slightly nervous, although also excited for at the same time, is choosing my GCSE options. If you're from a different country, you may not know about our GCSE system, which is effectively an exam all people take when they are 15-16 which are quite important, but in Year 9 we choose which subjects to drop and which to carry on with. Something I'm super excited for is our next holiday which we booked a couple months ago (we plan ahead!), and we're going to Barbados, so I'm very excited for that! Book-wise, there are two books I can't wait to launch which are Sara Barnard's Goodbye, Perfect (I was actually lucky enough to receive an ARC of this, so I've already read it, but I'm excited for the release still!) and Cait/C.G. Drews' debut book A Thousand Perfect Notes oh mY LIFE I'M SO EXCITED TO BUY THIS asdfghjkl!!!

So those are the main things I can think of looking ahead to 2018. I think I say this most years, but I genuinely believe and feel, like 2018 is going to be my year and I'm going to SMASH IT!! Happy New Year, comment some of your goals for the year ahead, and I hope you have an amazing New Year and whole 2018:)

Xxx