22 THINGS FOR TWENTY-TWO

FEELING TWENTY-TWO

On Sunday I turned twenty-two. Do I feel twenty-two? Nope. But I'm sure by this time next year when I turn twenty-three, I'll feel this age. It was considerably, one of the most chill birthdays I've had (plus or minus a few tears), but it was a fantastic birthday nonetheless. I spent two days with some of the best people in my life, and I am incredibly grateful for everything they have done and did for me to celebrate this inevitable act of ageing. From the photos in this post you can see some of the birthday presents I received, no doubt they will definitely be making an appearance in the future on this blog! 

I've had this post planned for a while now, but now that I am actually twenty-two, I thought I would write down what I plan to accomplish this year, what some of my goals are, and what I want to do or work on in terms of myself. This is, 22 Things for Twenty-Two.

1. BE MORE ASSERTIVE // I've realised this year that I have a lot of things I want to do, or like to do, and I really want to work on being more assertive when it comes to things like this. I want to work on being less of a pushover just to make other people satisfied.
2. MANAGE MY FINANCES // In my 23rd year of life, it would be very nice to be more financially stable ie. save money, have a good budget.
3. BE HAPPY // This is a given, and something I always strive for in all aspects of my life. After all, why would you not want to be happy? I want to be happy in my relationships, my work, be happy with myself, be happy with others, just being happy all around.
4. WORK ON MY PHYSICAL HEALTH // Especially in my 22nd year of life, I have slacked so much in my physical health, although in my defence, I was more focused on finishing my degree (which I did, yay!). I want to get back into exercising regularly, doing Pilates, and going for runs.
5. BE COMFORTABLE WITH MY RELATIONSHIPS // Friendships, family relationships, and personal ones. Opening up more, and also being there for those that I care about.
6. DEVELOP MORE STYLE // I feel like throughout my year of finishing up my degree, I have definitely slacked on personal style. For a while, I dressed more for comfort than style, but I really want to try to make a conscious effort to enjoy wearing fashion again and finding my personal style.
7. CONTINUE BLOGGING // This blog has been active for over one year now, and in that year I have received so much love, support, and opportunities that I otherwise would not have had this year. I want to keep that momentum alive and continue to grow this blog.
8. EXPLORE // This is so broad and general at the same time, but I just want to try to explore more. I feel like there is always something new to try or see, and it would be so enriching to explore what this world has to offer.
9. MAKE MORE FRIENDS // At the moment I have a wonderful group of friends, but I would love to make more friends this year within and outside of my industry.
10. BE MORE CONFIDENT // This goes back to being more assertive, but I would really like to work being more confident in everything I do and be more confident in the way I carry myself.
11. COOK LUXURIOUS MEALS MORE OFTEN // I love cooking healthy meals, but I definitely  miss cooking with seafood, and butter, and deliciousness!

12. TAKE CRAFTY CLASSES // I think it would be really cool to broaden my skills and take more classes in leatherwork, woodworking, upholstery, even painting.
13. CONTINUE TO CHERISH MY FRIENDSHIPS // At the end of the day, friends are the ones who pick you up when you're down, and I know my friends will always be there for me and I want to always be there for them.
14. STOP BEING BOTHERED BY WHAT OTHER PEOPLE DO // Although I do consider myself to be a pretty chill person, I have been somewhat of a negative bug this year and been bothered by other people much more than I should be. 
15. TAKE CARE OF MY SKIN // I am a facial skincare junkie, but I would really like to exfoliate my entire body more, as well as moisturise more often.
16. WEAR CONTACT LENSES // I have been thinking about making the return to contact lenses for quite some time now, and while I'm not entirely sure if contact lenses will be doable this year, I definitely need to get a new prescription and new glasses.
17. APPRECIATE THE LITTLE THINGS // Sometimes the little things are the ones that mean the most. 
18. DEFEND MY OPINIONS // I've discovered this year that the more people I associate myself with, the more opinions can either blend, or clash. I think it's important for me to learn to defend my opinions more openly, especially when it is something I truly believe in, and I think others could learn from it. 
19. GO TO THE IRISH PUB MORE OFTEN // Something not everyone knows about me is that I love going to dingy little pubs and drinking Guinness. I love the laid back atmosphere of an Irish pub and want to try to go more often this year.
20. LOVE WHAT I DO & DO WHAT I LOVE // Another thing I have always tried to live by. People always say life is so short, and I totally agree, so how I see it is, why waste it doing menial things that I don't like to do? I also think this goes hand in hand with looking on the brighter side of things, and being more optimistic about it. 
21. PLAN FOR FUTURE BUSINESS GOALS // I have so many ideas floating in my head, and I would really like to take this year to start planning on launching a side business.
22. LIVE AN ENRICHING LIFE // There are a few new things on my 22 Things for Twenty-Two list, but most of it are things I am always working towards and trying to improve on. I feel like as a whole for my twenty-third year of life, I just want to live a happy, enriching life, and it's as simple as that. 

Did any of you guys recently have a birthday? If so, happy belated! And if you have a birthday coming up, happy early birthday!

Thanks for reading!

Lots of love,

Nancy