Hey guys!
I hope you had a fun Christmas and are gearing up for a fun New Years Eve whether you’re planning on spending it out with friends or staying in and relaxing with a bottle of wine.
Instead of doing an annoyingly long Instagram story, I thought I’d do a blog post instead!
2019 was an interesting year for me.
Love Life
After splitting up with my ex in 2018, I took 2019 as a year to focus on me and my happiness . I can honestly say it did me the world of good. I spent more time with friends and made some incredible memories with both new and old friends! I’ve really learned not to put too much focus on finding ‘the one’ and instead, learned to slow down have fun and remember that I’m not even 23 yet and have the rest of my life to find someone and settle down.
Pride
Ever since I came out I had the mindset that I didn’t have any interest in taking part in the Dublin Pride Parade but in 2019 the opportunity to ride on a float in the parade was presented to me and I decided to take it. I will honestly never forget being at the top of a float going through the streets of Dublin with some great people that I worked with at the time
Spice Girls
I couldn’t write a post about 2019 without mentioning being in the crowd for the opening night of the biggest girl bands in the worlds comeback tour!
Getting drunk with friends and singing my heart out to Spice Up Your Life, Holler and Viva Forever is a memory I’ll cherish forever.
Manchester Pride
Getting to go to one of the biggest pride celebrations in the world with two people I now regard as close friends was an unforgettable experience.
It was my first proper holiday that I’d paid for and actually made an effort to save for and as a result, I was able to properly enjoy myself. I’ll never forget dancing at the top of the room in the upstairs of Thompsons doing the macarena with Charlotte and some random guy haha! (I’ll also never forget the sweaty diamante walls in the back room of New York New York either…)
The icing on the Manchester Pride cake was being in the crowd for not only Cheryl and Tulisa but the incredible Ariana Grande and the emotion when she sang one last time that spread in the crows is one that I’ll never forget. I fell in love with the city and its people so much I’ve booked flights to spend my birthday over there with some of my nearest and dearest friends. I’m honestly so excited to make even more memories in a city that I will hopefully one day call home.
Fitness
Something I’ve struggled with for awhile is my fitness and improving my overall health. This summer I started personal training sessions with a local trainer and loved how I felt afterwards. I had to stop the sessions due to other circumstances but my goal for 2020 is to get back into that flow of exercising and actually taking care of my body.
Work
2019 was the year I got my dream job and realised what I wanted. A few months into the job I realised that although it was what I wanted to do career wise, the job and company just wasn’t right for me.It took me awhile to realise but I didn’t need to rush so many things and that I can take a break from chasing my career goal.
I’m currently back in retail after saying I’d never go back but after taking this break, I feel rested and less hectic trying constantly to do something that I probably wasn’t ready for.
Shifted My Focus
This year I decided to be more selfish and put myself first. I’ve spent too long putting others needs/wants first and just began to turn into a wallflower and just go with the flow even if it wasn’t what I necessarily wanted to do. Now if something doesn’t feel right, I’ll speak up and say it rather than just go with it for fear of hurting/offending someone.
I also decided to go public about my abusive ex and my experience. I did it purely to get it off my chest and wipe away any shame that once sat on my shoulders about it all. I was nervous to put it onlineand then even more nervous when a journalist friend of mine approached me and asked if she could write a story on it to which I said yes straight away. My goal with the story was to be able to help at leastone other person that may be going through the same thing as I did. After the story went live I was blown away by the response from people that I didn’t know (the internet can be an absolute breeding ground for trolls and negativity) and felt loved and happy by the reaction from people I did know (even those who thought I was doing a story on my hair haha!)
Blogging
Probably the topic I should’ve started with haha!
This year I put more effort (and money) into my blog by buying my domain and taking my time with blog posts rather than just throwing them together at the last minute. Although I didn’t get as many posts done as I had planned/wanted to, I feel like the quality of my writing has improved. I also put more effort into my Instagram by getting professional photos taken by someone I’d now regard as a good friend and had alot of fun (and prosecco) doing so!
This was also the year I began getting recognised by some of the biggest brands both nationally and internationally with my favorite skincare company Kennedy & Co sending me some of my favorite products and Haribo, one of the worlds biggest confectionary company’s sending me three press drops which is something I’m still in shock over haha!
2019 had its definite ups and unexpected downs but overall I’m proud to say I’m happy for how its gone and how I’ve grown more as a person.
Happy 2020 guys!
Til next time,
Conor xo