No, I did not drink enough water this year. I also didn’t meditate enough, exercise enough or read as many books as I promised myself I would. But for all that, I’d consider 2018 a wildly successful year. “How can you say that,” I hear you cry, “When you so blatantly failed at everything?” Well, let me sum it up for you in my little 2018 roundup.
Going Green…er
For as long as I can remember, I’ve separated my recyclables and despaired at single use plastic packaging. But with every year that passes, I learn a little more, get a little more inspired and become a little greener.
2018 was the year that I became a fully-fledged vegetarian. I also made the move towards zero waste with a lot of my products and set up Eco Oddball, which donates 10% of all profits to conservation projects to help protect the planet. I’m nowhere near perfect, but every step I take to care for the Earth is my own personal mini victory.
Travel
2018 was my most intense year of travel to date! Over the course of the year I took 32 flights and visited 10 countries across 2 continents. From visiting rescued elephants in Thailand to hiking through the rice fields in Vietnam, wading through the crystal clear waters of Greece to hoping on a Sri Lankan safari, I certainly made a lot of incredible memories.
Starting a new life…again
After 10 months of living in Kuwait (and a further 2 months spent flitting around the planet), I moved to Bahrain in August. Leaving home for another far-flung, foreign country wasn’t an easy decision to make, but it was undoubtedly the right choice. I found myself a beautiful apartment to share with my best friend, met some of the most wonderful people I know and have had some of my craziest adventures to date…all without hopping on another plane. I finally feel like I’ve made a home for myself. For now, anyway.
Finding romance
After 5 years of being the most single woman on the planet, I genuinely thought I was destined to become some kind of crazy bag lady who collects porcelain dog statues and names her cacti. Happily, I am finally dating somebody so no need for me to start on that cactus collection any time soon. Miracles do happen.
While there’s no way of knowing what 2019 has in store for me, it’s a great comfort to know that, even when you have no plans and everything is a messy spaghetti bowl of uncertainty, life has a way of surprising you. This time last year I was just as uncertain about the future as I am now (some things never change, I guess) and yet, while I never did become a yoga master or wake up at 5am each day to go for a run, I achieved a lot of unexpected things this year. Now let’s see what 2019 has to offer.
