Looking Back Through 2023

2023 was one the best, rewarding and fun years yet. However, it was also mentally draining and the toughest year yet. I had the most adventures this year, experiencing so many new things which made the hardest parts a bit more worth it. I’m so thankful to everyone who supported me through this year even after my 100th breakdown.

I spent some time thinking about how I was going to lay this blog out, but I’ve decided to write about each month individually.

January

In January I was living my life with no worries, having nights out with friends and laughing the night away. The 2nd semester of my 2nd year at university started and it was the usual confusion (not understanding things), laughing with my university friends and stressing about exams and assignments but it was all manageable and I didn’t get too overwhelmed. This year I have also struggled with my body confidence, but I can say this month I was genuinely happy with my body.

January is the month I got more involved in extracurricular activities at university. My boyfriend Evan and I joined the radio society. This is where we set up our radio show Hip Hop Haven which has been great fun playing and reviewing mainstream and underground hip-hop.

February

In February life was going as normal doing university assignments and going out with friends. This month I had a lovely time celebrating my 5th Valentine with Evan. I cherish nights like this way more, just the two of us and we can forget about any worries or stress we have and just be in the present moment.

We had a hotel stay, dinner and played some bowling before watching a film back at the hotel. This was the month that we had our first concert of the year, Carly Rae Jepsen, this was an amazing concert. After waiting in the queue in the pouring rain me and Evan danced all night to her amazing songs.

March

In March I realised this month looking back at photos I was more playful with my style like trying different hairstyles which I want to get back into. I went to more concerts like Panic! At The Disco and Cian Ducrot which were both amazing and I even got to see Sadie Jean who was opening for Cian Ducrot. I was getting frustrated with one of the university classes, but it wasn’t stressing me out it was funnier than anything because the lecturer kept changing the requirements for the assignments.

For example, we had a 500-word essay to do and a couple of days before the due date the lecturer decided to double the word count. Everyone in the class, including me emailed the head of the class about how this shouldn’t be happening and within 5 minutes we got another email that the word count was back to 500. This was my last month of having my weekends free and being able to spend that time with my boyfriend. We would wake up early and head to a bakery called Lily Bakes Cakes, they make amazing baked goods, and I loved this time on a Saturday morning, it was wholesome and took the stress of university off my shoulders.

April

In April I took a big step to overcome one of my fears which is public speaking. Through doing radio we hosted a quiz night to raise money for our society. I volunteered to host one of the rounds myself which is a big deal for me. So, the night came, and I was super nervous, but I got through it with all the support I needed, it was a great night.

We also had the media ball with radio where me and Evan won an award for our show Hip Hop Haven. I went to see Kinky Boots with my mum which is an amazing show, I love live theatre so much and this was a great first show of the year. This was the last month of my 2nd year of university, and I sat my human resources exam. I was able to study and walk in and out confidently knowing I tried my best.

May

In May it was time to start living life again with no deadlines and essays to write. Me and Evan drove to Edinburgh and spent a lovely day looking around the shops. Then we headed to see the one and only Beyonce who put on an amazing show, she put on such an electric performance.

The concerts didn’t stop there we also went to Alvvays and Caroline Polachek. It just felt so good to relax after the 2nd year of university was finished.

June

In June I celebrated Evan’s 20th birthday with him. We went to a restaurant in Glasgow called ‘O Solo Mio’, a lovely Italian place. The food is always delicious. This year I had a lot of concerts lined up, this month was Wu-tang Clan and Nas. Again, this was an incredible concert celebrating the anniversary of both of their albums. This month me and my boyfriend travelled to Milan together for a 2-week stay.

We went to many different art galleries with breathtaking masterpieces. We took the chance to explore more of Italy, going to Florence, Lake Garda, and Venice. At first, I didn’t enjoy Venice that much because it was crowded with narrow streets, but I eventually got used to it. There was this ice-cream shop called Suso that always had a massive queue, so I had to go. I ended up going twice. Overall, Italy was a great trip with lovely weather and only about 2 storms.

July

In July me and Evan got dressed up. Evan in a suit and me in all pink heading to the cinema to see Barbie and Oppenheimer. This was a fun day out to see two amazing films, my favourite was Barbie because of how nostalgic it is. Also, this month I remember sitting in my boyfriend’s room waiting anxiously in the queue to get tickets for Taylor Swift. I am so excited that I was able to get 2 standing tickets and I can’t wait to go this year.

This was also my first year of going to see the annual movies in the park, it was quite refreshing being outside watching a film and I’ll definitely go back next year. We also went on many more drives around Scotland, there were the most beautiful scenic routes. One of my favourite journeys was going to the Birks of Aberfeldy because while driving there I was in between 2 massive hills covered in purple flowers with a beautiful blue sky above.

August

In August I went on a trip with my boyfriend’s family to Fife. The house we stayed in was lovely and it had a hot tub where we could go and look up at the stars at night. We even took more trips when we got back, like hiking up Tinto Hill which took an hour and a half and when you reached the top there was a huge pile of rocks and sheep all around. I’m for sure going to do it again in 2024.

During this summer, because I spent so much time outside, I decided to take up running so I started running to work, this really helped me mentally and I loved every second.

September

In September me and Evan celebrated our 5th anniversary. He is the love of my life, and I can’t wait to spend many more years with him. This month my 3rd year of university started but before,  me and Evan took one last road trip to Glen Etive. It was beautiful to be with nature with the wind and lovely river flowing by the path.

When university first started back it wasn't bad because I was just getting back into the swing of things. I was hearing about my assignments and exams which didn't scare me yet because I was just getting brief descriptions with no deadlines. I was catching up with my friends and having jokes about how we weren't ready to come back but life was still good.

October

In October I celebrated my 20th birthday with my family but first I had to go to work because I forgot to book it off. I had already had a lovely night before because I went out for my birthday dinner at ‘Sussi’ with my boyfriend and we stayed in a hotel.

That was the kind of night I needed before university started to get more stressful. It was just at this point I realised how hard it was going to be. I had about 3 things due in about 2 weeks which may not seem a lot but some of these assignments were worth most of my grade. I had breakdown after breakdown but in the end, I got everything submitted on time. By the end of the month, I was so excited to have a Halloween party to relax and have fun after a stressful month.

November

In November my boyfriend came up with a good idea to go on a trip after we both had stressful months. We drove to the Whangie, we sang in the car and laughed the whole way there. We started to hike up the hill and after an hour and a half the fog started to thicken and the sun was going down, so we decided to turn back and just as we did the rain started. Most people wouldn't like being soaked head to toe and having to drive for an hour back home, but I loved it. It was just good to be travelling again and being back in nature was relaxing.

This month was also full of concerts I had five concerts in one week. Me and Evan went to see Jockstrap, Weyes Blood, Little Simz and Jessie Ware twice. This was a week filled with fun and dancing and I loved every second of every concert. Even though this was a fun month it was even more stressful than last month with six assignments all due in the same week. I completely lost myself. I stopped working out and doing what I actually wanted to do. I was doing university work from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm sometimes 10. It was horrible. I just kept reminding myself that I am strong and that if I could make it through these times then it would only make me stronger.

December

In December I was happy for university to nearly be over. I had one exam to overcome before I could relax, the time came and I felt prepared, so I was so happy to walk over the exam and be finally finished. Me and Evan celebrated, me being finished university for the semester and Evan, who is an amazing writer finished the final draft of his book. I'm so proud of him and I can't wait to be with him every step of the way while he gets his book published. After submitting his last assignment, we were able to go back to trips and do things we love. We went to Erskine to have brunch with our friend, we went to Edinburgh and went to the Christmas markets in Glasgow.

After all the ups and downs of this year, I was able to grow and become a better version of myself. I realised a lot of my flaws this year and grew into a person that I didn't want to be. So, 2024 is going to be my year of self-improvement and self-love. This is going to be an amazing year for travelling as well, me and Evan are planning to go to Majorca and Italy and do the North Coast 500 and the West Highland Way.