2011

- lost 15 pounds

- fell in love

- traveled to New York, Chicago and San Francisco

- spent a lot of time in Minneapolis

- became a paid writer for Duluth Superior Magazine

- watched my blog grow
- got a new blog layout (thanks, Tam!)

- had my first (and hopefully last!) ever hangover

- took my first trip with a boyfriend
- made some amazing friends

- completed my year abroad- with 8 As and an A-

- started taking on sponsors on my blog

- worked with a lot of new companies on my blog

- moved back home to the UK

- crashed and wrote off my car

- was broken up with by the man I thought I was going to marry

- started my final year of university

- studied incredibly hard

- developed my style

- experimented with makeup, especially lipstick

- started to wear heels more
- attended the IFB London Conference

- met up with blogger BFF Sian

- kept in touch with my American friends (working on this more!)

- went to London twice to do work experience

- helped out on a fashion shoot

- had an article published in the Manchester Evening News
- won the Matalan Style Project

- started working on my dissertations

- saw my ex for the first time after the break up

- was able to be friends with my ex after the break up

- applied to work in the States next summer

- got a First in my first assessment in my final year

- stopped biting my nails

- grew my hair

- dyed my hair from pink to black

- worked hard on my photography

- saw some of my favourite bands live- Taking Back Sunday, Manchester Orchestra, Frank Turner

- learnt how to make an awesome aubergine tagine

- became more active on Twitter

- found lots of new amazing blogs to read

- lost my grandad after a long illness

- had the strength to do a reading at his funeral

- started to think about my future

- kept going

I felt I had to write this list, because 2011 brought good and bad. The first half of the year, when I still lived in the States and had a wonderful boyfriend and group of friends, were some of the best of my life, but things kind of went downhill when I came home in June. It's good to see, and think about all the good things that happened this year, because it's been far too easy lately to concentrate on the bad.

2011 has definitely been a year of character building. Of learning who I am and who I want to be. It hasn't been the best year of my life, but I think it was an important year for my future. In 2012, I will be graduating from university and (hopefully!) getting a job in the real world. I will be writing my dissertations and finishing my degree. It's going to be a big, scary year for me, but I'm ready to start afresh.

Here's to 2012.