The next chapter

I wasn't going to write a New Year's/end of the 2010s post. I'd decided that it would be cliché and my words would be trite. And then I decided to write it anyway.

So here it is, my last blog post of not only the year, but the decade. I can't guarantee genuine words of wisdom, but I can certainly guarantee my attempts at it.

My experience of the last decade can be summed up by the below:

I'm happy!
I'm sad!
I'm fine.
I'm happy!
I'm sad!
You know what? I'm growing. I understand life will have its ups and downs but through it all, I know I'm going to be ok.

Or maybe it was like:

Life is FUN
Life is BORING
LIFE IS NOT FUN
Life is VERY AVERAGE
Life is PRETTY GREAT

And repeat.


A decade of monumental moments

The 2010s were standout for all the big, landmark events of my life. I graduated university, I lived in 3 different cities, had a number of jobs (some better than others), I traveled Europe and North America, attended numerous weddings, was a bridesmaid and welcomed 2 nieces and a nephew. There have been some really hard moments too, and it's all of those, the rapturous and the torturous that have shaped me as a person.


A decade of friendships

I have made some dear, dear friends in the 2010s (and then, of course, there are the friends I already knew). Some I've only made within the past few years, some I've lost contact with, some live thousands of miles away and some live a 5 minute walk from me and yet I know I wouldn't be the person I am today without them. I can't name everyone, but if you consider us have ever been friends - even if we haven't seen each other in years - please know that I treasure you and what you have brought to my life.

A decade of learning 

The growth you go through from your early 20s to early 30s is kind of staggering. I know I'm sounding like someone who is 81, not 31, but when people say that your 20s is a journey of self-discovery, it's absolutely true. Who I was in 2010 to who I am in 2019 doesn't look radically different on the outside. I still look pretty similar, and I still like a lot of the same things. My character hasn't fundamentally changed. But my way of looking at the world, at others, and at myself has grown so much. I'm far more confident and more sure of my place in the world. More aware of my shortcomings and of my talents. I've matured. I'm still learning, and I'm aware of how much further I have to go. But I honestly think that one day I'll look back and say definitively this was the decade I learned and grew the most.


A decade of mystery

No, I didn't become an MI6 spy (or did I?), but the decade began with a question mark. I was in a happy little uni bubble, burying my head in the sand as to what would happen when I had to leave and face the real world. The bubble popped, of course, and real adulthood struck with a harsher blow than I expected. I've spent the last eight years making plans and then coming to terms with what actually happened (my plans, I've found, rarely work out in the way I've envisioned). I've tested careers, friendships, romance, dreams and often felt like I was stumbling in the dark, looking for something, or maybe somebody to lead me towards the exit. I've learned I'm not in control as much as I want to be - and that's a good thing. If life had worked out exactly as I wanted it, I wouldn't have done the things I've done, met the people I've met, or become the person I am today.

In some ways the decade is ending with a questions mark too. I have hopes and dreams for the 2020s, but I honestly don't know where I'll be in 2029. Married with kids? A bestselling author? Living on an alpaca farm? A combination of all three? I'm looking forward to finding out.

A look to the new decade

I'm honestly excited by what 2020 and beyond will bring. The fun and hope and excitement and love and beauty that's awaiting me. Of course there will be struggles and sadness too, but that's no reason not to hope. It's a fresh page, a clean slate and all of those other hackneyed sayings. But just because those phrases are tired, doesn't mean they aren't true.

Maybe your 2010s were marked by wonder, by tragedy, or by a little of both. Maybe you did everything you wanted to, or maybe there are things you desperately want but have yet to achieve. Take a deep breath and step into the new decade. I'll end this with a quote by obscure, indie author C.S. Lewis.

'There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind'