Looking ahead

My final blog post of 2013 has arrived! This week I have been running around all over the place finishing off last minute preparations for Christmas and catching up with my friends and family. I loved delivering presents to my young nephew and his new baby sister, and seeing the magic of Christmas really come alive. We made mince pies and watched ‘The Snowman and The Snowdog’ – his new Christmas favourite.

Looking back to this time last year, when I was doing my Christmas shopping in Japanese department stores, and looking forward to coming home for the holidays, it’s amazing to think how much I’ve done and seen since then.

A very Christmassy Spitalfields Market

Nothing better than a homemade mince pie (or three!)

Throwback to Christmas 2013 – buying presents in Japan

If somebody had told me at the beginning of 2013 that I would go skiing in Sapporo, visit the tropical southern islands of Okinawa, go to South Korea for the weekend, be selected for a three week educational programme in India and become the Travel Editor for the Wessex Scene, there’s no way I would have believed them. I’ve made so many friends all over the world, and I hope that I am able to see some of them again over the next year, whether it be in the UK or elsewhere.

And what about 2014? I can’t help but wonder what it will have in store. Whist I’m not one for making resolutions, I do have a few goals for the next year that I’m hoping to achieve.

Degree-wise, I’m aiming for a first, so it will be more hard work for the first half of the year to make sure I don’t miss out. To think I will be graduating in just a few months, after four years of study, is a really terrifying thought!

That leads me on to my next goal, although I’m not entirely clear about it yet – securing a job for after University. Although I’m not entirely sure where the next stage of my journey will be taking me, there’s a few options in the pipeline, and I’m excited to see which of those I end up doing. If this year has taught me anything at all, it’s that you really never know where you’re going to end up. If you keep working hard, opportunities tend to spring up all over the place – it’s up to you to choose which ones you’re going to make the most of.

I never dreamt that 2013 would take me all the way to India.

Of course, being me, I have a few fitness related goals, the major one being my first marathon. 26.2 miles seems like such a long way right now, but I’m looking to enter the Bournemouth full marathon in October next year, so there will be plenty of time to train. Most of my friends and family think I’m crazy, but I’m already so excited!

I would also like to reach the big two-oh for my total number of countries visited. My boyfriend and I recently booked a trip to Berlin at Easter, which will take it up to number 19, which only leaves one more to go! I’ll have to get my thinking cap on and try and make it a special one.

I’m sure this list will continue to grow throughout the year, as new ideas and opportunities present themselves, and I’m sure that 2014 will be just as interesting and exciting – if not even more so – than 2013 has been.

All that’s left to do is see the year out with lots of festive cheer. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and I’ll see you in 2014!

Tayler