My 2019 Resolutions!

Hello Everyone!

This is actually the second post I have put up today because I posted something at midnight at the start of the day to celebrate everything that happened in 2018 and look forward to the new year we are now in, so go and check that out if you haven’t already: https://www.samanthadrage.co.uk/2019/01/01/dear-2018/ This post is going to be the standard new years resolutions post, but I thought it would be interesting to share anyway because I am hoping for a lot of things this year and I think these resolutions are going to help me get there, so let’s just get started:

1. Read Everyday – I had this resolution at the beginning of 2018 and I succeeded in it right up until September when I started school again. I think that is to be understood though because it was my first time back in that environment after being signed off for a month before the summer started. I still read most days, but I got into a bit of a slump with everything else going on, but I am still going to count it as a success because the point was the build the habit of reading more, which I definitely did. This year I still want to read everyday, but I also want to start reading at regular times rather than whenever I can fit it in. I want to make specific time in my day that I dedicate to reading because it makes me happy and self-care is something I really want to focus on in 2019, so I figured this was a good place to start.
2. Eat Better – I’m sure you’re all groaning because this is such a typical one, but for me it isn’t about loosing weight or going on some silly diet. I am happy with my body and how it looks, I just want to make more of a conscious effort this year to eat better foods to make me feel better and to improve my physical health because I know it isn’t the best. I eat a lot of chocolate, pizza and general rubbish, so I want to cut back on it a bit and eat at least one nice meal a day.
3. Learn about myself – 2018 has taught me a lot (more on that in my Dear 2018 post that I mentioned earlier), but I still have a long way to go, so I want to dedicate 2019 to learning about myself, how I operate and what I need to do to get the most out of everyday. This also links into making some solid routines for myself and putting aside at least and hour everyday to look after myself and do all the little things I want to.
4. Keep in touch – I am notoriously awful at keeping in touch with my friends and organizing things to do with them. I am the biggest introvert you will ever meet and I am honestly quite happy on my own. I love my own company and have so many things that I love to do that I often just don’t feel the need to be with other people at all. I also find it quite tiring to be around other people because I’m introverted, autistic and I have anxiety, so it is all a bit much sometimes, but I really want to make an effort this year to fit my friends into my life more and at least text them several times a week to keep in touch. This is going to be especially important this year because we all finish school in June, which means we will be going our separate way to relevant sixth forms and colleges, so I want to make sure that we can all still keep in touch.
5. Social Media – I wasn’t sure what to call this goal, but it encompasses a lot of things. I am a very creative person and I have found that the best way to get noticed is to share your work on social media, so I want to continue to do that in 2019 and build some sort of following. I know it will probably sound quite superficial to some people, but I want to make art, photography and writing my job and to that I need to find people who like my work and will want to buy it, so I want to work on building my brand in those fields. I am going to continue to keep up to date on here, I want to properly launch my YouTube channel (Samantha Drage) and keep up to date with both of my Instagram accounts (@theoriginalbookdragon – bookstagram and @thephotographydragon – photography/art account). A lot of people usually focus on spending less time on social media, but I honestly spend little to no time on it anyway. I never really developed the habit of mindlessly scrolling, so I only go on it to post, reply to comments or look for reference images or inspiration, so I’m just going to continue what I’m doing there and work on getting more engagement!
6. Save Money – For several years now I have been saying that I am going to start saving a certain percentage of my allowance every month and I have never done it. I started saving all of my loose change last year whenever I had it (like 5/10 pences) and it has added up a fair bit now, so I am definitely going to continue to do that, but I do want to start seriously saving this year and put aside 20% of my allowance every month. I am 16 now, which means I will be able to apply for a driving license next and before I know it I will be thinking about University and moving out, so I want to start saving now, so I can do the things I want to and travel a bit as well. My saving goal for the end of this year is currently £300 because I don’t want to set it too high, but I’m already just over a 3rd of the way there after putting aside some of my christmas money, so that goal my rise before too long.
7. Slay School – I am in my final term of secondary school now before exam season starts and I am free and although that is a scary concept, I also cannot wait. I have hated school from the second I set foot in it 4 years ago and knowing that the end is so close is such a release. It is all downhill from here and I really want to slay my GCSE’s and get the best grades I can in everything not only for me, but to also say f*ck you to everyone at the school who said I could never do it. I am heading to college in September and although the thought terrifies me I really want to put aside my fears and go in strong, smash my first term and make some new friends. I have never been good and making friends or new things in general, but I want to change that this year, so let’s hope I can.

Those are my 7 new years resolutions that I have for the year to come that are hopefuilly going to help me with all of my goals for this year and beyond! What are your new years resolutions? Do you have anything you really want to achieve in 2019? I’d love to know, so leave a comment down below or come and chat to me on my Instagram (@theoriginalbookdragon)

Goodbye for now!

Over and Out