New Year, New You?

Hello beautiful people of the Internet, how's life? 

I'd like to begin with a big Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Boxing Day, Happy EVERYTHING! I hope all of your celebrations were amazing and unforgettable with family, food, and fun. Now, onto a bit of reflection. 

2014

What a year. This has honestly been one of my favorites thus far. It definitely hasn't all been perfect, but the majority of it has been unforgettable. I started this blog at the beginning of this year and never would I thought that it get up to over 600 views by the end of the year, and from all over the world! Like I've had people reading it in France, Germany, everywhere. I never would have thought I'd keep it up as well. I wasn't exactly as consistent as I could have been, but maybe that will be the goal of 2015. More posts, even if they're just little updates. 

The year began with more snow days than you could imagine and ended with a brown Christmas. I traveled to New York, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. I met some amazing people, and quite possibly lost a few along the way. I began to focus more on art. I saw amazing concerts. I slept and danced and ate and sang and talked and laughed and cried and experienced life for what it truly is. I thought about the future and began to be afraid, afraid of what's to come, afraid that I won't be prepared for it, but really why should I be afraid of what's yet to come, something that I can't exactly control? But the decisions I'm making now really are effecting my future, so you see my dilemma. I guess we all experience this feeling on occasions and I don't believe there's a solution or a way to prevent it. It's just a part of life. Uncertainty, the silent killer. The movie is in development now... 

What I really wanted to talk about though was not the year I had, but the scary future that I was just talking about by moving forward into the new year. You know how the saying goes... "New year, new me," and I can't help but find it a bit ridiculous. No matter what I propose to change about myself, I'm still going to be the same old Belle, sleeping until noon whenever possible, procrastinating anything involving school, eating junk food, avoiding conflict, you know, the usual. I feel like it's really hard to change yourself, especially since you develop these habits over the years that you just really don't have a desire to quit. I think you can change smaller things that make a larger impact, like going into the year with a positive outlook, that things are going to be great and they probably will be. The new year presents you with new opportunities to better yourself, but not scrap the old you. You are the only you there's ever going to be, so why not embrace it. Once you learn to do that, you'll be able to really focus all your energy on making 2015 spectacular. 

What do you hope will happen in 2015? To develop more friendships? Travel to a new place? Plan more spontaneous adventures? Whatever it happens to be, make it great. 

I'll talk to you next year. 

-Belle xx