What I Learned in 2018 + My New Years Resolutions

Happy 2019 everyone! I can't believe that 2018 has come to an end and 2019 is is basically here! 2018 was quite eventful as it was with 2017 with many changes as the world is still adjusting to some of the craziest moments that has happened this year as there were many ups and downs. One of the biggest moments for me personally throughout 2018 was to focus on living in the moments, my happiness and of course my mental health. As I have gone through a cycle of depression and anxieties throughout my life and balancing school, it was certainly important for me to focus on that and rethink on where my future was headed. Mental health, this year has really became a huge awareness and hopefully something that can be further bring more light into this issue and more positive vibes. Also in 2018, the importance of diversity and feminism have also brought into the light of more awareness and changes especially for all aspects of life and within a workplace.

While I don't want to ramble too much into this post, I found some questions from Pinterest and blogs such as anuschkarees.com answer.

1. What was the most important lessons you learned in 2018?

One of the biggest lessons I made a resolution for in 2018 was to be less stressed out about certain situations that were out of my control. As I was going through tons of stress with certain classes and managing my time for myself, I was also feeling worried about what my future holds after graduating. At the beginning of 2018, I was able to live out on my own in a dorm on campus for a several months in two quarters, allowing myself to learn to live for myself while also having a roommate. There were definitely ups and downs with living on my own as it was my first experience living on campus and surviving. Most days I felt exhausted and draining with school and never really had time to focus on my happiness and health. As mentioned with 2017's blog post, I felt like I had to put my happiness towards others before myself, which took some time to step back from and still in the process of working towards balancing.

2. What new things did you discovered about yourself in 2018?

In 2018, my anxiety and stress levels was certainly something that I have put a focus on trying to maintain. Although this was something that I have dealt with a ton in the past throughout my life, my anxiety level certainly kicked in this year. There were certainly moments where I felt unsatisfied with where I was going in my life, personally that made feel stressed and worried where I realized that I needed to take it easy for myself. I even felt like there were moments when I compared myself to what others were able to do after graduating from college in their careers, to feeling neglected with the friends that I haven't spoken to for awhile the busier our lives have gotten etc. It certainly made felt like I missed out on so many opportunities for myself in which is something that I'm in the progress of taking chances and meeting new people.

3. Which new skills did you learn?

As I wanted to branch out into making time for creativity, I was able to learn through classes and a little bit of experience from high school on using Adobe Illustrator. While I always love using Canva and PicMonkey for these blog posts, I was able to use AI with draw and design flats which was something I never done before. This was also a skill that I never thought that I would go back to using and trying to perfect. Previously in high school, while I was going through a rough time in my senior year, I was taking a graphic design class that was always making me feel like I wasn't good enough in comparison to my classmates and dealing with class critiques which wasn't my favorite part. While doing these class critiques and showcasing the progress of each individual's work, even though the work shown was suppose to be anonymous. However, it was still obvious as to who did what especially when the teacher would provide comments that has definitely made me felt insecure and not good enough that would help me improve my skills.

4. What was your most frequent mental state?

With mental health awareness being discussed further throughout many social media platforms, it is always important to focus on yourself. One thing I was truly able to focus on that I was able to do in 2018 was my happiness. Although there were moments where I felt stressed out, it was important for me to heal myself through all the stress I was trying to overcome even if I don't practice it as often as I should. By focusing on myself, I was able to do fun things for myself that I wanted to do in which I feared to do or something that I wasn't in the mood for.

5. What advice would you give to your early-2018 self if you could?

As I look back in my overall outlook of my life in 2018, I would advise myself to not panic or stress out as much during moments where I felt impatience or not feeling good enough. I felt that in 2018, was quite the ride as few changes had happened and things I've never experienced before. Though, I am always continuing to try to improve on myself more, I do want to eventually find a balance and to hopefully accomplish more things in 2019.

Lastly, from what I learned in 2018, here is a brief list of what I want to accomplish in 2019.

Hope you are enjoying your 2019 so far! Let me know what your 2019 resolutions are in the comments or tweet them to me at my main account @jacqueline4evr.

xoxo,

Jacqueline

#2018 #2019 #newyears #personal #lifestyle