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Photos from: Isle Of Wight, Kyoto, Boyfriends, Cleopatra, Valentines Day

FIRST: 2013, 2014. I’ve written a round-up of my year goals and top posts below, and I’d also LOVE you to take part in this short quiz if you have a moment! First, a few reflections…

This year has been odd. In the past I had such a burning energy and kind of fired through projects, people and places; knocking through achievements and fitting a lot in. This is the first year where I feel a bit like I’ve just continued, rather than progressed. Work has been steady without really growing, largely on the same projects and in the same routine. I’ve been in the same house, and at the same pubs, with the same friends.

I’m pretty sure 2016 will feel a lot like 2015. I can’t work out if it’s boredom, or just the natural settling process that occurs with age. Part of me feels like everything is going well and I should learn to be content, but part of me feels like jacking it all in and rashly going on the road to spend all my savings having fun. There’s a huge amount I haven’t done this year.

Photos: Cite de l’Architecture, Amy, Walking In A Winter Wonderland, Oxford University Museum

There have been new things this year: #JDL being the girlfriends I never knew I was missing, my article going viral, one lanky sofa defrosting worn-out hearts, everybody remaining in good health. There have been nice things: fun Quizcats gigs, a lot of nights out, seeing my family, a beautiful tour with Rhum & Clay, travelling to Japan, Dubai, Mauritius, Edinburgh, Oxford, the Cotswolds, Paris and Venice.

On a slightly different note, family events and personal life messes have followed me around this year. Regular readers may have picked up on my slightly veiled hints that all was not well (especially in the summer); it was my way of trying to disclose upsetting situations whilst maintaining other peoples privacy. It’s been a challenge and very draining at times. A positive is I’ve learned how grateful I am to my friends (as I said in this post) and how much they care. It’s never too late (or early) to see how important you are to people, and I’ve been surprised by how much the love of others has affected my sense of self. Whilst that may seem an obvious statement, I think for me, it was a lesson I needed to learn.

Photos from Animal Kingdom, Disneyland Paris

2015 TAPE PARADE reader survey! It would be incredible if you could fill this in!

 

Pictures from: Quizmas, My Job, Sakura at Yoyogi Park

2015 Goals

As ever I write these down and then NEVER look at them during the year. Let’s see what I arbitrarily decided would be fun this time last year!

1. Lose weight – lost just over a stone since September!

2. Catch up with (long list of friends) – I did catch up with a lot of people.

3. Go to Helsinki, Japan, New York, New Zealand and Russia – 2/5 ain’t bad and 2 more of these are booked for next year!

4. Record an album – No. :(. Written an album: HELL YES.

5. Aim for a zero-waste life – We’ve gotten way better at recycling as a house. Yay for the planet!

6. Save £5000 – Er, no. To be honest, I’m not sure why this was a goal? I didn’t seem to know last year when I set this goal either. WAY TO GO ME.

7. Make 6 videos – Yep! If you haven’t seen me crying on the Hello Kitty boat ride yet, or being swamped by excited bunnies, then PLEASE CHECK IT OUT.

8. Travel with Quizcats – No. But we’ve gotten a few more gigs for next year so that’s something.

 

2016 Goals

1. Stop being so reckless and stay committed!
2. Go to Cuba, New York, Disneyland, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Ireland.
3. Sing more jazz gigs.
4. Practise more. I never get the time to just sit down and play for FUN.
5. Gig more.
6. Create something physical once a month.
7. Take on 3 big challenging jobs to push myself.
8. Cook more! I’m a good cook but I don’t enjoy it so rush everything!
9. Drive better. I’m naturally a good driver but I HATE it and am very impatient, so I just zoom through it with with zero effort and achieve terrible results (see also: cooking, sewing). I cannot afford anymore fines or tickets!

Photos from: Nabano No Sato, Tewkesbury, Black And White In Brighton, Tokyo DisneySea

Top 10 Most-Read Posts This Year:

1. What It’s Like Not Being White
2. A Response: What It’s Like Not Being White
3. On Getting Old
4. PeteFest
5. Orange Is The New Black Season 2: Episodes 1-5
6. The Summers That Shaped Me
7. Boyfriends
8. Personal Post: Losing Weight
9. How To Stay Safe At Night Part 1
10. Souvenirs From Japan

I have no idea what you guys like. There is literally no correlation between the top posts and the posts I’ve been most proud of. If you regularly read my blog and have 3 minutes of time to spare I would LOVE for you to fill in the short survey above (or click here). It would mean so much to me! In the meantime I’ll just keep writing what I want.

Thank you so much for reading my blogs and taking the time out of your precious day to stop by this space. It means the world to me! If you would like to keep up to date please do. Lots of love and I hope you all have a fantastic 2016!

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Photos from: Misty Mountains, In The Desert,Disneyland Paris, Walking In A Winter Wonderland,