Last year I did a post as a review of my 2018 and I really enjoyed writing it and looking back at the year as I went along. This year I’m going to do exactly the same and have a look at what I’ve managed to achieve this year! 2019 was a good, solid year overall, I think, so let’s take a look:
January
January was quiet and didn’t start off the year very well. The death of someone close shadows the month, and I spent the majority of the month either working or helping the family through it in any way that I could. I will remember this time for the rest of my life. The funeral was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed, truly like something out of a movie - snow and all.
February
February was time for us all to pick ourselves up and start to move on with our lives. I changed my hair back to pink within the first week which I was thrilled about – the faded out blue/green/yellow with roots looked like dead forest foliage. Pink feels much more me. And high emotion in my life is often followed by changing my hair. The highlight of the month was without a doubt seeing Post Malone on tour in Birmingham. I paid the most money I’ve ever even considered and had to abandon plans for a weekend somewhere in Europe over Christmas to be there and be so close but, my lord, it was worth it. Don’t try asking me to do it again though because I won’t splash out a second time.
March
March was bad for me financially. My little blue Nissan micra packed in on me and it took 3 weeks for someone to figure out that it was indeed unfixable. It was a stressful few weeks, suddenly not having my own transport and also just not knowing any information which is something that stresses me out to no end no matter what the situation. After I’d spent time and money transporting this dead car around south Staffordshire to and from different places, it was time to wave goodbye and get myself something new. I got my punto and whilst she’s been doing me proud ever since it made a nice big hole in my bank account where my savings used to be and meant I could no longer afford a holiday for the summer.
April
In April I waved goodbye to my teenage years and hello to my 20s! The hot weather started for the season and it was pretty good. For my 19th, my birthday was trash and so my boyfriend and bestie helped me make my 20th better than the previous one. I finally got my septum pierced after years of wanting it done, I had a great day out visiting fun cocktail bars in Birmingham with my bestie the week before and they even threw a small surprise party for me with a small group of friends and some drinks. They got me a narwhal cake because apparently that was the closest that they could find to a unicorn. I spent my actual birthday very low key with my boyfriend shopping for plants and enjoying the weather.
May
In May I got rid of the awful green colour that still to this day resides in my hair once again and bought myself the best pair of sunglasses that I’ve ever bought. If you look back at my Instagram, you can see that they take pride of place on my face for the rest of the summer. May also brought Slam Dunk – the only festival I managed to afford this year. It was the first year we didn’t attend it in the midlands, and it was pretty good until the heavens opened and we got completely soaked. We ended up leaving early because we were wet through and had to miss All Time Low (which is not the first time we’ve missed all time low, and is actually my 3rd thinking about it now) to go back to our Air BnB and warm up.
June
In June I did my first shoot with Yasmine! It was the first time that I’d been in front of the camera rather than behind it. I’d been stepping my insta game up throughout the year, but this was the next step up. I mostly spent June enjoying the sun and have lots of snaps from exploring local places that I’ve never actually been to. With no plans or funds for a holiday, we did a lot of this so that we weren’t always either stuck inside or working.
July
July was my sister’s prom. It made me feel painfully old and got me reminiscing about my own prom and how I only regularly talk to one person from high school. I played MUA for the afternoon and did her makeup, then switched to photographer and got them some snaps that aren’t identifiable as taken by someone’s mum. In July me and Jonny continued our exploration of new places close to home and found Canalside Farm and their café and strawberry picking field! These were the best strawberries I had all year and after picking my own, buying them from Tesco was never the same.
July also brought Jonny’s graduation and he’s no longer a student, but an adult with an actual degree! That same day we attended the Peaky Blinder’s premier which was my first ever red carpet even and first ever premier! Although it wasn’t connected to my blog, I felt like a real fancy pants blogger turning up in my dress and seeing the cast, then getting to see the very first screening of the first episode of the new season.
August
In August Jonny turned 21. We celebrated by trying TGI Fridays for the first time (where they embarrassed him by singing to him) and seeing Descendants play in London, staying the night in a fancy hotel and being tourists the next day. We’d not been tourists in London before despite going down for gigs several times and so it was nice to see places like Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. We also did almost 20,000 steps that day and it was waaaarm. A lot of calories were burned.
In August we also went to the sickest show of the year in an indoor skate room. Unknowingly, this was our first encounter with lots of people who we now call friends so its nice to look back on for that reason as well as just because it was sick. Watching bands climb up walls while they play, while some people skate and others mosh is a sick environment to be in.
August was also when I bought a lens that would mean I could start doing gig photography, which has come to play a big part in the last ¼ of 2019.
September
September started off with a bang and I took another trip down to London with Yasmine to visit London Edge. This was my first blogging event and I’m so glad Yasmine invited me down. I met some brilliant people and brands which I am fortunate enough to be working alongside now! In September I also began my ambassadorship with amazon student prime UK, starting with BCU’s freshers fair.
September was also the month that I shot my very first show. I shot every band for the night with Simple Trixx headlining at The Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham. Gig photography has become a big part of my life which was not something I was ever planning on but am very thankful for.
October
In October I shot my first hardcore show (again at The Sunflower Lounge) which also happened to be the first show of my boyfriend’s band Loose Ends. Honestly, it was the beginning of an era that I hope continues for a long time. We also found ourselves back at Canalside Farm for Halloween to pick our pumpkins for the very first time! I really enjoyed doing this and we spent the best part of an hour out in the fields looking for the best ones, but it was the best time.
We finished October with the best Halloween night that I’ve had in a long time, the first one I’ve spent with friends in years. I got to shoot a local show which had some of the best hardcore bands that Birmingham has to offer surrounded my friends.
November
In November I continued to shoot shows and be a student, starting off my dissertation and working my ambassadorship. I kept my head down a lot this month with such important work to do! One thing I did get to do though was another trip down to London to talk to a room of huge brands about student marketing and being a small influencer. I got to speak to representatives from Mars, Pepsi, Odeon, Levi’s, Barclays and lots more about my work and my experience which was amazing.
December
This month has been just as good. I’ve continued to shoot shows and interview bands and get ready for Christmas, and for 2020!
I’m super excited for what 2020 will bring. I’ve already got some exciting things in the pipelines so keep your eyes open.
Thanks to everyone who has supported me and been in my life this year! Let’s make 2020 our bitch.