Life Lessons From 2017


So we're quite a little way into January and I can't still shake the feeling of reflection away. It's quite funny really as it isn't a feeling I expected to have as I don't think I'm alone in saying that I was oh-so bloody happy to see the back of 2017.

Filled with many more lows and disappointments than any other year before, the pits heavily outweighed the peaks. It was quite a whirlwind and a blur as behind the posts I shared, the holidays I escaped to a lot of shit went down. Family members were lost and friendships ended. There was more heartbreak and uncertainty than I've ever experienced in a single year before.

To be totally honest I stopped sharing what was happening in full with pals early on as, at points, it just got too absurd. Instead a few sweet colleagues helped me - providing shoulders to cry on and helping construct many a sassy retort. Fash gals can often get a bad rep but I'd have seriously struggled without them.

If you had a great 2017 think of three terrible things, then another three even more awful things happening concurrently to the earlier three. Then three more after that and so on. I say three as up to 2017 I rather naively believed bad things only occurred in three's.

Sadly whilst it was a pretty awful year for me I know that I didn't really even have it that bad. Awful, terrible shit happens every single day to people and I have a whole other level of empathy to that now (and I was overtly empathetic pre-2017, so that says a lot).

And, whilst all the above might seem like the most depressing opening to a blog post, everr. It does have a slightly happy ending.

Shit happens. So you have to work with it, work around it, work through it and work. That's truly the main thing I've learnt from 2017 to keep working: personally and professionally. When things go wrong in either area of your life it helps to have something going on in the other to offer support or distractions and neglecting either area never ends well.

Personally 2017 was hideous but professionally it was pretty good. I shot more than any year before, working with some seriously inspiring teams. Styling for and working with brands I've admired for years. Whilst also hosting Facebook Live's, interviewing and hosting talks for brands and finishing up my final working week speaking at Superdry's global summit. I also went on my first trip with a brand as 'Sarah' from Sarah-Rose Goes which felt bizarre but was such, such fun.

Despite being a little apprehensive about the year ahead and what it'll bring one of the things I learnt in 2017 is that, although it can feel really hard and super overwhelming at times, it's okay to not be super confident with your abilities and yourself all the time. It's okay not to know what you're doing and it's okay to walk away from things and people if it doesn't feel right.

2017 bought a lot of drama and heartache and a little of that was down to being horrendously let down by a close friend. They'd been a part of my life since university and someone who I invited to move back to London with us when Tyler and I both secured 'our dream jobs' in 2015. They let him and I down big time and whilst its sad that their choices broke our friendship down entirely it taught me a lot about myself.

As you grow older friendships become funny things and I learnt more from their behaviour about myself than the many things I learnt during my seven years at an all girls school. This betrayal was different this time and their selfishness was just enough to make me realise that I needed to change a little. I'm fiercely loyal by nature but this pushed me a little too far and I learnt to keep my cards a little closer to my chest and step back a bit. Yeah it's sad but I'm a hell of a lotta more self sufficient and stronger because of it.

So whilst in all honesty I'm not feeling the levels of hope and optimism I've felt going into previous years perhaps my feeling of reflection is lingering around so much because so much changed in 2017. I gave myself a little digital detox at the end of the year as it all got a little too incessant and feel all the better for it. I may write a little post on what I learnt from mine and how refreshing it is to take a step back from the digital world.

There we go. That sure felt cathartic to type out. 

If you've written a 'year in review' or, have any 'life lesson' posts to share please do. I love to read through them. 

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