What 2017 taught me

In a SURPRISING turn of events, I have decided to make an appearance on here. I KNOW. I'M JUST AS TAKEN ABACK AS YOU ARE!

Hello, my internet friends (all two of you). In case you’ve forgotten about who this is, here’s a helpful refresher. I’m Shanu.. and I frequently abandon my own child, AKA my blog.

If anybody is still hanging around here, well..

• First of all, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?

• And second, OMG I’m so thankful you still visit my blog. YOU DESERVE ALL THE COOKIES THIS WORLD HAS TO OFFER. GIVE ME YOUR ADDRESS (No, that’s not creepy. At all) SO I CAN SEND YOU A HUGE PACKAGE OF CHOCOLATY GOODNESS. YOU BLESSED ANGEL, YOUUU.

I hope you have all had a great Christmas/Holiday season. I know I haven’t been around much lately but I couldn’t let this year end without officially commemorating it on the blog.

So, get ready to read my ramblings about everything that 2017 hurled at me. Not gonna lie, it’s been a tough year. Like, this is probably the roughest year I’ve had in my entire existence. I mean, not to say that I didn’t have some stellar moments in 2017, but overall, this year has been rough.

Now, obviously when things turn *shite*, you tend to learn a thing or two. So, let’s get to it, shall we? Here are some things that I learnt in 2017.

1. I’m great at starting new projects.

Starting off the list with something positive.. I’M PHENOMENAL AT STARTING NEW PROJECTS. I love everything about it – the excitement, the anticipation. It’s the keeping up with it that I struggle a bit with.

For example, take this blog. When I started book blogging, I was quite good at keeping at it. I loved writing weekly posts, catching up on other blogs and interacting with fellow bloggers. But, as time went by and work got busier and busier, the blog took a backseat.

Which is not something I could do much about, because real life duties tend to take over, for everyone. But, I still feel bad about it because I actually enjoy blogging a lot and would like to do it more often.

2. Living alone is tough.

Okay, so not many of you will know this, but I moved cities in November 2016 for my job. I had never lived away from home before. And after over a year of living alone, in a city that’s just so far away from my family, I can safely say that it’s not for me.

I miss my family so so much and it’s absolutely gutting that I don’t see them as often. I mean, I visited home only twice this year, and both of the times, I couldn’t stay for more than a week. I know now that this is not something I’ll be able to do long-term.

3. Adult life isn’t really suited to the bookworm life.

Having a job means you have way less time to read. And if you’re a book blogger (as I like to think I am), LORD HELP YOU! Honestly, I could only read about 40 books this year and that does not make me feel good about myself. My TBR has probably given up on me by now.

Nevertheless, I did read some very good books this year. And I’m SO EXCITED FOR ALL THE BOOKS COMING OUT IN 2018!!! There are some very good ones that I have my eyes on and I just can’t WAIT! In fact, one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to make more time for reading. No more letting adulthood get away with consuming all my time.

4. I’m in the wrong career field.

I am a Software Engineer by profession. And believe me when I say that if there was ever a mismatch that you could spot from a mile away, it would be this.

Through this one year of working in the IT industry, the one thing I have clearly understood is that I need a career switch. I’m not made for it and it’s making me so bloody unhappy that I don’t understand how I could ever continue with it.

Now, I don’t exactly know what I should venture into. Mainly because there are too many things I want to try out. But, I do have a fair idea of what fields interest me. So, let’s just hope that 2018 brings me some luck in this department.

So, those are my main takeaways for the last 12 months. I feel like 2017 has been a year of self-discovery for me. There are so many things I realized about myself that I didn’t know before. Simply, because I was put in a completely new setup and faced so many new circumstances.

How about you guys? Tell me how your year has been! Any highlights that you’d like to share so we can rejoice over it together? Any challenges you faced in your personal lives?

I’m looking forward to all the new opportunities 2018 will present. As far as the blog is concerned, I have some very exciting posts planned out for January, so make sure you stick around. Here’s wishing everyone A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR. See you on the other side!