Monthly Round-Up | January 2019

I know that we’re only a few weeks into the New Year but so far – touch wood – the year has been going great! It’s been going so well in fact that I wanted to document it, as I feel the happiest I’ve felt in a long time. Here are a few of the lovely things that happened in January 2019.

I was published in Glamour Magazine

I wrote a paid-for-piece in Glamour magazine about my experience of going zero-waste. Zero-waste is something that I am still working on day-by-day but really enjoying and feels benefits so much to the environment and our lives. I was so proud and privileged to be able to write this piece and I can’t describe the excitement I felt when I saw it was live on Glamour Magazine’s website.

My sister asked me to be her bridesmaid

So on New Year’s Eve, my sister got engaged to her long-term partner (finally!) and she asked me to be her bridesmaid. I may have shed a little tear and FaceTimed her immediately – she asked me via a special Moonpig card – and now we’re going to be planning the world’s most awesome wedding for the next 18 months. *starts sweating and drinking wine*

I was nominated for a Trailblazer award

For those of you that don’t know I work in publishing – as well as working as a freelance writer – and this month I was nominated for an industry award: Trailblazers 2019. The London Book Fair, in partnership with the Society of Young Publishers and BookBrunch, longlists ’30 under 30′ publishing professionals as Trailblazers for that year and five win the ‘blaziest of trailblazers’ awards.

I may not have been one of those five but it was still a big deal to be nominated and attend the ceremony. Plus a fab evening drinking wine to ‘commiserate’ with my friends/colleagues Hannah and Bethan afterwards.

I was asked to speak on a University panel

So this actually hasn’t happened yet, it’s happening in two weeks, but in January I was asked to speak on a panel at my university as an alumnus to tell people on my course what I have done with my degree since leaving three years ago. I feel quite pleased to be going, although a little nervous too as this will be my first panel.

I read 9 books

This may seem like a small thing but it makes me happy.

I booked a holiday to New York City

I’m off to the big apple! So, I’ve actually been to New York City before. I went for my 21st birthday with my best friend, brother, and dad about two years ago, but it was sooooo hot and busy, and I was so ridiculously jet-lagged that I didn’t get to do as much as I wanted to. So I’m going back. On my own. Yes, that’s right: solo traveller! I can’t wait.

There is a load of other smaller things that happened that made the month great, like spending an evening with my cousins, Aunt and Great-Aunt as a form of ‘second Christmas’ as we didn’t get a chance to see each other over the holidays. Also, catching up with friends over coffee at costa and wine at Paddington Station (like you do).

As I said in my opening paragraph, this month I have felt happier than I have felt in quite a while and I want to remember that so that when things get tough again (which they invariably do in life) I can look back and smile on the good times too.

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