Welcoming 2019 With Open Arms

So this is it, we're closing the door on 2018. How on earth it's 2019 I don't know, but I'm ready to welcome the new year with open arms.

This is my contribution to the multitude of New Years themed posts that fill the blogosphere at this time of year. I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on my aims for 2019; what I'm hoping to achieve and how I want to shape my life.

I can't say I've ever been one to stick to new years resolutions. I'm one to vow a year of healthy eating and then be found twenty minute later getting to second base with a tube of pringles. So I'm not going to sit here and claim that in 2019 I will drink my weight in water everyday, commit to clean eating, always have a spotless home and squat until I have a booty a Kardashian would be proud of, because none of those things are at all realistic.

I want to instead focus on my personal goals for 2019, all of which I've composed in the knowledge that they are achievable and will contribute to an overall positive and healthy wellbeing. Many of these are things I started in the year just gone and want to continue to build on and instill.

I want 2019 to be the year that I continue to build a positive relationship with food. 
My history of disordered eating habits is something that has cropped up now and again on Yours, Chloe, but I don't think it's something that I have gone into in much depth purely due to the fact that I'm not quite yet ready. My eating habits and mentality surrounding food took a positive turn at the end of 2018 and I want to continue this in the new year.

I want 2019 to be the year that I stop apologising for my mental health problems. 
I've suffered from anxiety since the age of ten; we're talking nearly eleven years. And for those eleven years I've felt the need to constantly be apologising for my anxiety and I've felt a great deal of guilt for the effect I believe it can have on those around me. I was recently reminded that however hard it can be for you to see a loved one experiencing a mental health problem and support them through it, it is 100x harder to be the person at war with your own mind. So, I want this year to be the year that I learn that apologising for my mental health problems isn't necessary at all, my family and friends love me and will continue to support me whenever I need it.

I want 2019 to be the year that I embrace my own style. 
I'll be honest: I don't get most current fashion trends. Although I'm fully aware that saying this makes me sound like I should be ninety years old and sitting in a rocking chair with my knitting and an episode of countdown, it's the truth. Much of my style inspiration comes from more 'retro' periods; I'm a sucker for a 1940s land girl-esque tea dress and mini skirts that would have fitted in well in the swinging sixties. I do also like to mix the old with the new and pair, for example, a vintage blouse with some jeans, or a t-shirt with a beautiful classic skirt. In the past I've felt like I should try to get on board with the current trends and join other girls my age with shopping religiously at the likes of missguided, but ultimately it just isn't me. This year I want to embrace my own style and not shy away from wearing pieces I love, just because they're not part of the current trends.

I want 2019 to be the year that I begin to care less about what other people think of me. 
I'm being myself, following my own path in life and enjoying the journey, so who gives a crap about the opinions of those who don't play significant roles in my life. You shouldn't feel silenced by other people in any way shape or form so this year I'm going to focus on just doing me and letting other people deal with it.

Farewell 2018 and thank you, it's been a pleasure.

2019? I'm coming for you.

Are you following Yours, Chloe on Bloglovin? You can find me here.