TURNING TWENTY FIVE & EIGHT 2018 GOALS

As I sit here in the surroundings of silence and a snoring dog next to me, I ponder what a significant change in life means to me. On the third day into 2018 and after feeling anxious about it for the past 6 months or so, I finally turned 25 years old.

I am now ticking 25-34 boxes, about to book my first smear test and I can now apparently legally drink in Delhi, if I am to ever visit that is. Whilst I can't yet drive, have not moved out of my family home and am only just starting to save money; I feel the past 8 days I have gone from being a girl to an adult.

I've been doing that thing lately where you sit there in your pit, braless, hair up with a box of Cadbury's chocolate fingers next to you; wondering why your life doesn't look like every 25 year olds' that you follow on Instagram. I legit sat here this other day and watched people sharing life goals they have recently achieved; moving out and buying a new car to name a few. I can't help but compare, as I force another chocolate finger into my mouth; knowing full well that's yet another 31 calories I've just swallowed in three seconds. Who cares though? Pass me another.

I'd like to make the 25th year of my life an amazing one. So, I've put together a goals list for the year and am going to try my best to try and cross as many off as I can before the end of the year and before I approach my 26th birthday. Eeeeek!

1) Pass driving test and buy my first car 
I've touched lightly before on why I stopped learning to drive, but I feel like it's now time for to get back on the roads. It's incredibly frustrating having everyone in my life with their own car and me having to get taxi's and trains from A to B. Thankfully, I haven't forgotten how to drive, so I am hoping to pass both my theory and driving tests by the end of this year.

coat: pretty little thing* - available HERE

tracksuit: megan mckenna x miss pap - available HERE

trainers: adidas tubulars

2) Go vegan for at least 1 month
I did want to try Veganuary, but a steak was calling my name on my birthday meal. The idea of going vegetarian or vegan is quite scary because well, I bloody love cheeseburgers. However, I know I can easily stick to something new if I try it short term and see how I go with the intention of making it a permanent thing. This way of thinking works better for me, rather than throwing myself in the deep end and going completely cold turkey. Pardon the pun... wait, no that pun doesn't work.

3) Try something that scares me
I hate anything that involves adrenaline, so don't have as much fun as the average person probably has. I'm not a big fan of ice skating because my balance is terrible. I have a phobia of water parks and I don't like upside down rides and rollercoasters at theme parks. This year however, I want to push myself and do something that terrifies me.

4) Visit 12 new places - UK or abroad 
I realised the other day that I've never been to any UK cities; apart from living in London my whole life. Last year, I wanted to travel a lot more but I only ended up going to Croatia. Therefore, I am setting myself a goal of visiting 12 new places this year. It sounds like a lot, but that's only one trip per month!

5) Open a savings account and save a set amount of ££ per month 
The true sign of peaking adult hood.  I don't know if it's bad, embarassing or both that I don't have a savings account. However, everything I want in life is going to require money and lots of it, so it's time to save. I have already started to put money away for my pension in the future, but I am aiming to also transfer money into a new savings account every month.

6) Give blood
I really wanted to give blood last year, but getting three tattoos during 2017 meant I was unable to give blood. It would be nice to give something back; especially as I don't need ALL of the blood in me!

7) Eventually use only cruelty free products 
Whilst I am fully against wearing real fur and mink lashes, I am also admittedly not completely cruelty free. I do have makeup and beauty products from big brands that unfortunately do test their products out on animals. I have been very conscious of this over the last few months and tend to hesitate when reaching for foundations and lipsticks that I know don't have the greatest ethics behind them. Again like the vegan thing, I could do this over a short amount of time and would find it a whole lot easier to become a permanent thing.

8) Worry less and be happy 
I worry about everything and it's caused so much havoc in the past. Whilst I am not completely happy with my life right now, I am also in control of it. I am a big believer in negative thoughts bringing on negativity in every aspect of your life. Therefore, I am trying to forget about things that are out of my control and stay out of other people's messy lives. I have so much to look forward to in life; moving out, starting a family etc and I cannot do this until I care less about negativity around me and live and breathe all of the positive vibes. Send them my way, babe.

I'll tune back in a year's time to see how many I've crossed off... if any! I haven't had the chance to say it yet, but Happy New Year to you all. I am well aware that my blog has slacked over the last few months, but I have been so super busy with life; a new job and a new relationship (if you know, you KNOW). Hoping to get back on track soon and produce content that's better than ever. Shoutout to the best boyfriend ever for shooting these photos for me. Not bad for a first time camera user, huh? :)

Speak soon my lovelies! Ashleigh x