It's New Years Day on Tuesday a.k.a. the ending of one
year and the beginning of another, and it's always at this time that we start to
reflect on our achievements, experiences and regrets of the last 12 months and
begin to speculate what the next 12 months has in store for us.
This year more
than any other has been a chance for us to feel good about who we are, what we
represent and where we are from. It has been a fantastic year to be British,
and as an already patriotic individual myself, it has been truly amazing
even to witness it. The pleasure I've taken in participating in the
Jubilee events, watching Olympians and Paralympians win gold medals, and even
seeing the England football team play in Euro 2012 this summer (well, perhaps
not the latter) has been phenomenal - singing the national anthem has become something of a
recent regularity. As Lord Coe quite rightly stated in his speech at
the closing ceremony of The London Paralympic Games:
"there are some famous words you can find
stamped on the bottom of a product. Words that, when you read them, you know
mean high quality, mean skill, mean creativity. We've stamped those
words on the Olympic and Paralympic Games of London 2012. London 2012 – ‘made
in Britain’.”
But it's not just
been a year for national achievements - every individual has seen success in
their own unique way. One of my own family members and so many of my friends
achieved fantastic exam results this summer, not only at University but also at
college and sixth form. My incredibly brave best friend went travelling in
America for 4 months, something which took real courage to do, especially as
she was so far away from home and had never done anything like that before in
her life. My little brother gained his brown belt in Karate, an achievement
which took real effort and determination. My parents, as always, have completed
another year of working hard, not only in their exhausting jobs but also in
supporting us three kids. And my brilliant cousin gained a position in the
British Army as a musician and our entire family are so incredibly proud of
her.
This year has been
quite a turning point for me too. On Jan 28th, it is a year since I signed up to
blogger.com and began writing (/rambling) on the internet. I was also offered
my first ever paid writing job working for a company called Mediarun who
advertise particular companies through articles on subject-specific websites.
And as well as this, I was appointed News & Current Affairs editor of my
University's newspaper, something I thought I'd never manage. So it's been
quite a year - some parts have been particularly difficult, but as always you
manage through them - pick yourself up, brush yourself off and get on with it.
2013 sees several
exciting events, including my parents' 25th wedding anniversary, my brother's
18th birthday and my grandparents' 80th birthdays. Not to mention the
beginnings of my final year at Uni, and hopefully plenty more to keep me busy.
This year has been a rollercoaster, but enjoyable for nearly every step of the
way. For now, I'll look back on 2012 and smile, able to beam with pride when I say "I was there".
