Why 2019 was my best year yet

And just like that, another year is about to come to an end and while some people may have mixed opinions about it, it's been my best year yet. Ending the decade on a high, here's why my 2019 has been so amazing.

UK Meds

If you're a religious reader of my blog then you may have seen my round-up of 2018 where I experienced some career ups and downs, leaving a job I loved but was underpaid at, to pursue a job with a serious pay rise that I ended up loathing. I went into 2019 optimistic, because on January 2nd I was due to start a brand new job at UK Meds with a Manager job title and another healthy pay rise (new year, new job and all that). At the end of 2018, before starting, I wrote:

"At Potter Clarkson, I had the friendships, the job fulfillment, the great working relationship with my boss, the nice office and the extra perks (like generous presents at Christmas), but was lacking in the salary and job title that I wanted. At Snizl, I finally had the title and money I was after, but sacrificed everything else in the process. They say that in life you can't have it all, but here's to hoping that I can prove that saying wrong with this next chapter."

And I'd like to be able to say that I did it. I proved the saying wrong. UK Meds is like one big happy family. Going there every day doesn't feel like a job or a slog or a chore; it feels like a part of my life that I love. I've been welcomed into a great team, mostly made up of family and lifelong friends, and we get treated like royalty (regularly being treated to meals, days at the races, nights out, games in the box at Forest, free lunch on a Friday). It's the furthest from a normal job that I've ever known or experienced. For example, we had a party at the managing directors house where I ended up jumping in the pool and then throwing up everywhere and the only consequence was 6 months of banter. The office atmosphere is so chilled out and we have such a laugh together, so in that respect I've regained everything I had at Potter Clarkson (and then some).

And I also love the actual work! I get to do a massive variety of stuff, I've learned a ridiculous amount about healthcare (and about marketing and business) and no two days are ever the same. Reflecting on how unhappy I was in my career this time last year is a stark contrast to how I feel now. There's no Monday dread anymore - and long may that continue.

Holidays

I don't know if you've noticed, but I like my holidays. Having only gone on 5 in 2018 (only 5), I was on a mission to break personal records and go on holiday every month for a year. I missed January but since then, I've been on holiday every month of 2019. I really make my annual leave allowance work to the max and once that ran out, I made do with just standard weekends.

In February, I went on my first ever holiday with my friend Sophia to Prague. In March, I did some serious bucket list stuff in Iceland with little Katie. In April, me and my family went on a roadtrip and ticked Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania off our lists. In May, me and my friend Paige got the party started in Marbella. In June, me and Laura went to Cardiff for an outdoorsy weekend. In July, I enjoyed macarons, sun and wine in the south of France with my family. In August, big Katie and I made the most of the bank holiday in Portugal. In September, me and both the Katies took the trip of a lifetime across the pond, to both New Orleans and then Las Vegas. In October, me and Ollie went on our first holiday together to Barcelona. In November, my family and I took a teeny-tiny break to Krakow. And later today, I will be completing my mission with a trip to Berlin with Ollie, which goes from December to January and thus completes my mission to go on holiday every month for a year.

I figured that after such a jet-setting year, I may have to slow down a little next year. But with what I've already got planned, it looks like 2020 could smash even this year's holidays out of the water. Stay tuned...

My house

Moving out for the first time and buying your first house are two massive milestone things in life and this year, I killed two birds with one stone. I started to feel ready to move out at the back end of last year; not because I don't get on with my parents or anything like that. It's a hard sensation to explain and one that I can only do so by saying that you'll know it when you feel it.

I knew I didn't want to move out and rent and I equally didn't want to rush it, but I got looking on Zoopla, turned my alerts on and waited patiently for the perfect house to come up.

And that it did. I viewed maybe 2 or 3 before mine, and saw countless others online, but as I walked round mine I could picture myself living there.  So I put in an offer, had it accepted the same day, got the keys 3 months later and moved in another 2 and a half months after that. You can read more about my house buying journey here, and see how I decorated it here.

Living on my own for the first time has been all kinds of exciting and strange. For example, I never realised how impossible it is to buy salad for one person. Or how annoying it is when you realise you've left something upstairs and there's no one else to ask to go and get it. Or how great it is to be able to leave stuff lying around without anyone moaning. Or being able to sing at the top of your lungs at 2 in the morning with your friends without worrying about waking your parents.

Living on my own has been an adjustment and I've found pros and cons. One of the cons is obviously that I see my parents less. I'm so thankful to them for everything they've done to help me with my house and it's been a mega exciting part of my 2019, from the searching to the buying to the decorating to the moving and living independently (each part of which pretty much took up its own quarter of the year). I never thought that venturing into becoming a complete, bill-paying adult would be so exciting.

Ollie

Of all the people that UK Meds has brought into my life, there's no one I'm happier about than Ollie. We first met just over a year ago when he was part of the group that interviewed me for my job, and then we sat next to each other when I joined the company in the new year. Sitting together every day, we became colleagues and friends before he eventually made his move 6 months later, at the end of a work night out.

Keeping it a secret wasn't actually intentional at first. In fact, we were certain someone would've already found out about us by the time Monday rolled around. But no one had. And seeing each other in secret, without the pressure or the banter from everyone at work, gave us time to blossom and figure out what we were.

That time ended up being around 4 months, at which point (after our first holiday together), we finally decided it was time to go public. And our announcement will go down in UK Meds history, with an instagram post that is now infamous. Clearly we're both good secret keepers because no one had had a clue, and the work group chat went into full-on meltdown for a good couple of days after that.

Now, the cat's been out the bag for 2 months and we've been together for nearly 6. As I mentioned above, we're also getting ready to go on our second holiday together and have plenty more planned for next year, along with loads of other exciting stuff.

2019 has been filled with adventures; I've travelled to exciting and exotic places, done new things, ticked stuff off my bucket list. But, Ollie, falling in love with you has been my most favourite adventure of them all. And I can't wait to see what the next year (and the start of the new decade) brings for us.

2020

It's time for the annual review of my previous resolutions and to set some more for the new year! So what did last year's look like?

1. Eat less animal products

I've certainly done this one, in a popular segment on my Instagram story known as #meatfreemondays. I cook with a lot of quorn, tofu and other meat-free options and I have to say that I'd highly recommend everyone doing the same. If every single person just did one meat-free day, imagine the impact it could have on the planet and on animal welfare, while still being able to enjoy a steak or roast dinner whenever you want. It doesn't have to be all or nothing on the animal produce front; every little helps. Plus meat-free food is really good! It's also convenient. Living on my own, I very rarely buy meat because it just has such a short sell-by date and I don't seem to get through it, but meat-free options rarely have the same problem. If nothing else, swap from chicken nuggets to quorn nuggets; they'll change your life.

2. Move out

As I've already droned on about plenty, this one gets a big fat tick too. It's funny reading back and seeing myself write "I'm only semi-committing to this one". If only 2018 Jenni could see me now. It's amazing how much can happen in a year.

For next year, I'm only making one resolution (which is very unlike me).

1. Save money

This was also my new years resolution in 2018, so life comes at you quick. Yes I successfully managed it last year. But it turns out that buying and furnishing a whole house is actually kind of expensive (who knew). So those savings are pretty much back down to zero, but I've saved before and I'll save again. With a new car, lots of holidays and in-case-of-a-rainy-day all on my list, I'm resolving to get that savings account back up to a healthy balance in 2020.

Other than that, I intend to keep living my life very much the way I do now. I'm surrounded by incredible friends, I have a wonderful (if further away) relationship with my family, I'm doing well in my career, I'm lucky enough to be able to travel a lot, and I'm head-over-heels in love. What more could a girl ask for out of a year, a decade, a life?