I've had a pretty uneventful year in terms of big things happening really.

I guess this is the year I went a bit crazy, got really independent, worked really hard and got through it.

I failed to get onto my dream graduate scheme, so was really depressed about that for a while, but now I've realised that one closed door means several open doors; had I gotten onto that grad scheme, I would not be able to go traveling in Australia next year which would really smurf me over.

The most significant thing that has happened this year is probably my promotion at work, because I worked so hard and went unnoticed, was very much an underdog in the 'competition' shall we say, and blew away the managers in my trial for the position. Since then I've been told I'm the most friendly and personable member of staff on my shop floor, which is nice because I know first hand how much the staff complain about the Supervisors and Management.

I specifically make it my goal to make sure that my staff get a chance to shine, and are happy and interested in their work as sometimes retail can be super stressful, so I like to make sure that they're always enjoying it.

I've also gotten a lot more confident and loosened up a bit.

Next year, I hope is going to be an even bigger year for me. I'm graduation (hopefully with my maintained 2:1!) and then pretty soon after I'll be leaving the UK for a year abroad working in Australia. This is so exciting but terrifying, but I feel like I have to do it. I am struggling to decide what I want to pursue as a career, so hopefully when I'm away I can figure out my life a little bit, because right now it feels like a giant puzzle with pieces missing.