Just like that: another year has passed up by. A year of love, of tears and of growth. I’m sure I say this every single year, but 2018 has been a rollercoaster. In fact, looking back on 2018, I’m pretty sure it’s been the best-scariest-most fun year to date. Personally, I pushed myself and made steps that I’ve been excited to take for years. Professionally, I grew even more in ways that I could never have seen coming. I stopped letting other people’s expectations define me. I stepped out from underneath the shadow of those who openly judge others. And I let myself figure out what my career, lifestyle and goals meant to me, for me.
When looking back at 2018, I want to do so in two senses: personally and professionally. This post will be broken down into those two mindsets. How I’ve grown in my personal life, and how Mile in My Glasses has grown around me.
So, without further ado…
On My Personal Life
Things have happened during this year that I could never have seen coming. Towards the end of the year, you might have seen on Instagram that I got a new job. I had worked at a single company: a production house/marketing agency an hour from my house, ever since graduating University a few years ago.
I have written a few posts about my time there, and the positives ebbed and flowed, but ultimately I knew it was time to move on. I secured a position somewhere that I had dreamt of working for years, and even though the opportunity emerged out of nowhere, I’ve been loving every single day of this journey since deciding to embark on it.
I had always held the idea of this new workplace to a higher mantle. Scared to even apply, since I was sure I wasn’t qualified enough and wouldn’t be accepted for a position. It was the classic story that I was waiting for somebody to tell me that I was ready. Yet, when I took the bull by the horns and leapt into it – I was more than enough. It’s funny how that happens, isn’t it?
Previously, I was driving hours on hours daily for my commute, and then traversing the length and breadth of the country driving to and from shoots. It was exhausting, and truth be told I was unhappy. I spent so much time chasing my tail during the week, that weekends were spent slumped over dreading the following week to come. It was a routine that I couldn’t seem to break.
In terms of personal growth, I also did my first ever road trip during 2018. We flew to California, and drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles – and then east to Las Vegas in Nevada. You can catch up on that road trip through a series of photo journals that I published here.
Road trips were something that I always wanted to do, but had also held back from due to fear. In fact, I spent weeks before we started lying awake at night in cold sweats about it. Driving such great lengths, and constantly moving from one unfamiliar territory to another. Both of those were things I was scared of. Yet, I loved the experience so much that I’m already planning a second road trip, this time through Italy.
An exceedingly huge highlight however, was when Scott and I bought our first piece of property. We put a deposit down on an apartment in a building that is being built in our hometown, and we can’t wait for completion at the beginning of summer 2019.
The process of buying off-plan is something I was never prepared for. There are factors of that journey that life hadn’t warned me about, and things that could only be learnt by doing it. A huge blog post could be coming with that journey once we’ve moved in, but I’m still unsure on whether that’s something I’ll be publishing or not. Either way, it’s been incredible. A lot of highs, and a lot of lows, but in the best possible versions of both.
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On Mile in My Glasses
So much has changed with this little corner of the internet over the past 12 months. First, Mile in My Glasses underwent an entire overhaul. That called for a new design, aesthetic and direction. For so long I had felt like I was throwing up posts with no real design point or direction. They were just shoddily put together, and a few weeks down the line I wasn’t proud of them anymore.
So, I went back to the drawing board. Time and time again. I could picture in my head what I was going for, but I could never articulate the design or idea onto paper. I wanted something clean, editorial and curated. A design similar to something from a magazine, or quarterly publication. Then I stumbled upon 17th Avenue and it was love at first sight.
After deciding on a theme, I got to work with designing my posts and keeping them consistent. Over the past 12 months, my post designs have changed time and time again. Yet I’m happy to say that finally, I’m somewhere that I’m proud of. And with a design that I can see myself keeping for years to come.
I also spent a lot of time re-optimising my site. This led to countless hours in the back-end, resizing images, rewriting old posts and fiddling with a lot of data. You might have seen quite a few posts disappear from MIMG, and that was a creative decision to only showcase content that I’m truly proud of. I also had to trudge through many old publications that had been tagged, written and laid out incorrectly (which was not a lot of fun!). I still have a tonne of work to do, but I’m so proud of myself for jumping on and getting started with it (even if it will take most of 2019 to finish!).
In terms of the business side of Mile in My Glasses, 2018 has been incredible. I’ve worked harder than ever before, and reaped benefits that I never thought I ever would. I’ve worked with some incredible brands that I’ve only ever dreamt of. I’ve created content that I’ve always wanted to, and become more vulnerable and open about certain topics (like toxicity in the workplace) that I never thought I would open up about.
Through working harder, I was able to invest back into my business, too. From securing advice and consultation on SEO practices. To overhauling my photography equipment, and growing my technical collection. Both to help me create better content online.
Of course, not everything went to plan for Mile in My Glasses over these 12 months. But that’s what a year is. A ride. Every high has an equal low, and from those I’ve learnt so much about myself, the business and the process.
Favourites from 2018
My Favourite Memory from 2018
Looking back, my favourite memory from 2018 has to be making the decision with Scott to purchase property. It was something we had been heading towards together for a long time, and it was one of those moments I’ll remember forever. So many of my first experiences have been by Scott’s side, and making this momentus decision together in 2018 really felt like I was ‘an adult’.
Next to buying property, I’d say road tripping across California was also an incredible experience. Doing a road trip is a bizarre state of mind to be in, since you’re appreciating so much but can’t revisit anything. Alongside staying in different Airbnb’s each night across the state. From cabins in the woods, to ranches on farmland and little houses in suburbia. It was incredible to finally see so many places that I had dreamt of for so long. We visited: San Francisco, San Jose, Monterey, Carmel by the Sea, Big Sur, San Luis Obispo, Malibu, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and finally Las Vegas.
The Plans for 2019
Rather than make any solid plans for the next year, I’m just hoping I can look back in 12 months with the same pride I have today. Life is such a strange thing. It goes by so fast, and when we’re making plans and setting goals it really speed up the process. I want to still be happy in my career, proud of what I’m creating online and as close with all my personal relationships as I am today. 2018 was a fantastic year, and I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for us all.
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You can also catch up with my last year in review, from 2017, which is linked here.
Looking back on 2018, how has the year been for you?
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