2018 Reveries – A look back at the year where I took the most chances

 

If I had to say if 2018 was one of my best or worse years, I’d probably lean towards one of the best. So many things have happened! It hasn’t always been comfortable, but I think that is what has made it stand out so much. I did so many new-to me stuff that put me way out of my comfort zone. Not everything went like I’d have wanted, but well, you gotta acknowledge the mistakes, and do better next time!

 

Reviews (November + December)

I read some awesome books during the last two months of the year, which made it a little more bearable to get through some personal stuff I was struggling with.

• Roar by Cora Carmack ★★★★½
• Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven ★★★★½
• Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys ★★★★★

• A Pack of Blood and Lies by Olivia Wildenstein ★★★★
• Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor ★★★★★

 

Discussions (November + December)

• Why we need makeup positive YA literature too
• Is Blogging Really Good for Introverts?

 

Favorite books

   

A Darker Shade of Magic: Again I couldn’t believe I’d waited so long to read this Schwab book. I ended up loving it, and the entire series as well. I wrote reviews for the three books. The second was a little too slow for me at the beginning, but since it more than made up for it later, I’m really happy with this series! I’m glad to have finally read it.

Seafire: Seafire was one hell of a journey. Caledonia is a very complex MC and I had fun following her story and getting to know her crew and their struggles. She harbors deep wounds and is determined in her pursuit of her goal. I really liked to see how the interests of her crew, and her own goals sometimes didn’t align. Conflict!

Roar:  Roar took me by surprise. I expected to like it. Because I’d been told it was a great fantasy romance book. And yeah, it was, but it was so good, that it became one of my favorites this year. Aurora really won me over with her courage!

 

   

 

Salt to the Sea: This book was hands down the best I read in 2018. I’ll never get tired of saying it. For me, emotional impact has always been the main thing that makes me love a book. And this story really packs a punch. I was left so shook after I finished reading this!

Muse of Nightmares: Muse would probably be a close second to Salt to the Sea. Such a good story! As always, beautiful and full of monsters. I really have no words to begin to describe how satisfying this book was. I’ll probably reread it again some time later this year if I can!

 

Business

Two months ago I launched a small online writing course. No one asked for a refund (yay!), but I only sold one course.

Yeah, it definitely didn’t go as I’d have hoped. I do know there were a lot of things I could’ve done better, but well, the sting of embarrassment and defeat isn’t easily shaken. I’m trying to not to let it get me too down, and shake it off and continue doing my stuff, building my email list, and do more in-person workshops in my city.

I’ll let you know how it all goes!

Even though my first product launch didn’t work out, 2018 was definitely a year of growth for my little business. 

I started out with 0 people in my email list, and no clue if the people in my city would be very interested in learning creative writing. Thanks to the blog, Instagram, and getting involved in local events, I was able to reach out to those people and do a few workshops and earn some money! Sure, not the kind that pays bills, but I was very proud to have done a job, earned some money, and bought some stuff I needed without having to ask my father for it.

2019 will be my year for taking it a step further and focusing on the topics people liked the most and increase my reach.

 

Life

80% of my life is about the books I read, review, take pictures of and talk about in one way or another. I had a lot on my plate in 2018, since I was also working on my thesis! I had my presentation back in september and now in a week I’ll finally have my ceremony.

I feel like I had to make a few sacrifices to make that happen, like letting my book wait for a while. It’s paid off, sort of, since I finally can say I’ve finished college, and now I can move on to other projects.

In a more personal aspect, last year was okay, until the last few weeks of the year really swept the rug from under me.

My parents are divorced. They have their problems, and my sister and I know they’re way better this way. We can still be a family. But things have become complicated and know we’re facing the very real situation of living with our mom instead of our dad. We have been there before, but being with him for all these years? This new change will be hard, but I’m hoping we can get through it and come out stronger on the other side.

I’m mostly a creature of habit. I crave comfort and the knowledge that tomorrow my life will be the same in all the ways that count, so I’ve been in a very unstable situation lately, trying to be unselfish, while taking care of my family’s feelings as well.

I’m trying to remind myself that I also have to worry about myself, and that it’s not selfish to make sure I’m okay.

This kind of my way to unwind a little because it’s been really stressful dealing with all this and it’s truthfully been taking away from my joy of other things. Reading has been my lifesaver, but I really need to get back in the blogging groove.

 

[divider]

 

What was the highlight of your 2018?

I hope all your goals for this year can be achieved!

Related Posts