5 Things that I've learnt In 2018

Can you even begin to believe that 2018 is almost over? It's been a year of snowstorms, heatwaves, giant Trump balloons, political turmoil, a Royal wedding with a biracial actress (i'm all for it), and of course the UK went completely mad over Gareth Southgate's waistcoats...oh, and when England almost bought it home.

At the end of every year I pull together a few paragraphs to see how much has changed over the last 365 days. This is probably the most personal post that you will read from me so I'll cut out the usual Frankie T crap and stick to the basics, otherwise we could be here for a while.

So where was I this time last year? I had just accepted my first job in Travel PR, decided to start a blog called Meet Me by the Sea, called it quits on another long distance relationship and made a promise to myself that I would stop binge drinking so bloody much!

Now? Despite a couple of things, 2018 has been the best year of my life so far. In June I went from PR Assistant to Exec, I partied my way through a number of VERY MUDDY summer festivals, camped under the stars on the Isles of Scilly, found my soul in Amnesia Ibiza, built my blog up and collaborated with some fab businesses, island hopped in Greece, stomached space cake in Amsterdam and developed some long lasting friendships that I will treasure forever - I am very certain that I won't be forgetting 2018 in a hurry.

Some of the best memories are the ones that are hidden in the depths of my iPhone camera gallery so before we head onto the deep stuff, here's a glimpse of those "behind the scenes/unedited" moments that never made it onto the gram (and for good reason too).

Now back to the important stuff - it hasn't all been a walk in the park!

So what have I learnt from 2018?

I am not Invincible.

I wish I was - but I am not. I cannot work on five hours sleep, complete a to-do list that covers both sides of an A4 piece of paper in just 24 hours whilst trying to be in 5 places at once. Unfortunately, I do not have a time machine where I can create more hours for myself. I have always been a "yes" person but in the latter months of 2018 I have discovered that it is okay to say "no"- sometimes, we simply cannot do everything. Self care is definitely something that I will be working on in 2019.

To be selfish with my time.

Because I will never get that time back. Over the last year I have become extremely precious with who and where I invest my time. It's sad but I have found that my priorities have changed and the amount of time that I have to spend doing what I want to do, has thinned. I cherish my time so if I waste it, I get frustrated. It might sound selfish but next year I will only invest my time in those people that mean the most. Like they say "wasted time is worse than wasted money."

There is always more to achieve.

I am so excited to announce that I will be entering 2019 with a new job! As of January, I will be joining the Wild West team as an Account Executive. Wild West is a travel, food and lifestyle PR agency based in Cornwall and is the sister agency to Wild Card in London. For me, 2018 was a year of really hard work but I am so ready for a new challenge and direction!

Life doesn't have to fit a timeline.

Remember at 8 years old and you wanted to be married with your first child at 20 years old and live in a 5 bed house with a swimming pool? I'm 24 years old and over the last 12 months I have seen a HUGE increase of people on social media that are travelling the world, getting married, having babies and flying sky high in their careers. Success means something different to everyone. At 24, success for me would be to develop my skill set and become the best that I can be, at what I do. To others it may be to buy that house with their partner that they've been saving for, for so long. It might be saying "I do" at the alter, creating a family of their own or ticking off some countries on the bucket list. Like the annoying saying - "you do, you" - it's important to experience things at your own pace regardless of what other people are doing.

Memories still remain.

In August 2018 we lost our wonderful Nan. We are such a close family and to loose someone that you can't imagine life without is really difficult. I miss her every single day but I know that she is up there watching down on us and probably having a right giggle at all of my mess-ups.

People grow apart.

I'm sure I can speak for a lot of people when I say this - people come and go. As I've grown older my circle has become smaller. But hey, I like it that way! Friends that I thought would be there for the long run have moved on - that isn't necessarily because of a falling out but simply because people grow apart and I've learnt to accept that. When we're young we hold onto the idea that we have to be friends with everyone and if we aren't then there's a problem. I don't have time for that anymore - quality over popularity, ALWAYS. I've been very fortunate to have spent 2018 with some extremely special people and I wouldn't change them for the world.

So thank you 2018 for opening my eyes up to the good, the bad and the beautiful.

2019, lets be having you!