2021 Roundup: The Year of Ups and (lock) Downs

2021 has been an odd year, much like 2020. I know it’s cliche and people say it every year but this year has completely flown by. A lot has changed in my life in the past year but it’s also felt like a year where nothing has really happened. I love reading people’s yearly roundup posts and I think they’re a fun way to look back on what you did. Reading my 2020 roundup post is bizarre as it feels like everything and nothing has changed since then. So, here is my 2021 roundup!

JANUARY 2021

January was a stressful month. I moved my blog over to WordPress and subsequently lost it about three times before finally getting everything up and running. I had a lot of university deadlines and exams so I was feeling a bit burnt out in January trying to juggle everything. We had snow which lightened the mood up a bit.

FEBRUARY 2021

Lockdown, perhaps the most common feature of any 2021 roundup post! I don’t remember much happening in February. I started researching my dissertation. Went on lots of walks back home and didn’t do anything especially memorable.

MARCH 2021

At the end of March, I returned to uni for several weeks to sort my uni room out. Again, nothing sticks out that much to me about March. I spent a fair amount of time doing uni work and trying not to drown in essays.

APRIL 2021

April was not the best month of the year. I went through a break up which wasn’t fun and my deadlines were fast approaching and uni was drawing to a close. April was a month where I tried to spend as much time as possible with friends and family. I went with my dad to a track day and got to experience a “fast lap” around the track which was a lot of fun – I loved it!

MAY 2021

May was a really odd month. My final university deadline was the 11th of May and it felt so bizarre clicking a button to submit my final essay and that being it. My university experience ended with a very lacklustre finish and I didn’t quite know what to do with myself in the days afterwards. Luckily my dad celebrated a big birthday a few days after I finished so I ended up keeping myself busy by decorating the house and baking a cake. I also bought myself a Samsung Galaxy S21 as a treat and absolutely love it!

JUNE 2021

Right at the end of May and the start of June, I went away to Buxton with my family. It’s such a gorgeous place and I loved it there. We had great weather and I loved exploring the town. We also took a trip to Bakewell which was so nice as well. Mid-June saw me take a trip back to my university city for a final farewell. I ticked off a few things that I hadn’t got round to doing in the city, went out for food and drinks with friends and had a generally nice time.

JULY 2021

July saw me return to my job and I ended up doing a lot of shifts. It was so bizarre coming back to the cafe after not working there for almost two years. I’ve been working there for such a long time and I’m so glad to have a job to keep me going whilst I try and figure out what I want to do with my life. Any tips on working that out are greatly appreciated!

AUGUST 2021

August was probably the busiest month I had in 2021. I started the month off by travelling to Cardiff with friends and having a few days away. We spent a day in a spa, went on a speed boat ride, and visited Barry Island (the home of Gavin and Stacey) and it was a very much needed break. After that, I went to London with my family as we wanted to visit Kensington Palace to see the Princess Diana exhibition and her wedding dress. It’s well worth a visit and looks different to how I imagined it in real life. Finally, at the end of August, I took a trip to Canterbury with my family. We loved the city (blog post pending) and it was such a cute place to explore. We even ventured to Kent to visit Hever Castle which was absolutely stunning!

SEPTEMBER 2021

September saw me do a lot more shifts at work again. However, perhaps one of the highlights of the year was going to a friend’s ABBA party. If you know me, you know that I love a bit of ABBA so this was right up my street. I went to town on the outfit, and I was quite proud of it in the end.

OCTOBER 2021

Right at the start of the month, I celebrated my 22nd birthday. I took a trip to Worcester with my family to explore for the first time and really liked the city. We went for brunch and a walk around. The following weekend I went out with my friends to celebrate and had a lovely meal out. Halloween saw me take a nightmare journey to see a friend in Portsmouth (took 6 hours instead of 2) for a Halloween party. Thankfully, it was worth the trip. We went out Christmas shopping and for breakfast the next day too.

NOVEMBER 2021

November was a busy month! I had something on almost every weekend and I tried to make the most of it. The month started off with seeing Steps with my friend, followed by seeing one of my favourite bands, Suede, the following night. I then spent the weekend in Birmingham and did some Christmas shopping and explored the market briefly. The following weekend my friend came to visit and I gave her the exclusive tour of where I live.

DECEMBER 2021

The final month of the year and the end of my 2021 roundup! December saw me spend a lot of time at work again as well as being quite busy with plans. I sorted out all my scrapbooks and photo albums which let me tell you was a mammoth task! My family and I went to a Christmas light trail which was a cute evening. I then went to the theatre to see a play that I absolutely loved and made a mental note to try and visit the theatre more in 2022. I also went back to Birmingham Christmas market with friends and went out for lunch. Christmas soon rolled around and I had such a lovely day. My friends and I went out for our annual secret Santa gifts swap and then for drinks in between Christmas and New Year. Finally, New Year’s Eve rolled around and I and my friends went out for drinks again and ended up starting 2022 by petting a dog! And if that isn’t the best way to start the new year then I don’t know what is.

And that brings us to the end of my 2021 roundup. Like I said 2021 was a year of many ups and downs. I feel like the year started off quite slowly and then definitely got more interesting as we got closer to 2022. Like I said, I feel like everything and nothing changed in 2021. 2022 is the year I need to start deciding what to do with my life after graduating and that is both exciting and terrifying! I’m feeling optimistic for the new year and I’m also hoping that 2022 will signal the end of my unintentional blogging hiatus…!