Goodbye 2016

This year has been very busy for me with all the assignments and homework at school, maintaining friendships, spending time with family, reading a ton of books, keeping my blog updated, all while trying to stay healthy and rested. It has been a very eventful year to say the least so I wanted to share with you my achievements and favourite things about 2016 before it ends. I hope you had a wonderful and happy year. Share your 5 best moments about this year in the comments! I wish you all a Happy New Year's and stay healthy, happy, and safe. Thank you for keeping up with my blog and reading whenever a new post comes up. I appreciate it so much as I love doing this. Anyways, without further ado, let's get into my best moments of 2016. 

1) Starting a blog: This is my favourite achievement of 2016. I love taking pictures in my living room and bedroom to get the perfect one to post on my blog. I love writing about the things I love and sharing it with you guys on here. It's been such a great and fulfilling experience as I look forward to posting every week. This blog is very important to me and though I get kind of shy when people ask about it, it is something I'm very proud of and something I get complimented on a lot. I'm so happy that people enjoy it and read what I write as I put a lot of effort and thought into every post of mine. So thank you again for keeping up with me!

2) Goodreads Reading Challenge: This is my second favourite achievement I've made this year. On New Year's Day, I challenged myself to read 40 books this year. Throughout the year I have been reading at any chance I get: on the train, bus, at school, before bed, etc. I have just been binge-reading, really. Immediately after I finish one book, I pick up another. I am so proud of myself because I not only finished my goal but beat it. I have read 46 books this year. I sometimes can't believe it. There was a time when I wouldn't pick up a book because I didn't think I was smart enough to understand what I was reading. I have a friend who constantly read in elementary school and she was a huge inspiration for me. I tried reading a 300 page book in 2014 and when I finished it I almost wanted to cry as I did what I thought I could never do. Now I'm reading almost 50 books a year and I couldn't be happier. Reading has helped me in a lot of ways: communicating with others, expanding my vocabulary, writing for school. I feel at peace when I read and I am so happy I started. If you want to see my year in books check out this link. I will also be mentioning my favourite books I read this year below so if you are curious, scroll down!

3) Helping at Home: I am very proud of myself (and I know my family is as well) that I keep up with my weekly and monthly chores in and around the apartment. I started doing laundry this year which I know is a big help for my mom, cleaning the litter box for my cat, Jasper, washing the dishes, as well as swiffering the apartment from time to time. I'm glad that I do this as it is great for when I get my own place later in life. I still need to learn how to clean the bathroom and iron my clothes, but one step at a time. 

4) Being Healthy: I was having a health issue as I was eating poorly for half of this year. I ate a waffle in the morning, a cookie and juice for lunch, and macaroni or a hamburger for dinner. In June-July, I was really struggling to change my diet as I feeling horrible because of all the acidity in my stomach. I got it checked out twice and slowly but surely I was eating more every day and eating healthier. I stopped drinking carbonated drinks, limited my junk food intake and added more antioxidants to my diet. I feel so much better the way I eat now and I can tell my body has benefited with this lifestyle change. I definitely recommend doing this, especially as a goal for 2017. 

I had a lot of highlights this year so I want to share my favourite things in the categories I've picked. You probably know them as I have mentioned them in previous posts but I'm doing a recap of the best things in 2016. So keep on reading!


Music:

I went to the Dan + Shay concert this month which I talked about in this post. I went with my aunt and we both loved it so much and had the best time. I haven't been to a concert in 6 years and this one was just so great. I laughed and sang along to the music. I can't wait for them to release more music in 2017. 

This album just takes the cake. It is the best album I've listened to this year and one of my all-time favourite albums. I have loved Birdy's music for 3 years now and when Beautiful Lies came out I was so impressed. It is her longest album to date and you can really hear the amount of emotion in each and every song she's written. I love all the songs on this album but my favourites are Growing Pains, Take My Heart, Give Up, and Winter. She has such a wonderful and strong voice and I just love this genre of music. I really look forward to hearing more of her music in 2017.

Books:

As I've mentioned above, I have read 46 books this year and out of those 46 I narrowed my favourites down to 5 books. A Court of Mist and Fury and Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas, It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover, The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, and Some Kind of Perfect by Krista & Becca Ritchie. A Court of Mist and Fury is definitely my favourite read of the year and one of my favourite books of all-time. You can click on the names of the novels to get an idea of what they are about. A Court of Mist and Fury, Empire of Storms, and Some Kind of Perfect are all apart of series so you have to read the first book to understand what they are about and not spoil yourself for future events that take place in these books. Definitely check these books out if you are fans of fantasy, contemporary, and romance. 

TV Shows:

I think I've talked about Nashville a lot on my blog since it is my favourite show this year. It started in 2012 but I noticed it on Netflix this year and I tried watching the first episode and I was hooked. I love it so much and I'm almost finished season 3. Season 5 is airing right now so I'm behind but it's okay because I'll catch up soon enough. I talked about this show in this post so if you want to know what it's about click the link. You will enjoy this show if you enjoy music, drama, and romance. It also discuss tougher topics as well so it's a very well rounded show. 

I watched Stranger Things in the summer with my Aunt Sue over at her website. We binge-watched all eight episodes and became obsessed with this show. It is such a thought-provoking and captivating show and I have some theories for the next season. I can't wait until 2017 and the new characters they've added to the cast. I talked about this show in this post if you are curious as to what it is about. If you love sci-fi, supernatural events, and mystery, then you'll love this. 

Thank you so much for reading! I wish you a great day and a Happy New Year. See you in 2017!

love xena