Goodbye 2018

This year has been a whirlwind! Moving on and gaining new experiences, finding new hobbies, spending time with friends and family, and making healthier choices. I hope you have had a wonderful 2018 and achieved some, if not all, your goals! Unfortunately, I did not follow through with one of mine: this blog. I have felt really bad about neglecting the blog this year and I want to change that in 2019. I am aiming to write one blog post a month and hopefully more in the summer when I have break. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the posts I was able to get up this year and look forward to my future posts. If you would like to see my 2018 year in review, then keep reading!

1) Goodreads Challenge:

I set my reading goal to 24 books in 2018 with the mindset that I would read two books a month and complete my goal. Well, the workload this year from school made it very difficult to complete this goal. If not for my Graphic Novels & Comics course I took in my first year of college, I would most likely not have completed my goal. I am happy to say I read 31 books this year and have expanded my reading into different genres like adult contemporary fiction and graphic novels and comics. If you would like to see my year in books click here. Did you set a reading goal this year? Did you complete it? Let me know in the comments section below. 

2) Graduated Grade 12 and Completed First Semester of College:

This year has been a very special and memorable one academically. I graduated Grade 12 in June 2018 and started my college journey in September 2018. I have put in a lot of hard work this year to succeed and achieve everything I have wanted to and I feel so accomplished. I have grown and learned a lot this year, especially in the last four months. I am looking forward to achieving my 2019 academic goals and getting ready for my future career!

Books:

My reading this year drastically changed with the higher volume of work in both Grade 12 and college. I struggled to make reading a priority this year and as a result I read less than I had in 2017. With my struggle to read as much this year and rereading 5 books, I did not have as much favourites this year. However, out of the 31 books I read this year I absolutely loved these four. These books really stood out this year and I highly recommend you read them in 2019 if you haven't read them already. You can click on the book name to find out what the book is about and read my review by clicking on the links. 

1) The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (review)

2) The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X. R. Pan (review) 

3) Beartown by Fredrick Backman (review)

4) The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (review)

Music:

I never have a bad music year and this year isn't any different. This year I have discovered new artists and rediscovered some old favourites. All the music I mention below are ones I still listen to everyday and have definitely been added to my all-time favourite albums. Click on the links to listen to my favourite songs from each album below!

1) Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves (Fave Songs: Slow Burn, Butterflies, Golden Hour, Space Cowboy, Love Is A Wild Thing, Oh, What A World, Lonely Weekend, Velvet Elvis, Wonder Woman)

2) Origins by Imagine Dragons (Fave Songs: Cool Out, Only, Bullet In A Gun)

3) On The Corner Where You Live by The Paper Kites (Fave Songs: Give Me Your Fire, Give Me Your Rain, Deep Burn Blue, Mess We Made, Don't Keep Driving, When It Hurts You)

4) Dan + Shay Self-Titled Album (Fave Songs: Alone Together, Tequila, What Keeps You Up At Night, All To Myself, Speechless, My Side of the Fence, Island Time)

5) A Star is Born Soundtrack (Fave Songs: Heal Me, Always Remember Us This Way, I'll Never Love Again, Is That Alright?, Hair Body Face)

TV Shows:

Of all the TV shows I've watched this year, these three are my absolute favourites. Outlander premiered its fourth season this November and so far it has been incredible. The plot continues to thicken and seeing Jamie and Claire together makes my heart warm. There are only four episodes left and I don't know what I'm going to do with myself after it's done. Another Droughtlander is fast approaching!
All American and Manifest are two new series that debuted in 2018 and my family and I are obsessed. With All American, I did not think I would be so intrigued in a show that focuses heavily on sports but this show is so addicting! If you aren't watching it, you MUST! The show returns January 16th, 2019 so now is your time to catch up on the first eight episodes. Manifest is also such an intriguing show because it has mystery and suspense and every episode leaves you with more questions. I cannot wait until it returns on January 7th, 2019.

Movies:

This was the year for Crazy Rich Asians and To All the Boys I've Loved Before. I absolutely loved both movies but Crazy Rich Asians truly takes the cake. It was extravagant, funny, and incredibly romantic. I cannot wait until China Rich Girlfriend comes out hopefully in 2019! To All The Boys became famous worldwide this year and I am so happy it did. I fell in love with Jenny Han's books in 2015 and when I heard it was becoming a movie I couldn't handle my excitement. Now, the sequel P.S. I Still Love You is becoming a movie! I loved rereading the books this year and I'm looking forward to watching the sequel! 

I hope you enjoyed this last 2018 related post and look forward to some new posts coming very, very soon (a tag and a most anticipated reads of 2019)! I hope you all had a wonderful year and have a wonderful 2019. May you ahcieve your goals, have amazing experiences, and learn and grow as people in 2019. I will see you soon with a new post! Have a wonderful day and rest of the week!