Hello 2019!

As the clock strikes midnight, a new year filled with new beginnings and blank pages arrived, along with many messages and well wishes for the coming new year. If you were like me, you would also get new year messages hours in advance, as my family and friends usher in the very new year 6 hours in advance. If you were lucky, you would have spent New Year's Eve (and perhaps the whole holiday season) with your family and/or friends; those who meant the most to you and love you.

The new year provides us with an excitement and hopefulness for the things yet to come, both those we've planned, and those unexpected. But before 2018 ends, I should hope that you all had the opportunity to think back and reflect on the things you have done for the past year.

2018 was an interesting year for me. It was filled with ups and downs, with tear-filled nights and joyous days. Put simply, my emotions were all over the place, ranging from utter happiness and complete desperations.

I started 2018 with plenty of anxiety and stress about what was to come; the toughest exam season I had yet to face so far. For the first quarter of the year I felt like I was riding on a very long train journey; full speed and never stopping, one that left me frankly exhausted for the better part of the year.

To make up for this I had an incredible summer that was full of exploration and excitement. I got to visit a new country, Greece, and came back to one of my favourite countries, Italy, all of which I documented in my Euro Trip Vlogs. In September I "moved" to a new city for a full month, Berlin, which I documented in my The Berlin Diaries Series. In hindsight, my summer wasn't exactly relaxing by my standards, as I did spent most of them going out of the house instead of lazing around, but I felt like I learned so much in that month and a half.

My last quarter of 2018 was all about starting my senior year in university; taking new classes, and beginning to think seriously about my future. It has been quite laid back if compared to the other three quarters, but I think it's simply the calm before the storm.

One of my biggest achievement on 2018 is actually the reboot of this blog, which I started in February. I updated the themes of this blog many times over; learning small tricks to make this blog look the way I want it to, but also writing contents I felt like writing. I tried to cover many new subjects, writing in different styles, and taking many more pictures - I even learned how to do simple codes to understand how websites work! Although I have had this blog since 2015, it was in 2018 that I have been the most consistent with it - putting out 32 blog posts over the course of the year. It may not seem like a lot, especially considering how often other bloggers write, but it felt massive to me, since it is more posts than what I have put out over the 2015-2017 period combined.

I have also seen some progress on my Youtube stats; despite putting out two-thirds less video than what I have done in 2017, I have actually doubled my views in 2018. It is not to say that this is a lot by usual standards, but again, it felt massive for me. Of course, stats aren't the most important thing, as I do Youtube and blogging because it provides me with a creative outlet in the midst of science that I deal with daily. It feels nice to be able to create something I can call my own - even if nobody else likes them (as is the case with some of my videos).

I intend to continue with what I have done and learned in the past year in the new year as well. In 2019, I want to keep my consistency with my content both in my blog and Youtube channel, but also to try to be even more experimental in what I cover or how I cover them.

On a more personal level, I want to meet even more new people and maybe even learn a new language. I want to go back home and be with my family in the summer. The biggest thing : I want to graduate from my Bachelor's and start my Master's studies. Whether I continue studying in Greifswald or moving to a new city, I want to be happy with my choice and to have no regrets.

There is plenty to be excited (and maybe even be stressed) about in 2019. I have made plans and commitments that may prove to be challenging to juggle along with my studies, content creating, and personal life, but I want to be challenged and even make mistakes, as only then I can learn. There is plenty for me to learn still, and who knows, maybe in the next new year's post I would have known a little bit more about life and myself.


xo,
Maria