It is the 1st of January 2016 and I am newly equipped with the following knowledge.

1. I am not my mother and I am not my family
1. I am not defined by my mother's opinion of me. Nor do I need anything from her, in the shape of love, affection, approval, or friendship. This is the decision that I am making on the first day of the new year. As of today, the house I live in counts as a hotel. Which brings me to the next poin
2. I am on my way to independence
1. I am halfway through my PGCE degree. I was offered a job. A JOB. I will work for two years, I will become experienced, and collect references, and in two years time I will apply to schools in England. There I will have my own flat, make friends, go to work every morning, be alive and be away from all the negativity I have accrued over the last 24 years.
3. I AM MY OWN PERSON. I love who I am. I love who I have become. And I have become it without any help from my family, indeed, with a great deal of resistance from them.

So in 2016 I have decided, I have discovered this. I am my own person. An island, a tower alone. I am 24 and 2 days old and it is the first day of 2016 and I am my own person and I am ready to become that person. Alone. Today.

I promise to make this blog a record of all the positive things in my life. Things I have accomplished, things I promise to do, people I have met, times I have enjoyed, happy happenings, obstacles I have conquered. I will stop all the negative from becoming real.

Accomplishments and Resolutions

In 2015

• I travelled alone
• I visited England (twice!) I went to London, Oxford, Bath, Dover, Sheffield, Reading
• I got accepted into Sheffield Hallam University to gain my PGCE
• I was granted a scholarship
• I started my PGCE
• I was offered a job to work at a school as a primary school teacher
• I opened up to people more
• I made decisions about who to include in my life
• I dyed my hair

In 2016, I

• I will get fit and healthy by buying a stationary bike and using it for 45 minutes a day
• I will fix my teeth
• I will travel alone more
• I will reduce all toxic relationships in my life to a minimum
• I will work on my body image and confidence
• I will be braver
• I will be an island and not break so easily
• I will be a teacher
• I will look after myself