2014 was not a good year in many aspects. The biggest hit of the year was losing a beloved family member. Other, less important parts were being away from home for the most part of the year at university, barely going to the cinema as a result and blogging only a few times in the year. I also had a bad year with money.
Yet there were many great things, as you can imagine; I interned again at a fabulous company during the summer for two weeks, I received good results in my first complete year at university, fell in love and saw
Gone Girl (yes that last point is one of the top highlights of the year).
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| http://bolywelch.com/coaching-corner-happy-new-year/ |
Everyone knows I love film. The last few years have of course been good film years, but 2014 relight my feelings that made me decide that film was my passion all those years ago and they were in the form of
Gone Girl and
Guardians of the Galaxy. Two very different films, yet I love them both.
I was always doomed to adore the adaptation of
Gone Girl after reading the novel by Gillian Flynn in less than a week and letting the plot affect my day-to-day life with my family and friends. I was on edge, constantly. I questioned everyone's motives. I even began questioning my own motives. I had not read anything this clever, funny and outright scary, ever. It's easy to read, nothing you need to be particularly clever about to understand it, yet it's how your own mind work in how you appreciate characters and the plot.
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| http://gonegirlbyeee.tumblr.com/post/100035846289/amy-dunnes-definition-of-a-cool-girl-x |
David Fincher is a very clever man and
got the book. He, and the rest of the team, understood that there is no real 'good' character in
Gone Girl. They understood that, in a way, it's a satire on media and misogyny, that Nick Dunne's life is always being altered by the women in his life. The casting too is wonderful. I stand by my point that Ben Affleck is Nick Dunne. He's not likable, but you kind of admire his cockiness, his smugness. Rosamund Pike transformed, almost magically, to the wonderful (I believe she is), insane and intriguing character of Amy Elliot Dunne. I would even go so far as to say I admire the character. I admire her brains, her opinions and think she is one of the best fictional character's of 21st Century.
Guardians of the Galaxy on the other hand couldn't be more different if it tried to! Another film I knew I would love just from the set up: Marvel, in space, Chris Pratt, an awesome soundtrack and funny one liners. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I cried, laughed and watched it far too many times in the cinema. I also danced too much to the soundtrack too, which I don't do often. It was the highlight of my summer and every time I've seen it since I've still had fun. I don't do that with films often.
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| www.fandango.com/movie-news/exclusive-guardians-of-the-galaxy-the-galaxy-needs-you-propaganda-poster-748138 |
I also fell in love this year with many things. I fell in love with a person, who makes my whole world happier in that soppy-sickly-kinda way. I fell in love with literature, mostly stuff I had to read for lesson as well as
Gone Girl and Giovanna's Fletcher's latest. Music in the form of my two favourite ladies Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift. Also television;
Parks and Rec has shoved almost everything out of my top 5 TV shows, after I don't know how many series I finally watched
The Apprentice and don't think I'm ever not going to watch it, my leading lady of my life is Mindy Kaling and
The Mindy Project, and
Game of Thrones was again, the best thing on telly in the whole year.
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| http://4rianagrande.tumblr.com/ |
I've always been a romantic with life (just look at how many times I've used the word 'love' so far) and use to be afraid to show this side of me. But in 2014 I learnt that there is no point in hiding a part of you, or not showing your full personality with everything. I want to take this mindset into 2015 with me; I want to love everything I want to love and not be afraid to show it. I want to talk about things that make me happy. I want to share the things that make me happy. I want to continue to be positive about everything (even though it is sometimes hard with the university work to do). I want to worry less about money, about what everyone else is doing and about how everyone else is treated by others and just worry about how I treat others. I want to love life even more than I have done in 2014.
So here are my aims:
- Stop spending. I want to save up for better things, days out in the summer. Actually do FUN things instead of not having money because I brought another pair of leggins, or another takeaway. (I'm actually going on holiday in June and don't yet have the money for it...time to save!)
- Be more active. Walk more, run more.
- Be more conscious of what I eat, but still love food. I don't want to diet per say, but I want to be kind to my body. Feed it more nutrition.
- Drive to Birmingham. I haven't done it yet and the more I put it off, the more scared I'll be.
- Worry less about what others have. I have everything I want.
- Focus more on uni work, I know I'll regret my final grade if I don't put in the effort I know I can do.
- See more films. Not just in cinema, but at home. Date nights watching films in bed. Bliss.
- Be kinder to my skin. Only wear makeup if you really feel you need it and use those wonderful skin products you always save, they'll expire soon and you can buy those instead of the same makeup again and again.
- and to live by these words:
'Live with the passion of Leslie Knope, the enthusiasm of Chris Traeger, and the bloodlust of April Ludgate ' source
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