My Holiday Blog

The joke on me is that I'm a granddad. My 'blistering' pace across the tennis court, creaking body and elderly habits do me no favours in this area. Of course I can take the joke, but I've felt like a granddad these past 12 days: coughing horrendously when breathing 'fresh' air; barely able to do any strenuous movement without ending up almost collapsed on the floor; sapped of energy almost throughout the day. If I was being selfish, I'd describe the last week or so as the worst Christmas I've ever had. But, obviously, that's not true at all.

Instead of moaning about the last two weeks of 2015, I think I'll recap on the other 50 weeks that weren't too bad.

The word 'academic' sticks out when I think back on the year. A lot, if not all, of the year was about getting into uni, then going to uni. At the moment I'm still very much focused on the 6 exams I've got later this month, and I feel like it's the first time in a while I've had a chance to 'zone out', almost, and give myself time to reflect. I don't know if I say this in every blog but, as desperate as I am to do the best I can at uni, it won't be the end of the world if I don't get exactly what I want from it. Something else is also a big part of uni and, no, drinking isn't what I'm thinking. Many people see uni as a chance to be more independent etc. and I feel as though I've learnt enough things about myself in three months to fill a thousand pages. I'm in a very good place and there are many new people (and a song!) I've met that I am extremely thankful for.

I learnt things over summer too. I learnt how important it is to live life on my own terms - not letting other people's interests determine what I do - so I learnt plenty about myself and what I really wanted. I think my summer hinged on one moment, which I'll put down as my personal moment of 2015: seeing my friend looking completely crestfallen after prom and deciding that we had to help him. Two things came of that: 1. a great friendship; 2. a terrible feeling of almost-hatred fighting against a desire to forgive and forget. I'm very happy with the first one. The second, I'm still not sure which way I'll fall but I hope I'll never have to go through it again.

To family and friends, thanks for what you've done for me in 2015 and best wishes for 2016!

Thanks,

Oli :)
Twitter: @Chowerz