GoodBye 2016

I cannot decide if this year was awesome or a shit year. A lot of famous people died this year. Some real legends. This was also a very dark year in terms of politics. And to top it all off, this year ended with the death of one of my family's dogs, Sally.
At the same time this year is full of great memories with travels to London, Stockholm, USA, Vienna and moving from Dublin to Berlin. Also my big birthday aka doomsday was this year. This turned out to be way greater than I had imagined.

So here my personal recap of 2016

January
I don't even remember January. But looking back into my calendar I can see that it was still January when I handed in my designs for sampling. Also here my 2016 accident happened (breaking my big toe in two places and splitting of my nail during baking) yuck!

February
In February I had not only collected my new designs but went to my first fashion event, the London fashion weekend. Looking back and already during the event I felt this was a waste of time, however it was great to get to London and see kinky boots (still on crutches-which let to a better seat then I had originally booked)

March
March was the month of C2C . Country to country 2016 was awesome. 3 evenings of great country music in a row. I had standing tickets for all 3events. But guess what: I was still on crutches and ended up in very back sitting as standing wasn't really an option.

April
Was pretty eventless. So I'm moving on swiftly.

May
May oh May. I can already hear the European hymn of peace and freedom. Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden and I had a fan accreditation. Euro club and the shows. Not just any tickets but VIP tickets for the final. Pure awesomeness. I celebrated so hard, it is no surprise, I was out sick the following week.

June
In comparison June was uneventful again. However at the end of the month a third person moved into our apartment: my dear friend Ana moved back from Berlin to Dublin.

July
In July I finally got around to my next foto shoot. This time with 3models instead of one and the results are just as stunning as the previous ones. July was also the month we decided that I will be moving to Berlin. I cried for several days as I really did not want to leave my beautiful Ireland.

August
In August I said my final farewell but not before having my wonderful friend Aki over to do a ring of Kerry /Dingle tour. It was so much fun and a great way to end this almost 6year long chapter of my life. In mid-August I moved to Berlin. Into an unfurnished apartment in a city I didn't know. Because of the move I actually missed the Italian wedding I was invited to and regret to have missed.

September
Very much settling in and getting my apartment furnished. Making a "Poco-Friend". Overall a good time.

October
October started with the alternative fashion week that I went to and this to me was a great event. I might not have made connections as I had hoped but it was great to see sustainable and recycled fashion by other designers and having the option to purchase some of the designs presented.
October finished with my long anticipated trip to the states. My detailed reports allow me to just sum it up in one word: amazing!

November
Coming back from the states I celebrated my 30th birthday in style and i am proud to say it was a really successful party. The concert of walking on cars was just the perfect finish to a great sabbatical.
This was also the month I had decided to leave my current job. Initially I wanted to only reduce my working hours to 30h. But working again, I quickly realized that I needed a real change.

December
In December the final decision was made to leave PayPal as no other department offered a part time position.
Handing in my notice I went to Austria to celebrate my decision to jump into cold water (which really scares me, as I have not planned everything yet). With my two lovely friends Or and Doro I went to almost every Christmas market in Vienna and had a great time.
Back home the terrorist attack happened, killing 12 people, while I was having dinner at my poco friends house, watching a movie. I still cannot believe how some politicians can be so insensitive to call it Merkel's dead and asking what the government should have done differently. It is disrespectful towards all the people that died that day.
Now for Christmas I was hoping for a great time at home but that was overshadowed by the death of my family's dog.

Summarizing this year on a personal level I can say it was overall a really good year. I feel I have grown quite a bit. On a greater scale it really was not a good year. Brexit, Trump, Erdogan, AFD are showing how sad this year really has been.

So my wish for 2017 is sense. I hope that people come to their senses and act human again. I hope for peace in Syria. I hope that Trump and Putin will not do anything so stupid it will lead to irreparable damage. I hope that Scotland will be able to become independent once the British exit has started. I hope that people learn that their problems can not be blamed on others but only themselves.

But seeing how things go I need to focus on myself. And for myself I hope that i continue to have courage to go my own path. That I will be able to get into the fashion business with my sustainable fashion. That I will make enough to make a living working independently. That I will have the energy and will to be organized and focused on my work while still being able to live a little.

2017 I am ready for you!