2013: A Year In Review

2013 has drawn to an almost close and it would be wrong of me not to do a year in review list. I normally do them on my Tumblr, but this year I thought I'd put one on here as well. I can't believe we're about to enter 2014, it's absolutely crazy.

JANUARY

Last year SAD had hit me pretty hard as it was snowing a lot in the UK. I've realised this year that snow seems to be the trigger. Anyway, I was at my friends house party when 2013 began. It was a ridiculously fun evening filled with alcohol, dancing, laughing and the best music with some of the best people. The rest of January is kind of a blur, I had to get back into a dreaded university routine but I remember getting press credentials for a Two Door Cinema Club show and it was the first time in a long time that I actually felt like my music magazine was growing.

FEBRUARY

After being on a high from the Two Door Cinema Club show, I started off February by going to a small venue near the city centre to interview The Pictish Trail. I went with my friend Amy and we got to stay for the show, and I ended up taking my first unofficial live music photos that night - most of them were blurred. After that I went to a handful of shows and spent most of my time actually at the O2 academy. I seen bands like Straight Lines, Boy Jumps Ship, We Are The Ocean, The Getaway Plan, The Excerts, Anberlin, The Summer Set, Lower Than Atlantis, All Time Low and Don Broco. I even had the pleasure of seeing and interview Tonight Alive which was a really great experience. Valentines Day is in February too and I was and still am single, so I spent the evening with one of my friends Penner and we explored our city.

MARCH

So March was a crazy busy month which I really loved, looking back on it at least. I went to see Benny Benassi in concert and got drunk for the first time since New Year. I turned 20, and opted not to celebrate because I don't like the attention, and for my Mam's birthday we went to Germany. I have relatives in Germany, and one of my cousins was getting married. It was really great to head over and be a part of their special day. Plus, there was horses at the wedding and glow sticks. What a combination.

APRIL

For some reason I have real difficultly placing what happened in April, so I guess it wasn't that eventful. I did go see 5 talented British bands as well as Never Shout Never and We Are The In Crowd. My music magazine, Venture Mag, was also placed in a frame on the wall of a New York City office - so that was pretty cool.

MAY

May was another pretty action-packed month. I went to see Natives, Action Item and The Summer Set in concert, finished University for summer and created this little blog. I celebrated Eurovision at a friends house, and I went to Evolution Festival to see acts like Bastille and Ellie Goulding.

JUNE

I spent the last two weeks of June and the first of July in America, which you can read about here, here and here. It was one of the best experiences of this year and I'm so lucky for my second family that are over there. They are some of the nicest, hardworking and humblest people I have the pleasure of knowing.

JULY

When I got back from America the sun was shining and July was spent at the beach, at the movies, having BBQs and at the pub. A quality British Summer I guess you could say!

AUGUST

We surprisingly still had a lot of good weather in August as well, so my family and I headed to Alnmouth Beach and Amble.

SEPTEMBER

At the beginning of September my Dad and I headed out to Northumberlandia to take some photos, it was a great trip out and I really learned a lot. Though the second half of September brought the joys of starting University again, which I definitely wasn't looking forward too. However, I got to see one of my favourite bands in concert: Jimmy Eat World.

OCTOBER

October was another month that was packed full of shows such as Ellie Goulding, Decade, Set It Off, Tonight Alive and Jessie J. I also celebrated my Aunty's 60th birthday with our whole family, and the following weekend Penner and I went to Edinburgh. Towards the end of the month I photographed my first music show.

NOVEMBER

November was adventure central. I didn't celebrate Halloween at the start of the month because I ended up going to Birmingham with my cousin Kathryn, to visit our other cousin Barry. Two weeks later I went to Paris with Caitlin, which was by far one of the best things I did this year. I also had the pleasure of seeing Imagine Dragons live as well.

DECEMBER

And now here we are in December, though only just. This month has been filled with University pitches and presentations and work and almost tears. I finally finished Gossip Girl after starting it four months ago and I visited York with my Mam, Aunty and Cousin. I rounded off my year of gigs seeing a local act called Boy Jumps Ship and had a wonderful Christmas with my parents. I closed my music magazine after two and a half years of work, and I'm excited to see where the future takes me.

Looking back, 2013 was way more adventure filled that I thought it was. This year I really feel like I "lived" if that makes sense. I was tired a lot, but I continued to push through and accomplish things that mattered to me. I somehow managed to visit America, Paris and several parts of the UK that I'd never been to despite being on a budget and having no income. I went to a ton of shows, there wasn't a single month where I didn't attend a concert and that's pretty cool. I'm really excited to see what 2014 brings, but I'll miss you 2013 - you were pretty great.