
Although it had many ups and downs, 2019 was a good year for me.
It was one of the best years I’ve had, and by far the best year of college. Because it was such a memorable year, with tons of happenings, I want to record all the highlights so that I can look back later.
All I could think about during New Year’s Eve, when I was supposed to be studying for the next day’s exam, was 2019 memories. I roughly drafted this post on the morning of 1st Jan during breakfast even though I was supposed to leave for college in 10 minutes. That’s how much I want to record the last year.

Since I have a LOT to recap, I’ll try to keep each point short. Otherwise this post will never end lol.
LIFE
- Medical ups and downs.
My platelet count, which has been low since my first year of college, finally edged back into the normal range. But we suddenly found a swelling on my neck which kept growing. It persisted throughout the year, and caused so many problems.
- 7 months of gluten-free diet.
I went on a gluten-free diet from April through October, for medical reasons. It was really hard because it cut down most of what I can eat outside, and meant that I mostly only ate at home.
- First ER visit & hospitalization.
I was rushed to the hospital Emergency ward in the end of October due to breathlessness, caused by my swelling which suddenly kept increasing. And I stayed in the hospital, hooked up to IV and doing several tests, for three days. I absolutely hated that hospital stay, and hate that hospital now.
- My relationship with my dad fractured.
It was barely hanging in the first place. I don’t know if we’ll be able to recover from this, and I’m not sure I want us to.
- I cultivated my existing friendships over making new ones.
2018 was all about making new friends and getting out of my shell. But last year I spent a lot of time becoming closer to the friends I had, than reaching out to new people. It’s not to say that I didn’t make new friends, I did, but they’re fewer. My group is a tight-knit tribe now, because all of us spent a lot of time hanging out.

- I got a job!
I was very worried about this, and I’m super glad I managed to get a job. My internship there starts this month, and it’s very exciting to think about.
- Started choosing brighter colours.
I hated bright colours because they grab attention and I basically wanted to not be seen. Red & yellow were the worst. For many years my favourite colours were brown, dark purple, and then dark shades of blue. But last year, my favourite colour changed to pink. Not only that, but light pink! And I even began buying clothes which are yellow or red. It’s a huge change, which reflects my confidence.
- I was open to many new plans.
I met up with tons of new people, and even suggested meetups myself. The most notable are meets with my Bangalore bookstagram club and meeting up with people from my last internship.
- Made very many memories.
Especially the small ones. The most cherished times were everyday things from hanging out at our college’s canteen, to playing cards and other things.

BLOGGING
- Blogging fell to the wayside during multiple months.
I prioritized life things over blogging, and let my blog go without new posts for months together. The worst part was that I didn’t even read other blogs much during the time. By the end of that spell, I was disappointed in myself for doing that. While my priority choices were right, I could have put more effort into blogging.
- Very many personal posts.
When I started blogging, I did a lot of personal posts but as I immersed into the blogging world, I restricted most of my posts to the bookish zone. Inadvertently, I put myself into a niche even though I didn’t want that. 2019 changed that, because I had SO MANY THINGS to talk about and wanted to share my life with everyone.
- Hit 1.5k followers, 50k total views, and 700 total posts.
Achievements and milestones!!!
- Struggled to decide where I want to go with this blog.
Since I was being irregular, I was confining myself to keep it as just a hobby. But I also have the dream of making it a side hustle, which will take a lot of work. It’s very exciting to think of. But in 2019, I was very undecided throughout the year.
- My blog started coming up high in search engines!
In fact, the most number of views this blog currently receives is from search engines. Few of my posts have become really popular, I don’t know how, and garner so many views.
- Engagement from the WordPress community reduced.
I’m not able to pinpoint why, but the engagement from WordPress reader has considerably reduced from past years. That’s quite sad because they’re my original reader base, and the ones I used to interact a lot with.
- Blogmas!
I’m super glad that I did blogmas this time, and I managed to blog ALL 25 DAYS. That’s.. wow. Surprised myself, honestly. Click here to see my blogmas posts.

SOCIAL MEDIA
- Tried new things on @thewordyhabitat.
I was only doing short themes, but in 2019 I tried outdoor photos, themeless feed and I did some experimenting with the posts. 2019 was also the year when I first put up my face on the account, which I had never done before.
- Struggled a lot with motivation.
Especially because of the engagement drop in Instagram. It was very discouraging and it made me want to give up on my bookstagram multiple times. I even did a whole post with my thoughts on Instagram.
- Struggled with my vision for @bujobeauties.
I considered monetizing it, but signing up on paypal gave me issues as it wasn’t accepting my ID. And somewhere during the beginning of 2019, I didn’t feel very inclined towards that account, and my activity went down. It took a backseat to @thewordyhabitat, and I wholly regret that.
- My twitter was just… I don’t know.
I started being more active there, and started using Hootsuite to schedule promo tweets for the blog. But otherwise, I’m just enjoying seeing my twitter feed over actually putting content there myself.
- Struggled to find my place in social media, overall.
My goals and my vision for my social media was completely unclear. I just kept doing something, but in my head, the end picture was not formed at all.

This year, I have some sense of direction because I figured out what I want to do, mostly. I have goals and action plans, and hopefully it will lead to the right end vision.
Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Pinterest
How is your 2019 in review? Was it good, or was it disappointing?
I think it’s always good to reflect on the year – often it is easy to focus on the negatives but its always important to look at what good things have happened to! This is a great post, I hope you have a great 2020 x
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Thank you so much! Hope you have a great 2020 as well 🙂
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Ah, this post is so mice to read with all the honesty you’ve poured into it ❤
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I’m glad you liked it! 💛
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These posts are so interesting to read! I was gluten free for a while, so I know how hard that is lol. Also, congrats on your blog followers and views! That’s great!
Briana
https://justmythoughtsblogs.wordpress.com
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I’m glad you liked it! Thank you so much!
Hope you have a great 2020 x
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Reflecting on the year is so important and i’m impressed by your honesty to share the good and the bad. I’m sorry to hear that you dealt with some health struggles. I gave up Gluten in 2018 for health reasons and it was difficult at first but got a lot easier as I found more places with Gluten Free options and more recipes with Gluten Free substitutions.
It can be hard to stay motivated and consistent with blogging and social media since there are so many apps and things to keep up with. I’m really impressed that search is generating a lot of views – that means your posts are resonating with people beyond the blogging community!
Wishing you health, happiness, and success in 2020!
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It’s great to hear that you’ve managed to find Gluten Free alternatives and that it’s easier now. Since I’m Indian, and mostly eat rice anyway, it was a little easier for me to make the transition as well. I missed the wheat though, haha.
Thank you! I hope you have a great 2020 as well ❤
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Congratulations on getting a job. It’s good to reflect on the year. Not all is great but definitely makes us appreciate the good times. Thank you for sharing x
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Thank you! And I agree, the not-so-great things make us appreciate the good things.
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Definitely!
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Congratulations on hitting 50k views, that is an amazing achievement! Looking forward to seeing what you achieve this year!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
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Thank you so much!
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Your year sounds like a solid year. I love how you have done what many people have not and included all the ups and downs instead of making 2019 sound like one sunshine fulled trip. Adding in that bit of shadow we all have makes it more relatable. 🙂
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Thank you so much! In the end, this recap is also for me and when I look back, I want to see all aspects of it.
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[…] Right as exams finished, I made plans with friends to go out and chill. Our exams finished on Wednesday, and I went out to a cafe on Thursday with friends. On Friday, I went to one of my best friends’ place and chilled with her there. We spoke about random things and I blogged a little. In fact, I handed her the reins to make the blog post header image for my 2019 lookback post. […]
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It sounds like you had a good year! Every year comes with its ups and downs, and that’s what makes it special. 2019 was like that for me too: it was a good year overall, but really not that great if I look really closely at it. I enjoyed looking at your different themes on your Instagram, although I haven’t followed your blog as closely, because like you, blogging/commenting took a backseat to college so. 😦
Have a good 2020!!
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I’m glad 2019 was a good year overall for you! Now we can just concentrate on 2020, and bringing back our blogging 😊
Hope you have a great 2020 as well!
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Congrats on everything you’ve accomplished. I hope you have an awesome 2020. Also pink is my fav too lol
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Thank you! I hope you have a great 2020 as well 😊
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Impressed by your blog🤩
You know people don’t usually think that they are living two lives; one that is real and the other is on social media.
I also wrote about it in my latest blog, so lemme know your thoughts on that.
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Thank you! I’ll check it out 😊
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