SlimThickDiva*

Long time no blog post! or should I stick to a more conventional greeting and say Happy New Year? I don't know, either way I am thankful that you made it into this beautiful year alive and well enough to be reading this post today.

I'm a little late to this 2017 new year new me party, and to be honest I'm a proud member of the "my year starts in February" club. Last year was filled with so much adventure, personal growth and a toppling, busy schedule that a part of me was sad to see the year go but keen to take on the year head on. In my native language (Shona) we say "kusatenda kuroyi" (meaning that we should always be thankful) and I, of course, am extremely grateful to Jehovah for seeing me through the wonderful year 2016 and proud to look back at my journey and see how far I've come.

So a few things I learnt in the past year that are contributing to some of my new year's resolutions:

Accept things you cannot change: Sometimes life hands you lemons, learn to make lemonade. Not everything goes according to how you plan. My mum always reminds me that its not about how big your problem is that matters, but how you handle it. Make the best of situations you cant change but through it all, remember a flower can indeed grow from the concrete.

Plan ahead, but don't forget to live in the moment: I am the type of person who over-thinks, always planning their next move and sometimes forget to live in the moment. Its easy for life to pass you by when you fail to cherish the beauty in living the PRESENT. I want to live in the year 2017 that one day I'll look back and be able to relive every moment, good or bad.

If they want to be in your life, they will: I am a lover (and no, not in that sense silly!) but when I hold someone dear, I like to go all out for them. You may be wondering what's wrong with that and truth is nothing, until you start wearing yourself thin to please someone or don't get what you give in return. I experienced this in a painful way last year but safe to say I learnt a valuable lesson in return. I was my best self in a friendship until the friendship became a one sided juggle. I fought for the friendship to stay afloat until I pulled back and gave myself that much needed pep talk "people go after what they want in life.. and if they want it bad, they fight tooth and nail to make sure they don't lose it". I dusted myself up, knitting my wounded pride and walked away. This year is for building healthy relationships and friendships.

What did 2016 teach you and what are some of your resolutions?

I went for a polished look for today's look. As a business student, I always have sophisticated pieces handy in my closet. If you look closely however, you will see that I wore my shirt the other way round i.e the front as the back and vice versa. I saw this on pinterest and I had to try it. This is a way to increase ways to expand your closet with a few pieces (way to stay stylish and chic without breaking the bank). I decided to tuck my shirt in, buttoned all the way down because I was going for a clean look but you can tie your shirt up and play around with it depending what look you aim to achieve.