Reflections from a Year Abroad
On London, the in-between, and perspective
I am the type of person that gets super excited for the new year but I must admit that this year feels… the same. Not that that’s a bad thing necessarily, but I am fighting to get myself to focus after the holiday.
I’ve seen numerous notes and posts about this already, so I know I am not alone in that feeling. I tend to hit my stride in February. I had so many ideas the past month, but once the holidays actually arrived, I took a beat to pause and the influx of ideas and motivation has not returned, lol.
I have also been reflecting on my year in London, and it is crazy that it’s over. Now that I am back in the familiar, that whole year of my life kind of feels like a fever dream. I came back a different person but can’t help but revert back to old habits the second I got stateside. In a way that’s normal and I am rolling with the punches until I get more settled, but I am looking forward to having more of a routine in 2026.
As I look forward to the year ahead, I can’t help but reflect on the lessons I learned in 2025 (and yes, it will take me months to adjust to writing a new year, lol.)
1. It’s okay if things don’t go to plan
Some of you might remember the piece I wrote about this already (linked below), but it is a nice reminder to have, especially going into the new year.
I have always pushed myself to dive into things without giving them too much thought — or time to talk myself out of it — and even though it does burn me sometimes, I also find the most reward out of these situations. They allow me to go further outside of my comfort zone, and in that space is where I have the best creative discoveries or learn more about myself in the process than I could have imagined.
Honestly, I kind of like that London didn’t go according to plan. Yeah, I know how weird that sounds. But I learned more about myself and how I handle hard situations because it didn’t. If I would’ve moved over there and loved it so much that I never wanted to leave, I never would have experienced and learned the things about myself that I did. I might not have rediscovered my love of writing, had the time to create without pressure, or taken the leap to become self-employed.
I might be back where I started, and I am going to try to give more consideration and thought to uprooting my life before I ever consider doing it again. But the reward way outweighed the risk, and I am thankful for that.
Just remember that taking big risks and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone opens up a whole new perspective that you would have never gotten to without it, and it all ends up okay in the end (even when it feels like it won’t at times.)
2. A change of environment is a change of perspective
There are so many things I didn’t even consider before moving abroad: healthcare, the difference between having a car vs. not having one, grocery stores, bank accounts, phone plans, differences in housing layouts, space, etc… You might be thinking, “What did you actually consider when deciding to move?” and to be completely honest, not much, lol.
I wanted to experience something new and I wanted to know that when I get to the end of my life, there is one less thing I can look back on and think, “why didn’t I ever try that” or “I wish I would’ve…” That was all it took for me.
I will say, it was a bit of a shock when I got over there and started actually trying to get my life together. Turns out getting a phone plan and a bank account is harder than just walking in and asking for one… especially when you didn’t grow up there.
All of these small changes in my environment sent me through a loop, but in those little moments of frustration and problem-solving, I was able to take away new ways of approaching my creative process. I learned a lot of patience, and gained new perspective and insight just by changing my entire environment.
I also got to meet so many amazing people that helped shape my new perspective as well. I started co-hosting Ladies, Wine and Design events and got to network with so many incredible creatives from all over the world. Even just seeing the amazing work they created helped to recharge my own practice.
There were so many moments that were so different than what I experience in my day-to-day life in the US — sitting on the tube for extended periods of time, people watching in different cafés, finding substitutes for ingredients that I grew up using, relying on public transport to get from point A to point B, taking the train to another country, navigating the NHS and healthcare — all of these things compounded in bigger ways than expected and gave me a fresh perspective to take home.
I’m no longer frustrated in traffic, I now spend extra time browsing the grocery store aisles, and I really enjoy my solo car jam sessions. I’m excited to see other things come up as I continue readjusting back to the US.
3. Rest is just as important as productivity
In the past year, I have had more free time than ever before. Or rather, I have total control over my time. Sometimes I take too much advantage of this and sleep too much or watch a little too much TV… but I have also used it to take much-needed rest.
I’ve noticed a big shift in how people approach working. It seems like a lot of folks are opening up to the idea that you should be working to live and not living to work. People are choosing passion over paycheck, saying no to things not in the job description, and setting boundaries around their time — at least from what I have seen and read over the past year.
In my own life, I am trying to stick to a better routine this year, but also rest when I need it, take a sick day when I am sick (rather than pushing through it), and when the creative juices aren’t flowing, I take that as a sign that I need to log off.
Rather than be down on myself during slow periods, I am welcoming them and taking it as time to rest. I have also been using a lot of that free time to plan and write for this publication… which has been amazing!
There are so many incredible writers and creatives on here that I absolutely adore, so getting to spend time interacting with their content has been so refreshing. The shift back to longer-form content and less quick churn-and-burn work has made me so happy. I feel less rushed and more willing to pause.
4. Quality over quantity
One of my biggest takeaways this year is that quality outweighs quantity every time. I actually wrote a piece on this one too (linked below.) When starting my own business this year, I felt a big pressure to show up on every social platform, and I noticed that my content started to feel a bit repetitive and not authentically me. The one platform that I have showed up to consistently and feel energized to work on is this one (sappy, I know), but it has allowed me to slow down, research, and put more thought and consideration into each piece rather than churning things out for visibility.
I have a newfound respect for influencers because showing my face on the camera and churning out loads of new videos is just not in my cards. Now, when I have an idea or an important thought to share, I’ll share it — but it is more authentic to me and definitely not everyday.
I’ve learned that the quality of content matters so much more, and I am more proud of the work when it takes time. I have also been investing more time into full-blown passion projects and personal projects because I am not just creating to post.
This has translated into other aspects of my life as well. I have been investing in higher-quality clothing items, paying more attention to where the things I buy come from, and being overall more mindful of the things I am consuming (whether than be physically or digitally.) I have seen a creator on here post her “digital garden” from time to time, and I love the concept that what we consume digitally is a garden that we must take care of and weed out the things that aren’t filling us up. One of my goals this year is to focus more on my consumption and “filling myself up” with the good stuff.
Our digital footprints hold so much more weight in our minds than we even realize, so I am gonna do my part to weed out the bad stuff.
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2025 was a year of growth, discovery, and shifting perspective. I spent a lot of the time uncomfortable and out of my comfort zone… right where I like it!
This year, I am focusing on showing up authentically myself.
Looking forward to spending this year more relaxed, while also pushing myself to continue growing and moving forward.
Until next time,
Bailey x
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