"Goodbye 2009... You've been good to me."

What an amazing year. Like any year there have been major up and major downs, but overall I think this has definitely been my best year to date....

2009 began, as usual, with post-Christmas family time. Translation - yet more turkey concoctions, bad TV re-runs and frenzied rooting through the empty wrappers in the Quality Street tin for untouched green triangles.

Then, it was back to uni. The next few months consisted of attempting to retain my good grades whilst, in all honesty, partying way too much with my fantastic friends. I couldn't have asked for more. Intense Wii sessions - the entire flat crammed into my tiny bedroom taking turns to play on the maracas, and me and my flatmate desperately trying to complete House of the Dead late at night, whilst taking the piss out of the cheesy dialogue. Then there were the days spent sunbathing on the fields, when someone always seemed to turn up with a crate of beer and a disposable barbeque, the immense roadtrip to Scotland with the girls, and some amazing parties.

Oh, and I wrote my entire dissertation in 36 hours. 8000 words of which were written in the 24 hours before the deadline. On my usual form, I managed to get a reasonable-yet-could-easily-have-been-much-higher grade of 65.

The day I received my results could not have been more of a contrast of up and down. I was over the moon to get a 2:1, and set out to celebrate at a uni-organised party in the bar by my flat. A couple of hours into the evening I got a call from my mum to say that the news was reporting that Michael Jackson had died. I sat down where I was in the street and cried. I have been a huge fan of Michael my entire life, and had been ecstatic for months looking forward to the front row tickets for one of his London concerts in 2010, which I had paid £600 for, as well as another £100 for another show on another night. It was truly one of the saddest things I have experienced.

In July I graduated, extremely happy with my degree, and very sad to be leaving Lancaster, my graduation day being the perfect end to a brilliant year.

At the end of the month I set off on my long-awaited trip to the US and Canada, one of the best experiences I will ever have. Then, a day after returning to the UK I began my new career in London, and have been here ever since. I have worked on fashion shows, music videos, a film, and now for my company in post-production. And the future is already looking bright.

This year also saw the birth of my amazing nephew Lucas, who in his first month survived major heart surgery and has grown into a beautiful, funny, well-behaved and inspirational little soldier.

I'm almost sad to see 2009 go, with so many moments that I would give my right arm to experience all over again. But I'm excited for 2010; my first year that begins entirely in the real world! I honestly have no idea how it's going to pan out, but I'm going to continue to work my backside off to 'keep the dream alive'.

Ahhh.... casual cheesiness. Brilliant.