of a positive nature

• Eurovision 2013 in Malmö, Sweden.
• integrating myself within a creative and quirky group of friends, the 'down-to-earth' type, whom I've really began to adore. ♡
• establishing a pen-pal correspondence with Letta, and my subsequent trip to Iceland.
• dropping out of Frisian class, and taking up German instead.
• maintaining (and in some cases, improving) my okay grades in art, English, music, Dutch and biology.
• my 16th birthday; seeing the queen abdicate.
• having my excessively long cultural exchange application accepted, and finding out I'm going to England!
  • upon hearing I genuinely felt weak with happiness.
• celebrating a wonderful Sinterklaas and Christmas.

of a negative nature

• being diagnosed with social anxiety.
• my horrific performance in a maths test, which left me intellectually deflated and recessed for months to come.
• waking up to find my bicycle, which I paid 180€ for, stolen.
  • discovering it, weeks later, mangled and useless, on the riverbanks of the Oosterdok. *grumble*
• feeling consigned to oblivion by my erstwhile chums from Alphen aan den Rijn, whom I'd hoped to maintain cordial relations with sequential to moving - but that's life.