Elizabeth Campbell, The Word Stylist, is a contributor for Get it Magazine. Here she shares her grand plan for 2017 that will require a new Camilla dress, Italy and a lot of F words. This article was recently published in the December 2016 edition of the magazine.
Dear 2016
The countdown to 2017 is on and I just want to say thank you. You have been amazing. I have learned so much from you and am grateful to have had you in my life.
Next year the F word is going to take precedence. Actually there are several F words I’ll be saying in 2017. More on that later.
It is this time of year we look back and celebrate, have some wine (or more wine!), eat a lot and open Santa presents – and then look at the next year and work out how we are going to make it rock.
I’ll be doing that, plus I’m taking four weeks off. Yippee, I’m having a holiday, some fun in the sun while I sip on cocktails.
Four. Weeks. Off.
It’s so exhilarating. I’ve never taken that long off before – except once when I was editing at the newspaper and took five weeks of to go to Italy, Greece, France and the UK.
Actually, I’m going back to Italy next year to live for three months. I’ll base myself in Rome for the first month, then I want to explore Sardinia, Sicily, Pompeii, Amalfi Coastline, Corsica, Venice … I’ll also be heading to Spain and Romania. I’ve always wanted to get back to Italy … it has been 10 years so it’s high time. And ever since I saw a photo of the mountains in Romania in an old-school encyclopedia when I was in Year 7, I’ve always wanted to go there.
That’s my grand plan for 2017. It’s been my dream for a long time. So I thought, right, what’s stopping me? The answer was nothing. So I’m doing it.
To see my dream come true, I’m going to have to say a lot of F words.
I’ll be effing this and effing that.
Here are the top F words will be incorporating into my life to set up my business to work from Italy.
- Finances: Budget, what budget?Finances will be my number one F word in 2017. I’ll be keeping a very close eye on my money coming in and going out … I say next year as I’ve just put a stunning Camilla dress and gold cross earrings to match on layby for a Christmas party here at Versace in a couple of weeks. What? I need to be fashionable when I go to Italy … see F word number 3!
- Fitness: Not only do I need to get financially fit, I need to physically for for all the hiking I plan to do in those mountains of Romania. Plus I need to be mentally fit because this is a massive leap outside of my comfort zone. Massive. Solo travel is something I have wanted to for a long time but haven’t had the courage to do it (yet). So this year I decided I was going to face any fears that came up so I could live life on my terms. This F word is part of the reason why I’m heading to the home of gelato.
- Fashion: Italy is one of the most fashionable cities on the planet so I’m going to have introduce some gorgeous garments to my wardrobe before I go so I can fit in with the locals, right? Hello new Camilla piece.
- Facebook: I’ll be keeping in touch with my friends, family and colleagues, through none other than Facebook. I’ll be “live-ing” from wherever I am in the world so you can all keep up with my adventures and my Mum knows I’m alive and well. Love ya Ma.
- Food: Basically, I mentioned “fitness” earlier because I’ll need to be in great shape so I can eat my way around Italy … I love pasta and pizza and all of the creaminess that goes with Italian food. Even the olive oil is dressed in olive oil!
- Famous: While I’m there, I’ll be “working” – I don’t really call it that because it’s not like work to me. I absolutely love my life and what I get to do each day. However, this is will be the biggest test of my career as I set up my life and business now to accommodate the travelling. However, I will be securing speaking gigs and running workshops from all over the world. I will catch up with contacts in Europe and the UK to collaborate. I’ll be famous!
- Fear: Refer F word number 2. I will not let fear of the unknown get in my way. I am doing this regardless of what happens in my life and I have asked my family and close friends – and my Facebook clan – to hold me accountable in doing so.
So thank you 2016. You have been a year of trials and tribulations, reactions and rewards, and fun and frivolity – plus a lot of hard work and consolidation.
Now I am ready for you 2017 and we are going to blitz it.
Liz xo
As seen in Get it Magazine
