If I were a dragon I think my treasure would be books. Old and new; piled high beneath my scaly wings. I’d perch atop them and select a new one to read each day. I’d keep them dry in my dragon-cave with my fiery breath and keep them safe forever.

If I were a dragon my hoard would be friends. Each person special to my heart protected from danger by my ferocious roar. My bat-like wings would fly them from trouble and curl around to keep them warm.

If I were a dragon I think I would keep a collection of outcasts like gold. All those who think they are not good enough, not strong enough, not enough. I would crown them all as fair princes and princesses and keep them in my tower. Not as prisoners but as new friends.
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If I were a dragon I would never hurt a soul. I would collect my books and my friends and my lost souls. I would treasure them all like a parent placing a drawing upon a fridge. They will be my hoard; my cave of wonders. It will be lit with the sparkle of fairy-lights, not gold and gems. It will be kept warm by the heat of love and it will strike fear only into those full of hate.

This is from 3 years ago, so be kind. I have no idea where I was going with this, tbh. It's a cliffhanger for me too.

Lucy was almost certain that someone had a vendetta against her. It was the only explanation for why she was sat on a cold bench in the rain at 3 on a Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoons were for napping and watching telly with an uncomfortably full stomach. No one was about on a Sunday afternoon, easily exemplified by the empty street around her. A man had walked past about 10 minutes ago but he’d only been going to the corner shop and he’d soon been heading back home. There wasn’t a bus due for another 40 minutes, yet here she was sat in the bus shelter wishing she was anywhere else. Vendetta. Definitely.
​
That person didn’t actually arrive for another seven minutes, making it a total of 19 minutes that Lucy could have sat inside in the warmth. But no, Cam had said she’d be ‘5 minutes, tops. Please, Luce, please’. Bloody Cam. 

It came too quickly.

No warning. No alarms. Just the skitter of too many legs on asphalt and concrete. Feet on windows and pushing in doors.
​
No one was safe.

I recently turned 28 so I thought I'd look back on the previous year. A concept entirely stolen from much smarter people than me. (FWIW, I originally saw this on the MyHarto YouTube channel)

1. It’s probably about time to do adult things, like iron my shirts and clean on a regular basis.
2. Travelling is one of the best things you can spend your money on. This is a cliché that I quickly learned is 100% true.
3. I can get out of that rut, it’s not too late.
4. I will still have the skin of a teenager, I get ID’d but I also have way more spots than I am happy with. I used to not care but it’s really getting to a point of true grievance now.
5. I need a proper skincare routine.
6. I no longer care about New Year’s Eve, I’d much rather get a full night’s sleep and wake up in the New Year not feeling like death.
7. Hangovers became a thing like 2 years ago, I no longer want to drink as much as I used to and I refuse to give in to pressure to do so.
8. Painting my nails each week is a nice little routine to get into. Pretty nails are a quick way to a smile in the morning.
9. I spend too much time on the internet but still lack the motivation to stop.
10. I thought I couldn’t care less about which celebrity is doing what when I was a teenager. In fact, I did have the ability to care even less and I am now so far removed from celebrity culture I regularly fail to put names to faces.
11.  Shopping for home items (especially kitchenware) is thrilling and I will not be ashamed of that fact.
12. Online discourse is both eye-opening and exhausting.
13. Politics really matter – this could be because of the current political climate and not my age.
14. I no longer have much patience for ignorance from my family but still lack the confidence to truly tell them why they’re wrong. I still hope my air of disappointment will convey the message for me. I can do better.
15. Birthday’s aren’t exciting anymore.
16. Other people’s opinions do not matter.
17. I don’t have to dress to send some kind of message about my personality. I can just dress how I want to. Pretty, colourful dresses are just as good as all black all the time.
18. When given a chance to air grievances about my place of work I can be brutally honest and feel no need to spare anyone’s feelings. I am too tired to put up with people being treated badly for the sake of making money.
19. I might be able to buy a house one day, this was so unlikely for so long.
20. Going back to university was a good decision.
21. Anxiety will never fully go away, even while on medication.
22. Christmas is not exciting, but the food is good.
23. I am turning into my mum more and more each year, but that is ok. My mum is pretty great.
24. I can handle some spicy food.
25. Children are correct; every dog should be acknowledged and admired. Pointing and saying ‘look at that dog’ will immediately cheer everyone up.
26. Staying inside all weekend is not the best idea, I will feel icky.
27. Things can be better than they were.

Here's to 2018, it can only be better than 2017 (the bar is set quite low).