If We Were Having Coffee I’d Say…

That it’s raining right now and we couldn’t have picked a cosier time to drink our coffee.

That I hope you’re well, and that I don’t know about you but i’m feeling super content right now, as coffee shops are one of my favourite places to be.

That you don’t have to do things purely for the sake of saying that you’ve done it.

That the future near and far makes you feel anxious, just like it does me too. But we’ll both be okay.

That we should always try and think of the future through a curious lense, because the world is full of unfathomable amounts of possibilities and we really shouldn’t disregard that.

That I hope you’re enjoying your coffee, and that i’m happy I went with my usual choice of an ordinary latte and not a Chai latte in my attempt at being autumnal, because that was way too sickly last time.

That we shouldn’t focus on things we simply can’t change, because it’s not time wisely spent.

That I hope you’ve had a great summer, because I’ve possibly had one of the best ones yet. Filled with adventure, valuable time spent with family and friends, fulfillment through writing blog posts, reading some really great novels and invaluable time spent on my own which has allowed me to learn more about myself.

And lastly, you really should make time for those you love.

 

 

 

Thank you for reading!

🙂

 

Growing Up

“… And these children that you spit on

as they try to change their worlds

are immune to your consultations.

They’re quite aware

of what they’re going through…” ~ David Bowie

Being a teenager is challenging. The number of subliminal messages and expectancies placed upon young people are countless. Even though most of these ‘so -called’ messages don’t appear to be harmful at first glance, speaking from individual experience, they certainly are.

One of these messages which causes a lot of problems during teenage years, is the need to fit in. Follow the trends, use the same words as everyone else, dress the same, refrain from speaking up in class to avoid being labelled a ‘nerd’, undergo underage drinking just because everyone else is doing it. Peer pressure is something that we can get so caught up in, and it can be distracting from the precious years we have to be young and experiment with who we are. It’s all a part of growing up, it should be fun filled with wonderful experiences, good and bad. But I do however think retrospectively, that learning how you want to spend your time, (including saying no, and sometimes saying yes to things out of your comfort zone) is integral to discovering things about yourself as a person. It’s important to be aware of your limits.

I sometimes feel as though there’s this predetermined path set to follow in society. Go to school, and then onto University, get a job and then what, eternal happiness? But, of course life isn’t as linear as that. Life is like being on a never-ending roller coaster, it has its ups, it has its downs, and you often don’t know what the hell is going on.

Furthermore, individual expression isn’t something that you should hide away inside of you where no one else can see it. Because we’re all unique in our own way, and I believe you’re given a voice and mind for a reason, and to hide away and try to be something you’re not, well you’re only cheating yourself really. Life is beautiful. So go out and chase whatever it is you want and express your personality whether it be through your quirky choice of clothes or the words you use. We need to make a change and encourage others to start embracing who they are, and work towards the world being a more accepting place. After all, as Sean McCabe said,”You will never influence the world by trying to be like it.”

One thing i’ve also come to realise is that a way to feel free, is to be undeniably yourself. Whilst this is probably one of the hardest things to do, because I don’t know about anyone else but as much as you may want to be yourself at times, there’s always that voice is your head talking you out of it, telling you to act a certain way, say a certain thing to adapt to the person or situation you are around/in. But with the right mindset and persistence, and keeping focused on doing things you enjoy as well as surrounding yourself with the right people, it does get easier.

Lastly, a little bit of advice from me for those hard times when things are getting on top of you;

Think of yourself as an individual, and know that it is okay to prioritise yourself over others. Allow yourself time on your own to work on feeling comfortable in your own skin.

During anxious times view yourself as a single star in an endless cosmos, acknowledge the immensity of the universe, and know that you are merely a speck of dust within it.

This way of thinking often reminds me that my problems are not as big as I think they are, and that they will pass, much like day passes into night and sapling turns into tree. Life keeps going.

 

 

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this post!

🙂

 

Student Life is What You Make It

‘Student life is what you make it’, is something I often found myself saying to my friends at university, as I’m reassuring them that there is certainly more to ‘uni life’ then going clubbing.

Don’t like clubbing? Then the simplest solution for that my friend is, don’t go. It’s not always as simple as that I know, there’s perhaps that curious voice in your head that pops up telling you to just try it. And you maybe find yourself thinking things like; you’ll be fine what is the worst that could happen? And that you’ll hate yourself more if you don’t ever at least give it a try. If you want to try it, do it, but make sure it’s because you want to, and nothing else.

Ignore those voices in your head that are trying to make yourself do something you don’t want to, ignore those nosey adults (you know the one’s I mean) who just automatically assume that because you’re a student you therefore must enjoy clubbing. Believe me, there is so much more to the university experience than going out clubbing.

From my point of view, as someone who does actually like clubbing, I know that there’s also plenty of other stuff that I could be doing, and do actually do. I simply wouldn’t go to a nightclub if I didn’t want too. I do it because I enjoy it, and that’s the sole reason why you should do anything, because you enjoy it. Countless evenings of my first year were spent chatting away to my flat mates, about anything from our families and life, to Game of Thrones and Harry Potter themed conversations. The hours would fly by, and the next thing we knew it would be 2am. We literally got lost in conversation, evenings like that are invaluable. Other than that, we’d quite often have our themed TV nights, where we’d watch back to back episodes of Riverdale or Twin Peaks, or we’d watch La La Land for the millionth time and unashamedly find ourselves singing along to all the songs. And not to forget our spontaneous baking sessions, which often involved dancing and flour fights (a great way to break the ice with new flat mates by the way).

How you choose to spend your spare time at university is completely up to you and I can’t reiterate that enough. It is incredibly easy to get lost in what you think you should be doing. But fight it, find your niche, whatever that may be, and delve right into it and don’t become distracted by what everyone else is doing. Always remember that you are fully within your rights to simply say no. You’ll even come to notice that there’s so many other students who will feel the same as you. Find friends who accept you for you (as cliché as that sounds, it’s actually really important.) And you’ll be on track for focusing on you, your studies and making some pretty awesome and unforgettable memories at the same time.

 

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to get in touch, either direct with me via the ‘Contact’ tab at the top of this webpage or by leaving a comment below!

🙂