Woman has huge smile on her face as she immerses herself in cold water. You can see her shoulders and swimming costume straps. She has her hair tied up and wears a blue, patterned head band. Behind her is green folliage and part of a waterfall, cascading over rocks

Finding joy in movement

TW: brief bit about eating disorders. At School I hated exercise. It was always competitive. Any team related sports made me want to hide in the toilets. Luckily, teachers randomly sorted us into teams, otherwise I would have probably been one of the people who was last to be picked. Even my love for swimming was dampened because of the focus to speed up.

black and white photo filled with a crowd of people mainly turned away from the camera. There is one man at the bottom, front of the photo who is looking in a different direction and you can see half his face

Easing into the ‘new normal’

In England, as lockdown starts to ease, the pressure to go back to pre-pandemic life can cause heightened anxieties. We are now so used to a slower pace of life, social distancing and wearing face masks has become our ‘new normal’. With little still known about what will happen once restrictions have been lifted, it’s understandable that so many of us are starting to experience ‘return anxiety’.

Group of three women, outside, huddled together laughing. Sunlight appears to distort the left half of the picture, so the features of the woman to the left are slightly distorted. She has wavy brown hair and is wearing a black hat. We are only able to see the face of the woman in the middle, whose brown hair is tied black. She is laughing and wearing glasses. We see the woman to the right at a side angle, her arm is gently holding a black and white scarf that is draped over her shoulders. Her blonde hair is tied back and she is also laughing.

Can you be friends with your colleagues?

The answer isn’t a simple yes or an obvious no. In my first permanent job I quickly became friends with the people I directly worked with. We had a group WhatsApp, would hang out at weekends and go for drinks after work. It was great until it wasn’t.

Dog with long floppy ears has it's head in a book, a page of the book in on it's nose making it look like the dog is reading and turning the page. The book is placed on a cream blanket and the background behind the dog is blurred out

How the pandemic has changed my reading habits

It was recently suggested to me by one of my favourite bloggers that I do a post about all the books I have read so far this year because there’s been a lot! In less than 3 months, i’ve read 16 books. Although i’ve read more than ever in such a short space of time, I have noticed a dramatic difference in the types of books I am reading.

Protester holding up a cardboard sign which says Are we really still FIGHTING for this Shit? Unbelievable

Thoughts: Is equality really possible?

TW – suicide and sexual harassment. It’s Women’s history month and on Monday it was International Women’s Day. However, IWD didn’t make me feel empowered.

For the love of collage

The pandemic has forced us to spend most of our time staring at screens – with meetings and social interactions mostly being done via zoom – leaving us mentally drained and exhausted.

red strobe lights with different symbols (? $ arrow skull # swirl %) representing anger against a black background

It’s only a joke!!

This past week, public figures have been fighting back at the media for constantly making a mockery of them. The media and popular culture mocking is hardly anything new but thanks to social media, celebrities are calling out offensive jokes, rather than silently allowing it.

In the foreground a large book is open, in the background someone is holding a mug and the book is placed on their legs. they have a white, fluffy blanket over their legs and the book is placed on top. They are holding one of the pages, as if about to turn the page.

The joy of learning

Leaving the constraints of the education system is when you learn that learning is not linear. It wasn’t until I left school that I actually started to enjoy learning, because I was suddenly afforded more choice in what I could learn and how I learned.

persons hands forming heart, outside with blurred tree and lamp post in background

Thoughts: Valentines

Why do we confine love to one day of the year? When love is so much bigger than one day or one person.

Side, long, slightly angled view of a library book shelf. Light bulbs are hanging from the ceiling in front of the shelf, attached with rope.

Goodreads Dilemma

I find out that Goodreads is owned by the evil, corporate giant, Amazon. I should delete Goodreads immediately. But. I can’t.