I think the most obvious place to start would be appearance. Change number one: there's no fringe anymore; I know I've spoken about growing my fringe out on my blog previously but my fringe is basically the same length as the rest of my hair now so that's a goner. Change number two: I cut my hair significantly shorter - like 8 inches shorter... and I'm actually obsessed with it. Change number three: I got my nose pierced; yep, I am now the proud owner(?) of a nose ring. I also am obsessed with this, although my parents do not approve (oh well).
In terms of health and mental health, I'm doing really well. I mean, I'm still absolutely crippled with back/shoulder/neck/knee pain (generally they take it in turns to hurt though so it's not all bad) and I'm suffering badly with allergies which are constantly brushed off by my doctor but, all in all, I don't have any complaints. I wrote about my thoughts on lockdown 3.0 and feeling like I was really in a rut and struggling earlier in the year and I do really feel like I've overcome those feelings/issues. I think that the easing of Covid restrictions and being able to get my social life back on track and spend time with my amazing friends has been the main solution, so to speak. Until Covid came along, I don't think I'd realised how much I rely on social interaction and spending time with good, fun, genuine people to like get me through life. I really do live for a good time and my friends mean the absolute world to me so to finally have that proper interaction and quality time with them is amazing. Don't get me wrong, I generally like my family but we're not super close so it's a very different kind of relationship (as you'd expect) and I don't think any of us could've put up with just each other for much longer.
I spent the third lockdown really focusing on myself - whether that be my work, expanding my skills and employability et cetera or just general self care - and I've never felt more comfortable and confident in who I am as a person. Of course I still have insecurities but I seem to have found such contentment in myself and I'm of the opinion that as long as I'm happy and doing what I want to do, that's kind of all that matters. As much as it's nice to put others before yourself, I've really learnt over the years that it's not necessarily healthy to do that and, actually, it's yourself that you should prioritise. I think that if something or someone isn't adding value to your life or is dragging you down, or you're just not getting anything out of them or it, then what's the point? Get rid. Cut it off. Cut them off. It doesn't need to be mean, malicious, negative or confrontational. Just part ways. And the same goes for if someone doesn't see your worth or is treating you badly - it's their loss, not yours. I'm never going to be that person that begs for the bare minimum from someone. I'm never gonna beg someone to stay in my life. Friend, relationship, opportunity - anything. If the vibe is off or if someone's being weird with me or something doesn't feel right, it's for a reason - I genuinely believe, as soppy and deep as it may sound, that these things are signs. It might be hard at the time and it might feel so so shit but everything works out in the end. Better things are coming and it just takes patience.
Also, in becoming so comfortable in myself, I've come to the realisation that it's completely ridiculous to care about people's opinions, especially when it comes to what you like. There are hobbies and interests of mine that I've never really spoken about on my blog, or even discussed with my friends until the last year or so. I think there's so much judgement and kind of stigma about who should like what and whether they're worthy of being interested in certain things - sports, for example - and, to be completely honest, it's absurd. People should be able to like whatever they want to like, without being questioned on their knowledge or reasoning behind liking it - who cares?! I've always kind of had that opinion that people can do whatever they want to do and like whatever they want to like, but it's weird to me that I didn't always apply that rule to myself - with my blog, for example. I didn't openly speak about my blog for years - not because I was embarrassed of it but I just didn't need the judgey comments, especially at school. Earlier this year, I had a bit of a lightbulb moment and I was like 'who am I even trying to please?' and honestly, there is nobody to please but myself so why was I not speaking about things that I love just because people might make a comment? So, moving forward, there's no avoiding things - if I fancy speaking about something or doing something, I'll be doing it. And I think that's a really important mindset to have: 1. put yourself first and, 2. your opinion is the only one that matters.
So what else have I been up to? Honestly, since Boris let us out, I've been all over the shop. My social life has been manic - I've barely stayed still! I've been to London, Manchester, Cornwall, Birmingham. I've been to more bottomless brunches than I can count. I've consumed more food (mainly pasta) than I think in the past two years combined. I've been on a flat hunt with one of my best friends (it's not going well though). I've been crazy busy at work - and my brain has therefore been rather frazzled for the majority of the time. I've spent more money than I care to admit; trust me, it's traumatic looking at my bank account. It's been a very busy time but I'm making some amazing memories and I guess kind of making up for the last 18 months of lockdowns (sensibly, of course). Now, I'm really looking forward to the rest of the summer and then chilling for a bit and I'm so excited to be blogging again - I have a really positive feeling about everything and my mindset is really good.
In terms of future blog content, I have a few posts in the works that are kind of stepping back to my old content - think updated holy grail make up, things I'm loving (aka a good old favourites post), a couple of reviews and a few topics I want to just chat about - so do keep an eye out for those. I promise I will get better and more consistent with this blogging malarkey again - it is my personal mission!
As always, thanks for sticking around and I'll see you in the next post (soon, I swear!).
PS - don't forget you can catch me on my socials! (links on the sidebar of my blog and on the About page)
You sound very full of yourself
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