SUMMER ROUND UP 2021

 Would you look at that? Another summer round up post already? Time really does fly, whether you're having fun or not. I can't believe it's mid-September already; it feels like just yesterday I was writing this post last year, yet so much has changed since then. 

The biggest change? I work full time. Last year, if I remember correctly, I spoke about how strange it was to not be going back to education - this year, it's been a year and a half since I was last in education, and it feels like worlds away. I have so many amazing memories from university especially but I feel so wrapped up in my working routine that I can't really remember what it was like to be at university. It sounds kinda sad when you put it like that, but I don't see it as sad at all - I think it shows character progression and it just means we've moved on to the next chapter of our lives. I got to the point with uni where, even though I loved it, I was fed up of education and just ready to get out into the working world and, while it was certainly a rocky year for the job market, I can't imagine not working at the moment - I definitely think I made the right decision in terms of getting a job rather than staying on to do a masters or further study (although this is definitely something I'd be interested in doing further down the line). 

Having a 9-5 doesn't mean my life has been any less fun-filled, though (well, since Boris let us all out anyway). If I had to summarise the summer in three words, they would be: road-trips (it counts as one word, I've decided), friends and food. 

It's kind of hard to keep track of everywhere I've been this summer - literally, I've not been home for 90% of weekends - and I'm super glad that I'm lucky enough to go and get out and about, exploring the country and can comfortably fund it (all I can say is thank God for having said full time job!).

I've been to Birmingham twice (keep an eye out for a post on the best places to eat and drink there), London twice (there may be a photo diary of my most recent trip making its way onto the blog some time soon), Loughborough (rogue, but one of my friends lives there), Manchester, Cornwall, Halifax and Newcastle Upon Tyne. So it's pretty much been the summer of Jodie's UK tour - and I actually wouldn't have it any other way. I love a road trip - windows down, music volume up, laughing and singing with your besties; argh, is there anything better?!

I've been to more bottomless brunches than is acceptable to admit, I've actively planned a lot of my social life around when the Formula 1 is on (it might be a surprise to most of you, but I am in fact a huge F1 fan), I've conquered a bizarre fear of feeding farm animals (not the goats though, they still scare the shit out of me), I've made life changing decisions (LOL, cutting my hair!) and taken up a new sport. Yep, that's right, I'm a tennis player now - not professionally, obvs. In fact, I'm pretty terrible at it, but it's fun and I do have a good serve, so it's not all bad. 

Oh, and I went to a Taylor Swift club night. And let me tell you: it was the best. night. ever. 

And what better way to round off the summer than with my first gigs back?! If you've been around on this blog for a while, you'll know how much I love a good gig. Pre-Covid, I'd be at gigs probably at least every month, so that 18+ months without a single gig has been LONG, and hard. I truly believe that there's nothing better than a gig when you need to unwind, de-stress or get some energy out. The atmosphere at a gig is unmatched - for me, it's like stepping into a whole different world. For that two/three hours, nothing else matters. Your problems can fade away for just a little while, and you feel at peace with the world. It's the best. And that's the feeling I've missed the most, so I have a massive thank you to The Vamps and the Kaiser Chiefs for bringing back that feeling at their gigs in this last week or so. 

I've honestly had one of the best summers of my life, and I've made memories that will last a lifetime. Don't get me wrong, we've had some tough times and lost people along the way, which is heartbreaking, but I'm a firm believer that we have to take the bad, and sad, with the good and they all make us who we are. Some losses have been good things, some losses and deaths have been terribly upsetting, but we have the good times to remember. For me, I'll always think about the good memories and the positive things are what I'll hang on to. But even with the terrible things that happen in life, I strongly believe they just help to build character. 

Now, I can't believe it's almost the end of September. It's really crazy to me just how quickly this year has gone - I feel like I say it every year, and every year seems to go quicker than the last. My birthday is coming up in just over two weeks (23 - argh!) and I'll have a couple of fashion and travel posts going up around that time, so do be on the look out for those. In the meantime, I have a couple of weeks of downtime and a significantly tamer social life so I'm hoping to bash out some great, long overdue blog content and kind of get some life admin done - hopefully.  Either way, I'll catch you very soon.