Well, the sunglasses have finally gone back in their case, we're digging out the thicker duvets and cosy blankets, and the colder weather is here at last! I think on the blogosphere (especially the more insidey, bookish corner) we fetishise Autumn something awful. We get excited about crisp walks and hot chocolate and jumpers and forget about the constant rain and dark mornings and the various bouts of flu we'll all have to deal with.
That said I still love Autumn, and this year especially, the colder weather signals a big change in my life. I've come back down from York to be with my family, friends and boyfriend again, and I'm done with my dissertation and looking at where to go next. I've neglected a lot of things during my masters and I'm looking forward to rediscovering myself and what I love.
That said I still love Autumn, and this year especially, the colder weather signals a big change in my life. I've come back down from York to be with my family, friends and boyfriend again, and I'm done with my dissertation and looking at where to go next. I've neglected a lot of things during my masters and I'm looking forward to rediscovering myself and what I love.
. Read for funsies - during my MA I read maybe ten books for my own enjoyment, and six of those were audiobooks. For a lot of people ten books is a solid year of reading, but when you've happily cracked thirty to fifty books a year since your late teens it's a different story. I loved reading for my MA but it narrowed my field so much that it felt stifling by the end. I miss fantasy and modern poetry and graphic novels and non fiction about things that aren't the French Revolution. I'm looking forward to making reading for fun part of my life again.
. Spend time with loved ones - Moving to York was a great experience, but it was also moving five hours away from everyone I know and love. I saw my best friends maybe two or three times that year, and could only be with Alex for around a weekend a month. As someone who values a close emotional and intellectual connection with the people who matter to me, long distance stinks, as it's hard to feel on the same wavelength as people that you never see or share experiences with. Whatsapp really isn't the way to grow closer with anyone. Now that I'm back I want to pour my energy into the relationships that matter to me. I've always been a somewhat avoidantly attached person, but that's something I'm determined to work on, so that my favourite people know that I love them.
. Spend time with loved ones - Moving to York was a great experience, but it was also moving five hours away from everyone I know and love. I saw my best friends maybe two or three times that year, and could only be with Alex for around a weekend a month. As someone who values a close emotional and intellectual connection with the people who matter to me, long distance stinks, as it's hard to feel on the same wavelength as people that you never see or share experiences with. Whatsapp really isn't the way to grow closer with anyone. Now that I'm back I want to pour my energy into the relationships that matter to me. I've always been a somewhat avoidantly attached person, but that's something I'm determined to work on, so that my favourite people know that I love them.
. Get creative - When you're doing a postgrad degree, it can be quite hard to enjoy doing anything without feeling like you're wasting time that should be spent on your work. Even if you've spent the day in the library, you can't enjoy a drink with friends without a little nagging voice telling you that you should really be hunched over your desk reading Edmund Burke being rude about women. Even though I'll soon be working, it's going to be work that I can put down at the end of the day, which means that I am going to have free time to engage in creative projects. I am planning to do Inktober first, and do a little doodle every day in October that I'll share on my instagram, all the while planning and getting ready for NaNoWriMo. I've wanted to complete the November novel writing challenge for years but always seem to run out of steam. This year I will be plastering my social media with my progress to hold myself accountable. After NaNoWriMo I will be embarking on a short story writing project to take me into the new year. I'm already excited!
. Start Saving - So I've been pretty much destitute all year. Despite having two jobs and a student loan being alive is pricey and I don't remember the last month where I didn't end it by putting shrapnel into the self-scan checkout at Morrison's hoping it would let me buy bread and vegan spread. I'm spending six months or so living with my parents, which will allow me to save in a way I've never been able to before, having not lived at home since I moved for my undergraduate. I want to finally afford driving lessons, I want to get a phone that's not so old it's featured in the Bible, and Alex and I want to go on an adventure to Japan together. All things that will take money!
. Up my Blogging Game - One of my goals for 2018 was to post on this blog twice a month, and by and large I've done that. I've posted sixteen times so far this year and, while it's not an exact 2 posts per month, that keeps me pretty much on target. Now that I'm not focusing on my MA I want to put a little more effort into things. I've splashed out on a new layout to give things a cleaner, more focused look, but want to start putting time and effort into the content I produce, while maintaining a consistent schedule. Ideally I'm going to start aiming for once a week, but for now I'm going to stick with my twice a month schedule and learn a little more about promoting and using social media (without being annoying and pushy because gods my twitter feed is a chore sometimes with several people asking me if we're friends on Instagram five times a day). I really enjoy blogging and sharing this little highly saturated, somewhat contrived but weirdly wonderful platform with everyone, and I want to be a more active part of it.
Those are my plans for the coming chilly months. Let me know what you're looking forward to!
. Up my Blogging Game - One of my goals for 2018 was to post on this blog twice a month, and by and large I've done that. I've posted sixteen times so far this year and, while it's not an exact 2 posts per month, that keeps me pretty much on target. Now that I'm not focusing on my MA I want to put a little more effort into things. I've splashed out on a new layout to give things a cleaner, more focused look, but want to start putting time and effort into the content I produce, while maintaining a consistent schedule. Ideally I'm going to start aiming for once a week, but for now I'm going to stick with my twice a month schedule and learn a little more about promoting and using social media (without being annoying and pushy because gods my twitter feed is a chore sometimes with several people asking me if we're friends on Instagram five times a day). I really enjoy blogging and sharing this little highly saturated, somewhat contrived but weirdly wonderful platform with everyone, and I want to be a more active part of it.
Those are my plans for the coming chilly months. Let me know what you're looking forward to!
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You’ve got this girl 💪🏻💪🏻 Also, poppy misses you so scratch on something at the end about giving her cuddles 😉
ReplyDeleteHaha, aww of course. Ahem - "I will also go cuddle a cockapoo" x
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