creativity and positivity: writing

WHAT I HOPE TO ACHIEVE IN 2020

Now that its finally over, I can categorically state without any hesitation that 2019 was probably the worst year of my life. Despite the weeks and months that brought some wonderful people into my life, and the few snippets of objectively "good" days and events I experienced, never have I felt more grateful or excited to leave the last twelve months firmly in the past. In a year where I struggled with regressing mental and physical health issues, lost people close to me through numerous faults of my own and began to question every fibre of my personality and self-worth, at certain points I truly believed that I would never see the start of this year. Fortunately, I did, and I was able to ring in the new decade with people that matter more to me than anything else. Now, I'm finally allowing myself to look beyond everything that 2019 took me through, and I hope I'm not being too optimistic when I say that I sincerely feel as through 2020 is going to be the best year of my life.

Therefore, I've decided to piece together all of my thoughts and ambitions into one list, with the expectation of meeting every reasonable goal I can this year. I have more determination than ever before to reach every achievement on this list, and I can only hope that by this time next year I'll be sitting in front of my laptop screen nostalgically reminiscing over this moment with a surge of pride that I managed to accomplish everything I intend to over the next twelve months.

BEGIN WORK ON MY PhD

In my last venture back into the world of blogging, I hinted at my previous academic difficulties regarding my postgraduate degree. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and looking back on that decision, I realise now that I was not in the right frame of my mind to continue studying so abruptly after my undergrad. I remember one of my friend's commenting that between the last quarter of 2018 I had achieved more than most real, functioning adults accomplish in an entire year: I completed one degree and started another, I moved house (again) into a situation that was not entirely suitable to where my life was going, and I got temporarily promoted at work. So therefore, I began 2019 completely mentally exhausted and on the brink of a total breakdown, which came very soon thereafter.

I made a vow that after completing my postgraduate degree, I would take a year out before applying for my PhD and searching for a "real" job. I know my heart lies in academia, and there is nothing that I feel more at home in than researching, reading or writing about literature. Over the coming weeks, I'm hopefully going to meet with my lecturers and begin the process of applying for my PhD. Right now I know I'm in the right place to focus on my future, and whether or not I continue with my studies immediately, or find work in my field of interest, I am determined to pursue my passions and hold onto them for as long as I can.

START FOCUSING ON MY BLOG

The one thing that I miss above everything else, is the ability to turn to this blog and know that I will always have a space in which I can completely be myself. I felt at a loss for so long as to how to continue with this blog, which left me with nowhere to articulate my thoughts and feelings on so many subjects that matter to me - personal and trivial. I lost my inspiration to continue on with it, and only recently has that desire to write began to claw its way back to the forefront of my brain. I look back now at all of the figures, brand collabs and posts and realise that the most important emotion that I should feel within is pride. I find myself completely in awe of all the incredible things that I was able to achieve just through writing and being unselfish in my thoughts, and all I can do now is hope that I will be able to find that again.

I gain so much enjoyment and excitement from planning posts and writing in the spur of the moment. I love to take and edit photos, and lose myself in my own thoughts until my old English student brain kicks in and reminds me to breathe. I love every facet and part of the blogging atmosphere and I hope that this year I can find myself once again through the power of words and emotions.

TRAVEL MORE, TRAVEL BIG, TRAVEL FAR

I am the world's worst Sagittarius. My desire to see the world and experience everything on offer only stretches so far. Wanderlust isn't in my vocabulary and my very frugal budget and travel anxiety prohibit me from booking too many things in advance. However, with that being said I managed to visit some wonderful places with my partner over the summer, without straying too far from home. It ignited the previously dormant passions of discovery and adventure inside me, and this year we are planning big. I've always longed to be someone who books city breaks and long-haul holidays, and after seeing the majority of what Northern Ireland has to offer, I think its finally time to say, "Fuck it," and set my sights further afield. I want to see everything I can whilst I still can, so 2020 is the year I finally pluck up the courage to be impulsive and spontaneously book more trips to look forward to.

READ AND WRITE LIKE NEVER BEFORE

After finishing my degree, the one thing that I looked forward to above all else, was the chance to finally read at my own pace and for my own pleasure. I didn't quite manage to meet my reading challenge for last year, but I gave it a pretty good attempt all things considered. This year I'm trying to raise the bar on myself, and never feel bored or at a loss for something to do. Any time "wasted" should be spent doing something that I love, or focusing my energy on a creative project. Towards the middle of the year, I started to write my own essays and poems, and by the end of this year I would love to feel confident enough in them to share them on my blog or even pitch them to publishers. I've toyed with the idea of freelance writing for long enough, and I feel ready to take the plunge and do it.

SEEK HELP AND SPEAK OUT

Something that I always aim for but somewhat struggle to achieve each year, is the ability to ask for help and support regarding my physical and mental well-being. Baby steps are the essential building blocks to anyone's journey into recovery, but for every baby step I manage to take it feels like an almighty gust of wind knocks me back to the beginning. My mental health is something that I've always actively sought to keep on top of, and for a brief period of time it felt as through I had everything under control. However, this year after an increasing number of intense and painful physical flare ups, I had to focus my attention onto my physical rather than mental well-being.

Fortunately, I've had a great support system of sympathetic and understanding people around me who I can depend on even to help with even the most basic of tasks. My workplace have also been stellar in putting provisions in place that enable me to continue to do my job as effectively as possible. Ultimately, I know that it will take a lot more than baby steps to deal with chronic physical and mental obstacles, and my goal regarding that for the upcoming months is to seek as much help from as many means as possible. Pride and shame are the most incapacitating emotions, and the dichotomy between the two is something that I've always struggled to overcome. But I cannot continue to let my fear of not being "sick" enough hold me back from reaching my full potential, and rediscovering the person I used to be.

And there you have it! One week into 2020 and my heart and mind already feel more at ease than they did last year. I can only hope that this is the beginning of the most wonderful year and decade of my life.

Let me know what you want to achieve this year. Have you set yourself goals? Or do you prefer to take it day by day?

Thanks for reading, and for all of your continued love and support. It means the absolute world.

Until next time,

January 07, 2020
0 Comments

MY BLOGGING HIATUS - ONE YEAR ON

personal

September 18, 2019
1 Comments

"IF IT DOESN'T OPEN, IT'S NOT YOUR DOOR"

lifestyle

July 14, 2018
10 Comments

LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS - EXPECTATIONS VS REALITY

lifestyle

June 30, 2018
5 Comments

LIFE UPDATE: FIRSTS, ANNIVERSARIES AND THE FUTURE

personal

Hello you gorgeous sun-kissed lot! Well, I imagine with the "heatwave," (and I say heatwave with a completely serious tone because bloody hell it is WARM) most of you have spent your time in your gardens, stuck to crap plastic furniture, enjoying a few drinks and basking in the glory of the summer and the patriotic spirit of the World Cup. At any rate, you're probably more tanned and toned than my pasty Casper-looking self, so you can all take comfort in that fact at least. As some of you may or may not have noticed, I've been absent from my blogger duties over the last number of months, and my life has been going through some massive changes - both exciting and absolutely petrifying. Over the summer and beyond, I have some absolutely fabulous (if I do say so myself) content coming up, as I immerse myself in my quest to take my blog to the next level. Before I do that however, I thought I'd give you all a brief overview of what I've been up to over the last few months with a little chatty catch up!

First of all, after days, weeks and months of coursework, research, drafting and studying I have FINALLY finished my undergraduate degree. But more importantly, I graduate in two weeks time - AND I'M ONLY BLOODY GRADUATING WITH A FIRST CLASS HONOURS! Okay, now that's the boasting out of the way, onto the more heartfelt stuff. I've talked at length about the pressure, abysmal pastoral support and complete lack of motivation I felt in my latter years of high school when it came to my grades and future. I was told in my penultimate year of higher education that if I went to university, I probably wouldn't make it past first year, and that average grades would not see me through to the end. After that, I gave myself a good kick up the arse and worked said arse off to even get to university, and once I made it into that lecture hall on day one, everything changed. I have never felt more confident in my abilities, academically nurtured or supported than I have in the last three years, and once I realised, "Hey, you know, I might actually be good at this whole English thing," I made it my goal to prove every teacher, academic and scholar who told me "no" wrong.

I thought graduating with a first was only a wild fantasy that I never genuinely believed I could ever achieve, especially after almost crumbling under the weight of my final year. But, taking time away from social media and managing to find a balance between work, my social life and my studies has paid off, and I couldn't be more proud of myself. I've been accepted onto the master's course for English Literature at my current university, and I start in September. I'm excited to take the next step in figuring out my future, and for possibly the first time in my life, I genuinely believe that I have a future ahead of me. I will never again say that I am incapable of achieving great things, as I now understand that with a lot of hard work, determination and self-belief, I AM able to make myself proud and capture fantasies that may seem out of reach.

However, as the academic year has drawn to a close, sadly so has our time at our beautiful little coastal student apartment. My boyfriend and I moved out at the start of the month, and we've been back at our respective parent's homes for about three weeks now. It is really difficult adjusting to being on your own, with your family again after spending so much time in your own company, and with your partner. The good news is that, come September we will be living with our housemates again, as we did in second year, and after that we are planning on saving as much as we can to put towards a house that we can finally call our own. In other exciting news, we celebrated our 7th (!!) anniversary two weeks ago in a low-key way, with a lovely dinner and casual night in watching Bob's Burgers. Who said romance is dead? We are also planning a proper trip away to Florida! So we have much to look forward to together as we move into the future.

Some of you may also remember that I recently spoke about being on the pill for a number of years, and how it began to affect my physical and mental health seemingly beyond repair. I took a six month break from it, and recently began taking it again to see how and if it truly is the cause of my mental health and physical problems. Over the last month, my mental health hasn't been as traumatic as it was when I started to wean myself off of the pill, and my mood imbalances and psychotic episodes are lessening in severity. However, physically I am in a lot of pain and now I'm worried that I have done irreversible damage to my legs, arms and other body parts. After I complete the current strip I'm taking, I am going to head back to the doctors and see what can be done to alleviate my health anxiety and physical issues.

On the subject of physically, I have recently started to really think about my diet, exercise regime and how it makes me feel inside and out. I've gained almost a stone in a year, and my relationship with my body is at rock bottom. I snack too much, my portions are huge and I feel lethargic and tired all the time. Much of this has to do with increasing my hours at work, leaving me with little to no time to prepare myself meals, minus sticking something quick in the microwave. The other issue is being back at home, where I'm stuck in a family that pay little to no attention to what they eat, instead eating what they want, when they want it. Starting this week, I'm immersing myself in a whole new approach to my lifestyle - going veggie, cooking healthy meals for myself and realising my limits when it comes to food, snacking on healthier choices and exercising every day, with a combination of cardio, muscle workouts, yoga and dance. I'm recognising that my relationship with myself has broken down, and I'm trying my best to get back to that healthy, happy girl in a way that suits me and that I can recognise what I need and why I need it. I'm going to focus on this for at least a month, and I will keep you all updated on my progress!

As for the future of "creativity and positivity," I have a lot of varied and exciting content lined up over the next few weeks. During the course of my exams I really fell out of love with social media, viewing it as a distraction from what needed to be done. Now that's all behind me, I have more time to dedicate to my photos, my social media and most importantly my blog. I plan to completely revamp my page and other important things by September at the very latest. Until then, I'm concentrating on more thought pieces, and less contrived "I'm posting this because I feel pressurised to put something out there so I don't get left behind," posts. I'll still do the odd brand collab, and beauty post, but I really want to focus on what makes me happy, which includes fashion, thought pieces, feminism and personal anecdotes. I'm excited moving forward, and I hope you all are too!

Well, I think that's everything covered, and that's you all caught up on the inner workings of my life. I hope you all enjoyed and hopefully I'll see you back here for more posts!

Until next time,

June 26, 2018
2 Comments

HORMONES, MENTAL HEALTH AND ME

mental health

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this post has been a long time coming. I’ve had this thought piece swirling around my head for years now, but something has always held me back from sitting down, letting my thoughts take over and pressing publish. Partly because this post is so personal, and for the longest time I felt like I was alone in my experiences, and until I recently discussed this problem with some friends and realised I hadn’t been the only person who encountered difficulties on my mental health journey. The other half of me is absolutely petrified to talk about it. Even as I type these words, my heart is fluttering so hard it feels as though it’s about to burst out of my chest and bleed all over the keyboard.

I don’t know why I feel so afraid to discuss a topic that I’ve been so open about since I began using social media many moons ago. It could be that the prospect of exposing my less than linear mental health in meticulous detail for all to see makes me feel naked, like I’m reopening every healed scar and distressing experience only to relive it once again. Obviously, I am not the same person I was when I first began to transition from a happy, bubbly young teenager to someone who genuinely didn’t believe that they would make it to today. But the memories and experiences that shaped me into who I am, and paved the stones of my recovery still linger fresh in my mind. Of course, I would never want my experiences to trigger someone who is struggling with their own mental health, so I won’t go into too much detail, but this is an issue that I believe needs to be discussed, and there is no better time to publish this post than on Mental Health Awareness Week. So, here goes nothing.

Here’s some context: I first started to experience the emotional side of puberty when I was ten years old. My moods would vary wildly from excitement and childish curiosity, to extreme anger and emotional distress. This is not unusual for a sensitive young child who had experienced a lot of problems and issues that most kids my age had not yet thought about, or been fortunate enough to have happen to them. But as I began to transition into adulthood and experience the wonder of hormones and typical teenage behaviour, I noticed that something was different. Most of my friends could cope with challenging situations in a calm and controlled way, and my only solutions to problems were to cry until I got my own way or explode at those around me. My family, my friends I didn’t care who was in the firing line, but they were going to listen to me. I’m aware that this sounds like typical, problematic teenage behaviour, and that the younger me comes across as a little shit who lacked any discipline or direction. Now that I’m older and I can truly understand the toxic circumstances of my relationships with those around me, and the pressure I felt to continue to mould myself into the perfect, responsible big sister, I know exactly why I behaved like that.

What also separated my emotions and behaviour from my acquaintances that were consistently problematic, was that my outbursts were infrequent and the remorse and regret I felt afterwards was immediate. It made me believe that I was the worst person in the world. I wasn’t worthy of affection, love and support that those around me were providing me. My brain told me that there were people out there who would die for the privileges that I was fortunate enough to have in my life, and if I didn’t feel I was worthy of them I should not even be here. As a result, I began to retract further into the safety of the barriers I placed around myself. On the outside, I was able to disguise how I felt, but it eventually became all too much and I no longer wanted to live.

Until recently, my mother worked as a mental health nurse for over fifteen years. When she recognised the intensity of my mood swings and negative emotions she carted me off to the doctors. I watched as her and my GP had a discussion about my mental health in front of me, without even consulting me to ask how I was feeling. My doctor explained to my mother about hormone imbalances in young women, and as I also had the physical problems of puberty that coincided with what she was saying, my behaviours were diagnosed as a direct result of puberty. My mental health issues were dismissed as typical teenage girl emotions and I was placed on the pill at thirteen years old. Nothing more was said after that. With a little perspective, part of me believes that my mum didn’t want to admit that something more was wrong with me. She worked with people like me every day, from mild cases to the most extreme, and I wholeheartedly believe that she didn’t want the weight of her work carried into her domestic life too. In addition to this, she didn’t exactly have a clean bill of health when it came to her own mental health, and it certainly seemed like she was in denial about the fact I was fast becoming more and more like her every day. As a teenager, I resented her for years for ignoring my feelings and refusing to acknowledge that something more was happening to me. Now I’m older, I understand exactly why she did that.

As time progressed, the pill helped balance my physical issues. Periods become more bearable, my skin cleared up and my appetite was suppressed, and on the surface, I functioned as regularly as other girls my age. I worked on shedding my image as a bullied, scared girl and blossomed into someone confident, funny and independent. But inside I was fighting a losing battle with myself, and on the outside, I continued to treat those around me like complete shit to reflect how I felt on the inside. I allowed myself to be manipulated by those who had control over me, and this led to me doing the exact same to those I cared about. I hated everything about myself. When I started to educate myself on mental health conditions and recognised the behaviours I exhibited, I realised that something was still wrong with me.

However, those conversations between my mother and my doctor haunted my thoughts and stopped me from speaking out. I didn’t want to be dismissed as a silly little girl who was exaggerating her thoughts and emotions for attention. I’d heard enough of that from kids my own age who mercilessly made me feel terrible about things that I’d done, thus stopping me from getting over the person I used to be. I kept quiet, only confiding in those closest to me and seeking support from strangers on the internet who I could identify with, who I knew wouldn’t judge me. I put them through hell, and even now I will never forgive myself for how I acted, nor for taking so long to speak out.

The catalyst of change came with one phone call from my mother. One of her patients who we both had become extremely close to had committed suicide. She was only 21. She struggled with mental health issues for years, and although it seemed like she was on the road to recovery, she had kept her true emotions hidden from those around her. We held each other and cried, and that was the first time I told my mum exactly how I felt. “I don’t want to that to happen to me.” “I know.” That was the beginning of my recovery process.

But I’ve been doing it on my own since then, with support from my family, friends, partner and work. However, even now it’s still a taboo subject to talk about, and no one can look me in the eye when I start to express my thoughts and feelings. Even at 21, I am still haunted by the fact that my concerns were dismissed as little more than my hormones acting up, all those years ago. Now, that’s obviously not the case, and this year I promised that I would finally start the diagnosis process with my doctors and get the help I truly need. I took myself off the pill, and I’ve experienced the roughest five months of my life. Extreme depressive slumps, psychotic episodes and hallucinations, memory loss, highs and lows, crippling anxiety that’s left me housebound and afraid to complete even the simplest of tasks – I’ve experienced them all. Yet, I am still being dismissed.

I’m not the only young woman I know who has experienced this utter neglect from the health services and those around me. I know my own mind, and I know exactly what’s wrong with me. But I’ve been told my only option is to go back on the pill and see how the next five months pan out while my hormones rebalance. I don’t want to go through this again, but I don’t have a choice because I am not believed. I’ve been met with scorn, disbelief and abuse every step of the way, hence why I have largely battled this alone. Hence, why I’m scared to publicly express how I feel. But I refused to be pushed to the sides.

The affirmation that I am not alone in how I feel, is more than enough to inspire me to continue to seek help, to continue to do better for myself and those around me. I don’t recognise that girl any more. I don’t recognise that ten-year-old who was ridiculed for being too sensitive, for being too much, who had the weight of the world on her shoulders. I don’t recognise that thirteen-year-old, whose mental health issues were dismissed as nothing more than “hormones,” who allowed herself to be taken advantage of and took her issues out on those around her. I’m so far removed from that eighteen-year-old, who swore this time would be different, who knew she had to grow up and who continued to be destructive and allow her self-doubt to ruin her mental health.

We need to listen to those around us. We need to recognise our own behaviours and take responsibility for our mental health. We need to stop dismissing symptoms of mental illness as typical behaviours and hormone imbalances. I have been fighting for most of my teenage and adult life to be taken seriously, and to get the support I desperately need. My mental health journey has been a rollercoaster, and it’s time I take responsibility for myself and work to better myself. It takes more than a positive mental attitude and self-care practices to get better, and although I still harbour resentment over how I’ve been treated over the years, I have forgiven myself and now I need to help myself too.

BERET: TK MAXX

JUMPER: DAISY STREET

JEANS: TOPSHOP

BOOTS: PRIMARK

SUNGLASSES: H+M

Thank you for reading, and please, realise that you are never truly alone in your mental health battle. There is support, there is love and acceptance out there. Please, don’t put it off for as long as I have.

Until next time,

May 17, 2018
12 Comments

"YOUR TWENTIES ARE THE BEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE"

fashion

As a child, I used to listen in awe at the stories my parents told me about all the wonderful adventures and achievements they experienced in their twenties. From travelling all over the world with their friends at 21, to climbing up the career ladder at 23, to buying their own house, getting married at 25 and having an adorable bundle of joy popped on their doorstep by the stork (moi, obviously). All their life boxes were ticked off by the time my mother was 26 and my dad was 30. I used to daydream and fantasise about following in their footsteps (minus the separation by their early thirties) and exploring the endless possibilities that lie in wait in our realm of existence.

Yet here I sit, writing to you. A 21 year-old in her last semester of university, wrapped up in a blanket with three pairs of fluffy socks on as she can't afford to flick the heating on for an hour. When I think about what potentially lies in wait as I progress through my twenties, I start to feel sick with anxiety and dread. Five years ago, I had my career / life plan pretty much set in stone, and now I don't have a clue what I want to do with my life. With increasing pressure on young people to succeed, whilst simultaneously facing universal criticism for not succeeding as quickly as the generations before us (if I read an article about "snowflake millennials" one more time,) I began to wonder why it is exactly that this decade of our lives in which we should be out enjoying everything life has to offer us, has become a time filled with fear, change and anxiety about the future. And I know I'm not the only one wondering this.

My baby brother turns 17 this month, and asides from constantly dealing with my growing horror at how quickly it appears he's ageing, he's dealing with the same issues that myself and most of us dealt with at that age. He comes home with a mountain of work every night, running himself ragged as he tries to finish it until he inevitably crashes into bed to hopefully grab a few hours sleep before heading to school the next day. Its an image I am all too familiar with, and even at 21 I'm still experiencing the same struggles and pressures that I dealt with during my time in high school. He has the added pressure of constantly thinking about what he can do to get into university while also being unsure of whether or not he actually wants to go to university, and what he wants to do at university. Yet, he still trundles along because that's what society expects him to do.

You see it in the news every day, and we're bombarded with headlines ranting and raving about how too many people are applying to go to university, getting top grades (because apparently it's "too easy" to do well nowadays) then dropping out because they've realised it's just not for them. My question is, why do we still encourage children to follow the path of social expectations, and then chastise them when they want to follow something different? Why does society frown on young people who want to enjoy themselves, and then slam them as they get older and find themselves struggling?

I'm only in my early twenties, and already my life is vastly different to how I imagined it would be. In addition to this, where I am right now greatly differs from where my parents were at this stage in their lives. Rather than go on nights out with friends, or book spontaneous trips away with my partner, I feel pressured to spend every spare moment I have studying and doing anything I can to ensure that I will graduate in July, despite now being unsure of what I want to do. And that uncertainty scares the shit out of me. Pressures from my family, online and society are constantly in the back of my mind, and although my rational self knows I shouldn't listen to them, its hard not to when everyday we're bombarded with headlines about how useless we are as a generation and how we wouldn't know what hard work looks like even if it came up and slapped us in the face.

No-one in my family, asides from my brother and cousins, truly understands what it's like to be a young person in modern society, but that certainly doesn't stop them from sticking their two cents in on any topic and every topic about my life. I get criticised for working too hard and not going out to enjoy myself enough, but then I get criticised when I do go out or take time off work to relax. They question every choice I make regarding my career - "what do you want to do with your life? You can't work in retail forever!", my degree - "Why are you studying xyz instead of abc?" and even my relationship, "When are you and Daniel going to get engaged?" "No, you're too young to get engaged." "Why don't you start saving for a house?" "No, you're too young, wait until house prices start to decrease again!"

As a generation, we simply can't win.

The reality of being a 20-something-year-old in 2018 is that many of us simply can't afford to stop thinking and start living, because we're then forced to make difficult decisions that we shouldn't have to. Can I really afford to book that holiday abroad when I have rent to pay for the next four months? Can I really afford to treat myself to something small when I have nothing to eat for lunch tomorrow? At this stage, I'm saving money for about thirty different things including necessities such as rent for the next year, bills, money to fund my masters and a future home, alongside expensive luxuries such as a holiday, a new phone and a new laptop. Not all of these things are necessary, but why should I feel guilty about wanting to experience new things and spend my money on something that will make me happy now instead of worrying about paying for some imaginary house that, let's be honest, I have no chance of owning before I'm at least 35?

Why should I feel pressured to live to and adhere to the same standard of life that my parents had when they were my age? Society is changing, and as a generation we have felt forced to change with it when we should be reacting against the pressure it places on us and how we should live our lives. Yes, we have to be sensible, but it is possible to also be spontaneous and live our best lives simultaneously, no matter how scary it may seem.

Personally I'm in no rush to grow up. The thought of progressing through my twenties with a vague idea of what I want to accomplish, but no set timeline in which I wish to accomplish it in does make my heart fall into my stomach. However I've realised it's better to take life as it comes instead of worrying yourself stupid over a life-plan that's subject to change. Our twenties should be the best time of our lives, just like they were for our parents and the generations before us, but that doesn't necessarily mean we have to all indulge in the same experiences to make this decade of our lives feel worthwhile. Do I want to get married, have a great career and have a house to call my own at some point in my life? Of course. Do I feel like I have to rush through life and tick all my boxes before I turn 25? Not necessarily.

Yes, growing up is scary. But the opinions of society and the generations before us should not dictate to us how we should or shouldn't live our lives. We need to carve out our own individual paths in life, and fuck anyone who criticises us for how we choose to live. I'll go through the motions of life at my own pace, and make sure that my twenties, no matter how daunting or scary they may seem, are filled with the best times of my life. And yes, that does include buying myself a coffee before work, watching Disney films, Netflix and chill. Take that baby boomers.

COAT - DV8 // BODYSUIT - TOPSHOP // TROUSERS - STRADIVARIUS // SHOES - PRIMARK

Do you feel like society places too much pressure and criticism on young people today? What do you hope to accomplish in your twenties? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading, until next time!

Rachel x

February 03, 2018
16 Comments

Pages

WHAT I HOPE TO ACHIEVE IN 2020

MY BLOGGING HIATUS - ONE YEAR ON

"IF IT DOESN'T OPEN, IT'S NOT YOUR DOOR"

LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS - EXPECTATIONS VS REALITY

LIFE UPDATE: FIRSTS, ANNIVERSARIES AND THE FUTURE

HORMONES, MENTAL HEALTH AND ME

"YOUR TWENTIES ARE THE BEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE"

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