I have to admit I have been sufficiently bad at blogging over the past month! I really do admire people in the blogging world who are able to find those spare two minutes to sit and just bash out a post or two and integrate it into their daily routine.

I’ve been on a mission this month to try and get settled into a routine yet finding time to go and see friends, try new hobbies, get my Uni work done.
I went to a ballet lesson (something that I haven’t done in over ten years) I really did enjoy it, the only downside was that it wasn’t a busy class that I was hoping for. I am more keen to find an activity that I enjoy and use it as a social thing as well! As I’ve recently discovered – moving to a new place and working constantly,  doesn’t leave much time for meeting new people.
I have tried to make an effort get involved more – hense the ballet lesson. I will try and find another class, maybe something a little more contemporary.

On another note – I am going to the Isle of Wight this weekend to a small festival. Really excited to take a little trip with the other half, venture off the main land. I’ve only ever been to the Isle of Wight once and it was a brief visit. This time we’ll have a little exploration of what the Island has to offer including the night life!

Today I picked up my printed University work! Thank god that’s over. Only once more year left then it’s into the real world. I’ve enjoyed my year out doing a placement! I’m one of those people who would much rather get stuck in and learn as I go, rather than finishing my last year at Uni. I’d be quite happy to carry on in the working world – moving my way around different jobs / companies etc. However whilst I’m still at Uni I feel very much restricted. I can’t really commit to anything as I still have another year mapped out that I have to sit and ride it out.

 

The only good thing about having this long wait – is that I’ll be living in the same place for more than a year – something that hasn’t happened for a few years. It will be nice to have a feeling of settling into a place, making my own connections and feeling as though I can belong somewhere.

Positive Thought #7

I must confess that I have been extremely lacking with my positive thinking tracking. I originally stated I wanted to blog every evening with one positive thought that came from the previous 24 hours. (See original post).

However the past week or two I have been extremely busy, so when the evening finally comes around – all I can think about is face planting my pillow. Rather annoyingly my positive thinking blogging has taken a back burner during this hectic time.

I have noticed a difference; when I haven’t taken the time during my evenings to sit at my laptop whilst drinking my cup of tea and reflect with positive eyes over the events during the past 24 hours. I can honestly say, having these quiet moments to understand your day and select these positive feelings/achievements/conversations brings another way of thinking to how you see your day. 
I would like to compare it to practicing yoga. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert in yoga either, but often I go to yoga classes in the evenings as a way of removing myself from the day and just relax. Spending dedicated time just with your thoughts is an amazing way to clear whats in your mind. I’ve found by blogging about my day I have this similar feeling of clearing my mind, filtering my thoughts into smaller pieces and understanding myself.

So rather than seeing the negative in the fact I haven’t been blogging in a while – I will try and put my positive hat on and see the good.

I have been manically busy, because at present I’m doing my placement year with a company whilst holding down a part time job. This means many of my days are split between the two and I feel like I’m running all over the place doing both.
I am really enjoying the challenges that are in both! I feel like my brain is constantly needing to be active and focused. My days are both filled with learning and work.

Recently I’ve had some really nice feedback of my work at both my placement and my job. Recognition of the hard work I’ve been putting in is welcomed tremendously! It’s nice to know that my hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. It just makes me more determined to do better. Doing my work placement year has been an invaluable experience! I’ve had a lot of changes throughout but I’m starting to understand myself a lot better; whats important to me, how I like to work, what is it that drives me, which is starting to help me understand how I want to live my life.

 

Something that I need to still improve on is prioritising my time better. In my head there are so many things I’d like to be doing better; playing the piano more often, reading, learning new skills (Photoshop, music production etc), blogging more often, seeing friends on a regular basis, going to the gym more often. I never seem to have the time to get stuck in and feel like I’m progressing in any one of these areas. I’ve been reading a lot on Quora recently, about how people learn new skills at different ages and what it takes to train yourself. It’s very interesting reading about people’s experiences with developing themselves.
One of my favourites was a question from someone asking if he was too old to learn an instrument. One of the answers gave an example of their grandmother who had started learning the violin at 60 and when she died she had been playing for 25 years.  This is an incredible example of how anything is possible at ANY age. It really does put things into perspective, and the possibilities around you.

🙂

Positive Thought #6

This weekend as a last minute decision I took the three hour journey back to my home in Wales. As it was Mother’s Day on the Sunday I thought it would be nice to visit to everyone for the day.
So I guess the positive thing from my weekend was family / home.  I always love going back home to Wales. As soon as I cross the Seven Bridge I instantly feel at home.

When I was younger, I was so desperate to leave Wales, venture out and experience more than I had done in the small town where I’m from. Over the few years since I’ve left, I’ve come to appreciate my home.  The people that are in it and of course my family. I guess this appreciation has comes with distance.
For people that have never been to Wales it’s hard to explain the differences from the rest of the country. They are only minor differences in themselves, however as a whole the country feels very different, especially in attitudes.

I got to spend some quality time with my sister, which is always so lovely. As kids it’s pretty fair to say we didn’t get on. We are only two years apart so I guess this in normal for sisters. Now we’ve had some time apart and we’ve grown up we seem to be much closer. It feels more like we’re on the same team against my parents. As apposed to us battling, and our parents being the referees.
We get to have the girly chats, much like the ones I have with my friends – which I suppose she is my friend. Over time, it feels like we can tolerate our differences, which weren’t the easiest thing to do when your a teenager.

One of the best reasons I love going home is to harass my dog! You can see my obsession in more detail in my previous post – Introducing Woody.
Here’s a photo – because it’s too cute not to.

 

So I’d say in conclusion, the positive element of this weekend is appreciation of my family 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday

Wow that was a long Monday! After completing a day at my placement I had a shift at my part time job. I guess that’s the downside of being a student. I’ve managed to have a quick something to eat before I now stumble to my bed.

(It’s just too cute not to put into a post!)

I am going to start my new book tonight ‘Play it again’ by Alan Rusbridger (the editor of the Guardian). He set himself the impossible task to learn Chopin’s Ballade No.1 in the space of a year. This particular piano piece is famously known for being one of the most technically challenging.

The book is mainly about (as I’ve read) how Rusbridger uses music to help him get through a year that witnesses the Japanese tsunami, the English riots, and the Guardian’s breaking of both WikiLeaks and the News of the World hacking scandal.

I always find it so interested reading and listening to how people use music in their lives. As a keen pianist, I often use it as a way of zoning out the day and just allowing the music to blur out the events of the day.
That was always my goal. I never had just the sole aim of obtaining ‘x’ grade in piano. My ambition was just to be able to play – what I wanted. I’ve done that. After many painstaking years as a kid where it felt I would never move onto anything harder than ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’. I can now say that it is a complete pleasure.

How was your Monday? Anything new / exciting happen?

The World’s Your Oyster

After reading through my most recent posts I felt my blog is missing a deeper insight into me as a person. So I thought I would brain dump some thoughts I’m having.
Like most students I still (after 3 years) have no idea what I want to do in life. So I’ve decided that – when I finish University, if I haven’t found a job that I’m particularly interested in pursuing then I would like to move country.

I’ve always thought the idea of moving abroad was a distant dream. Something that I would always want to do – but never actually getting round to making the leap of faith. Finishing University however gives me the opportunity to make the most of my lack of responsibilities.

I want to learn a new culture and push myself out of my comfort zone. I really feel the strength you build when you have totally left all your own comforts and have to re build your life, is something truly invaluable.

There are so many people that are middle aged with a family and are settled with their lives. All wishing they had done more, pushed themselves further, had the confidence to see through their dreams. I do not want to be like this.
I don’t think I could settle into my life unless I had really seen what else is out there, what else life has to offer. How can so many people feel fulfilled by just doing a mediocre job, letting each day pass by, existing not living?

In fear of becoming one of these people I am trying to live by the idea that, if I’m not happy about my current situation – I will change it; whether that be my job, where I’m living, my happiness. 

I’ve recently been thinking about the possibility of moving to a new country. Every time I think about it, it fills me with excitement.  To make this a realistic goal and one that I can achieve I was thinking about ways I can work and earn a living in a foreign country. This would enable me to see myself sustaining a workable life, rather than a long holiday.
One option that seems to be the most inviting is teaching English. The benefit of being British is that English is in fact my native language. This alone can open many doors.

I’ve been informed that I will need some sort of qualification, and the most popular is the TEFL certification, (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). I haven’t looked a lot into it yet as I still have another year of University to go, which gives me plenty of time. But I definitely think by having this under my belt it gives me the opportunity to work in almost any country.
At the moment I’m flirting with the idea of living in somewhere in Europe (CzechRepublic, Austria, Holland, Germany). I’ve been reading lots of other people’s stories of how they have moved to a few of these places and loved them.

You don’t necessarily need to move to the other side of the world to experience a rich culture and live a new way of life. Well that’s what I believe in any case.

So… I have 16 months until I graduate, and counting.

I’d love to hear if you have made the leap of moving to a new country, and if you have any experience with obtaining a TEFL qualification?
Fire any tips my way 🙂