Welcome!

Hey

Wow, first post. Exciting!

Thanks for coming to read my blog (secret: it's just an online diary/way to talk to myself without looking crazy) I haven't written a blog for a while so I'm a little bit rusty but bear with me and hopefully, what I'm sure will start out as rambling will improve to the point of being readable!

By the way, my imagination is pretty much at point zero and I really couldn't think of a real, decent, imaginative name for this blog so if you can come up with anything then all suggestions welcome!

Originally I wanted to come on here to remind people out there that you have to make yourself happy before you can make others happy but I can't just write a great statement like that and not back it up with anything, it doesn't really fit. So here's how I came to this conclusion...

Me in a nutshell at the moment: stressed. Majorly stressed.  (by the way, whenever I hear the word nutshell it immediately takes me to Austin Powers "I'm in a nutshell, how did I get into this nutshell?"...Anyyywayyy)

I've been putting so much pressure on myself lately to learn something new (guitar), be a good girlfriend, secure a permanent job, flat hunt, practice yoga, see friends, read an important book etc all in the name of bettering myself. All of these things compounded so much so that my great friend Amy called me earlier to give me a pep talk because I was in fast danger of ruining one if not all of those things. Especially my relationship with my boyfriend which is relatively new. Without wanting to go into too much detail because I don't want to over-think things again, I was close to the edge and needed someone to pull me back. Amy did that; if she ever needs to re-consider her career I would recommend counselling! She has an innate understanding of human nature and has a real way of putting things into perspective so that you feel confident and calm at the same time. She reminded me that I need to do things to make myself happy instead of constantly trying to make other people happy and that I will burn myself out if I carry on the current path that I am treading. She reminded me to stop and take time for myself, to find joy in my hobbies again and not to feel afraid to say no.

So with her wise words, I have returned to my desk at work feeling more peaceful and ready to face the world. For the coming week, I am not going to fill my diary with activities every night so that I am left with no time to rest or feel happy. I am going to find the time to do things that I enjoy such as watching my favourite film, practice yoga and relax.

Sometimes I go through phases like these and it just takes a little reminder that it's ok to stop and breathe. I'm thankful for friends like Amy because without her, I'm sure I would go mad!!