Blogtember 2013: Such a Good Feeling

A memory you would love to relive.

The three years I spent as an undergraduate were some of the best of my life. I met so many amazing people, worked hard, played hard, and pulled several all-nighter surviving on toast and jam which has made me have an aversion to too much bread ever since. I laughed, I cried, and I fully gained my independence. 

While all those years were amazing, the memory I would go back and relive was when I found out I had got a 1st Class in my degree. I had worked really hard for three years, but my second year had been particularly difficult, and I had to power through. I was hoping I had just done enough to get a 2:1, but when that envelope came through my door my heart literally leapt into my throat. 

Walking out onto that stage at my graduation ceremony was one of the proudest moments of my life. I'd proven to myself that no matter what you're going through, or how hard life gets, if you focus on the positive, stay strong, and carry on, anything is possible! 

I'll just never forget the shock, excitement and utter elation I felt when I heard that envelope pop through the letterbox and found out I had chased my dreams....

.... and caught them!

X is for XXVI

X: XXVI 

When I was very young, I used to watch Disney film and think that that was just how it would be in reality..... 16 was the age I looked up to and considered being "adult." I expected by that age to have my own car, my own house, be married and have lots of children! To be 16 was to be grown up! 

And then I got to 16, and decided that it was definitely NOT the age for me to be a grown up. I was still in school, was going through a really tricky time for my self-confidence (acne didn't help,) and I felt like I had no direction whatsoever. I looked towards 25 and considered that to be the age where everything would happen! I'd be settled, be at the start of the career ladder, and have my life planned out for me. I had 9 years to go...plenty of time to sort things out!

It was only last year, when I turned 25, that I realised that growing up doesn't have happen by a certain age. I can't put a cap on when I expect things to happen for me. When the time is right, things will just fall in to place. Some of my 20s haven't been easy, but I have picked up a lot of life lessons along the way.

And I have been very lucky. I moved out of the family nest when I was 18 and have lived away ever since (by quite a fair distance - 200 miles!) I own my own house, I live by myself now, and am fiercely independent. I don't earn a fortune, but I love my job, and have other opportunities that I can pursue in between my shifts.

I have lots of amazing friends nearby, who are my second family up here. They are there any time I need them, and I know I can always call on them if they are in trouble. After a long and very hard lesson about money whilst at uni, I am quite good at keeping my money in check and don't overspend (too much.) and have taught myself how to adapt two-handed things into one-handed triumphs (shoes, opening tins, painting nails, scaling gorges.)

So, in my 26th year of living on planet Earth, things may not have panned out in the exact way that I envisaged as a child of 5 watching The Little Mermaid, but I think I'm doing pretty well....

.....For an almost grown-up!

Ginger x

A-Z Challenge: A is for Achievements

For the next month, I will be uploading additional posts. I have signed up for the A-Z Challenge . Every day - apart from Sunday - will be a new letter. Today, it's A!)

A: Achievements

I managed to final conquer something that has been terrorising me for years and years. The mere thought of a shoelace would send shivers up my spine. A shoelace would mean I'd have to ask for help. That I would depend on somebody else. I never wanted to be a pain to others, and , in all honesty, the thought of asking somebody to tie my shoelace was a bit embarassing. I should have been able to do it myself! 

But now, I have a way. And it feels so good to finally say...

I CAN TIE MY OWN SHOELACE!!! 

WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!! 

We all need to take pride in our achievements. No matter how big or small they are, or may seem to others. Whether it's cooking something new, meeting a deadline, learning a new language, or just getting through that humongous pile of washing that you thought would never end. It all counts, and we should always take the time to say to ourselves "I'm really proud of what I did today." 

Saying how proud we are of others is important too. If you know that somebody has overcome something tricky, tell them how proud you are of them. How happy you are that they conquered something new, or overcame a stress in their life. Being there for our friends and family is so, so important. They need to know we support them in everything we do. 

What better feeling is there than helping put a smile back on somebody's face? 

Ginger x