This evening I am catching up on two things; Masterchef and the Blog Every Day in May (BEDM) challenge which was started by Jenni over at Story of my Life. She's devised a post topic for every day of the month which I thought this was an epic idea and apparently so do hundreds of bloggers who have joined the challenge. So I'm joining the masses. However, because I was away this bank holiday weekend having joyous times with the Boy in Aberystwyth I'm now having to do this quick catch-up for the last week of posts. Here goes!
Day One: The story of your life in 250 words.
Once upon a time a baby girl called Holly was born. She may have looked like a boy for the first two years of life but believe me she is definitely a she. Cut to two years old - see, lovely curly hair...wait, is that ginger!? This shy little girl with a ginger afro grew up in the middle of nowhere, North Wales and spent her days running around the woods with her family dogs and her imaginary friend Dan. Don't worry, I did have real life friends too. My family and I moved to a town in North East England when I was 10 and this really helped me grow out of being such a massive scaredy-cat. I was one of those freaks that loved school because of the sense of achievement that went with it. Naturally I then went to university where I study Physical Geography. I chose Aberystwyth university because going to the university open day felt like going home, and I'm so glad I did; I've met some amazing friends, a charming bearded man, and had some unforgettable experiences. Last year I took a break from university and currently live in Lancaster working in the environmental research sector with three months left until I return to Aberystwyth to finish what I started. And I can't wait!
N.B. Alas, Dan moved to Australia, and my hair is no longer an afro.
Day Two: Educate us on something you know a lot about.
I'm a student. Therefore I
1. Procrastinate. You have ages until the deadline.
2. Ok, so your essay is due in 24 hours. You took step 1 to perfection, as every student is guilty of doing.
3. Go to the shop and spend too much money on a mountain of essay snacks. The mountain should not include anything remotely healthy.
4. Clean your room. You can't possibly work in a messy environment (sneaky further procrastination disguised as a useful task).
5. Take a deep breathe. Now write the essay title.
6. Climb into bed and cry.
7. Eat handfuls of the snack mountain with one hand whilst typing with the other hand. Optimal productivity. Boom!
8. Post a facebook status to tell the world you've achieved 100 words. Only 4900 words to go.
9. Re-read the 100 words. They are awful, delete them.
10. Write, write, write. Don't even think about it, its just word vomit but at least words are happening.
11. It's 2am. Take a Pro-Plus tablet. Run around the house like a crazy person because you're suddenly so hyperactive. When this essay is done let's take over the world!! Woooooooooo!
12. Half way through. Major caffeine and sugar come down. When this essay is done let's quit university!! Boooooooooo!
13. Dawn. Only a few hours left until the deadline and 1000 words left to write. Waste valuable time stalking people on facebook that you haven't spoken to since primary school.
14. Done! Proof read it with your eyes closed because you're so tried. It reads perfectly, no mistakes. Excellent.
15. Press print. Error message: your printer is out of ink. Scream. Bribe a flatmate to use his printer in exchange for bacon.
16. Queue for a million years in a line of similarly haggard looking folk to hand in your essay 2 minutes before the deadline.
17. Eat a fry up.
18. Sleep.
19. Go out and get drunk.
20. What's that? You've got another essay due in?...(see step 1)
Day Three: Things that make you uncomfortable.
I know I'm a chronic worrier but I wouldn't say much makes me uncomfortable as such. These are a few things I can think of off the top of my head:
- People who make very intense eye contact during conversation.
- People who over-share.
- Peeing in the wild.
- Being forced into making quick decisions.
- Making phone calls to people I've never met. This was why email and texting was invented.
- Insects. The sights of creepy crawlies literally makes me itch all over.
- Arguments.
- Public speaking. The worst thing EVER!
Day Four: Favourite quote.
I saw this quote by Maya Angelou, the American author and poet, several years ago and for some reason it struck a chord with me. Although there are countless incredible quotes I could refer to here, this one instantly popped into my mind. I just think its a fantastic quote which really jolts you into thinking optimistically about whatever challenges you're up against. Sure, life is a bitch but I'm going to be this awesome young girl Angelou talks about and kick some serious butt! Who doesn't want to be that girl?! Google Maya Angelou - she's come out with some amazingly inspirational quotes in her time.
Day Five: Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends or a real-life friend.
Honestly I don't really have blogger friends. I've only recently started blogging and though there are a few people's blogs that I stalk obsessively, I'm a rubbish human being and don't leave that many comments. Subsequently, I can't really answer this question in respect to blogger bezzie mates. Real life friends I'm better at. I'm one of these people who prefer to have a small number of very close friends. Moving around between Hexham where I grew up, university in Aberystwyth and working in Lancaster, I've got a few close friends in each place. So, huge shout out to:
My Hexham peeps: Rosie, Bryony, Kate and Jill.
My Lancaster girlies: Laura, Chloe, Lizzie and Fran. And my 'homeboys' James and Theo.
My uni crew: Elliot, Mike, Melissa. And the rest of you.
Love y'all.
Day Six: If you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the question 'what do you do?'
I eat.
I love.
(sorry, this question required too much thought at such a late hour)
Day Seven: The thing(s) you are most afraid of.
I'm sure I share my biggest fear with almost everyone; losing the one's you love. Living without my loved ones is unimaginable, it scares me to even try. Other big thing that scares me is the future. This includes everything from 10 years in the future down to tomorrow. I like to be uber prepared and organised but the future is full of the unknown and unanswerable questions. Still, the thought of the future, and being in control of where it takes me, excites me enough to (mostly) overcome the fear and to just to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Day Eight: A piece of advice you have for others.
The piece of advice that instantly comes to mind is to just do it. Whatever 'it' may be. You maybe have hopes and dreams which seem unattainable right now. I can almost guarantee they are not if you deal with whatever it is that is stopping you. Things can be scary. Things don't get handed to you on a plate, you've got to work and work hard to get places. But...just do it.
When I decided to go for a year in industry away from university I was terrified. How was I even going to find a job? And if I found one I won't know anyone there, and by the time I get back to Aberystwyth everyone I know will have graduated. I'd never had a job in my life; what if I failed miserably in the real world? But I did it. And I would go back and do exactly the same again, regardless of how difficult it's been at times. Because in 10 years time I could have my perfect job because of the experience I've gained in this year, and regardless its made me into a much more well-rounded person. Having doubts about something similar? My advice; just do it!
So sorry these answers are rushed but I wanted to get caught up. I'll try and make future BEDM posts a bit more interesting but I'm never one to leave a job half done, or in this case start a job half way through. Make sure to zoom on over to Jenni's blog and see all the others that are taking part in the challenge, and then join in!
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