Real, Not Ideal

Happy end of April! The temperature is getting warmer and the days are getting brighter. Despite the whole world being told to stay inside, I hope you’re enjoying that a little bit. Open the windows! Read in a patch of sun! This monthly post is . . . unprecedented (does anyone else hate that word though?). This isn’t about what I’ve done to make this month exciting because what I’ve done that is pretty much the same thing every day. Two years ago, I was talking about my last placement and the fact that I was almost done PGCE. Three years ago, I was celebrating all kinds of wonderful because it was the end of university. Four years ago, I had taken so many trips that I was excited to share. I won’t go back further because the formatting of my blog posts was different (and embarrassing, quite frankly), but that was a nice little trip back in time from my sofa. Anyway, these are the things in my life right now that are favourites because they’re helping me do something or be s

On my list original plan for today’s blog post was going to be one for both of the France trips I was supposed to take in the last couple of weeks. I’ve also scoured through past posts to see if I mentioned them last year, and I’m ashamed to say I did not. For two of my favourite trips of all time, I cannot believe I missed a chance at writing about them. While I’m disappointed that I won’t get to partake again this year, I’m glad to have those memories forever. Instead of my original planned post, I figured I’ll go back to February when I went to Belgium and Berlin. I mentioned it in my monthly favourites in February (and even mentioned I would write a future post about it) but I never actually wrote it. So, here we go! Belgium and Berlin! Belgium         I went to Belgium on a school trip. The purpose was to see all of the WWI sites from a book we read with the Year 7s called “Private Peaceful.” Belgium itself has some really nice buildings. One of my favourite vi

        In the past five weeks since my last reading update , I’ve managed to finish six books. I’m not sure why this has become a pattern, but I seem to be picking up more non-fiction as of late. I’m really loving reading about and getting to know a whole new cast of characters. I’ve read books about friends, about death, about life, and about how to make the most of everything. Although one of my least favourite books has emerged this reading round, I’ve had a pretty good month of reading overall. Everything I Know About Love – Dolly Alderton – 4 Stars         This book is so heart-warming. I’ve read a lot of reviews about this book complaining that it’s about one woman’s messy adventures through alcohol and dating, but those people have utterly missed the point. Throughout the stories of ups and downs and sideways of Alderton’s life as a growing adult, there is a thread of what kept her going despite it all. That thread is her friends. We all come to realise that no

               Welcome back friends! How are we all doing? I’m not going to lie – I’m not doing very well at all. As it turns out, I’m someone who really needs structure and something to look forward to. Right now, I have none of that. I have no idea when I’ll be returning to work, I have no idea if or when I’ll be able to go home, and I have no idea when this will all be over. I genuinely thought I was fine but then I started getting rashes every day,  my skin started breaking out, and my acid reflux came back. All of these are signs of anxiousness for me. The worst part is, there is absolutely nothing that can be said or done to make me feel better. I just need to keep doing what I’m doing, pay even more attention to myself, and keep my fingers crossed.                So. W hat is keeping me going? Believe it or not, it’s routine. I mentioned in my last monthly favourites that keeping lists is something that helped in the first week of lockdown. I’ve put everything that