*Side note: I'm SO sorry that I said my next post would be a top 10 under £10 and this isn't quite that, but to explain - I've basically written that post but plan to take some nice artsy photos of all the products to add in and make it prettier, so that should be with you by the end of the week! You can't say I'm not a tease..*
So it’s just gone midnight, I’ve made myself a cup of tea and I figured it would be quite appropriate to write a spontaneous blog post for you all! Because at some point "Midnight Tea Blogs" was the name I picked...
And the theme today? In keeping with spontaneity, something that’s played on my mind today (or should I say yesterday!) has been growing up.
ARGH those words scare me. I’m a weird kind of person. I feel like friends of mine would describe me as both wildly mature beyond my years (I’m known as the ”mum” of the group, and am the sort that says “text me when you get home so I know you’re safe” or “don’t forget your bus pass!” when they’re leaving..) and at the same time, such an excitable child at heart. To this day my heart skips a beat when I see swings in a playground or an ice cream van- and let me tell you, if you’re my age and don’t feel the same way, then you’ve done this growing up thing very wrong!! (That was a tiny bit harsh. But still, go swing for your life, my 18 year old chums!)
And this whole being stuck between two spheres of childhood and adulthood defines my life right now in more ways than one. For one part, my friends in my year have recently (all but a couple) moved off to uni to start their new lives, and I couldn’t be prouder of or happier for them!! But at the same time, this makes me feel younger than ever: I’m going to be at the University which starts the latest in the country (confirmed fact!) and this waiting period is rather daunting and isolating as I’m not sure what to expect from it all. When I was younger, I feel like I had this dreamy, idealistic view of me becoming a complete grown up with fully formed opinions and knowledge about stuff like politics, finance and literature by the time I’d finished Sixth Form when in reality.. I just resemble the same mix of thoughts, worries and craziness that I have for all my life, I’ve just learnt a couple more things along the way! I’m in no way ready to be an adult, but I guess that you don’t get to choose - that’s just the way the world works.
Don’t get me wrong, at times the thought of independent life and starting my own path, reinventing myself, making new friends and learning so much new academic content as well as life lessons fills me with excitement and makes me want to jump up and down! But I’ll admit it - there’s a lot of anxiety there too. I understand that this mixture of excitement and nerves is very normal at this time but it still feels pretty confusing to be caught up in all this adult stuff, especially as I’ve been at the same school for over 10 years and so rarely had to cope with a change of academic/social environment! It’s a huge jump, and as someone who’s still yet to immerse themselves into Uni life, the main pieces of wisdom in my mind right now are… (warning, these may resemble the points I spoke about in my “Change” post but from the growing up / Uni advice angle! There’s only so much advice I can give without repeating the same nuggets of wisdom, explained from another perspective!)
1. Growing up and change aren’t necessarily the same thing. Hear me out here - I know some people will take Uni as a chance to take on a completely different (often more outgoing, confident) persona, and like the opportunity to change identity, and while for me this is partially the case (my main aims are to worry less and live in the moment a bit more!) I feel like what’s made me who I am today, and all the wonderful friends I’ve gained along the way, has been being true to myself *wheen will my refleeeeection show who I am insiiiiiiide?* (I couldn’t resist!). I’m sorry again for the cheese - if you don’t like cheese guys, then you’re reading posts by the wrong blogger - I’m probably the cheesiest person I know! I don’t think being false or trying to go against your natural instincts gets you very far in life, and sure, some people will choose to try to magnify some qualities they love and detract from the bad habits, it’s hard to change altogether and I don’t think I’d ever want to. The people closest to me are there for a reason - it’s because I appreciate them for who they are and not some image they try to portray themselves to be. Imagine dating some famous Hollywood actor (I will allow for a brief fangirling moment here. Leo DiCaprio though ahh..) but the difference is, they’re constantly acting as their role when they're with you and never get to be their true selves. As lovely and flattering as this would initially seem, you'd see through the facade eventually and would be left with a feeling of disappointment at the deception. I am overcomplicating here, but you see my point? People will love you for being yourself, so as one of my faves, Paula, likes to say “you do you, boo, you do you” <3
2. Take it one step at a time! You don’t have to make friends with the first people you meet at school or uni (sure, please be friendly to them anyway as this may not be the case!)- there’s a time and a place for everything, so just keep breathing and keep everything in perspective. Follow a schedule, plan ahead and don’t immerse yourself in tons of societies and events that you can’t keep up with (I’m especially bad at this not overcommitting thing..) Similarly, I would advise you to try not to get caught up in the craziness that is binge drinking and losing control of yourself completely. Now this is a personal matter and you can choose to let this advice go in one ear and out the other, but personally, I don’t consider it safe or sensible to drink yourself into oblivion when you have lectures the next morning, are in an unfamiliar environment, or actually, at all. It just leads to recklessness and a lack of awareness about your actions. Here’s where I sound like a mum… anyway do with that last bit what you will, but growing up doesn’t have to mean downing shot after shot all in one night!! Slow down and enjoy the moment!
3. Don’t lose touch of the stuff that keeps you sane and reminds you of your childhood. It may be the case that for some, you’re never going back, the past is in the past, you just want to let it go (that was painfully cheesy) however there’s no shame in keeping hold of old memories, chatting to childhood friends, or just letting your hair down and doing stuff you used to love every once in a while. Whether this just means visiting a shop you loved as a kid (Disney store and Claire’s pop to mind!), going back to a park you spent time in with your friends, taking a visit to your primary school, or heck, spending the day in a onesie eating Smarties, watching The Little Mermaid, though many of you reading this may have gone through the growing up stage, you don’t have to leave everything behind you just because you’ve hit a certain age. Make time for the things that used to mean a lot to you - nostalgia can be a beautiful thing. Just make sure you remember to live in the present too - the clock will keep ticking so you’ve got to run along with it! :)
I hope this has helped you guys even a tiny bit to come to terms with growing up and adulthood - I sure as heck am no expert and still vastly consider myself to be a child! I’m considering doing a video / post on the things I miss about childhood, so leave me a comment if that sounds like something you’d be interested in!
For anyone finding the school to uni jump tricky at the moment, remember that you’re not on your own and that loads of people across the country will be feeling the same apprehension. Remember that plenty of help is available from these organisations should you feel like having a chat with someone more qualified than an 18 year old rambling blogger ;)
See you next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment