5 lessons of July

21:02 Leila Gunn 3 Comments

I thought I’d post my ‘5 lessons’ post a little earlier this month, because I’m going to Ibiza soon and I’m not too sure how strong the Wi-Fi connection will be. However, if the connection is good, you can expect to see lots of posts from me! If not, I’ll tell you all about it when I get back… but for now, here's what I've learnt this month.

1. Follow your instincts – I'm sure you've all heard this one time and time again. This month, all of my friends went to Brownstock festival. I hadn’t bought a ticket, because I wasn’t too sure I would cope very well at Brownstock (no sleep for three nights doesn’t suit me....) Nevertheless, I did want to go - I hate the idea of missing out on all the fun because I’m so boring! However, a couple of weeks before the festival, we had an assembly at school about volunteering at Village Green. I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a journalist at the event, (it’s what I want to do with my life after all!) so I decided to volunteer instead of going to Brownstock. To be honest, Brownstock sounded like great fun, but I’m glad I stuck with my gut instinct. Although I didn't know I'd be carrying out interviews when I volunteered, if I had have gone to Brownstock, I might never had had the opportunity to interview/meet one of my favourite bands ‘Nothing But Thieves.’ Isn't life just full of surprises?

2. Eat Tiffin and exercise in equal measure - as you can see from past posts, I've tried my hand at baking this month, and I've actually really enjoyed it. Usually I hate any kind of cooking because I don't really have the patience, time or skill... which is why the Malteser Tiffin recipe was perfect for me! It was so easy to make, involved minimal washing up, and there was no actual 'baking' in the oven - pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours (if that) and you're ready to indulge. And when I say indulge, I mean indulge! Tiffin is possibly one of the most unhealthy things I've ever eaten, let alone made. It is incredibly rich and incredibly delicious - and for those reasons alone I highly recommend!



3. Say yes – This may seem slightly hypocritical following what I’ve just said, as I didn’t say yes’ to going to Brownstock. However, if it hadn’t have clashed with Village Green, I’d like to think I would’ve mustered up the courage to go. This was in fact one of my New Year’s resolutions – to do something new, something different. If somebody asks if you'd like to do something, go somewhere etc. do it! Within reason of course... *insert the old if someone asked you to jump off of a cliff’ line….. I think it's best to just try to grab any opportunity available to you and run with it. As my boss said to me the other day, if nothing else, it’s a story to tell the future grandkids! However, something I have realised this month, and selfish as it may sound, is that you must do it for you. If you’re not having fun when doing it, stop and do something else. Life's too short.



4. Rest up – this is a lesson I’ve learnt the hard way this month. I wasn’t very well in the first couple of weeks of July, but continued to work, go out, go to the gym etc. instead of resting. Consequently, I have just finished a course of antibiotics for a virus which caused me to have a croaky voice for 2 weeks and kept me up all night coughing. Perhaps this lesson should also be called ‘listen to your parents’, because I didn’t in this situation. I always try to hold off from taking medicines- I like to think my immune system can handle it, although I’m not sure how biologically accurate that is.... However, sometimes it's better to just slow down for a bit, curl up on the sofa and have a snooze. Chances are you’ll probably recover quicker and feel better for it. I wish I’d done this, so I’d have felt fighting fit again in no time, rather than a spluttering mess!

5. Silence speaks when words can’t  This is something I’ve not only practiced quite a lot this month, but it's also probably one of the most important things I’ve learnt whilst growing up – Not every action requires a reaction. People will always try to push your buttons, normally for attention, sometimes because they enjoy seeing you become frazzled, but it's so important not to bite. I found it really difficult to understand this when I was young, if somebody said something I didn't agree with (usually to deliberately wind me up), I'd always rise to the argument to fight my corner. Although I think I still can be a little hot-headed and stubborn, I try to only act upon my frustration when I think it's really necessary. Nowadays, a lot of the time I think it's just a waste of energy trying to win an argument against some people, it's far easier to agree to disagree. At the end of the day, some things just really are better off left unsaid.

3 comments:

  1. So that tiffin looks absolutely scrumptious!!

    - www.veebzboo.com

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  2. Thats very inspiring!
    And I like your blog a lot! Very professional and interesting!
    Thanks for sharing :)
    I just wrote a post about travelling in Tokyo. Please feel free to have a look :)
    Followed you on all of your social feed. Hope you would like mine too :)
    Nice to meet you!


    Alice

    alheaology.blogspot.com

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  3. Lovely post
    that tiffin is making me very hungry! hehe
    catherine x
    california-souls.blogspot.co.uk

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