A Few Favourite Things

So it's been a while since I've posted here, and I won't apologize -- I've just been happily living my life for the last month or so. My New Year's resolution this year was to spend less time documenting and planning my life, and more time living it. So just take my absence from this space as an indication that I'm succeeding in that.

It's been a big month. I've been making lots of plans, figuring things out for next semester at school, and enjoying my summer as much as possible. On top of the usual daily routine, I've fostered the most beautiful dog from the RSPCA (but their policy prohibits me from sharing photos until he's ready for adoption). However, I have found some time to slow down and enjoy the everyday, and I wanted to share some of that with you here. I thought I might share my 'favourites,' but instead of material possessions, focus instead on events/activities/recipes (although there are a couple new things I want to share!)

Lazy afternoons reading

I've been reading a lot lately, which has been lovely and much-needed. There's something delightfully comforting about reading on the couch while it rains down on the windows. I recently finished The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion and loved it just as much as the first Rosie novel. Don's narration is so refreshing and not frustrating, as I find many narrators to be. Right now I'm reading Diana Gabaldon's Dragonfly in Amber, the second in her Outlander series. I've absolutely been swept up in Claire and Jamie's story, and love DG's writing and Claire's narration. I'm up to date with the TV show so I can't wait to finish this novel and get on to the next one.

And watching some television

A couple of great shows I've been watching lately have kept me entertained in the evenings. Master of None, Aziz Ansari's show, was a seriously entertaining but light-hearted watch. Well cast and with clever humour, it was the perfect kind of show to watch over a couple of rainy days in bed. Then I started Please Like Me, created by Australian comedian Josh Thomas. It is a wonderfully optimistic show that deals with complicated issues in a tasteful way. I really liked that the main character, Josh, didn't seem to have any idea what he was doing as he entered adulthood, which I found very relatable and realistic. Finally, I've just finished the the first season of Jane the Virgin. I had watched a few episodes a while back but never got into the story, but recently I rented the season from the library and found myself totally invested in the storyline. While the premise is a little ridiculous, the characters are complex and interesting, and I love it now!

Planning for the next few months

I'm such a planner that I've been busy making lists and calendars and checklists to get ready for the next semester. Without even trying, I find myself with five jobs/roles on top of classes, so I'm in for a very busy few months on campus. I bought a new diary from Kikki.K (that has lots of little illustrations to colour in) and I've been using Apple Calendars and Google docs to make plans and lists so I'm all ready to go. It just makes me so happy to colour code and highlight things so I've really been enjoying that.

New additions to the wardrobe

While I didn't set out to shop too much this summer, I have picked up a few nice new pieces that I adore. I bought a pair of Blundestone 585 boots recently and have practically been living in them, they're so comfortable! They go with just about anything and I love love love them to bits. I also stopped in Chapel St. the other day and bought a lovely pair of cotton pants at Sussan, as well as a tunic dress and jacket in the Ishka sale (honestly I don't know of a better sale than an Ishka sale!) I love the colours of these pieces and they are all soft and made of cotton, which is just awesome.

Delicious breakfasts

I recently picked up the PB2 powdered peanut butter in chocolate flavour, and have been loving that so far! My favourite breakfast lately has been oats with chia and flax seeds, some chopped banana and the PB2 chocolate drizzled on top. So good! I'm also pretty obsessed with overnight oats- basically just oats and chia left to soak in coconut/almond milk and coconut yoghurt overnight. Top with some fresh fruit and it's a quick and delicious breakfast on the go.

x B

Life Lately: July

I had originally thought that I would use this summer break (although winter at home...) to pick up a new hobby or two, read lots of books, visit with friends, and explore Melbourne some more. While I have managed some of that, I underestimated how tired I would be when I arrived home. While I have been reading, cooking and seeing some friends, a great deal of my time is spent on the couch or in bed, either asleep or just lying awake and trying to calm down my whirring brain and thoughts. I am enjoying myself immensely, however, and thought I'd share a little of what I've been up to here. A little itty-bitty diary if you will.

This week the weather has been grey and dreary, not ideal for getting out and about, but perfect for curling up on the sofa with a good book. So today, that's exactly what I had planned to do. I got as far as wrapping myself up like a blanket burrito, and after that I was so sleepy I never got around to opening my book. The rain was tap-tapping away on the window and the whole house was filled with a sense of tranquility. I was asleep within seconds.

The book I had planned to read is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: a 900-page feast of a novel, and I'm nearly halfway through and loving it. I had watched the first season of Outlander on Netflix before picking up the novel, so I'm enjoying the same story again with much more detail and perspective. It really is a fantastic read and I would highly recommend it. If you love watching Game of Thrones and/or reading historical fiction, it would be right up your alley. Sometimes with a novel of that length, I can get a little bit overwhelmed by all the reading to do and end up doing nothing, which is a hopeless excuse. So I'm slowly making my way through it, and loving it. Next on my shelf is The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman, but I'm also thinking about The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (I adored the first Don Tillman novel). But really, who knows... I may well just re-read Jane Eyre for the umpteenth time.

The other day I was out walking, and looked up to see a beautiful leaf fall from an oak tree. Perhaps it was my mood on that particular day, or maybe I was just exhausted, but for whatever reason I started to tear up and I'm not really sure why. The rest of the day I kept thinking about how many leaves there are in the world, and how many people/lives/stories exist at once and how many of them go untold. Simultaneously scary and beautiful, I think. In my opinion the best stories are those that go untold, and often this thought is so overwhelming that I need to sit down and/or take a nap. I don't know if that's just me... I feel a little vulnerable if the world as it is can have that big an impact on me, but in a way I suppose that thinking all the time does have its downsides... what do you think?

x B

A Few Thoughts on Self-Love

The first photo of myself I can remember loving, double chin and all.   

June is the first month is the first I've been home from college in quite a while, and as such I've had a great deal more time alone with my thoughts than I usually do (the other day I was so overwhelmed by my wandering mind that I quite literally burst into tears... more on this another time). I'd say I live pretty much entirely inside my head, and if I don't communicate my thoughts and feelings it can all get to be a little much. Sometimes I'll be on the train, or watching a YouTube video, or reading a novel, when a thought crosses my mind and I just need to write about it in some way or I think I might explode. So I thought I'd share some of that here, just fragments of what I've been thinking.

This month I've been thinking a lot about self-love: what informs self-love, what promotes it, how it functions in today's society. I've read a number of articles with varying titles: 20 Ways to Practice Self-Love and the like. It seems that mass media wants women to exist in a self-perpetuating identity crisis. We're told to love ourselves, and then bombarded with messages of what we should eat, wear, buy and strive to be (very rarely should we strive to be ourselves, according to the articles I've seen). That said, I had the sudden realization earlier this year that without trying or even really thinking much about it, I found myself very much a promoter of self-love and respect, because I honestly do love myself, and I don't think it's nearly as challenging as mainstream women's magazines want us to believe.

In my experience, no guide to self-love will ever be effective. It's as simple as it sounds, really: the key to loving yourself is just to love yourself... and everything that it encompasses. There are no steps to take. It's as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Love the best bits, love the imperfections, love the parts of yourself that you're working on, love the fact that you are trying and love that you will keep trying no matter what. Love everything that you are, always. If you're struggling with body positivity, just remind yourself that your body is capable of climbing mountains and carrying you through your life. Start right now, and never stop. Swap negativity for love, and don't look back. Don't ever become angry with yourself, don't regret decisions that you consciously made, and don't compare yourself to others because this only leads to toxic downward spirals.

One harsh truth I've learned, and I'm glad I've learned it early in life: you need to look out for yourself, because sometimes you're the only one who is. While it is important to surround yourself with positive people who promote self-love, it needs to come from within first.

Once you make this commitment, the opinions of others seem to pale in comparison to how you feel about yourself. On days when getting out of bed and putting two feet on the floor seems like a daunting task, remember that it was you that made it through every tough day you've ever had before. Love and embrace that. Love the courage it takes to keep moving when things are hard, but also love the courage it takes to speak up and say "I'm not okay and I need some help." In my experience, that's the hardest part of all. And that's when self-love is most important.

On a wider scale, I think that accepting everything that you are has hugely positive effects on the people around you, and every interaction you will have for the rest of your life. If you're comfortable in your own skin, and you're comfortable making mistakes and even embracing them, then others around you are more likely to be as well. That's some of the most positive change you can promote, and it all starts with you.

Life Lately: June

"A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms." - Zen Shin

It's a Friday morning and it's grey and cloudy outside. I'm home in Melbourne on the couch, with my cat snuggled up next to me. It has been half a year since I last wrote here, and it is time for a catch up. So here's a brief overview of my life, the last few months condensed into little bullet points (each ending in an exclamation point because everything's exciting, it seems).

• Finished my sophomore year with my best grades yet, and am very happy at school these days!
• Applied to study abroad next spring semester at the University of Edinburgh, and I will hear back soon!
• Gave up dairy, and artificial sugar, and now I feel great, and have lost some weight to boot!
• Writing lots more, for Spoon University and The Odyssey Online, and I am the new Editor-in-Chief of my college yearbook!
• Planning exciting travel for the next year or so, can't wait to share more when trips come around!

I am planning for many new posts in the weeks and months to come, since it's summer break (although winter at home!) I finally have time to share some of my thoughts again. 

x B

Life Lately: November

I don't know what it is but the last couple of weeks have left me feeling totally exhausted, and in need of a long (really long) sleep. I think that the lead up to finals has begun, and the weather is getting colder, so now is the time to think about self-care and remember to put my health before my grades. It's something that I always try to do but at this point in the semester it can be so easy to stay up all night working on papers and cramming for exams. It's not healthy!

Hope you are all well, and not too stressed out!
More posts coming soon, I promise! Just need to crank out a couple of papers first.
x B

Today's the Day

Note: today's post is on a slightly different note. Not 'serious' but related to something that is very important to me. 

I've been a vegetarian for six years now, and don't miss meat one bit. I've been wanting to commit to veganism for about a year now, but haven't for two reasons: cheese (honestly, I eat way too much of it); and the fact that my school dining hall doesn't have a lot of vegan options.

This week I watched the film Cowspiracy and I can honestly say that it has changed how I think about food in general, and particularly about animal agriculture. This morning I had cereal with milk, and couldn't bring myself to finish the milk. That's when I knew it was about time for me to fully commit to veganism. 

I'm not one to tell people how to live their lives, but it is frustrating when meat eaters don't know the facts about animal agriculture. So I would encourage you to do some reading, watch Cowspiracy, and see if you still feel like eating a steak for dinner. Just learn the facts and then decide for yourself. 

x B

An Introduction

I have a vivid memory of being four years old, returned from a friend's birthday party. I arrived home with a painted face and a wand in hand, and danced around my bedroom all afternoon because I felt beautiful and powerful and like nobody could hold me down. I was four years old and I had the most wonderful sense of self-worth (which has slowly but surely fluctuated over the last decade or so). This year I decided that I wanted to feel as beautiful, powerful and independent as that four year old did, so I set myself a list of five goals to achieve by the time I reach twenty (next year, what???) years old. 

1. Not give a shit what strangers think of you. Sure, I care what my friends think of me. This doesn't mean I'm going to change who I am or what I look like based on their opinions. I respect them but I don't always agree with them. So if my friends don't control my perception of myself, why should strangers? With this comes two 'sub-goals' to help increase my confidence: a) increased fitness; and b) increased hydration for lovely skin.
2. Read a book (for pleasure) every month. It might not seem like a challenge, but on top of all my assigned reading for school, I think I'll be busy.
3. Smile more! Smile at strangers, at cute boys, at professors, at lovely old couples walking their dogs around campus. Life's too short, spread joy wherever possible.
4. Declutter! I'll never be a minimalist (too attached to my books), but I do want to sort through my belongings before I hit the big 2-0.
5. Go vegan! I've been vegan off-and-on for the last six months, and vegetarian for six years, so this is something I hope to become more committed to.

So, anyways. That was a pretty hopeless introduction. I tried.

Basically, I'm Bec, I'm currently a sophomore at a little west-coast college and I'm originally from Melbourne, Australia.

Until next time,

B