Tag: blogtober

Autumnal Colours

~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

I am one of those people that is cursed by those around me, as Autumn is my favourite season. I love the changing of the seasons, where things get a wee bit more cozy, and trees turn that wonderful shade of orange. Don’t ask where I got the romanticising of dead leaves from, I just like it. The snoods are on, the slippers are own, and we survive of cups of tea. I just like it. I could do without the dark mornings, but that is it.

Pittencreiff Park, Dunfermline

I think I like this time of year because I really struggle with summer. I have never done very well in the heat, so it is nice when it is over. I am a person who prefers the cooler climate, as you can always put extra layers on, but there is so many you can take off without getting in trouble. It is nice, sitting all cozy and reading a book. I always read more during the darker months, which is something that I have been struggling with over the last few months. The only issue is that the weather is doing that back and forth thing, which has left everyone I know with the cold. Yesterday, I was walking around in my t-shirt, today it is back to layering up. No ideal.

I am not the biggest fan of Halloween, pumpkin spice isn’t that great, and fireworks give me the fear. You would think I wouldn’t like this time of year. I do think that it is mostly the change in foliage that I focus on the most.

Back to school

~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

My course with Open University has officially started, and I have been doing some studying today. It is all textbook work so far, and I am trying to write my own notes to put things down in a way that makes sense to me. Which isn’t easy, because a lot of things don’t make sense to me. Something that is not purely unique to uni work. The world can be a confusing place.

I just need to make sure that now things have got started that I sort out my time management, and stick to my schedule. It has always been a weakness for me. As said before, I am okay with work, it is my days off I struggle with. So, maybe I need to run a day off like my work day. Get up, start at 7.30, have my regular break times ( like I would at work), and then finish at 6pm. Or whenever my work is finished. It might be a good shout, because I have been having a lot of problems with my arthritis, so I can’t always be a reliable studier after work. But, that may enable me to read or write in the evenings.

The fear I have is that I may start of alright, but I know I am really bad at sticking to a plan. I am such a defeatist. If I can work this out properly, it’ll be okay. I just need a bit of faith in myself. I know work is about to get real busy, and I have lots of things on, so I will have to be rigid enough that I will stick to a study day, but if something is on, then I can move that study day to another day. And still stick to it.

Life is about challenging yourself, so this will be a good challenge. Well… a hard challenge. But it is said that if a challenge is easy, it isn’t a challenge.

By the Sea

~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

I live in Scotland, mainly the Kingdom of Fife, which has lots of coastal areas and beaches. Which is scenic, but may not be perfect for a swim due to it being on the North Sea. I have read that the cold water is good for your health, but I have yet to personally experience. I don’t mind the cold, but I have my limits.

Forth Rail Bridge goes across the Firth of Forth.

I grew up seeing the sea from my bedroom, in fact I still do. It’s something that is calming, the sounds of the waves and the smell of salt in the air. In these times, where my mental health has been so poor, being near the water has a grounding affect. If I have a bad day, I try to will myself outside for a walk, and hopefully down to the water. If I can’t, go and watch the cars drive past on the motorway, for some reason this has a similar affect.

I was speaking to a friend, who lives in the USA, and they have about 30 hours to travel to the coast. I have no idea what I’d do. Even when I stayed in a city for study, it was Glasgow and there was the Clyde. Which was great to walk along. I really feel grateful to live in Scotland, in a place where I am so close to the sea.

Blogtober? A Personal Challenge

~ Sue ~ 4 Comments

About 10 years ago, there were different challenges almost every month. Where people would attempt to do something creative every day over the course of a month. It could be drawing, sketching, writing blogs, recording video diaries, making songs… there were so many options. The idea was to transform a hobby that you love into a habit, in that you do it regularly. It is a sound idea, but in practice it takes a lot of dedication to do properly. Something that I always start out well with, but then stop.

I am having a lot of self-esteem issues right now. I don’t particularly like myself, and I don’t really know what to do about it. I made this promise a few months ago, where I would make attempts to improve my life by the end of the year, and have done nothing. Nothing of value anyway. And, it is making me feel really useless. Which is why I thought I would try a wee creative challenge, as being creative, writing especially, does make me feel better.

I am very good at giving up at the first obstacle. And I know it is because failure is something I expect, I start things and don’t actually think I’ll see it through to the end. I know it sounds really stupid. Why even start something that you don’t think you’ll actually complete? Optimism? I think I start thinking that I can do whatever I aim, but quickly I can get overwhelmed and frustrated by it all. So, then I break down, and everything grinds to a halt, and any progress I had made is for nothing. It is a personal trait that I do not particularly like about myself, but it is a thing that can change. It will just take a lot of effort and work.

So, that is where I thought that doing a ‘no pressure’ challenge like blogtober would maybe help. Because, there is no real consequences if I fail, but there may be real encouragement in my real life. Because, there are a lot of things that do need to change, and I NEED to be proactive. And my uni course officially starts this month, although I started looking at stuff a few weeks ago. So being proactive is the right way to be.

A lot of people seem to start new challenges in October. Are you trying something for the month?