2 Lessons In 2 Decades

So today, I turn 20 years old! A month ago I probably would have begun this post by telling you that I don't feel ready not to be a teenager anymore, that 20 seems old and I need one more guilt free reckless year. But something my tutor said changed my perspective. He reminded me of the fact that I've only NOT been a child for about 4 years of my life. I look like an adult but I don't have the full experience, he on the other hand has spent the majority of his life in an adult mind and body. This got me thinking, I may have lived on this earth for 2 decades now (phrasing it like that is pretty scary don't you think?), but I'm only just beginning as an 'adult'. I'm now thinking of myself as a 4 year old adult rather than a 20 year old person, so instead of listing 20 things my short stint of life has taught me, I thought I'd narrow it down to just 2!

2016 So Far As Told By Instagram

So January is over for another year - we survived! As we are now into February (and my birthday month!), I thought I'd do a little run down of how my year is going so far as told by the photos I've been sharing on Instagram.

The Seaside Is Good For My Soul

For the past few days I have been spending some time away from Manchester and city life in south Devon, somewhere I have been visiting for my whole life. Unfortunately I have this nasty habit in life where I will just work, work, work and completely burn myself out to the point where I have to stop entirely and do nothing for a while. On Monday I reached that point. I was just so stressed out and overwhelmed with everything despite the fact that I'm supposed to be on a three week break from uni for Easter. I basically decided that enough was enough and it was about time I stopped, even for just a couple of days, and visited the seaside.

There really is nowhere in the world that I feel happier than by the sea, I'm a proper 'water baby' I suppose. There's just something about fresh sea air, sand between my toes and the few degrees temperature increase that Devon always seems to have on rainy Manchester that clears my head and puts everything into perspective. Everything is done just that bit slower in Devon and so it's the perfect place for me to recharge my batteries. Being on the hilly south coast also meant that I had very little, if any, mobile signal for my whole trip. This only allowed me to have short stints on social media this week if a small pub happened to have wifi. I didn't even take my DSLR with me so all the photos on this post are taken from my Instagram feed. Removing yourself from the online world, having something of a 'digital detox', and realising that it's not all going to disappear if you switch off for a few days is defiantly important once in a while.

Often I really have to force myself to take these breaks because I worry about all of the work that's not getting done while I'm away. Honestly, in the end it's a much better use of my time because now I'm back I'm feeling refreshed and ready to get things done in a productive way. When I'm stressed it can take me a whole day to complete something that will now only take me an hour or two. Another bonus of visiting the seaside is that the change of scenery has got my creative juices flowing again and I now have a tonne of new inspiration and ideas! So even if you can't completely remove yourself for a few days like I was lucky enough to be able to, maybe just put aside a day where you go somewhere completely new and unknown. Just being in a new surrounding can do wonders for your creativity as well as your wellbeing.

What do you do to recharge your batteries when you've completely burnt yourself out? Or how do you organise your working time so that you avoid that happening in the first place? I'd love to hear your methods because I could defiantly do with a few tips myself!

19 Things In 19 Years

So today is my 19th birthday *yay*! I feel like 19 is a bit of a funny one; you've done all of the big celebrations that come with your 18th, and you have a while to wait until the big 2-1. With that in mind I don't have huge plans to celebrate this year, just a nice meal with my family and a night out in town with my friends. But I thought I'd begin my last year as teenager by sharing 19 lessons I have learnt in my 19 years on this earth. I'm certainly not saying that I have all the worlds wisdom, but these are just a few snippets I've discovered along my journey so far. Here goes...

1. Not taking the easy option pays off in the long term
2. Experiences are more valuable than possessions
3. Worrying changes nothing
4. Death doesn't care who you are
5. People change
6. There comes a point when you realise the way your parents built you isn't enough - and they don't ALWAYS know best
7. Regret is almost entirely pointless
8. Time heals
9. Pain often leads to the biggest growth 
10. Politeness is important, and it always gets rewarded
11. Forgiving people makes you feel lighter 

12. The way things are right now is not the way they will always be

13. Not everybody will understand the value in art
14. There is no shame in enjoying your own company
15. There will always be somebody who doesn't like you, so you might as well be yourself
16. Stepping outside your comfort zone is a good thing
17. Everything seems worse at night
18. Your school years are NOT the best of your life
19. Empathy is a very valuable tool

Do you agree or disagree with anything on my list? And what lessons have you learnt in your life so far?
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15 Things To Do Every Day To Stay Creative In 2015

Staying creative is a bit like an athlete keeping themselves in shape. If you stop training, like an athletes fitness level, your creativity will gradually slump back to square one. Maintaining your creativity takes work and requires a conscious effort. So I thought I would devise a list of 15 things you should do every day try and have a go at doing every day in 2015 to keep your creative juices flowing throughout the year ahead.

 1. Stop trying to please everyone

2. Write on non-lined paper

3. Check for new upcoming exhibitions and events (and arrange to go!) 

4. Walk a different route 

5. Join forces 

6. Drop everything and sketch right now
7. Stop trying to be a great artist
8. Make lots of mistakes
9. Take praise well
10. Take criticism well
11. Stop scrolling
12. Read the news
13. Watch a documentary about something you know nothing about
14. Go outside
15. Never stick with what you know

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2015 Goals and Resolutions

Wishing everybody a very Happy New Year! Hope you had a wonderful festive period. 

To me it feels very strange that it isn't 2012 anymore, let alone 2015. 2014 has been a mixture of ups and downs for me but I've spent it with people I love and care about so I'm still very lucky and have some great memories from the past 12 months. 

In the past I have never really made proper goals for the year ahead. But last year I made just one - to read more. I still may not be a massive book worm and I still have a problem with being ridiculously slow at finishing any book, but the bottom line is I HAVE read more this year than the previous 5 years combined. I've gotten through a handful of great books in 2014 and I hope to continue this into the new year. I feel like there is so much negativity and pessimism surrounding new years resolutions, but in my opinion it can work! Just one tip from me though if you want to make it happen: try to be somewhat specific with your goals. Nothing too broad if you  can help it. For example, if you want to get fit, try not to write "1. Get Fit" on your 2015 resolutions list. Swap it for something like "1. Do at least one run a week". If you achieve this easily, then great! Keep the original ones up, set some new ones and keep going. 

I really want to start the blogging year ahead by sharing the goals I have set myself for 2015. I've actaully ended up with a few more than I had planned to but I still think they're easily manageable for me (some being harder than others!) Hopefully I'll be able to look back on this post at the end of the year and at least say I've had a real good go at all of these.

So, here are my six goals/resolutions for 2015:

• Draw LOTS more (starting with a drawing a day in January)
• Stop wasting time by worrying about time all the time
• Blog (just do it!)
• Update my wardrobe 
• Shoot in film
• Learn how to better deal with anxiety and depression 

Wish me luck! I hope this year is a safe, happy and exciting one for you.

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