Confessions Part II

Hi! Hello! Welcome to my little pocket of the internet.

I’ve decided, like many during this crazy pseudo reality of quarantine life, to start a blog.

That reminds me of this hilarious tweet by Irish actress and comedienne Nicola Coughlan from mid March just as more countries were entering and preparing for lockdown:

If that’s to be a stereotype for (straight) men under 35 then I’d argue that starting a blog is the equivalent for (straight) women under 35. Personally though let’s just take gender, age and sexual orientation out of the equation. We can all fall victim to these tempting hobbies now that we have more free time then ever.

First thing I’d like to get underway is yes… I did name my first blog post over Usher’s early 2000’s R&B classic. (released in 2004!?!!) And here’s why:

1. I’d like to confess to the whole internet that no, this isn’t my first blog. I made my first blog in 2012 just for a portfolio of ‘published’ writing i.e. the handful of articles I had written for my school newsletter for cv purposes; because a gal’s got to eat and I thought it would spruce up my thinly padded resume when I was a bright eyed and bushy tailed school leaver. It’s safe to say that I had the good sense to delete that posthaste once I realised it wasn’t much of anything…

2. Nope, this isn’t even my second blog! I started one in January 2019 with one of my three sisters; my dad wanted sons and I was the unfortunate fourth daughter, though I’ve been labelled ‘the son’ by my family due to the fact I’m the ‘strong one’, ‘the rebel’ and a result of my mum’s obsession with dressing me, her baby (?) in matching tracksuits. It didn’t help that my dad took me to the barbers at aged two, much to my horror… I walked out with a little boy’s haircut even though I specifically instructed the barber for just a trim, as I sat in the little red tractor child booster seat. Unfortunately, my second stab at blogging didn’t work out once I started my first full time post graduate job and my sister began her PhD; she’s the brains of the family and we’re all immensely proud.

Once I thought of the title for this post, I had a ‘That’s so Raven’ moment where I was suddenly transported to my 8 year old self, screaming every word along to the tracks of Usher’s Confessions album. It was the summer of ’04 when we blared the album in my family’s holiday car after my biggest and coolest eldest sister had her best friend make a mixtape for us. In the inevitable moments when my parents took over dj rights, me and my siblings would glumly pass around the shared Walkman and argue over whose turn it was in hopes that we’d hear a song or two before the batteries died or we reached our destination.

3. My final confession is this, I’ve always wanted to start a blog for all my meanderings, but I’ve never bitten the bullet so to speak. Why? I guess, like with anything, vulnerability is terrifying. But if this pandemic has reaffirmed anything for all us existentialists it’s that we are all powerful enough to help make a positive change, however big or small. A perfect example of this is by the newly appointed Colonel, Tom Moore who at the age of 99yrs had a goal to raise £1000 by walking a 100 metres lap before his 100th birthday. Not only did this veteran complete his aim but he exceeded any and all ambitions. By uplifting Britons’ spirits the country rallied around and together raised over a whopping £30 million for the NHS charities Together: here’s a link for Colonel Tom’s JustGiving page.

So that’s my confessions, here are my intentions:

I solemnly swear that I will not treat this blog like another throw away Quarantine project, childhood summer hobby or New Years resolution. This blog will always and forever remain my creative outlet to ruminate over the bumbling mess ups of my life and an entertaining outlet for my constant word vomit.

The most realistic thing I can promise you is this: humans are multifaceted, everyone’s life has a multitude of different areas be it our relationships, interests, careers, etc. Therefore it’s not fair for me to dedicate this blog to one aspect of myself and my personality. Instead this blog will be solely used as a creative outlet and a soliloquy for whatever is on my mind or that I’d like to share… after all I am an English graduate and this is the longest form of text that I’ve probably written in the two years since my graduation.

If you’ve got this far then I’d like to say thanks for reading. This blog post has been brought to you by the depths of my pandemic anxiety, induced insomnia and the bright light from my iPhone’s note page at 3:11 am. I hope you were entertained. If you have any thoughts, comments or feedback then please feel free to pop me a comment down below.

Remember, keeping living authentically and with meraki!

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