MEscovery

Only vain, young people would consider living their life broadcasted on various social media platforms. And no one would watch anyone older than the age of 25 blog, vlog or snapchat about their life as surely, someone that old couldn't possibly have anything interesting to talk about. Scanning places like Instagram, youtube and snapchat, it would certainly seem that way. Short of some "yummy mummy does the school run in style" type accounts these places seem largely populated by young, child-free fashion and beauty bloggers/vloggers. Where are the women in their thirties, forties and fifties to follow? Granted, it's not too hard to find some stylish people on Instagram, but a picture isn't the same as a blog or a vlog. I am quite enjoying the youtube vlogs of the youngsters, but would love to see some people my age on there too. It seems they are hard to find. Are we just too busy to consider publishing content on a media platform that requires more than...

Is it running away or looking for something new that makes people move? I am sure most people are familiar with a scenario like this: you are on holiday, enjoying the sunshine and the thought crosses your mind that maybe this is what life should be like all the time. In my mind, this thought is then quickly followed with a daydream of giving up the jobs we've had for the last few years, selling up and moving countries to settle into a new life of sunshine and fun, with the minor details of a job and other boring practicalities a small side note or afterthought. Very realistic, it's not. Nevertheless, it does make me think about how easy it is to tick along in our day to day life without questioning whether this is how we would choose to live if we had a clean slate. I currently quite like my life. It's easy, comfortable and familiar. If someone could guarantee it will stay like this then I would sign up for that. I could do with more sun, as where we live a few sunny ...

I'm on a mission. A few months ago I went on a work course which required me to write a mission statement for my life. So far, so American. I was sent to sit by myself for 2 hours(!) to come up with it and all I ended up with was three words. Somehow all things I want were reduced to the following simple statements. True Not in a "Don't lie, Pinocchio" sense. I want to be true to myself. To have the courage to speak up, write what I really think, share photographs and allow myself to show people my weird little quirks and contradicting personality traits. To self-censor less and be vulnerable and 'open'. I'm pretty sure I'm an (undiagnosed) introvert, so this doesn't always come easy. In the past it has proven to be worth it though, so my aim is to "do me" more. Focus On the here and now, live in the moment. To appreciate what I have and don't skip ahead. All those things. I want to make sure that whatever I do, I give...

The news. It should be renamed. It's not just informing you about what is going on in the world. It takes the latest occurrences, filters out the uplifting (unimportant?) stuff and slaps the rest of it in your face. Day. Ruined. I've limited myself to the news app on my phone in the morning and evening. And the radio news in the car. That's as much as I can take. Does that make me ignorant? Probably. Do I not care about what goes on in the world? Very much so. Too much probably. It haunts me. Little news snippets. 10 years on. I can still visualise certain news reports. Pictures shown. I don't just watch it and consider myself informed. It soaks into me and goes with me for the day, for life. I should probably learn to separate emotion from the news, but how can you not be devastated and disheartened by so much of the stuff that makes the headlines? It's a trade off between feeling well-informed and depressed. The older I get, the more I have gone into self p...

It's what all parents are thinking about and talking about. Some have even been dreaming about it since the start of the summer. The kids are starting school again this week.  With it comes the exhilaration at your new found freedom or the sad feeling that the summer together has gone all too soon. And that we will miss not only the sun but the time spent together.  Kids will be lining up to join their old friends again or standing around looking for a familiar friendly face in an overwhelming sea of people. As a parent you always hope that your child will be equipped with the strength and self confidence to deal with any feelings of loneliness or fear. There is no greater gut wrenching moment than when you fear your child is the one feeling like the odd one out or "Billy no mates".  My child is lucky to have had many friends in her class in the last few years.  This year she will be starting a new class, with barely a close friend in it. Not as bad as starting afres...

As I'm on holiday at the moment and lying by the pool (stick around, I'm going somewhere with this) it's only natural to have a look around at all the people surrounding me. Men, women. All different nationalities, ages and body shapes.  I start playing the ranking game. Not very consciously but nevertheless I do it. A woman might be taller and leaner but have a slightly bigger belly. Bigger boobs but chubbier legs. Pretty arms but pasty skin. I think it's a way of confirming my own body shape is not perfect but neither is anyone else's. Would I want to swap one of my flaws for another? I wonder if we were put in a room by ourselves with no one to compare ourselves to or measure against would we be happier to accept who we are? Does the culture to share and compare through magazines, social networking etc. feed into our insecurities or is it a way for us to "like" ourselves by highlighting the areas we like and blurring out those which we don't.  I...

It's been a busy old month. Lots of change, with highs and very lows. But we are looking ahead now. Good things are on the horizon. Plenty of nice things to look forward to. So with that, let's put on some cheerful music, pick some new songs to listen to and get inspired to make it a great summer. Music can change my mood pretty quickly. If I put on a soppy, folky track I can write the most melancholic post ever. Put on a bright, dance tune and I'll skip the writing for a bit of a dance and the energy boost it gives me might result in a clean house (or room at least) or a speedy run. Finding a new favourite song can put me in a great mood and inspire new adventures. Projects will get started and if it's a really good song, the project might actually get finished too. There isn't much more entertaining to my children than me dancing around like a loon in the kitchen while we cook dinner.  In contrast a sad song can evoke the strongest emotions. I rememb...