Often, when life gets hectic, we become stressed, annoyed and complacent. Usually, something comes along to bring us back down to earth and remind us that there is a world outside of our own bubble. I’ve been quite stressed this week with work, university, blogging, preparing for going to Amsterdam (tomorrow!), trying to fit in the gym, eating healthy and cooking all of my meals and making time for myself.
At the end of last week something happened that pulled me out of my bubble and made me realise that I shouldn’t be so stressed and worried over so many menial things. But like most times, this only happened for a short while and it was again back into my own little stressed-out bubble.
I’ve since realised that I need to take the time to be grateful for the people and things around me and for where I am. I have a lot to be thankful for and most of the time, I take it for granted. So here are five things that I am taking the time to be thankful for.
1. Family
Living and studying in England means I don’t see my family as often as I would like. I’m also not one to get homesick very often which means I make around three or four trips home per year. It’s only when I think about it like this, that I feel guilty for not going home more often.
The sad truth is that our family won’t be around forever and we need to cherish the time that we have with them as none of us know what tomorrow brings. My grandmother turns 90 years of age this year and I’m pushing my plans to move away until after September as I really don’t want to miss this milestone.
Of course it’s hard being an only child and living away from home as I’ve been made to feel guilty one too many times when someone tells me off for being so far away from my mum – but I can’t hold myself back just because I’m an only child, and my parents wouldn’t want me to do that either. The ideal scenario would be for my parents to move wherever I move so that they’re always close by, but I could never ask my parents to up and move their entire lives just for me.
For all I know, I could be back living in Lurgan in two year’s time and by then my family will be sick of the sight of me and vice versa.
2. Opportunities
I’ve been given so many amazing opportunities in the past while that I tend to forget how fortunate I’ve been and the things I’ve got to experience.
Sometimes I forget that I’ve been to London Fashion Week, the BRITs, sang in the Odyssey Arena, been to an All-Ireland Final and met/been in the presence of so many amazing people. At the time, I think, This is the best moment of my life and I want to stay here forever. A week later, I’m back to my monotonous lifestyle and that amazing moment is gone. Having experienced these amazing opportunities, I know that there must be more to come in my future.
I’m still only 21 and have been to and been given the chance to attend some amazing events which means I have my whole life to experience more. I’ve come a very long way in such a short amount of time that it feels like the past few years have been a blur and all a dream. But, when I feel like the world is against me and I’m stressed out with uni work, I look back at my Placement highlights reel on Instagram and am quickly reminded of what awaits me after university is over. I look back on the good times, appreciate that they happened and hope that there will be more to come in my future.
3. Where I am
I am very, very grateful to be exactly where I am today. Just last night, I was packing for Amsterdam and part of me was starting to dread the trip. I feel incredibly safe in Liverpool and finally at home – I didn’t want to leave, even only for a few days and to experience a new city. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited to visit Amsterdam, but I just feel so at home in Liverpool at the moment that I would have happily stayed where I am.
I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to live and work in London for a year, and in a way, it made me appreciate Liverpool a whole lot more. I now have a lot of connections in London and have seen and done most of what there is to do in the city. Visiting now and then is great, but I enjoy being able to come back to Liverpool.
Feeling so settled in Liverpool right now is making me a little nervous about leaving this summer. I know that I am too settled and need to make plans to leave, otherwise I may never go. It’s a great city to be a student in, but after that, I want to see and work somewhere new. Even if only for a year like in London.
I am thankful that I have a flat that I love, friends to socialise with, a job that I have been able to come back to, locals that I know and a wider community that I now feel a part of. I only have four months left in Liverpool which I can’t even begin to comprehend. I have somehow made it to final year and am due to graduate in July – I’m just hoping I have the strength and mental ability to see it out until the end.
4. Friends
I am so, so incredibly thankful for the friends that I have. Friends are the family you choose yourself and I am so lucky to be surrounded by so many great people. I am even lucky to have friends dotted around the world, in Ireland, England, Scotland, Europe, America and Australia.
To be able to have best friends that I only see a few times per year, speak to quite rarely but that support me 24/7 is something I’m so grateful for. We can go weeks or even months without speaking, but as soon as we do, it’s like we never stopped. There is a mutual understanding that we’re both living our separate lives, trying to make our own ways in the world but don’t need to be in conversation every day. We know that if one should need the other, we are right there.
My friends inspire me every day and without their words of encouragement, support and backing – I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. Their hard work, enthusiasm for life and motivation to succeed drives me to be the same and have the same enthusiasm and drive for what I do in life. We aren’t in competition and on completely different paths, but I am so thankful that I have a support network in them and so many people I can turn to when needed.
5. My mindset
Another thing I am very thankful for is how my mindset has changed. From experiences, reading, following motivational people on social media and just realising things – Kylie Jenner actually made sense when she said this – I’ve become a completely different person to who I was before I moved to Liverpool.
If I was to pinpoint the time when I started to change my ways, I would say it was around August 2016 when I moved back to Liverpool early and started this blog. I started to be more proactive, making goals and going out and getting them. This was the year everything changed for me. I got myself two jobs, a great placement (and was the first in the LJMU Business School to get one), started to really work at my blog, was in the best shape of my life physically and things just started to happen for me.
I started to realise that the only person holding me back from everything was me and my mindset. Why couldn’t I get that job? Why couldn’t I wake up early and go to the gym? Why couldn’t I make the time to write blog posts? Why couldn’t I email that CEO in Australia? What was stopping me? Me.
Fast forward to now and I may not be in the best physical shape (I’m trying), but I still have a very positive outlook on everything and try my best not to be surrounded by negative people or allow someone’s negativity affect my own headspace and thoughts. I look at the bright side of everything as I know that everything happens for a reason so I always try to look for that reason. I now know that I can achieve anything that I put my mind to because I am the only person stopping me from achieving it.
I’m planning on writing a lot more posts on mindset and how by changing yours, you can achieve anything and really make huge changes to your life.
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