Just Be Yourself, Be Happy

My life has been hectic the last few months and I really haven't been feeling myself.

Commuting from Winchester to Marlow everyday has been really getting me down and I didn't feel myself. I haven't felt like I was properly living. 

My life was drive, work, drive, work, drive, work, drive...

Although I love my job, there are a million other things I love doing too! 

Full-time Job + Commuting + Social Life = Not a lot of Time for Anything else!

(P.S: Don't you just love this photo by Aaron Courter?!)

Earning money and loving your job is great but, if you're like me, a lot of other things in life make me happy too. Like walking the dogs in a deserted field, baking, enjoying a glass of wine as the sun goes down, having a girly catch up and laughing till it hurts, going to the cinema on a school night, sweating like Lee Evans in Zumba class, FaceTiming home and crying with happiness, dancing, blogging, reading, writing, pinning, shopping and... so much more!

We are tightrope walkers balancing our work & finances on one arm and our health, family & hobbies on the other high above a deep blue lagoon. One little judder and we fall off track down into the pits of the water. This is where we sink or swim. 

Everyone needs a balance in their life and I've lost mine. 

I've been tilting hard towards the work side and I've kind of forgotten about my loves. 

My blog has been really helpful in keeping that balance. It's my creative outlet. I can store ideas, memories, stories, recipes, photos and so much more on these pages and it always makes me feel so fortunate reading back on the things I've done. It's been down for the last couple of months but we got that one sorted. But I think this is the reason I haven't been feeling quite the same. 

I have missed having that creative outlet. I have always written a form of diary since I was very little but this is the first time life has gotten in the way. Some people need to go to the gym every day to feel better, I need to write or listen to music or dance in my pants!

I have also heard criticism from friends regarding my blog, which is another reason I haven't been writing as much. But all that criticism just makes me want to write so much more. Clearly they are reading it and talking about it, so it must entertain them to a certain extent, but I don't write it for them. I write it for me because it makes me happy.

People can choose to live their lives any which way they please and who are we/they to judge anybody else's?

If you like having a giant tiger head tattoo on your chest, then get it done; if you like taking a million selfies every day, then  do it; if your idea of fun is going on long hikes up mountains and in to valleys, then do it; if you want to travel the world until you are 35, then do it; if you want to be an accountant just because it makes you lots of money, then do it; if you want to live your life as if you were still 18, then do it!!!

Life is too short to get stuck doing something that doesn't make you happy and the more you look at others and how they are living their life the less time you are focusing on yours.

Find your balance. Combine not so fun jobs with an equal amount of fun stuff and always look on the bright side! You'll be surprised how much happier you are just by living with a positive attitude. 

I write because it makes me happy and I can feel more connected to my family and friends who live far away. I can't believe I let a few words or jokes from friends put me off. 

There are too many people in the world dying of hunger or from war for you to be unhappy because of #firstworldproblems or because someone said something mean about your writing. 

Did Taylor Swift quit music after Kanye said Beyonce's video was better? I didn't think so...

Live your life. 

Make choices based on what YOU like. 

Stop worrying about what other are doing and BE HAPPY.