A good old random rambling
Not being good at things, wins & weeks, and what I've been reading.
I have been umming and ahhing about what to write for well over a week, and every time I’ve sat down at my desk (in my bed), I’ve hit a wall. That’s right boys and girls - I’m experiencing my first proper case of writer’s block.
I’ve tried writing about being at home, being single, and why it’s actually a good thing to be “a Miranda”, to no avail.
As I got into bed last night, with all the good intentions to write my journal and read my book, I realised the only way I was going to break through my writer’s block was to just write and see what happens.
So I guess this is the happening.
Now if I’m being completely honest, I have spent the majority of the last two weeks going for walks with my parents and dipping in and out of Girls, Emily in Paris, and Sex in the City (in no particular order). I have also read two and a half books and scrolled a lot more than I would like to admit. Oh, and I’ve also been learning to knit - with emphasis on learning.
You see when I was younger I used to say “I’m really good at being bad at things”, and as I’ve gotten older I don’t think that’s necessarily fair - although, we won’t speak about the fact I had piano lessons for 11 years …
However, at the same time, I don’t think being bad at things is necessarily a bad thing. In the (questionably) wise words of Hannah Horvath: “Why does everything have to be perfect? It had a lot of spirit”.
And in my opinion “spirit” is absolutely what counts. It’s so easy to get put off doing things when we’re told we’re not good at something, and we’re rarely rewarded for just giving things a go, but that gets really tiring after a while.
I used to love netball, for example. I was by no means brilliant at it, but I’d go to training every week, and not once did I get to play in a match. While I get they want to win, I also believe we miss a lot of opportunities to encourage young people, and young women in particular, to do sport for fun.
Obviously that’s just one example, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot since taking up knitting. I’m pretty hopeless at it, but that’s the beauty of learning, and life would be pretty boring if everyone was good at everything.
So, this is my message to you: whatever it is you think you’re not very good at, keep going with it - run like Phoebe Buffay, sing like Phoebe Buffay for that matter, and knit like me.
Although, I wouldn’t recommend you play the piano like me …
The past couple of weeks
Wins: There have been lots of small wins over the past couple of weeks:
I’m a fairly early riser, so not setting an alarm doesn’t necessarily constitute a lie-in, however, I feel SO well-rested when I wake up naturally.
And for that matter, I just cannot get enough of my bed at home. I really love my bed, and while my housemates used to take the piss out of me for saying it a lot, it is true. Particularly my bed at home - I’m not even back in London yet, and I miss it.
There are some pretty impressive displays of wisteria in London however, in my opinion, none are as impressive as the wisteria on the prison walls in Usk. I have trawled through the entirety of my camera roll, and I’ve never taken a picture of it. So, you’ll simply have to trust me until next year.
As a child, I was always a beans girl (my sisters were spaghetti hoops girls). As an adult (lol) I am still very much a beans girl - except nowadays, there is not much I love more than butter beans, borlotti beans, and white beans to name a few. So yeah, basically I am seriously bonkers for beans.
Wicks: Apart from the weather (seriously, where is spring??) I’ve been struggling to come up with some wicks. Luckily, or maybe unlucky for them, some of my readers have given me some absolute clangers.
Can you imagine anything worse than your “sweaty coworker” asking to drink from your water bottle? I mean, it’s just gross on all levels.
As are rude drivers “in their huge range rovers” who make you reverse down narrow country lanes without saying thank you. As someone who learnt to drive in the lanes, there really is no bigger wick.
Read: At The Table by Claire Powell (🌟🌟🌟🌟) and Funny Story by Emily Henry (🌟🌟🌟)
Reading: Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
Watching: Girls, Emily in Paris and Sex and the City
Listening to: Die on this hill by Eddy (AKA my very talented pal, Tess)