It has come the time in my life where I have to ask myself some big questions again. My time in the UK is very quickly running out and I am constantly being asked "so what next" or "what are you going to do when you get home". Although people assume that I am going home, my biggest problem with that is how long for..? I now know that life is not meant to be lived in one place for too long, and I can't help but to think of all the wonderful and exciting places I am still to discover. This brings me to the other issue. What is it that I exactly want to 'do' with my life. The last two years were supposed to be the time to work out what career path I was wanting to take, but here I am two years later, still trying to figure it all out.
I discovered TED Talks the other day (for anyone who doesn't know what they are and is looking for a little bit of inspiration/motivation, definately go and check them out!), and it taught me a new word. This word is Multipotentualite, or someone with more than one interest or expertise.
This comes from the social norm of "becoming" something as many do in a natural prosession of life, be it a doctor, teacher or lawyer. There is a certain path to follow for those wanting to "be" one of these things. A Multipotentialite on the other hand doesn't fixate on one thing for too long and likes to constantly learn new things. This has awoken something inside of me of using this range of skills and interests that I have in order to develop a working career for myself. It is the beginnings of something great, I can feel it! Watch this space...
The progress on my New Years resolutions are a bit all over the place. On one hand I have been doing really well with my morning walks and am super proud of myself and the commitment I have been having towards them. I am really starting to see results. I have a lot more energy throughout the day and the fresh, ocean air is great for keeping me sane, I cannot recommend this enough to anyone. The idea is when you wake up in the morning you should go for a 45 minute to one hour walk on an empty stomach.
I don't know the complete science behind it but I do know that it is definately working! I have managed to loose about 5kgs just from getting up and being active! It is also encouraging me to eat healthier as I don't want to undo the work I have just put in, its not helping though that I have just found you can buy five Creme Eggs for about $3 at the supermarket...
My other three resolutions however aren't going so well. I am more concious of how much water I am drinking each day but very rarely make it to three litres! I always have the intention to read before I go to bed, but I have picked up quite a few tv shows that I am trying to catch up on, and for some strange reason they are taking priority! I am also yet to master the art of a handstand!
Honestly I wasn't expecting to see any more snow again until I was back in NZ and carried on with my adventures. But once again I was blown away and completely speachless as I woke up to find another snowfall last week! Now I know in the past I have said that the novelty of snow doesn't wear off, and it is most magical when you pull back the curtains in the morning to discover a little surprise, and I will continue to act like a small child seeing snow for the first time, every time I see it. I really cannot understand how people hate it so much. Its like a little bit of magic, it really is very facinating to see.
I think my obsession comes from the fact that the first time I saw snow must have been when I was about 18 years old. Mum and Dad are big beach people and we have never been on a family skiing holiday, which I am definatley not complaining about in any way. And up until then snow had always been such a foreign concept to me and I didn't really comprehend it. There is of course one exception to my love and facination for snow, a picture of me as a baby sitting in the snow bawling my eyes out!
Burns Night. A massive Scottish Tradition. Another authentic and tradtional experience, the reason I came to this wonderful place. Robert "Robbie/Rabbie" Burns was a Scottish poet in the 18th century. He is regarded as the National poet of Scotland, hence the supper which is celebrated on the 25th January every year - Burns own birthday. The Burns Supper is a celebration of the life and works of Robbie Burns. The supper follows the same order of events at all suppers throughout the world.
The meal begins with an old Scottish Grace and soup, Cullen Skink or Cock-A-Leekie. The Haggis is then presented by the chef to the sound of bagpipes. A guest will 'address the haggis' by reciting a particular poem from Burns. Throughout this address, the haggis is cut open and served wiht Neeps (Turnip) and Tatties (Potatoes). The evening concludes with Auld Lang Syne, which was written by Robbie Burns himself. It was a massive bonus to get to experience such an old tradition even though I couldn't understand a word of the poetry being recited as it is all in the Scots language! It was amazing to see too what a Haggis looks like in its traditional form!
"One day it just clicks... you realise what's important and what isn't. You learn to care less about what other people think of you and more about what you think of yourself. You realise how far you've come and you will remember when you thought things were such a mess that they'd never recover. And then you smile. You smile because you are truly proud of yourself and the person you've fought to become." - Unknown
I hope this has inspired you.
LARISSAJODEE x