It's been a while since I updated you with the goings on in my personal life and in recents months it has seen a few changes, so I thought now would be a great time to sit down and share with you how life has been lately.In August, the lockdown restrictions were somewhat lifted, which meant I was able to be a bit more sociable. It was lovely to physically be able to spend time with friends again. I even started dating properly again which was exciting. I admit the first date I went on I was a bag of nerves beforehand but once we met up I was completely put at ease and felt my confidence come back straight away. After that, the other dates I went on I was far more relaxed. I had a great time and met some lovely guys, some I didn't see again, some I did. But overall had positive experiences with all of them. It was fun to get to meet new people again too. One of the guys I was seeing up until quite recently. I realised my priorities are elsewhere in my life right now. In two years I'll be 30 (*internally screams at where the time has gone*) and there's other things I want out of life first before settling down which I need to do alone for myself, I'm depended on a lot in my personal life too and I just didn't feel I could commit my time and energy fully to anyone else. It was a hard decision to make but I know in the long run it was the right decision.
During August, I celebrated my 28th birthday! Growing up I always thought I'd be moved out, settled into my career and married by 28. LOL, nowhere near that stage. But you know what? I'm genuinely really happy with where my life is at right now. I feel like this year especially has been an overhaul of my old life and preparing me for a better one going forward and I think there's something really special and exciting about that (once the pandemic is over, of course!).
As previously stated, due the lifted restrictions I was one of the lucky ones who got to celebrate their birthday out of lockdown and boy did I make the most of that freedom. I spent the night before my birthday having food and drinks with my friends and old work colleagues at Port Of Call. On my birthday, my friends and I had a lovely meal at Aperitif Bar and Kitchen to celebrate the occasion. Then the day after (Sunday), I drove my Mam and I to Durham for the day and had a Zizzi's. I was completely spoiled rotten by everyone, I felt so overwhelmed by all the love and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. The celebrations didn't stop there either. My friend Hannah and I went to Newcastle on the Monday and she treated me to a TGI Fridays. I caught up with my friend Craig at Port Of Call during the week and then finishing off the celebrations with food at The Engine Room with my best friend, Nina.
I was also made redundant. Hilariously, I got the news two days before my birthday. Happy birthday to me ey! I didn't let it rain on my parade as you can see. The official redundancy was finalised at the beginning of September. To be honest, I knew it was coming for a long time. It was a case of being stuck in this limbo until the email finally appeared in my inbox. Back in May during one of the weekly video calls we had with work, my boss had hinted on that redundancies could be a possibility if business went south throughout the lockdown. After that video call I just knew I'd be the one for the chop so I spent my time on furlough updating my CV and taking courses to build up my skillset in preparation and looking at what jobs were out there as ideas of where I'd like to apply next. I'm so pleased I did as I ended up being right. The whole situation was a blessing in disguise in all honesty. I'd been there almost five years and was wanting to leave for well over a year during that time because the environment was getting very toxic and throughout this lockdown how the staff had been treated was an absolute shambles to say the least, so this was definitely the push I needed.
Then the positive news came! Very quickly after all the redundancy drama, I got a new job! I'm back living the retail life and I honestly couldn't be happier. It feels so good to wake up and be excited to go into work. I feel like I've gotten into the swing of things there and am settled into the role now. I've also been working in other areas of the store too, learning more skills and taking on more shifts so it's been keeping me busy which is great! It's funny because I've only been there a month but everyone close to me has already commented on the fact that I seem so much more happier in myself since I've started working there compared to my last place and my overall demeanour appears to have lifted in a more positive way which is really kind to hear. I definitely feel a lot happier recently so it's good to know it shows!
And finally, on the digital side of things, I had two very exciting surprises. The first one was on my blog. At the start of the year I set myself a personal goal of reaching a certain number for the all time views on my blog and I finally hit it! The second one was a complete shock. I went on my Pinterest account recently to see my monthly views were one million! Whaaaaa?! How did THAT happen?! This really shows me that I need to utilise Pinterest more for this blog. But seriously, so so happy!
As you can see there's been an array of emotions to unpack over the past few months, I feel like I'm at a new turning point in my life at the present moment. I finally feel like I know what I want out of my life going forward and what I'm hoping to aim for in the future. I'm feeling incredibly positive about what's to come next.
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