Blogging Goodbye to Butterflies

Tag: personal growth

  • Thirty and Thriving ðŸ™Œ

    Thirty and Thriving ðŸ™Œ

    It’s Sunday, the sun is shining and we’ve a roast dinner cooking away – nothing makes me happier than a day like this one. We’ve got family staying, I’m one beer down and I’m feeling more chilled than I have in ages. (Besides the football nerves of course – it’s been a nervy couple of weeks for England fans across the country and tonight’s game could be a turning point. Yes, I’m remaining optimistic!)

    My 30th has been and gone and it was FAB, but unfortunately it did coincide with a particularly stressful time at work and between full-on working days and celebrations I’ve barely had a moment to breathe.

    It always says something when I’m feeling like writing again. It says I’m coming out of the other side, my brain is clear of fog and the butterflies are less consuming. Hooray to that and thanks for sticking with me while Chapter Seven hit pause for a short while.

    Even full of brain fog and butterflies, 30 has brought with it a new confidence for me.

    I confess, I had a mini-meltdown on my birthday eve. All I could think was how much I hadn’t done yet. Suddenly my biggest regret in all the world was not having run a half marathon for example, in spite of the fact I’ve never enjoyed running and I’ve never even completed Couch to 5K. BUT since then, I’ve found being 30 somehow has me feeling like I can own my space more and like I’ve earned the right to live authentically and with confidence.

    Thirty has me ordering whisky neat, popping prosecco open without faffing and aiming higher at work and I’m excited to see how long I can ride this wave for.

    I’m so grateful to every person who chose to celebrate with me. I felt so loved throughout my birthday celebrations and there can be no doubt that’s brought me closer to the place I’m in now.

    Now, I know age is just a number. And if you’re reading this in your early twenties, please don’t let your age stop you from owning your space right now. Or if you’re way past 30 and still not feeling confident, please don’t let this make you feel you’re behind – you’re wonderful as you are and everyone is on their own timeline.

    But if you’re reading this on your approach to thirty, worried about reaching the milestone without having done everything you expected, please know that it’s not an ending. It’s just the beginning and there’s so much to be excited about yet. Celebrate all that you have achieved and own your space knowing you’re going into life’s next chapter with more wisdom than you’ve ever had before. In my timeline, I’ve a feeling thirty is where I start to come into my own.

  • Live Fearlessly: Empowering Lessons from ‘The Bold Type’💛

    Live Fearlessly: Empowering Lessons from ‘The Bold Type’💛

    Anyone seen the TV series ‘The Bold Type’? If you’re in the UK, it’s currently available on BBC i-player and I am about to watch it for the third time. It’s a TV show about three young women working at a fashion magazine in New York called Scarlet, but it’s so much more than that, stay with me!

    I just finished episode one and at the end of the episode, the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine makes this empowering speech about how she hopes Scarlet supports women to live fearlessly. One of the three women who the show centres around talks earlier in the episode about how she didn’t have a female role model growing up and that reading Scarlet was like having a big sister.

    The show does exactly what the magazine sets out to do – it leaves me feeling so inspired every time I watch it. Inspired to go out and finally figure out the right lipstick shade for me and buy a lipstick that I can wear with confidence. Inspired to revamp my wardrobe and go get my hair done. And hugely inspired to get myself on a flight to New York asap. BUT also inspired to live boldly, fight for what I deserve and cling onto my friends for life.

    So, I come to you today an inspired Bronwen! I’d absolutely love it if some day my writing empowered young women in that way.

    It’s a very typical Sunday in my world today. I’m currently curled up in my Disney PJs, I have yesterday’s mascara under my eyes and my hair is sticking out at all angles.

    Somehow, in spite of me going on my Spring clean mission week before last, there’s still so much that needs doing around the flat. I’m staying in my PJs until I feel up to tackling another area. I think I might focus on getting the bedroom and ensuite sorted out, armed with the hoover, vinegar and a mop. A good friend tells me vinegar might be smelly, but it’s a saviour when it comes to cleaning the shower. Looking forward to potentially leaving the shower super shiny without having spent a half hour inhaling toxic fumes.

    On a much more exciting note, it’s bank holiday weekend here in England, so tomorrow I’m headed into London to make the most of the extra day off with one of my besties. She turns 30 the day before I do, so we’re celebrating in style ahead of time. We’ve got tickets to Frameless – the Marble Arch immersive art exhibition and we’ll be getting fancy pasta for lunch.

    Just two more weeks of work and then I’ve got a week booked off for my birthday itself. HOW EXCITING.

  • Memories and DMCs ðŸ¥¹

    Memories and DMCs ðŸ¥¹

    Last week was a tough one at work. Emotions were high and with a high workload in the mix too, it was hard to switch off. But a wise person told me not to underestimate the power of regular mini breaks. And of using those breaks to identify tension and do something about it – relax those shoulders, move those wrists, stretch that aching back. It worked wonders.

    Work being stressful also had me craving more sleep and snoozing that alarm, until I realised that was the opposite of what I needed and in fact, an early start would make me feel much better.

    Not only did I get up earlier from Wednesday onwards, I also treated myself to Curiously Cinnamon cereal, because it was on offer and I knew it’d bring me joy when enjoyed with a cup of tea and cat cuddles.

    It’s weeks like this one, which make me realise just how far I’ve come from the 17 year old who got her first job as a runner at a Mexican restaurant and cried when the chef shouted at her for not shouting loudly enough at him when firing the fajitas. Or the Bronwen who got butterflies every day before her admin job at a brickwork company.

    One month and one day until I turn 30.

    I’m excited to head into my 31st year of life, but I can’t help reflecting on the last 30 too. I keep scrolling through old photos on my phone and sharing them with my nearest and dearest – I think my friends may already be sick of receiving photos captioned with crying face emojis.

    The last year alone has contained so many ups and downs, so many memories and so much growth. The instagrammers among you may have seen that this week marked one whole year since I flew out to Los Angeles to see Dave after we had spent months apart.

    I learned so much from that experience – from where to find the best burgers in LA and where to watch the sunset to how strong Dave and I are as individuals and as partners.

    FYI – The best burgers in LA can be found at In-N-Out Burger. And whilst you’ll no doubt find it crowded with people doing the same thing, the sunset from the Griffith Observatory is one of a kind. Thank me later.