May, For Me

May, For Me
Ever went on a quick trip to the post office, spotted a cute wall, realised you’re feeling yourself that day and so, a mini-photoshoot has to be done? Because I feel you sista #sorelatable.

MAIN HIGHLIGHTS

HEALTH

  • πŸ’ͺ🏼 I completed 4 weeks of FitnessBlender’s #FBStrong which mostly focused on strength training incorporated with frequent HIIT sessions. I enjoyed mixing it up from GFG! I’ve now gone back to training individual muscle groups and committing to one day of cardio with LISS during the week. Remember you gotta keep things fun!

DEVELOPMENTS: Work & University

  • πŸ† I was invited to J.P Morgan in London to celebrate being in the Top 30, #Future100 list this year. I met some incredible, inspiring ladies who are breaking boundaries at university and beyond! Thanks again to everyone that voted for me.
  • πŸ“š I completed 3/5 of my final exams ever, 2 more this first week of June and then I’m free πŸš€
  • πŸ’• This happened. Code First: Girls family for life!

ONLINE

  • ✏ Posted 5 blog posts this month
  • 🐦 I hit 3k Twitter followers (I aimed for 3k by the end of the year so I’m pretty pleased that I hit it 5 months into 2018 πŸŽ‰)
  • πŸ†• Updated my “About” and “Online” pages
  • πŸŽ₯ I filmed something fun with the creative Bolu Bello and interviewed her as part of this month’s “Inspiring Figures”!
  • πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» Did a fresh update on my website!

PERSONAL

  • πŸ’‡πŸ»β€β™€οΈ My curls were starting to show and got in the way of my speedy 10 minutes getting ready routine so I had the ends of my hair trimmed and re-bonded again!
  • 😁 On my trip to the dentist and optometrist, I asked about my health data specifically the radiograph of my teeth and photo of the back of my eyes because yes, I am still addicted. I received strange looks, but it was worth a shot!
  • 🌲 Spent some time in the Peaks and managed to create this month’s video (as part of my New Years goals of posting monthly videos!)
  • 🏑 The news is out – I’m moving to Leeds this July to start my first job post-grad and moving into an apartment with Matt!
  • πŸ“– I completed 3 books from my reading list (not academically related, oops)

TRAVEL

  • 🌊 Matt and I got a GoPro (the Session 5) ready for…
  • πŸŒ… Our trip to Spain next month!

3 THINGS I AM HAPPY ABOUT

1️⃣ Focus on the finish line

Despite having some bad days (I’m only human), I’ve been pretty focused this month with the final full month of being a student. My exams so far haven’t been as terrible as I imagined them to be, I even left feeling quite confident with some. I mean, I gave it my best shot and that is all you can really do at this stage!

Some of my revision has been super fun as well, I mean when I start tweeting about it, you know the interest is real.

Would be interested in your thoughts on this? πŸ™‡πŸ»β€β™€οΈ

2️⃣ Support during my overwhelm

Of course, again, I’m only human.

Along with my productivity came some days where my anxiety controlled me. I didn’t do anything productive, I would be constantly scared of something that I still can’t put my finger on… I guess that’s what anxiety feels like sometimes. Just totally unspecific and out of the blue!

I’m very fortunate to have such a loving family that has helped me through these difficult emotions (most likely triggered by stress) like my dad didn’t stop trying to get me to the gym (after really being reluctant to go), he said, “Lift it out, sweat it out.”just as he did when I was at my lowest point two years ago. He’s right though – those endorphins don’t lie! Quick shout out to Matt also for being patient with me when I’m taken back by the overwhelm and reminding me how I much rock. This cited thread was inspired by him:

You need to be your biggest cheerleader sometimes.

3️⃣ Creating and shipping every week

Despite being super busy, I’ve taken time to make sure I have some time to sit down and collect my thoughts, publish a post and be creative with editing videos and learning more on both photos and videos over the month.

It has been very therapeutic – part of my self-care routine and vital in my development journey! ✨


May IN PHOTOS

#Explawing Leeds, Sunnier days, the daily health grind and J.P. Morgan
#Explawing Leeds, Sunnier days, the daily health grind and J.P. Morgan

#Pawsitivity🌠

The Moana soundtrack without fail puts a smile to my face, but imagine being this talented to do it all-Moana-related? There – your monthly pawsitivity. πŸ˜πŸ™ˆ


MONTHLY FAVOURITES

For all my favourite items each month, check out my Amazon list! Makin’ it easier for you πŸ˜‰

Doing a personal review of the GoPro Session 5
Doing a personal review of the GoPro Session 5 – this video is actually hilarious by the way. Tech YouTubing is something I should seriously consider. πŸ˜‚

πŸ€“ GLASSES

  • I usually don’t like wearing glasses on a day-to-day basis because of the convenience of contact lenses (laster eye surgery someday soon!) But they’ve been really useful during this exam season when I can’t be bothered to put in my lenses and when my eyes were drying up from all the reading! The glasses I’ve been wearing recently are the London Retro Camden Glasses from Glasses Direct.

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» TECHNOLOGY

  • Matt and I have been talking about getting a GoPro for a while now, I’ve especially been obsessed with learning and watching videos on everything GoPro! We finally settled for the Hero 5 Session. Excited to try it out to its full potential when we go to Spain next month. You can grab one here yourself – it is currently at it’s lowest price!
  • For those asking about how I hold all my cards on the back of my phone, I have this a stick-on cardholder that I got from Amazon. You can get one here.
  • Progress Bar OSX – Shows you % left in the day, month, year (and life!), motivating when you find yourself procrastinating. I downloaded a similar one on my phone too!

πŸ“• BOOKS

🎧 MUSIC


NEXT MONTH

⚑ I WILL…

  • (Try and) keep my motivation up for my final two exams!
  • Begin organising my stuff for travel and Leeds
  • Start Project: social media impact and engagement πŸ€«

🎫 EVENTS

  • I turn *queue T. Swift – 22*
  • Spanish adventures
  • I FINISH MY 4-YEAR UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE OMG
  • I also finish my part-time job at Enterprise. I’ve enjoyed working part-time throughout my degree – in retail, hospitality and in HE – they’ve been super valuable!
  • Giving my final talk for university about professional growth through placements and experience
  • I was invited to my first local Blogger event πŸŽ‰

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

β€œThere is always something to improve in the world, and that is yourself.”

This made it to my updated “About” page. Absolutely love it!

18 responses to “May, For Me”

  1. Claire Hillsmith avatar
    Claire Hillsmith

    YOU ARE KILLING IT!
    Thank you so much for sharing your life with the rest of us – it makes me realise we all have the same number of hours in the day and if I’m not achieving what i want it’s probably because you’ve been awake for 5 hours before I’ve even thought about getting up πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

    I don’t know how you manage to lead the life you do, but it’s inspiring!

    1. LOVE YOU SO MUCH CLAIRE! Thank you for daily love – I say it a lot, but everyone’s nice comments add to my fuel πŸ™‚ so I really appreciate it! big hugs πŸ’–

  2. OMG HOW DID I MISS THAT YOU ACCEPTED A JOB?! CONGRATULATIONS!!! πŸ˜€ Now I can stop sending you random positions in NYC… SOB ;____;
    I guess this means that you HAVE to come back to NYC to visit ASAP!

    Congrats on almost being done… You can taste it! πŸ˜‰ One week left to go! Woop woop!
    I’ve been thinking about getting a GoPro to do like… a “Walk with Hiro” series on Youtube or something, just walking around NYC, but there are so many things and so many options, it’s overwhelming! Lol.
    Also I’ve no patience for editing videos. Boo.

    Keep it up, and can’t wait to watch you move into your next phase!!!

    1. THANK YOU SO MUCH HIRO! I should’ve sent you a message about it, but YES IT’S ALL OFFICIAL. I’m still sad I didn’t get anywhere with New York, there was hope in me that that was a way into living in the city and moving to America haha! Maybe in the future. YES I WILL DO SOON!

      Omg I’d love to see that series come to life, but yeah it can get a bit overwhelming editing and documenting everything. I only do it when I’m in the mood – I never force myself to!

      Thanks so much Hiro, your support and encouragement has really helped me πŸ’–

  3. Ahhhh you’re SO CLOSE to being done!! That’s so exciting! What a whirlwind May, you and Matt definitely deserve that vacation. Ben LOVES his GoPro so that was a solid choice. And Moana music makes me love life EVERY time. You’ve got a pretty exciting month coming up, we can’t wait to read about it!
    Get it girl!

    Susie | http://milehighdreamers.com

    1. Thanks so much Susie! I can’t wait to go on vacation, I’m SO ready!!!

  4. So many amazing things you’ve accomplish, we are so happy for you πŸ˜€
    Also congrats on that invitation and enjoy your trip to Spain, you will love it!
    Have a wonderful day,
    xx

    Patricia & Miguel
    http://www.freeoversea.com

  5. Look at you hitting more milestones last month! You’re almost done with school :). Just a few days left~

    It’s great that you’ve found a place to stay and moving forward with your post-grad life (coming soon!) Ooh you’re not messing around with your vacays. Oh man, this whole GoPro review makes me want to go dig for mine XD. Congrats on finishing those books! πŸ™‚

    Have a great June!

    1. Ngl, these have been the longest days ever. BUT I’m so close! Thanks for the good vibes Nancy ✌🏼

  6. Congrats on everything! Good luck with your new job and life in Leeds. I know absolutely nothing about it, but I’m sure you’ll have plenty to sure once you’re there.

    Hehe I saw the tissue engineering stuff on Instagram and it was like a throwback for me. My old stomping ground a lifetime ago.

    1. Thanks Thao! I’ll be sure to share some things I learn along the way in Leeds πŸ€—

  7. Yay for a new gadget. I owned a GoPro Hero 5 and I think I haven’t been using it for a long time.

    1. Thanks Sakura, can’t wait to use mine!

  8. haha, I love the caption on your header photo. I can see why you’d stop for a mini photoshoot with that wall. Your outfit that day looks good against it!

    Congrats again on the top 30 and on your move to Leeds for your new job! That also must be so exciting to be so close to being done with exams and school. Just a little bit more!

    I’m glad you have such a good support system! Your dad sounds awesome for pushing you to go to the gym when you’re not feeling your best. And aahh, I wish I had bought a GoPro before going to Hawaii, so I could grab shots while snorkeling. Perhaps next time! I hope it works out well for you on your trip to Spain!

    I hope you have a good June! Good luck on your remaining exams!

    1. GoPros are amazing for underwater shots! I can’t wait to use mine when I’m swimming. πŸ™‚

      Thanks so much Cat!!

  9. May sounds like a great month, Pauline! Congrats on getting into the top 30. That’s absolutely amazing and you should be so proud.

    Whereabouts in Leeds are you moving to? When you first said you were moving I thought it was going to be London. Can’t believe you’re moving here! Definitely need to meet up for Italian sometime. I live in Pudsey which is as far across Leeds as you can get without being in Bradford, but it’s good because I can easily get to both city centres!

    I love your glasses! I’d like to try contacts at some point but I don’t know if I’d be able to get them in my eye. The look so fiddly!

    Congrats on a great month!

    1. OMG yes, I’d love to! I’m going to be living at the centre of Leeds – the Headrow! So yes once I’ve settled in, let’s get an italian some time. πŸ€—

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