*I knock at your door, and you rush to open it. I welcome you with a broad smile on my face.*
Hi there! I hope you’ve been doing great over the past two weeks. If not, just remember that that’s okay, too - lockdowns haven’t been easy on us. Give yourself a break and be nice to yourself for all the obstacles you’ve had to overcome.
*I hand you a cup of tea that appears out of thin air.* In the UK, the first thing you’ll hear in any crisis is: “Put the kettle on.” Tea doesn’t solve all your issues, but at least it offers some comfort.
Let’s chat!
Saturday Sunshine
Burn out is a serious struggle. Especially in lockdown. And especially when you’re dependent on the money that comes out of the very thing you feel burned out about.
Recently, I’ve been feeling a little low. Every day, I try to remind myself of what Nathaniel Drew says in one of his YouTube videos. He talks about how we always try to be better people than we were yesterday, however, life isn’t linear like that. There are periods of output and input, periods of activity and passivity, periods of getting inspired and using this inspiration for your work.
When you’re blasting through your days, ticking everything off your to-do list and getting lots of things done, you know it won’t last forever - there will inevitably come a time when you get tired of this state of mind.
There will come a low.
And then another high.
The tides will keep turning. Because that’s life. So if you’re going through a burn out right now or if you’re just feeling low about your work, remember - it will pass.
The lows serve as a time to recharge and prepare for the next time when the highs come. Because they inevitably will.
Language Lessons
Duolingo is one of my favourite apps for language learning. It doesn’t teach you much grammar, so you can only really use it if you already know the basics of a language.
It’s great for vocabulary, though. You can connect with your friends there, compete with people about who does the most lessons in a certain period of time, and celebrate when you do Duolingo for many days in a row.
It’s fun, it’s easy and it teaches you a lot.
Reading Recommendations
Image found on Goodreads
Sweetdark is a poetry collection written by Savannah Brown. I’ve watched Savannah on YouTube since I was about fifteen, and she’s honestly helped me so much when it comes to embracing who I am, learning about new points of view and contemplating my own existence.
This is her second poetry collection. I’m not gonna lie to you, for a non-native speaker like me, it’s quite hard. She uses words I’ve never heard in my entire life, but although I often don’t understand 100% what the word means, I still get the mood and the meaning of the poem.
It’s wonderful poetry. It’s raw, dark, existential and philosophical in the best way possible. I highly recommend it.
Writing Whispers
Since publishing my article 7 Qualities You Don’t Need to Be a Real Man two weeks ago, I haven’t published anything on Medium.
This is because I’ve been focusing on writing for a website that has a new Creator Program, News Break.
These are some of the articles I’ve published there in the past 2 weeks:
On relationships:
6 Signs Your Friendship Is Extremely Toxic, and You Need to Let It Go
How to Get Through Heartbreak - 6 Practical Pieces of Advice
7 Things to Teach Your Son to Make Him Proud to Be a Man
5 Deeply Unattractive Types of Men Who Think They’re Really Hot
On self-improvement:
How Being a Plant Mom Transformed My Mindset for the Better
Clumsy Confessions
I eat in a way that would horrify most mothers. In the past 2 weeks, I’ve stained more pieces of clothing than I can count.
Honestly, don’t go anywhere near me when I eat. There’s a high chance you might need to do your laundry right afterwards.
That would be all for today. *You finish your tea, already feeling a little better.* Time to go! Have a wonderful Saturday!
Kate x