When life gives you lemons

 Why is it that as soon as you have plans or you want to do something or make a change in your life, that you are hit with reality and sent flooding back to square one? I swear it happens to me every single time. 

It's at these moments that we question life's fairness or possibly even give up on what we wanted to achieve in the first place. I know this is the case for me. I had big plans to finish first year at university, pass all my exams and generally start my summer break on a high. I wanted to get back into this blog and take regular pictures and engage more, but no. 

Life had other plans... 

I was hit with health issues, that I won't go into and be all depressing. But it does knock you down, knock your confidence and knock your self-belief. I had been feeling so motivated and excited for what was to come and then to suddenly feel so drained and tired all the time was certainly a set back. I always tried to tell myself that it could be so much worse and there are many people going through things a whole lot more scary than I was, but why is it that I felt so sorry for myself? I guess we all deserve a few days of feeling down and self-medicating. 

It was at this time though that I realised what a good support system I really do have, my friends and family were always checking up on me and  making me feel loved and I appreciated it so much. This is why I'm writing this post. I want to let anyone know that at those times where life does 'give you lemons' as they say (I wonder where that phrase came from), that you should learn to shift your focus from the negatives of the situation to the positives. And I'm not saying that this will be an easy task, believe me I know that it isn't, when all you want to do is curl under a blanket and watch Netflix for a thousand millenniums. Believe me, you will run out of TV shows that will curb your emotional attention and you will be forced to face whatever it is at some point, sorry to break it to you. 

I would usually, or I used to say, that you should write a list of all the negative emotions you are feeling, and then also write the possible positives of the situation, and think about the people who have helped you and who mean a great deal to you. But I've come to change my perspective, I've found that constantly writing list after list after checklist and time plan that it doesn't necessarily help anything. As a matter of fact, I think it was probably one of the main sources of my stress. I got so caught up in planning that I forgot or was stagnant in the actual DOING. Instead I would say that physically thanking and talking/ spending time with the loved ones who mean a great deal to you will solve a lot of your heartache, whatever you're going through. Even if it's not a person that can make you feel better, go out and do your favourite activity, read a book, go for a walk, go the (deep breath) gym! Any active movement of your brain or body in your daily routine will help you, will stimulate your mind and body and little by little you will make it through the 'lemons'. And although they say that you shouldn't lean on others for your happiness, you should be independent and able to create happiness for yourself, I really think that there are times when you do need a friend. Just one person who is willing to lend an ear can make all the difference. Or one Netflix binge with a pizza in hand.

The moral is that you won't be feeling stuck forever. One day you'll read something or remember something and it will change your mood and make you realise that it isn't the complete end of the universe, just a bad few days.

The outfit:

Top | TopShop

Shorts | Zara (similar)

Shoes | Adidas

Bracelet | Pandora

Glasses | Ray Ban

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