Reflections - some of my favourites of 2017

As I have taken to do at this time of year, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the past year. Two posts will follow - this one of some of my favourite things of 2017, and another one on things I've learned in the last year (coming soon). I will try not repeat too many of the same things from previous years' posts, but be warned there may be a few similar!

If you want to see previous posts then the links are below:

Favourites of 2015 

Favourites of 2016

Lessons of 2015

Lessons of 2016

As I said last year (and the year before)...without further ado, and in the immortal words of Julie Andrews, these are a few of my favourite things (from 2017)...

• Red wine

• Reunions

• Rooftop bars in London

• Walking - both for perspective and health

• End of exams - especially if someone else pays for a celebratory lunch

• My gut instinct

• Getting braver, and going for what I want

• Polaroid pictures 

• My friends and family 

• A summer of work

• An actual cat burglar 

• Re-watching my 1SecondEveryday videos 

• Month In Review videos - even if I don't film them every month...

• Playing join-the-dots with freckles

• Pimms/Beer/Cider/Picnics at the cricket

• Impromptu plans - although I don't think you can actually plan anything that is impromptu...

• Being a pedant - see above

• Trying (and failing) to (temporarily) dye my hair purple

• Friends trekking across London to provide sustenance of more than one kind

• Texts that start with, "Do you want to come round to mine for dinner?" and end with "I'll cook".

• Perfecting my party trick of pill-swallowing

• Staycations

• FINALLY getting free coffee(s) at Pret

• Kumquats

• Telling stories about kumquats

• Being teased about my stories of kumquats

• My being-discharged-from-hospital anniversary being renamed my squirrel anniversary

• Reaching four years since I left hospital

• Puns - forever and always one of the ways to my heart

• Well-timed, freshly-boiled kettles

• Good grammar

• Good manners

• "Good morning"s

• Good referencing - in life, not just in essays

• Making time for self-care

• Sheet masks

• Yoga – especially Child’s Pose

• Early nights

• Late nights

• A dazzlingly coloured wireless speaker

• The Eiffel Tower light show

• Being the hostess

• Being the hosted 

• Being mistaken for a Parisian

• Being afraid of an answer, but asking anyway

• Robing rooms and court rooms (as always)

• Having one of my idols as a mentor

• The notification "xxxx has tagged you in a comment/post"

• Voice notes

• Screenshots and a flurry of messaging

• Still having more favourites than not, despite a roller-coaster of a year

...and so much more...

What are your favourite things of 2017? 

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Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co.uk/
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Reflections - things I learned from 2016

Here is the second instalment of my 'Reflecting on 2016' series. If you didn't catch the first one, listing some of my favourite things click here, and if you want to read my life lessons from 2015, and see if I repeat any (I did have to check myself) then click here...

• Being a student isn't all laughter and hanging out with your mates

• Being a student isn't all studying and hanging out in the library

• You can't make yourself feel more for someone than you do, however much you may want to

• Grief can hit you out of the blue

• I don't like my family living in different countries

• Change is good

• I'm learning to love LinkedIn

• My intuition/gut instinct is spookily correct

• Law degrees are hard work

• Goodbyes are never easy

• I somehow know enough about make-up that I got offered a job at Space NK on a window-shopping trip

• Just because someone has done a "bad" thing, it doesn't make them a "bad" person

• Sometimes you have to go further into something to get closure/know where you stand/know how you feel

• I look younger than I am

• 'Feeling the fear and doing it anyway' is harder than it sounds

• I'm more comfortable with being wrong, or looking silly, than I ever have been

• I don't always practise what I preach

• When you know, you know, and don't let anyone (including yourself) convince you that you don't

• I have a fantastic NHS doctor (not a new lesson)

• It takes me a while to open up, and that's okay (another not new lesson)

• I love an afternoon of batch-cooking

• Flu over Christmas and New Year is the worst

• I'm one of life's feeders/looker-afterers

• It's enough for things to be 'good enough'

• It's okay to feel like you've made a mistake 

• I'd rather try than not

• I'm still finding my balance

• I'm still finding my health

• I can be made speechless

• I can achieve things I thought were impossible for me

• There is always a positive to every negative

• This year has far outweighed my expectations

• I am now sufficiently enough of a grown-up that if I get a bad haircut, I don't cry

• I am not sufficiently enough of a grown-up when it comes to needing help with my CV

• Inside me is a lioness that I am able to tap into more and more

• Life is still an incredible, surprising and wonderful thing (and far too much has happened this year for me to neatly sum it up in these lessons)

What life lessons did 2016 bring for you?

How to get in touch:

YouTube - http://t.co/CGZBkZnWU2
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life
Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co.uk/
Email - yourlifeinrecovery@gmail.com
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'Doing your bit': London Legal Walk 2015

A little bit of a more general/personal post today! But, as with the voting post I did here, it's ultimately all about helping the community and improving lives and well-being.

On Monday 18th May 2015, I, along with over 9000 other people, took part in the London Legal Walk.
The 10 kilometre walk around London is held each year to raise funds for free legal advice charities in London and the South East. Individuals, universities and law firms took part. I even saw babies and dogs tagging along! To find out more visit the London Legal Support Trust website here,
So far, with just this walk, over £600,000 has been raised!

Personally, it was an incredible experience. The weather turned out beautiful, after a very dull and wet morning! I had been a little concerned about making it round the whole 10km course, but I'm thrilled to say I managed it in just over two hours. This is a bit of a milestone for me, as two years ago I was struggling to walk 10 metres, let alone 10 kilometres!

So, overall, it was not only a brilliant opportunity to raise money for an awesome cause and meet some inspirational people, but also a personal triumph.

As you can see from the photos, we saw lots of different parts of London. It was a great opportunity to explore London, even though I've been here a while now it's still so much fun to play at being a tourist! We started and finished the walk behind the Royal Courts of Justice, just round the corner from the Law Society, in the heart of the legal district of Chancery Lane...an apt setting and one which I find both inspirational and aspirational. There was a street-party afterwards and we danced to Samba music, drank beer while the stilt-walkers weaved in between the crowds and dressed up for silly photos in the (rather cool) photo booth.

I highly recommend the event to anyone who is interested in law, justice, equality or social care. It's superbly run and organised. It's also a fantastic opportunity to network whilst getting some good exercise and raising money for a deserving cause. You'll definitely see me there next year!

How to get in touch:

YouTube - http://t.co/CGZBkZnWU2
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Recovering_Life
Blog - http://yourlifeinrecovery.blogspot.co.uk/
Email - yourlifeinrecovery@gmail.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Recovering.Life