Sorry it's been a bit quiet - I was on holiday last week! I won't bore you with a full recount, but there's some snaps here if you fancy a nosey!
You might remember this post about taking the bull by the horns I did a while ago - well, it seems like that's becoming the theme of my summer. That and conquering my fears. One of silver linings of being ill has been that I've had time to take stock of my life and get a grip. I realised, after some long chats with lovely friends, that I'm often held back by silly fears! So I've decided I'm gonna kick them to the curb this summer.
I started on holiday by.....
Going in the Sea! I've been terrified of the sea for as long as I can remember. I think it all started when we went on a holiday where the beach was littered with washed up jellyfish and got worse when we went to France and I saw the biggest jellyfish I've ever seen washed up on the beach. They were HUGE - at least 30cm across. It sort of put me off the whole shebang. However, it's kinda silly really so I decided that the beautiful beaches of Saunderfoot and Tenby were the perfect places to get over my fear AND I DID!! I went in the sea nearly every day (although I forgot my bikini so I didn't actually swim in it).
Emily 1 Fears 0
I'll be carrying on the fear conquering by...
[source]
Going to the Free Frankie Fernie protest this Saturday. I've chatted before about my desire to protest but my fear of crowds/getting into trouble, but again, I need to stop faffing and start doing. (If you're wondering who Frankie Fernie is, he's a student from York who was given a 12 month sentence for throwing 2 sticks during a protest. He's one of many victims of a wave of political sentencing being used to make an example of protestors to scare people out of their right to protest.). So fingers crossed...
Emily 2 Fears 0
My next bit of fear conquering is a big one... I'm actually a bit terrified about it...
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I'm going to That London on my own for the first time next Thursday and Friday. I've been to London a couple of times before - my ex-boyfriend was from Surrey originally so we'd go down a fair bit to see his family and stuff but it still generally terrified me. However, there's something pretty awesome about London that I love (in theory) so I figured I'd use some of my free time to go have an explore. I'll be staying with my best friend from Uni (who I lived with for 4 years) so I know I'll have a bit of refuge but still... this is a pretty big one for me. Feel free to suggest awesome (free/cheap) things for me to do/see/eat whilst I'm there (and if you fancy meeting up for a drink let me know and I'll see if I can squeeze you in!) And seeing as the tickets are already booked I guess that means it's....
Emily 3 Fears 0
I'll be back home on Friday but dashing out again on Saturday for the one that started all this fear conquering...
The Uk Feminista Summer School - a weekend of learning and hanging out with over 600 feminist activists. I'm pretty excited about this really. The reason this is fear conquering is because I'm kinda shy and have a bit of an inferiority complex - I'd normally avoid things like this in case I didn't know enough or wasn't good enough to get involved. Pah! That's what I say to that Pah!! So of course we know it's
Emily 4 Fears 0
It's seeming that I'm doing pretty well at beating out those fears. I'm sure there's some other's that'll crop up but I'm feeling fairly confident that I'll at the very least try to kick their butts!
Questions:
What are you afraid of?
Have you ever conquered a big fear?
What are your plans for the summer?
Woo! Go Emily. I am also going to London (2nd of sept) to see a concert and my uni friend who I lived with for 3 years (but knew at uni for 4 years). I've never travelled down alone either, scary times. This activist stuff is very intriging xx
ReplyDeleteRuthy - hehe yeeeey go me! I'm sure we'll both be fine! Activist stuff is awesome - if you want to be inspired I suggest trying to go see Just Do It (a film all about activists that's on at various places this summer) xx
ReplyDeleteaw, i well love this post!and we have samme fears too :) like going to london on your own and going in the sea. but well done for you for actully trying to get over them! takes alot of guts :~) xxx
ReplyDeleteSammie - awww thanks! Haha, it's weird how many people are scared of London and the sea!! Hope you manage to conquer some of your fears too :D x
ReplyDeleteI used to be scared of the sea too. I didn't actually swim in the sea until 2 summers ago when I was on holiday by myself and could go in on my own terms and it wouldn't be a big deal if I freaked out after 10 seconds. I actually loved it so much that I spent an hour swimming in the sea every day for the rest of my holidays - conquering a fear always feels so good :)
ReplyDeleteHope you have fun on your trip to London - it'd be lovely to meet you while you're here if you have a spare moment :)
The tube is probably the worst thing about London, I avoid it as much as possible but it's a must if I want to go anywhere further than an hour's walk away (ie. Wholefoods!) x
Go girl, your doing amazing! I'm quite scared of the sea too, I make myself go in but I don't like fish so aslong as there aren't any or there not near me I'm fine, Maybe I need to get over the fish fear lol xxx
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post :) London is lovely - Hyde Park is nice for picnics and it's also fun wandering around the City at the weekends as it's a bit deserted, all the bankers are at home! Hope you enjoy it. My summer is mainly studying and training from now on - not so exciting - but at least I have had my holiday :)
ReplyDeleteAhhh I conquered my sea fear this year too in Ibiza I swum so far out I surprised myself haha
ReplyDeleteWell done on trying to tackle your fears, this is the most brilliant attitude to have :) I have also faced one of my fears this year, flying. And I am flying again in a months time :) well done xxx
ReplyDeleteYey! Good for you facing up to your fears! That protest sounds amazing and I love the sound of the summer school! I used to be terrified of the underground but I've visited London a few times on my own now and feel really confident! I also used to hate public speaking but now it gives me a buzz. I think recognising the strength you can from pushing yourself out of the comfort zone is fab :-)
ReplyDeleteI think I have finally conquered my fear of pigeons, but I still have a fear of going down very steep stairs and slopes...eeek!
ReplyDeleteAny tips for spider fears?!
ReplyDeleteIn other news I'm (maybe stupidly) braving starting my lawyer job despite continuing imperfect health, so fingers crossed for 3 weeks' time!
BG