The calendar is telling me its October and I swear it feels like it was only August yesterday. Time has absolutely flown by and I feel like I haven’t got much to show for it. My upload schedule has been an absolute mess, which I can only apologise for. Apparently a viral infection, a mental few months at work and unfortunate events like the Queen passing, means writing really gets put on the bottom of my list.
Although I have quickly realised that I haven’t really transitioned out of uni content and told you what I’ve been up to and where I’m at, post graduating. I now have a full time job as a Communications Executive for a professional body here in Edinburgh. So I am still very much in Scotland and very much writing. I think that’s why I have found it difficult to write in my free time as I spend so much of it at work writing press releases, sending countless emails, creating campaigns and putting out social media content. For example, I stayed back at work for an extra hour and a bit last night because there was pressing stuff to do (if you want to work in comms, I am afraid that is part of the job) so it often means I have very little energy or brain space to commit to writing.
I do really enjoy my job though and I am incredibly lucky to get one in the line of work I am interested in, straight out of uni. I don’t take that for granted! Of course, being straight out of uni has also meant that I have a lot to learn so in that sense, the past 5 months has been intense but I feel myself finding my feet now and it is coming a lot more naturally to me which is reassuring. If anyone ever wants to talk to me about working in comms or finding work post graduation, let me know! I may not know everything but I am always happy to have a chat.
The transition from uni life to ‘adulting’ is a rather confusing and strange time, I pretty much went straight from finishing my course work into working full time so the little time off I had, really hit me hard around a month in. It makes you question whether you’ve made the right decision and forces you take a step back mentally to appreciate that working 9-5, 5 days a week is totally different to working at all times of the day, whenever you want. I still don’t feel any different or like a fully fledged corporate ‘adult’ like so many people seem to think will suddenly happen. Your girl is only twenty-two and is definitely not at the stage where the classic milestones of ‘settling down’, buying a home (I can’t imagine I’ll have the funds to do that anytime soon), and having kids is anywhere close to happening. I just find it funny how so many people like comparing others lifestyle choices with what milestones they are hitting, let me live my 9-5 life for a bit first, thanks!
I’ve also started netball again but have been out for a month with a persistent shoulder injury which I thought had gone away (add that to the glorious list of stuff that’s happened). But I am back to playing ‘high-level’ competitive netball again and I am thrilled about it. I’ve had quite a tricky relationship with the sport, having been a part of the Scottish U17 team when I was quite young and in retrospect, dealt with some not so great situations and a pretty tough mental battle at the same time. This led me to play netball competitively but at a ‘lower’ level for quite some years and at the same time, I gave up the thought of ever playing remotely professionally. But we’re back on track and I am beating the mental stress and memories associated with it, to hopefully come back better and stronger. I will probably discuss this at some point but I don’t think I am quite ready to explain just how much guilt and anxiety that period caused me, all I can say is, that I am slowly learning to forgive myself and in turn be less hard on myself and my goals and ambitions.
Apart from working and figuring out life post graduation, I’ve been filling my face full of good food – I can feel a roundup of Edinburgh food spots coming – and catching up with friends, which I’ve been trying to make more of a priority now my time is filled quite substantially during the week. Reading is still something I am trying to get back into post English lit degree as I’ve only read a couple of books since graduating, which does hurt my heart, but equally I am trying my best to not over analyse that. Surely, the want to read will come back soon (I hope).
Overall, it has been quite the period of change and I don’t think I am used to it just yet. But that’s okay. Apart from feeling quite tired a lot of the time, I think I can handle it. I’m sure I’ll soon figure out how life works with all this going on and it will soon become normal, although I must admit, I do miss learning which I never thought I’d say. Maybe some day, I’ll find myself back in a classroom.
If you too are transitioning from one way of living to another, how are you finding it? Any tips for coping with change? Let me know in the comments.
All the best,
Sophie.
Sophie's Edit 