Not that long away...
Hello readers I hope you are all well. If you are new here, welcome! Firstly I would like to thank everyone for the amazing response to my "All Things Mental Health" blog post. All the lovely messages always give me a boost in confidence and makes me feel like I am making a difference in the world. We all have a voice and I am glad I am using mine to make people happy as well as myself. Today's blog post I have wanted to write for a while, since my 21st birthday in August to be exact. Birthdays always make you think about getting older. Some people think of it negatively, some think of it positively. I personally think age is just a number and you are only as old as you feel so I have never really thought about aging really but hitting the milestone of 21 did get me thinking about some goals I would like to meet in the next few years, preferably before I'm 30. Some of these goals are common, some a little out there. But they are all things I am determined to do. I hope you find them interesting. Happy Reading!Why 30?....
I know many of you reading are probably thinking, why 30? Why must I achieve these things by my 30th birthday? The answer is, I don't. This is not a strict rule I am setting myself, I will not be devistated iff by the time I am 30 every single thing on this list is not fulfilled. Even if none of them are, I will still have my daughter, my fiance and a great life. But it is good to be ambitious and have goals and for me setting a time scale to them makes it more likely I will try to achieve them. That is partly why I am writing this out for the whole of the internet to see, that will give me an extra push to try and fulfil my goals. Maybe in 9 years I will be writing a post called "I did it" or maybe not but either way I will be happy, these are perks. Above all these that I am going to write below my goal is to be the best mother I can be to Ella-Grace (and maybe baby number 2 - more on that below), everything I d is not only for myself but for my family too, that is another motivation for me. Lets get into it, here are my goals.The goals...
1. Get another paid writing job OR start my degree
I am at a bit of a cross-roads with this decision or I may well have achieved this one already. So let me explain both sides of the coin.
For aslong as I can remember I have always loved the thought of going to university and getting a degree, I love to learn. It gives me more confidence and challenges me. Expanding your mind and knowledge is always a good thing. I had the chance to go to university a few years ago to study Mental Health Nursing but I turned it down (just before I got the news that I hadn't got one of the grades I needed anyway so maybe it was for the best I decided not to go anyway- avoided the heart ache). I turned it down because although Mental Health is something I feel passionate about/ can resonate with and I have always known my goal in life is to make a difference and help people. This career just didn't feel right for me, I needed to explore more. So I have done a separate college course, worked and then when I became pregnant discovered my passion for writing. Which is definitely the field I would like to go into but do I want to study it or just work my way through it? That's what I am struggling with. Part of me want's to do the English Literature home degree through Open University (I was actually due to start this month but I postponed it as I'm not sure if it was I want to do), the thought of having my family at my side when I graduate in my cap and gown and showing Ella-Grace you can do anything you put your mind to. Fighting the stigma of "Your life is over" when you have children. That is very important to me and as I said has always been a dream of mine, I want that cap and gown. But then there is the other part of me that wants to just continue pursuing my freelance writing and focus on writing a novel, as helpful as a degree would be for this I do think it is possible without the degree and that I can work my way to it instead. That I feel is more suited to my life now as a stay at home mum. I feel that I am past the student stage of my life and just want to do it! So should I look for more freelance writing work? Take small creative writing classes? Let go of my dream of graduating? Or should I get my degree first and focus on the rest later. A big decision that obviously I don't need to make right now, degrees will always be there and contrary to some peoples views, I believe you are never to old to study or go to university. We will just have to wait and see on this one.
2. Move away
This one will hopefully happening in the next two years. Moving Away. To Edinburgh to be exact. Why Edinburgh? Well Reece and I have always loved the city and also loved adventure and change. Also our two very close friends (picture above of them and Ella-Grace) live there and being closer to them would be amazing. We live in Aberdeen at the moment so Edinburgh is close enough to family and other friends for us to be able to see them often enough but also far away enough for it to be a big change. This dream has been reinforced since having Ella-Grace as we would love for her to go to school in Edinburgh, grow up somewhere different to where we both did (not that where we grew up was bad, would just be nice for her to have a different experience). But obviously with Christmas, Ella-Grace's first birthday and wedding coming up we will have to wait and see what money we have, especially as we would want to be living in a house with probably at least 3 bedrooms and I would love to have an office. And a garden is a must. So the goal is to be living in this "dream" house by 2019/2020 but if we have to wait a bit longer to get the kind of property we want I would be okay with that. As long as we are moved before Ella-Grace is in school then I would be happy.
3. Get Married
This one will definitely be happening before I turn 30. It will be happening just over 7 months now actually. EXCITED!!! I know some people are quite cynical when it comes to weddings/marriage now, thinking they are pointless or that you don't have to be married to be in love and I completely agree with that second part. Marriage doesn't make you any more in love than unmarried people but I just view it as a day to celebrate the amazing thing that is love. There is so much terrible things that happen in the world and having a day to celebrate a relationship that is full of love, respect and happiness. Celebrating two best friends agreeing to spend the rest of their life together is magical and that's what I take from weddings and marriage. This will also be the day that I will become Mrs Webster, meaning Reece, Ella-Grace and I will all have the same surname. Our family name. I actually wasn't sure if I wanted to change my last name as I do not like how it is assumed that women will take their husbands last name, it should be a choice but that's why I am changing it as Reece ASKED me if I wanted to change it or keep it or if I wanted him to change his last name. That level of respect and equality that he treats me with, I am proud to take his last name and for my daughter to have it. This makes me very happy. I've just gone off track there a bit but yes anyway married to the love of my life. That's definitely a goal.
4. Have another baby?
This one has a question mark next to it as we are not sure whether we will have another baby but at it is a maybe. Sometimes we think that just having Ella-Grace and giving her all our focus, attention and love. Putting all our efforts into her would be so nice, she makes us so happy and if were never able to or decided we would not have any more children then she of course would be enough for us. More than enough. She is our world.
At the same time however we both do think in the future, another little one would be great. I adored being pregnant, Reece is an amazing Dad and if there is a second time round it would be nice for him to get the leave he never managed to have with Ella-Grace and also Ella-Grace (even though she is only 7 months at the moment) I feel that she would thrive as a big sister. Having another baby would be a massive joy definitely but we will just have to wait and see whether we will end up as a family of 4. One thing is for sure, that won't be for a while.
5. Go full vegan
As a lot of you may know I am a vegetarian and 99% of meals are also dairy free. I do however occasionally have a meal when I am out which may have dairy in and I have a bit of a craving for poached eggs so I have not managed to go full vegan yet. I would like to do this in future if I can, as in not buy mass-produced eggs from shops, if I had my own chickens who I knew were well-looked after and given nothing but love, then I would eat eggs when they occasionally laid them. But if that is not possible then yes, I would like to be full vegan. For animal cruelty and environmental reasons (let me know if you would like a blog post on this). This goal would be more do able I feel when we move to Edinburgh and from what I have found they have a lot more vegan options when it comes to eating out and ordering in (cooking vegan at home is easy I think, I do it every day). I just need to kick my egg habit, any vegans have a tasty breakfast recipe that will replace my poached egg craving, please comment below.
6. Go on Holiday
I have never been out of Britain! Yes I have been on small trips away from Scotland in other area's of the UK but never on holiday abroad. Which is surprising as I have always wanted to travel but with lack of money at some points and lack of time with going straight from school to studying to working to pregnant and now being a mum. I just haven't managed to go. So that is definitely a goal. Reece and I are hoping to go on a belated honeymoon (I vote for New York, France or the Caribbean). But even if this does not end up happening, a family holiday in a few years when Ella-Grace is older would be so cute. I better get my passport sorted first though.
Reece and I also have the dream that when we both retire and our baby/babies are grown up, to travel the world. So it might not be by the time I am 30 but I will have that travelling and cultural experience I have always wanted.
7. Do more charity work
This is so important to me. In the past I have shaved my head and held coffee mornings for Macmillan Cancer Support and I volunteered with Child Line for a short period of time. But I want to do more. Specifically with Mental Health organisations which help so many people struggling with mental issues including myself at one point. I believe you should do what you can while your here and I want to make a difference this includes teaching my daughter the importance of helping others and remembering how privileged we are. I mean my family is not rich, far from it but we have food in our bellies and a roof over our head. More than that we have luxuries such as TV, phones and more. So many people in the world are fighting for basic human rights. We are so lucky in what we have. It is so important to help people less fortunate than you and also just help each other in general, kindness makes the world go down. This goes for animal charities and environmental organisations too. At the moment I barely have time to read a page of a book so unfortunately I haven't been able to volunteer but in the future I want to free up some time to maybe hold an event to raise money for a mental health charity, volunteer at an animal shelter, give blood, serve food to the homeless. I may not have money to give to charities every week but I certainly can make time to offer my help. Something I would encourage everyone to put on there list of goals, Make a difference. Change the future.
8. Learn to drive/pass theory
This is not that high up on my list of goals as so much other things come before it for me. But before I am 30 I would like to at least pass my theory test if not pass my actual driving test. For myself it isn't a must but I would like to have a car and be able to drive so that as Ella-Grace gets older if she needs taken places or picked up I will be able to go and get her. Reece will probably learn to drive before me as that is higher on his priority list so I might be able to put this one on hold. As I say, never to old to do anything. But yeah this is a small goal for me.
9. Start writing a novel
MY DREAM! Ever since I was younger and I used to go on my Dad's big computer, writing short stories for fun. I have always had the dream of being an author or writing books. Over my teenage years I kind of lost this dream as I didn't know how to achieve it and it is not something really encouraged schools- my school at least. But as I have gotten back into my writing, my dream has resurfaced and before I turn 30 I would like to at least of started thinking of writing my novel.
The day I can walk into my local bookstore and see my book on the shelves will be a MASSIVE accomplishment for me. Reece said he would bet money on me getting a book published haha so here's hoping.
10. Start a YouTube channel
This would mean buying a good camera and freeing up time to edit but yes I would love to follow in some of my inspirations footsteps (Zoella, Pointless Blog ect. ) and make my own YouTube Channel, Vlogging. This would not only promote my blog but I would also be getting my voice out there hopefully inspiring and helping more people and bringing me more opportunities. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this as I feel like reading and writing is some what of a lost art with most people preferring a movie to a book or dodging the book shop and downloading a book onto their kindle instead of enjoying a paperback book. I enjoy encouraging the art of writing through my blog instead of being another thing for someone to watch. But that does not mean to say I don't agree with all those other things, watching a movie and you tube videos I love, I just think its good to get a bit of everything. So yes I would love to start vlogging but who knows when that will be. I'm sure my blog will be the first place you will find out when this happens, if it ever does.
Thanks for reading...
So there they are, all my hopes and dreams! Lets see how many I will achieve in the timescale I have set myself. Thanks so much for reading as usual and thank you for all the positive feedback on my last blog post (All Things Mental Health), always nice to hear from readers. What are some of your goals? Do we share any goals? What have you achieved in the past year? Comment below! Don't forget to follow me on all my social media for cute baby pics, mum life truths and day to day inspirational messages that will hopefully put a smile on your face! Till next time.
Stay Happy Everyone :)!
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