“You were on your Gap Year last year?! It feels like years ago now!” Those were the words of my sister a few days ago. It really doesn’t feel like it was last year and I’m going to keep saying this, but did it even happen? One thing that confirms that it did is what being […]
One Year Ago: Reflections | Gap Year Travel
On Wednesday, I woke up and opened the Facebook app on my phone. I was presented with a screen which said ‘One Year Ago’ and the following picture from my Gap Year: View this post on Instagram A post shared by V I O L A (@violahelen_) Wednesday marked exactly 365 days since I landed […]
Thoughts #6
I haven’t written a post like this in a while but I thought it was time to write down all of the thoughts and feelings I’ve been having, especially now that I’m finally able to put them into words. It gets pretty personal. I guess you could say for the past week or so, I haven’t […]
Turning Twenty
My twentieth birthday was probably one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had (if not the best) and that is mainly down to two incredible girls who I absolutely adore and couldn’t thank enough. My birthday is always something that I don’t necessarily look forward to anymore, particularly because it’s increasingly become more difficult for me on a […]
Relax. Slow down.
I’m writing this while I’m still in bed, still in my pyjamas and still bedridden. Yes, I’m bedridden. If you haven’t been following my Instagram or Snapchat accounts then you won’t know that I’ve just come back from a five-day entirely spontaneous trip to Kraków, Poland. It was absolutely incredible and I loved visiting such a beautiful […]
Spontaneity
I was scrolling down my Tumblr feed and stumbled across this quote: “Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” – Robin Sharma And it really resonated with me. There was something about that specific moment that I read it, something about the time and place and something about how it […]
Chapter One: Moving to University
And so the next chapter of my life begins… How has Tuesday 4th October hurtled around the corner and suddenly appeared? How have I known about this day for well over a year and yet I’m still not prepared?! How is it that I’m currently sitting in the front seat of my Mum’s rather packed car, full […]
Thoughts #5
I’ve lately been having far too many thoughts jumbled around in my head and felt I needed to jot them down. Here goes… #1 I start university in little over a month. What. The. Heck. I’m excited as hell but at the same time I’m absolutely terrified. How will I cope with the workload, especially after not doing […]
Gap Year Reflections
Some of you may have seen my instagram post on Tuesday evening: After 7 months, 4 countries, 3 continents, 23 cities, 6 islands, 11 flights, 4 SIM cards, 1 homeless night, 2 Chinese visas, 1 unexpected trip to Edinburgh, 154 hours of Mandarin lessons, over 100kg of rice eaten, 3 home-stay families, 700+ Chinese students, […]
Eighteen
It’s strange to think that I’m no longer classed as a ‘child’ anymore. I’m now considered an adult which means I should act accordingly and behave maturely. That one day can change everything is almost surreal: you can legally do anything you want. (Although, let’s face it, how likely is it that your parents will 100% let […]