Nasty Woman Blogging

Hi boys and girls and everything in-between and outwith! Apologies for my lack of blogging lately, but I have been one busy girl!

Last weekend I travelled to London for a journalism course with the Guardian and honestly, it was a fantastic experience. I did a course on writing when I was around 16 and it was one of the most disheartening experiences of my life and was a major factor in my change in career aspirations. Tip for people who run courses: if someone hates their job, don’t ask them to teach a course about their job.

I was pleasantly surprised when I got there, because I worried it would be filled with teenagers and 20 somethings, and although I get on with all age groups in small numbers, I worried that a classroom filled with people my age would feel a bit high school-y. But there were so many people of all age groups; a lot were established freelancers looking to break into a more secure job. I actually spotted someone who was probably over 60 so it was nice to have that diversity.

We had around 6 talks and I came away from the day feeling inspired, rather than deflated, and I can feel in my bones that I want to be a writer. The way you do when you find something that resonates within you so clearly that you can almost hear it clicking into place.

Afterwards I met my old babysitter for a coffee, because she works for a London magazine and even though I was tired and nervous, she was just as lovely as I remembered and helpful too. Sometimes you come away from meeting people who you want advice from feeling as if the entire encounter was a way of massaging their ego, a session in boosting their self-confidence. But I got a lot out of talking to her. Everyone I met was encouraging and supportive and I can really see myself pursuing this career now.

In other news, my medication hasn’t really kicked in yet (though the doctor did say it would take a few weeks) except it has made me really sleepy. My mum is thrilled because it means for the first time in years I have a semi-normal sleeping pattern, which she thinks will do me good and I can’t say I disagree.

After a family dinner with my parents, my cousin and his girlfriend, day-drinking commenced; and we all know how that ends up. There was a bit of a blunder at the end of the night when I fought with my dad. I might get into it in a later post, but I have always said that while this blog requires quite a bit of over-sharing on my part, I’m not trying to air my dirty washing in public. Talking about these problems might open an entirely new can of worms, and that is something I have to consider before I write about them.

Anyway, the fight reminded me, quite cruelly, that I am still fragile. That as much as I listen to loud music, and wear black and perfect my eyeliner technique, there are many things I still have to work on.

I have work experience in a publishing house this week, which should be fantastic, so we’ll see how that goes.

On a final note, the above picture is from the Women’s march. I didn’t march because I was mildly hungover from drinking my way through the inauguration, not to mention I’m on a different continent. But these marches showed me the good left in the world, in between all of the anger and panic. Perhaps these pictures can serve as a much needed reminder that there is still plenty of brilliance left, just waiting for us all.

Have a good week everyone! Stay safe, keep warm, and paint flowers over any swastikas you see.