The Rosie Project

Picture this. It's a cold and dark evening in the middle February. The temperature peaked at 4 degrees at midday and has been declining ever since. It's been drizzly all day, and the sun went down at 5pm. Winter blues have fully set in, and the warmth of Summer seems but a mirage. Add to this a banging headache & sense of woosiness from one too many G&Ts the night before. Now imagine walking into your local chippy and being hit with that overwhelming smell of salt and vinegar. The lady behind the counter asks you in a thick regional accent 'Wha' you havin' duck?'. You ask for your favourite, and wait with childlike giddiness for your order to be called. Salt and vinegar lovingly sprinkled on top, you are handed your bundle of joy. A quick scurry to the car to prevent any exposure to the bitter cold, more for the sake of the food than yourself, you jump into the drivers seat. You place your pride and joy on the passengers seat, and let the most glori

TRP Challenge 9- Taking a leap of faith and travelling alone Spontaneity hasn’t always been my strong suit. In fact, for the first 21 or so years of my life I preferred careful planning & knowing exactly what was happening down to a T. I didn’t like surprises. I planned out my weeks, days and sometimes even hours.  So how did I go from that to leaving my well paid graduate job to backpack solo around South East Asia?!  When I began recovery from the eating disorder which had forced me to become even more regimented in my planning, I started to force myself to not plan everything. I’m not going to lie, it’s an ongoing process. Before I came away, I still planned my weeks meals on Sunday night, regimentally made my breakfast & lunch the night before work. I attended the same gym classes every week, had an identical bed time routine every night. I planned my weekends at the start of the week. I always knew what I was doing the next day.  It all changed when I

TRP Challenge 8- Feel comfortable in a bikini in public Confidence is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets. I whole-heartedly believe that body confidence is achievable at any size, however it takes a lot of training to unlearn all the years of body hatred taught to us by the mass media & marketing campaigns aimed to shame us into buying the latest super product in a desperate attempt to rid us of our ‘flaws’. These flaws have been contrived by the very companies aiming to sell us their overpriced wonder products. Spoiler alert, no amount of slimming teas, vitamins, anti ageing/anti cellulite creams can make you feel confident and love yourself. I’m afraid that has to come from yours truly. When I was a younger, my happy place was always on the beach. More specifically, on a Cornish beach in the summer. Me and my family always spent a week or so a year holidaying on the South West coast, spending days by the sea having sandy picnic lunches of Corn

TRP Challenge 6: Look in the mirror in a non-judgemental way I still hold that one of the most traumatising every day tasks you can complete is to go bikini shopping. Especially if this is in a Topshop store (if you know, you know). I am under no illusion that many people would say I suffer from 'thin privilege'. I get this, and I accept this too. However, it is possible to loathe (and equally, and more importanly, love) your body at any size. I used to hate the way I looked. I would stand in front of the mirror and pinpoint all the parts of me which I wanted to change, shrink, smooth, lift. I would spend hours, days even, fretting about different parts of my body and the way they appeared in the mirror or to others. I compared myself to others relentlessly. I never ever looked in the mirror and thought about the things which I liked or the amazing things which my body could do. A few years ago my body was in crisis. All the muscle I had built up through being an acti

TRP Challenge 7: Forgive myself for my past mistakes, and forgive others for theirs I am a sucker for a quote. Whether it is to inspire me, lift my mood, or help me get through a tough day, I often turn to pinterest to look over my countless boards filled with quotes. They allow me to focus on the job at hand & put into words the thoughts and feelings I sometimes can't express fully. One of my favourites is 'holding onto anger is like drinking poison & expecting the other person to die'. I find it fits a lot of situations, and really helps if someone is bugging you in anyway. It is also a life saver when you feel that red hot feeling as the anger or resentment starts to build up inside of you. It is also one which I believe really fits with the way we should talk to and act to ourselves. It is so easy to focus on the past mistakes we have made, because as humans we are all ultimately flawed. No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes these ar

TRP Challenge 8: Travel somewhere new, alone Visiting somewhere you have never been before really is one pf the most exhilarating & exciting things you can experience. It takes you out of your comfort zone and opens up your senses to everything going on around you. It is so easy in our day to day lives to get lost in work, relationships, money or what to have dinner that we forget to stop and appreciate the amazing things around us. Immersing yourself in somewhere new means you can fully embrace all of the small things which make each place so unique. I've always travelled with other people. I have been interrailing a couple of times, and had the absolute time of my life. I have been to India with a group from school, I've been on countless family holidays and had some of the best weeks of my life on holiday with my school friends. I feel very lucky and privileged to have been able to see so many countries and experience so many different places. However, until recently 

TRP Challenge 5: Get a tattoo which represents my personal philosophy I always used to be scared of getting a tattoo. I don't mind needles or the sight of blood, but my Mum had always told me it was the most painful thing she had ever experienced. Coming from a woman who has given birth to 4 children, I thought it must be excruciating. Back in September last year my sister and I got matching wrist tattoos. They are tiny and took about 2 minutes to do. However, they were a good way to test my pain threshold and see if I could put up with it! For a long time now I have wanted a tattoo which stands for my own personal philosophy, something which symbolises the way I wish to lead my life. I am a sucker for a quote and motivational speech, anyone who has seen my pinterest boards can concur. I refer back to my quote boards whenever I feel a dip in my mood or have a challenging day, and they remind me to keep living my best life. We may not always have a good day, but you ca