Cuppa Coffee or Tea With You and Me #1

The point of making this blog was for you to not only read for enjoyment, but to read and make a connection with others and yourself.

So I created this little corner of my blog to do just that. A place where you can feel ‘normal’ in this far from normal world we live in- a place where you can grab a bru (or a bottle), read and relax.

This nook of my blog will never be planned. It’s a sort of splurge on a page which helps me too in a way as I am writing down what I’m thinking in the moment whilst getting real with you guys.

This section is solely for the purpose of me writing sh*t down, you guys reading it, laughing about it and maybe relating to it. I am NOT here to offer any kind of professional advice, but I am here to be open, inquisitive and just plain daft.

At the end of the day, it’s just you and me with a cup of our favourite beverage figuring out that we are actually doing just fine and what we are feeling and experiencing is normal.

In this first post, I want to talk about STRESS- what I do to try and relax my body and mind and to just chill the f*ck out.

Anyone who knows me and is reading this can already confirm that I am a stressy person- stressed from birth probably. I am a total control freak too which doesn’t help any situation I am in. I have my routines and if they get disturbed then it feels like the world is about to spin into the black hole. Even thinking if people will even like reading my blog gets me stressed out. But we need to stop being scared of what others think because there will ALWAYS be someone that will humble you and there is ALWAYS someone who will knock you off your high horse. FACTS.

Going back to stress, I remember one time at college I got mixed up with my timetable and I ended up going to my class when it had just finished. And OH MY GOD I swear my body went into some sort of internal fit. I was confused, the teacher (who already wasn‘t a huge fan of ‘on time’ me) was confused and I had to sit in her next class with a load a of strangers who didn’t even do the same course as me- GREAT. So instead of being able to do my homework in my free period I had to sit in a random class and then go straight to my next class without having a break. Meaning I didn’t have any chill time, I had unfinished homework and now my teacher (from the class I turned up to 50 minutes late) hated me even more. All in all, this silly mistake (that so many people have made) threw me off for the entire day as my Wednesday routine was ruined.

Looking back I can see how ridiculous the whole situation was and I can see that it wasn't even a travesty. BUT, in that moment my stress levels sky rocketed. In the end I still got my attendance marks, I still made it to my other classes on time and I still found time to do my mountains of homework and coursework- like come ON Leoni.

But more importantly, this is something I have learnt from.

Let’s put it into perspective- is there someone in college that is less organised than me? YES! Is there anyone in college that is head to toe, inside and out perfect? Probably not. Am I the only one to ever have made a mistake in my life? NO! And am I still alive, breathing, thinking, walking, talking whilst the world keeps on turning and no one (in the nicest way possible) actually cares about me missing a class? YES!

So basically my point is, STOP being so hard on yourself- don’t sweat the small stuff! No one is perfect and learn from your past self because lets face it- no one actually gives a sh*t about your mistakes. And if they do, they are shallow and small minded people who are insecure of themselves and use that insecurity to humiliate others to make themselves feel better. You will always come across people who put you down, but just shrug it off! I know, easy said than done, right? This is something I am still getting to grips with myself. As an 18 year old (and just being a teenager in general) with the constant reminder of what ‘perfect‘ is according to the social media vacuum, it can be hard not to stress and to just be yourself.

So here are some of the things I do/ have done to de-stress

Podcasts- My all time favourite is Fearne Cotton’s ‘Happy Place’ where she invites celebrity guests to talk with her about there lives (before and during) fame. They talk about the struggles they face/have faced and how they have dealt with issues and lifestyle changes. But most importantly, it makes me laugh so much. The chemistry between Fearne and her guests is so good and it makes you realise that pretty much anyone (even those you least expect) have experienced the same difficutlues as you. There is nothing better than sitting outside in the sun with a glass of wine and giggling with Fearne and her guest.

Music- If I want to clear my head or do some thinking, I like to pop in my sound cancelling headphones and listen to the ‘Piano Chill’ or ‘Piano Essentials’ playlist on Apple Music. If I want to listen to songs with lyrics and need to chill out , I listen to smooth pop or soul music which includes artists such as Sam Cooke, Lionel Richie, Billy Joel or I just put on the ‘Soul Singers Essentials’ playlist.

Meditation- I sometimes do some meditation before I go to bed/if I am struggling to fall asleep. My go to is called ‘Goodful’ which is on YouTube. They have different videos for different situations and they are all voice led.

Reading- When I find that my world is a chaotic mess it is nice to escape to a fictional world that is much more fantastical or strange as it kind of humbles me in a way and makes me realise that life could be so much worse- it makes me realise that me having an argument with someone is nothing compared to trying to escape a mass murderer ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cooking and baking- As you have probably guessed I really enjoy cooking and baking! For some reason I just can’t mess it up (touch wood) and the idea and method of making something delicious out of a bunch of ingredients and sharing it with others is really fun and therapeutic.

Netflix/Disney+/TV- Sometimes, doing nothing is better than doing something and if I am too tired to concentrate or be productive then putting on some classic sh*it British tele is just the thing do- especially with a load of snacks.

After all of this, if I still can’t sleep, and I am up at stupid o’clock in the morning anyway, I stay awake and listen to the morning birds sing- might as well as get something good out of it.

What I’m saying is, dont let stress consume you, just be you and accept you for who you are- even accept your flaws! If you been in your pyjamas for three days, not being productive at all and the most exercise you have had is walking to the door to collect a takeaway then who even cares! What you should be asking yourself is did you enjoy it? If yes, carry on being the super slob everyone dreams of being.

I am still working on all of this myself but life is SO much easier when you just stick you headphones in and walk away to the beat of your own music.

Thank you all, stay safe, keep smiling and keep being typically untypical

Leoni Latham Blogs

xoxo