Apparently between the ages of 8 and 12 is the time when you are your most authentic self. So I ask you think back to when you were this age and recall what you liked to do because this is close or as close a version to what you should probably be doing now. 

When I was eight I used to play a game called 'Girls' with my sisters which ironically was a role play about what we were doing when we were women. For me I was stoically single (boys were icky back then), owned dogs and was running a rescue center/veterinary surgery. 

Nothing that eight year old Sophia has imagined has come true. 

Firstly I am in a happy relationship so I'm not overly fussed that the being single thing hasn't stuck (turns out kissing boys is quite good actually)?!! I don't have a dog I have a rabbit and although I worked my ass off to try to be a vet I didn't quite make the grades. Instead I traveled, studied to be a wildlife conservationist, did more stop gap jobs than I care to mention, traveled a bit more, felt lost, got a care job, became a land locked surfer and am now training to be a yoga instructor.
Not exactly what I had predicted for myself all those years ago! 

The yoga teacher training (a.k.a. the hardest journey I've ever embarked upon) has revealed that I adore learning and I'm perhaps not quite finished with exploring the academic side of myself just yet. The various animal spirit guides who visited me during mediation (I realize this makes me sound absolutely bonkers but bear with...), reminded me that I have a deep connection to animals and want to work with them. 

Regular readers will probably be rolling their eyes at this point, not to long ago I wanted to be an occupational therapist and before that probably something random like a manatee herder- I guess you could call me flippant! Well, its not exactly flippancy its more an abundance of creativity that grows into ideas, which then get left to rot when I become interested in the next thing. 

I believe this is called being a hapless twenty something! 

Something that has stuck through all these wandering years is the surfing, its the only thing that continually inspires and motivates me. Its also is one of the biggest conflicts of my life. I live in land locked Birmingham and I also happen to be in love with a land lubber who has to have some proximity to London (he likes surfing and I've even witnessed the stoke, but he isn't obsessed like the rest of us). Trying to pick somewhere to live together was always going to be tough but its made a million times more difficult by the fact that I NEED to be by a surfing beach. Surfing has the capacity to make you incredibly selfish as the call for the waves over rides most things whether that be work, relationships or your location!  

The trick is to be mindful and cultivate patience, beating yourself up about not going to catch that lush set rolling into your favorite break isn't going to help you in your current situation. Its far better to plan trips, compromise where you need to and make the most of your time when you are in the ocean. That and be interesting when your not at the beach, have something that brings you happiness i.e. 

 

Until next time
Stay strong, surf well
Love

The funny thing about time.

It amazes me that in the space of 1 day I lost everything and at the same time gained so much. Yesterday I discovered that I won't receive the funding for my Occupational Therapy course, which means the dream of going to study up in Saltburn (surfing beach) is pretty much void. There are some funds available but not enough to cover living expenses. I wouldn't just be 'student poor' I'd be struggling to cover my basic needs, which is no environment to be growing and learning within. 

I've always believed that you are exactly where you are supposed to be and everything happens for a reason. So it came as no surprise that all this drama unraveled exactly when I was bringing Bruh my gorgeous new bunny home.  I've always had a connection with animals it originated way back when I was little and is a big reason why I chose to lead a vegan lifestyle. Bruh has come into my life exactly when I needed him to, when the distraction of something alive and in need of my care would help me work through what the hell I'm supposed to do about my professional life.
(What professional life)?! 

What's even more remarkable is the effect Bruh has had on my boyfriend Mr Sunny. Having never owned a rabbit before Mr Sunny has been amazed at Bruh's inquisitiveness and good personal hygiene! Even I, a veteran rabbit owner, have been lost for words over how confident and affectionate Bruh is having only been with us literally for a few days. Yesterday we all fell asleep in the living room, Mr Sunny on the floor, me on the sofa and Bruh stretched out sleeping like he hadn't a care in the world. I say this tentatively but we feel like a little gang, us against the world. 

On the way over to go collect Bruh when I was worrying about what to do regarding University, Mr Sunny mentioned how impressed he was when I led an impromptu yoga session in Newquay. He's pretty good at investing in people and reckons he could see I had massive potential to do this as a career. Yoga has always been my safe place and other than going to teach it at surf camps I never really considered it a full time thing. 

The next few days I'm going to take stock and try not to make any big decisions. Now's the time for reflection and enjoying what I have right now. Here's some local photos which are reminding me to stay positive.

I may not have the best paid job in the world but I get to work with awesome people like these pair!

This is me and Jack (the parents dog) post run, he's cantankerous, grumpy and unsociable but he's still my favorite running buddy.

This photo is called 'fresh Birmingham' I love mooching around the local market buying anything from Coriander to Ackee.

Mr Sunny took this photo out in his garden, one of my favorite places out in the world.

 Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well 
Love


 

Bruh.

//Hectic Bruh//

South African surfer slang depicting the condition of a wave to a fellow surfer 'bruh' also known as brother. 

In 7 days I'll be bringing Bruh bunny home (he's the first rabbit on the left). Like much of 2014 Bruh is a bit of a twist in the tale which has turned out to be for the best. This year I wasn't supposed to meet someone and fall in love but I did, I was going to live by the ocean and get a dog. Instead I'll be living in Middlesbrough (twenty minutes away from my favorite surf spot)bwith a house bunny named Bruh and functioning within a long distance relationship. 

Sometimes life turns you on your head but the results of this can be a massively positive thing. My life is very much up in the air at the moment, I'm still waiting to confirm whether I am in receipt of the scholarship (which is my yay or nay for even being able to attend university) and as of yet I have nowhere to live when I do move up North. Its reminded me of the disarray I felt graduating university for the first time and has inspired me to knock together a little article for all you grads.  

...But first, to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside here are some pictures of bunnies <3 

         





































































Sophia's Average Guide to Graduating. 
(if it was graded it would probably be a solid 2:2...with prospects). 

Graduated: 
1. in stages divided into regular steps 
2. marked with lines to enable measurement 
3. finance describes a system of taxation under which those with the greatest income or assets pay the highest percentage of tax

When I graduated university I literally wanted to kill myself, which I think you'll agree is a pretty extreme reaction to a life transition. There was other, rather serious and personal stuff going on alongside the momentous occasion of graduating but the impending future, one devoid of concessions, cut price rent and lectures was a future infinitely terrifying to me. 

In the space of a week I lost my boyfriend (we broke up , I didn't misplace him), my uni friends, my independence and my identity. Crying myself to sleep in the single bed of my childhood room the question of 'what now,' kept me awake for many nights there after. Remember the financial crisis? 
Yeah. So I graduated that year. 

My life began to resemble a spaghetti western where living at home felt like time in the sheriffs office, tumble weed down a deserted street represented my social life and show downs were between me and employers, my CV being my (useless) weapon of choice. 

4 years on I'm in a minimum wage job in a completely different sector, still living at home with my parents and about to go to University for the second time....Life if Mucking Afazing!! I'm not what society would call conventionally successful but I have achieved happiness so without further ado here's my 2 cents about surviving graduation. 

YOU ARE A PERSON NOT A STATISTIC. 
Repeat that mantra until you value yourself above the grade achieved. You go to university to get an education but you don't become knowledgeable until you've lived a bit. University is a bit like being in a greenhouse where all variables are controlled and you exist in an idyllic controlled environment. Life outside of the greenhouse is harsh cold and infinitely more difficult but you are closer to the sky and you'll actually feel the rain instead of just getting wet. Whatever grade you got remember it represents such a tiny proportion of who you are, the same as a job doesn't define you its just something you do. 

DO SOMETHING. 
It doesn't matter whether what you chose to do is backpacking round Thailand or bag packing in your local supermarket just do something which is non university related for a while to either earn money or see some things. Not everyone in this world is university educated and its important to meet these people. Its difficult to know your purpose straight after graduating but doing something with your time, whether its a little part time job or travelling will help you learn somethings about yourself which may just help you decide. 

ACCEPT THAT INTERNSHIPS ARE MODERN SLAVE LABOR AND THAT THEY WONT GUARANTEE YOU A JOB. 
Despite this, internships are wonderful opportunities to understand the industry you want to get into and offers you the chance to network. You'll make tea, get bored and question whether humanitarian work/journalism/accountancy/law etc etc is what you really want to do. Whatever your role make it your mission to EXCEL, go the extra mile, work hard because regardless of the outcome you'll get into the habit of putting your all into what you do which is infinitely good karma my dears. 

GO SURFING. 
It was as a listless graduate that I decided to try surfing which not only stopped me from topping myself but also opened up a whole new world....a blog for a start, life long friends, health and above all happiness. Surfing was something out of the academic arena, one free from judgement and pressure, which gave me the opportunity to 'come back to myself' in the words of Doc Pascowitz it 'recreated me.' You need a break from endless job applications, the stress of not knowing what direction to go in life and surfing is the perfect antidote to that. 


APPLY. 
See the perfect job? Then apply. Sounds simple doesn't it. I found myself often put off by job specifications thinking I couldn't possibly fit all the criteria....but here's the thing...no one does. Think of job adverts like lonely heart ads, your never going to see, 

SEEKING...
A mediocre person, average looking, who will contribute the absolute bare minimum to the relationship and provide no opportunities for personal growth or happiness. XOXO

Employers use the job spec as a wish list and hope that applicants might hit a few, so apply to everything that tickles your fancy, makes you giddy with excitement or offers you some kind of opportunity. Whilst your busy waiting for your dream job, apply to everything else inbetween. I'm talking shop work, bar tending roles, waitressing, anything that keeps you busy and gives you the opportunity to earn some money. (Just avoid prostitution, THOSE gumtree ads and becoming an assassin). 

F*@% FACEBOOK 
Checking your fb account twenty times a day is going to remind you that people are out there LIVING THEIR LIVES and once more they'll be living infinitely happier, more fulfilling lives which are better than yours...Nah not really, everybody projects the best version of themselves on facebook, its natural as who wants to show the boring mundane aspects of their lives?! Not me! Don't worry about the hype, or get caught up in show boating, just go placidly amidst the noise and the haste. Your life has meaning and its exciting purely because its all yours. 

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED. 
After university I worked in a health shop selling 'horny goat weed' to frustrated husbands, I was a youth leader with refugee kids, lived in Senegal at Ngor Surf camp teaching Yoga, did humanitarian work in Ethiopia, was a waitress for about a week, got rejected from hundreds of jobs, set up the land locked surfers club becoming a blogger in the process and fell in and out of love more times than I care to admit. But hey, that's my story and you'll have your own winding version which will seem chaotic and confusing but will be a massive learning curve. As the saying goes....enjoy the ride. 

Until next time
Stay strong and surf well 
Love