SKIN.

Truth be told I'm scared. Despite wandering off at the tender age of 17 to Croatia all by myself and subsequently traveling solo to Senegal, Gambia and Ethiopia, I'm nervous about my impending trip to Cape Town, South Africa. 

I love Africa irrevocably, its why I continue to keep going back there. Something happens when I get off the plane it's like I've returned home to a place which both wants me to stay and wants me to leave. Everything about Africa is a challenge and a risk but its one I'll continue to experience over and over. 

This trip is blog related, I'm going to work with Save Africa on a surf project which assists township children with education and offers surf programs. The prospect of going to iconic South Africa to surf waves which are legendary should be filling me with excitement. 
I am, of course excited, but not to the level I usually am pre surf trip. 

I'm thinking about sharks, I'm thinking about missing home but mostly I'm thinking about how I'm going to hate being away from Mr Sunny. I talk a lot about being an independent woman, about striving to carve my own niche in this big wide world, but I want to clarify that as a feminist I can also adore and miss a man. I can want to be with him and not beat myself up for feeling vulnerable when I admit that I'm going to miss him like crazy. 

I've been away from home for longer periods and regular readers will be aware that I've also done long distance with an ex I used to write about *awkward* 

Mr Sunny has inadvertently become my best friend as well as being my boyfriend, at the moment we're living out of each others pockets and so its this closeness I'm going to mourn. 
Isn't it funny how certain people get under your skin, whether it be friends, love interests or family? 

Mr Sunny and I pratting about on a penny board.

 


































When I'm feeling anxious I do what I always do, I write to you guys and I hit the mat for some yoga time. Lately I've been loving Ali Kamenova's Interval Yoga classes which can be found on youtube. She conducts very athletic yoga postures which still contains an aspect of spirituality and friendliness. One of the hightlights is her giant pit bull esq dog which saunters in and out of shots *love it*

I think more than ever I need to do this trip precisely because it feels out of my comfort zone. Its ok to not feel brave all the time, actually its quite good to be scared because the strength it takes to overcome those irrational fears are what will carry you through life. 

To Cape Town! 

Until next time 

Stay Strong, Surf Well 

 

Lion Skateboarding.

I said to myself I wasn't going to blog too much around Christmas but then stuff started to happen which I'm dying to tell you guys about! 

My cousin Dekland had seen photos of me skating on my penny board so asked if he could get one for Christmas. He was lucky, he got a beautiful tie dye model which he wanted to show me. Thus I found myself playing outside in the winter sunshine, forgetting that I'm actually 25 and probably should be inside cleaning the dishes away with the adults. 

I started out the day trying to be glamorous this is how I looked: 

(Photos courtesy of my little sister Laura who manages to whip me into shape when it comes to posing properly)!

I swear this was a 'look at the camera Soph' instantaneous shot, its proof my sister is a great photographer as I certainly don't look like this very easily. She just told me what to do and voila I didn't look petrified in front of the lens! 

 

I like wearing clothes more than once this is why I'm recycling my sea leggings, I knew with a pair of heels and a smart jumper they could look snazzy! 

I'm like a drunk baby gazelle when wearing heels but Laura insisted taking photos maybe as proof that occasionally I do wear something other than skate shoes or going bare foot! 

Sorry this isn't supposed to be a shot of my boobs, I've included it because my hair is a rad colour that I've never seen before. Must be a combination of light and camera magic because it hasn't been dyed! 

 Well this look lasted all of about five minutes. I went to visit my family and quickly got bored tottering around in heels not really being able to do much. So I borrowed trainers off my sister's boyfriend Steve and then the fun began! 

Lion Skating (This is a reference to location). 

 

 

This is one of my favorite photos, its my little cousin Tiegan learning how to skate. She was an absolute natural and started picking it up real quick. She also took the majority of these photos she happens to be a really natural photographer, I am a very proud big cousin!

Happy Boxing Day!!! (Or the day after Christmas for anybody else who isn't British)! 

Until next time, 

Stay strong, surf well 

Love 

Skater Girl.

I've bought my first skateboard at the grand old age of 24 (which may as well be 104 in the world of skateboarding)! I picked one up for the first time in Croyde last weekend and absolutely loved it post surf. For a land locked surfer girl skateboarding seems a viable distraction while I anxiously wait for another surf trip to come around. 

Today my beautiful neon pink penny board arrived and I've been skating in the hall desperately willing it to be morning so I can go out and play. (I'm determined to go out at the crack of dawn before the kids come to the skate park and make me look like a sad loner). 

Which brings me onto my next topic of conversation. 

Patience. 

As a surfer you learn (whether you like it or not) the fine art of being patient. Even when the waves are surfable there are pauses between sets where you have to wait to get the wave you know is going to rock your world. At work my patience is insurmountable, I don't flinch if someone's behavior causes them to lash out and I can be with a service user all day waiting for a task to be completed. In a work context I am exemplary. 

However. 

If we're talking about surfing or *ahem my love life then patience isn't my strong point. There were times before the land locked surfers club was established where I literally felt trapped in Birmingham. I'd look at the pavements and the confines of my life and allow myself the luxury of being ungrateful. Thankfully a shit load of meditation, getting a job I'm passionate about and learning to be mindful has helped overcome those initial feelings of inertia. 

I've managed to cultivate patience waiting for surf and its an approach I'm now taking in my love life. I've tentatively begun dating again in a very nervous, scared to be burned again kind of way...you know how it is. Its so early I'm not putting labels on anything I'm just hanging out I guess. 

And do you know what. Its exhilarating. Having the patience to take things slowly enforces you to keep interested in YOUR interests, which is so important in the first flushes of romances. Its easy to become lost in a relationship, which is precisely why I'm fully committing to this new approach of taking my time and really getting to know people before I dive in head first...And that's enough of that kind of talk, sometimes its important to keep some things private as much as it is to speak your truth! 

This week's inspiration

 
 
 

 

 Until next time...
Stay strong, surf & skate well (!) 

Love Sophia