My Low Buy Year

Ever since we were nearing the end of 2020 I had begun thinking of ‘New Years Resolutions’ or goals (as I prefer to call them) for 2021. I had looked back on my previous years and thought “How do I make goals that are achievable? Goals that are realistic and not something I will do for a month, and then give myself an excuse not to do any further?” Well, if there is anything that 2020 has taught me (and I’m sure taught a lot of many people) is that nothing is permanent. The pandemic forced me to reflect and confront a lot of things that I had been avoiding, for example; the fact that I have SO MUCH stuff! Perhaps deep down I had always known that I am an excessive consumer, but was either too busy to think deeply about it or care enough. 2020 taught me to slow down, and with that slowing down came the realisation of how much useless crap that I have. I went through the process of decluttering, lecturing myself on how many silly purchases I had made and recognising that most of what I had bought only brought me fleeting moments of happiness…

Anyways, fast forward to December and I am scrolling the news when I came across an article by a journalist who had completed 12 months of no purchasing new clothing, or as she called it, her ‘low/no buy year’. Then I started googling this whole ‘low/no buy year’ thing and thought ‘okay, this is what I need to employ for 2021’. So I read article after article after article and came to the conclusion that I need to tailor this to what I want to improve on. Which leads me to…my list of low buys for 2021:

1. No buying of stationery that I already have
2. No buying of trinkets and display stuff
3. Low buying of skincare
4. Low buying of clothing and shoes
5. Low buying of gym gear
6. Low buying of make up

What I want to achieve is ultimately less physical items (which will help with the mess in my house and the never ending cleaning and tidying), less consumerism and a more conscious mentality to what really makes me happy. My aim is to give monthly updates on what I have and have not purchased, why i’ve made those purchases and where they were a necessity or not. I am hoping with this exercise that I can become more appreciative of the things that I have and get rid of the consumer mentality.

Thank you for reading this post (if you’ve gotten this far), I look forward to keeping you updated!

-April

Isolation Thoughts

It has been a hot minute since I last wrote a post here. Given the current global pandemic and how we are all isolated at home, there is no better time than now to reignite this blog and start writing again. This is something that I have been wanting to do for a while, but never really prioritised (aka ‘I just don‘t have time’). Well now we have nothing but time!

I’d initially started this blog to write about my travels and places that were on my bucket list (this list has definitely grown). But upon reflection I decided that I just want to write about anything and everything as a way to connect with people around the world! Perhaps my thoughts and feelings are shared by many others? Either way all I know is that I am very excited to be writing again, and look forward to reconnecting with my ‘inner creative artist’ as well as many fellow artists around the globe!

Cheers to seeing the positivity in Covid-19 isolation!

– A

 

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Blue…

Is how i’ve been feeling this past week. You can mask the pain and the emptiness. But at the end of the day, it comes rushing back in tenfold.

It’s a hard feeling to describe… I guess it feels like your heart isn’t there anymore, you’re numb to everything around you. And anything can trigger a deeper spiral. Sometimes you want to reach out… but most of the time you don’t. You don’t want to see the judgement on their faces, you don’t want to hear the “but you were fine yesterday, what happened?”question and you don’t want to drag someone into the spiral with you.

So you don’t.

You pull yourself together, you tell yourself that “it has been worse”, that “you are strong”, that you’re a fighter. And each time, it gets better and better and you get stronger and stronger.

-A

 

 

Inspiration

Or a lack of…

I’m writing this post… My first post in over 6 months because I’ve finally found the inspiration to start writing again, granted it may be very sporadic to start off, but its a start.

I began this blog thinking that I’d post a lot about my travels, but over time I came to realise that it was repetitive and not coming from the heart (sounds really corny, I know). In all honesty, I’ve got no idea what I will be posting, it may be about my travels and tips, and it may be about my life.

Credit: kindledspirit.com.au 

Either way, I’m super excited to start writing again 🙂

-April

P.S To those lovely people who have stuck around, you’re all amazing

How traveling has changed me

A little over a year ago today, I packed my bags for a 6 week solo travel/dance experience that has forever changed me. Getting back into routine was one of the hardest things that I struggled with. What was especially tough was having to stay in the one place for a long period of time. Put simply, I didn’t deal with it well. Over Christmas I worked A LOT, saved up some cash and booked a trip to Vanuatu because I was THAT antsy to go and explore! It satisfied my wanderlust… but only for a while, 4 months later, I was off to Sydney and Brisbane to visit a couple mates. One week after I returned I had packed my bags for another short trip to the snow.

What I love about traveling is the unknown, it gives me a sense of excitement, joy and happiness. When you tell people that you have traveled the world solo, they think you’re crazy, but I think that those of us that choose to travel alone are amazing.

Just like the namesake of my blog, I truly have a gypsy soul.

My guide to Sydney

Amazing! Is one word that I would use to describe Sydney, and this is a lot coming from someone who has lived in Melbourne her whole life. The last time i was in Sydney i was twelve and traveling with family, they still had the monorail and we’d explored the whole of Sydney on one of those typical ‘tourist’ buses. Don’t get me wrong, it was great fun! But being able to explore the city by myself was so much better. That being said; here is my guide to Sydney 🙂

1. Have dinner under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Yes its expensive, but it is so worth it! the tranquility and beauty of the harbour (especially at night) really makes you take a step back and appreciate life!

2. Shopping! Not gonna lie, but coming from Melbourne I didn’t really have high expectations for the shopping (i wasn’t really going there for the shopping either) but Sydney has some of the cutest boutiques that happen to be in some of the prettiest buildings such as the QVB. But don’t forget the outlets, Birkenhead Point is quite popular amongst the locals.

3. QVB (Queen Victoria Building). Architecturally this building is incredible. It’s a must see for anyone that visits Sydney

4. Manly. It takes about half an hour from the harbour to get to Manly. It’s pretty much a coastal town that happens to be in Sydney! Have lunch by the beach and sip on an alcoholic beverage, this town just oozes comfort and relaxation! If you’re going in Summer don’t forget to hit the waves!

5. Darling Harbour. Home to some of the best restaurants in Sydney and without a doubt the best sunsets!

I was only there for a few days and had an amazing time! If anyone has any other recommendations for next time, do let me know! 

The 5 things I love about traveling by myself

To be honest, if you’d asked me 2 years ago if I would ever consider traveling by myself, my answer would have been hell no! But after embarking on a solo trip to discover dance in New York last year, it’s hard to imagine why I was so afraid.

Here are 5 reasons why I love to travel solo.

1. You can set your own itinerary! You’re not bound by what others want to do; being able to wake up in the morning and not have set plans for the day is incredibly daunting and exciting!
2. Not having to share a room/bed.
3. Meeting new people from all around the world. I honestly never thought of myself as an ‘overly friendly’ person, but its amazing how traveling solo can teach you to come out of your shell and meet new (possibly also solo travellers) people!
4. Learning to enjoy your own company (and not feel awkward about it!)
5. Learning how to do my laundry (Yes… I really did)

So that’s my list. What’s on yours?

I’m Still Here!

I know that I haven’t posted in a good two months… Uni has been keeping me busy with all these assignments and exams coming up. But I have a couple trips coming up! I’m heading up to Sydney and Queensland to visit a couple of my friends, and I am planning a trip to the snow as well. So please stay tuned, I’ve got some exciting things planned!

– April

I Miss Traveling…

I’m definitely one of those people who can’t sit still, I am always in need of constant change and adventure and whether I find that in going to the gym, reading or dancing, my heart is always content when I’m travelling. When I look at this photo, all I can think of is the joy and fun that I had in Vanuatu, one of my favourite places in the world to be. I miss it. So badly. Getting back into my routine of Uni and work is good, but nothing beats the feeling you get when you’re travelling  the world.