Mental Health Series: Aaron.

Here we are again with another instalment of my Mental Health Series. If you haven't yet read the first 3 entries, here is where you can read them.

Here's Aaron's entry;

2016 was a hectic year for me. In December 2015 I had the best 3 weeks of my life only to come home and have my world unravel. I came into the New Year unemployed and I hadn’t managed to keep a job for any longer than 6 weeks until after I’d had therapy. My relationship fell apart and drove me into depression, which I’m still not over. I lost one of my best friends (they didn’t die we just had a disagreement). And what’s more there have been several upsets in my family due to one particular arsehole. So is it really any surprise that in May I had a meltdown and was diagnosed with anxiety (both general and social) and depression?

Okay so I’ve always had social anxiety for as long as I remember but I never labelled it. Maybe because I didn’t want to accept it or maybe I just wanted to bury it deep inside me. In any case it has been an utter hindrance to my every day life. If I had do delve into my past and think about the root cause I could boil it down to a few key parts of my life:

·      My dad left when I was a kid and stopped seeing me altogether before long

·      I was severely bullied in high school

·      My girlfriend through high school tried her best to change who I was and was a controlling maniac

·      Due to my dad being a pleb my mother over compensated, leaving me with no voice of my own

So you can see why I would be worried to open myself up to anyone and why I would be apprehensive about being around people. If you watch The Big Bang Theory you might know of a character called Lucy, who also suffers in social situations. And you might remember how she escapes several times through a bathroom window or simply doesn’t show up. The show does make it quite funny but I know what it’s like to feel like that. Think back to the time when you felt the most panicked and imagine being like that every time you’re in a room with more than one person. That’s how I feel.

It’s not that I don’t want to socialise or meet new people, it’s just incredibly frightening and draining for me. I am quite a reserved person anyway but when I am in a group and I have an opinion to share or anything to say at all, I have to build myself up and work up to it and one of two things will happen:

1.     I will say what I wanted to say but nobody hears me or

2.    By the time I manage to build myself up, the conversation has moved on and it’s now irrelevant

And let’s just assume that I do manage to force myself into these situations. The second I arrive I am plotting my escape. And then I start actually having fun. But then I get drained and then scared. And then I find a reason or excuse, however ridiculous to escape. And after I’ve escaped from my panic and fears I can’t help but wonder, “What the fuck is wrong with me?” And that makes me spiral even more.

It’s not easy to explain clearly what it’s like to feel so uncomfortable and scared in these situations. The first things that happens is my heart rate elevates and then I become hyper aware of my situation and myself. Then in my head are voices telling me all manors of horrible things. Then it’s like there’s a swarm of bees, a stampede of wildebeest, and a flock of seagulls all inside my mind and my rational behaviour just leaves me and is replaced by this demon of self-destruction. I don’t even notice that my breathing is heavy or that I’m cracking my knuckles or fidgeting or sweating or even that I’m on my phone. These are my coping mechanisms, or safety behaviours as my cousellor puts it.

When I am with a group and I manage to share my opinion, my mouth gets dry, I avoid eye contact, and my voice quietens to a whisper. And more often than not I completely lose my train of thought and end up looking like an utter tit because I can’t even finish what might have been a really good point. Then once again I wonder what is wrong with me.

I’ve mentioned that it’s scary. I’ve mentioned that it causes panic. But another thing that’s caused is frustration. Imagine needing the toilet when you’re in a class and not being able to go because what if someone looks at you or you fall? Imagine not being able to put something in the bin because what it’s not okay to do that yet or you miss? Imagine not being able to ask someone in a shop where something is because what if it’s been under your nose the whole time and you look like an idiot for not seeing it? This is a mere fraction of the things going on in my head.

I have gone days before without speaking to anyone or just dwelling, sat in my room listening to sad music and just feeling sorry for myself, beating myself up for being such a disappointment and a failure. I have been through several jobs in my life, started several endeavours, 99% of which have amounted to exactly bugger all. And that’s because of my fear of rejection and judgement. And by letting myself fail I become even more of a disappointment. So then I beat myself up even more. By doing this I just make everything worse. And you might think, “Why don’t you just stick to stuff and force yourself through it?” And here is my answer: Because I just can’t

A lot of people (who don’t live with anxiety) just don’t understand what it’s like. They say stuff like “just take a deep breath” or “it’s not that bad.” This kind of shit is not helpful in any way, shape or form. It seems that a popular belief is that, if you can’t physically see an issue/disability/illness, it doesn’t exist. I (and probably others like me) wear a mask when I leave the house. My mask hides my uncontrollable fear. It hides my weaknesses. It hides my panic. So through wearing this mask I can create the illusion that I am okay. And that’s something I have to do because I cannot ask for help. As easy as it is for most people, I cannot simply say, “I need help”. Luckily my doctor caught on to what I was going through and pushed me to go for counselling.

Leaving the house to go to my first appointment was the hardest step I have taken for a long time. And sitting down and talking to someone about what’s wrong with me was even harder. However counselling is something that has helped me before. I had the same image in my mind that you probably do when I thought about counselling; an office with a bookshelf at the back with leather psychology books on it, a mahogany desk with leather chairs decorated with knickknacks and thingumajigs. And a man/woman in a suit sat asking me, “And how does that make you feel?”  This is far from the reality. My counsellor has been explaining to me why I do the things I do and why I think the things I do. Not only this but she has been equipping me with the tools necessary to deal with these situations and to combat my self-destructive mind-set.

But I can’t pretend that anxiety is 100% bad. When I reflect on my life and all the things I’ve missed out on or all the decisions I’ve made I realise that it’s all brought me to where I am today. I am currently at college and hopefully this year I’ll be going to uni. I even joined a writing group. And most importantly, I’ve met some incredible people along the way.

Aaron.

Go check out Aaron's blog here; http://briscoeblogg.blogspot.co.uk/

April.

April started as March ended. Alcohol.

I went out for a few drinks with a couple of my housemates and my friend Jess in Headingley. We stayed in Box for a few hours, then I got a taxi into town to meet my friend Tom and his friend Izzy at Yates'. We were in there for a few hours then wandered down to Stone Roses where we stayed until 6am. It wad a great night and surprisingly I didn't feel hungover the next day, despite having 3 hours sleep and getting to work for 11am.

I really like this picture. Tom, Izzy & I looking very jolly.

Over the past few months i've been to quite a few gigs in Leeds, including bands and comedians. Russell Howard at Leeds Arena was my final one for a while, and he didn't disappoint. I went with my cousin, Josh, and we loved it. Earlier that day i'd been at work and my friend Nathan (who was also going to see Russell that night), came in saying that Russell was in the Apple Store downstairs. I got all excited (not that I could do anything as I was working), and sure enough, a few minutes later, Russell Howard walked past our store. I freaked out but was frustrated there was nothing I could do about it, Nathan however, went up and got a picture with him. Needless to say we all hate Nathan now.

The only picture I got because I was too busy laughing.

During the Easter Holidays, I went to Alton Towers with my friends Sophie, Fallon and my sister, Emma. The weather wasn't perfect but for the majority of the time it stayed dry. We stayed over in a cute little hostel near the park overnight and went back for a second day on the rollercoasters, managing to get on pretty much every ride throughout the 2 days. Even though it was only overnight it was really nice to get away from Leeds for a bit.

Went on Nemesis. Em loved it, I looked like a thumb.

I've also been busy putting my degree to some good use finally. I've been organising a Cancer Research fundraiser as Josh has absolutely kicked ass since he was diagnosed*. It's basically a talent show for younger kids to show some of their creativity and enjoy themselves, there's also your typical community fundraiser things like Bric-A-Brac, Tombola, Raffle, Quiz, Bake Sale, other stage performances etc. It's just great to put everything i've learned in the past 4 years towards such a great cause, and if it helps even one person get the treatment they need or maybe just give Josh a little boost then it will have all been worth it. If you're reading this and fancy coming, here's the Facebook event and if you want to book tickets, just get in touch with me!

Then came my last ever student loan. This was a bittersweet occasion, so I treated myself to some new clothes, a Pandora ring, a couple of jackets and a few other bits to get me through this difficult time. I now have less than a month left of University. On one hand, I can't wait to get all of it done with. I can't imagine what it's like to not have any work looming over your head or stressing about revision. It must be so nice and peaceful. But on the other hand, i'm going to miss it. A lot. I'll miss my housemates and the drama-riddled street that is Headingley Mount, i'll miss being a student and feeling like it's okay if I mess up a bit now because technically i'm not an adult yet, i'll miss getting discounts everywhere, i'll miss Headingley all together, and in a way i'll just miss the campus. But all good things must come to an end, and I need to start looking towards the next chapter and to more adventures around the world.

Annabel
*Update: he's had the malignant tumour removed from his thigh and received 3 nerve grafts. He was told that after the op he would have a leg brace on for 5/6 months. It was taken off after a week. I'm still convinced he's not human or it's an elaborate prank because it's just not phased him at all and he's inspiring us all with the way he's just stayed himself and not sat around complaining. 

Mental Health Series: Thomas.

Welcome to the second instalment of my Mental Health Series. If you didn't catch the first one, you can read it here. 

This one has been written by Tom;

Anxiety is shit. It's also become a dirty word to me, I hate it. No matter how much I talk about it or discuss it with people, a bad taste is always left in my mouth. Treating my anxiety like this has helped me get over it. I don't want to hurt myself anymore, or make decisions based off of just one feeling (even if the feeling takes me over for weeks on end) and I certainly don't wish death upon myself like I used to. But it's been a long road.

The past year has been somewhat of a, well a rollercoaster, as cliche as that sounds. I've had awful downs and amazing ups and throughout it all I've had anxiety as a companion. A devil on my shoulder telling me everything isn't what it seems or that I'm not having fun. That I'm faking my happiness and as soon as I get into bed the depressive thoughts will creep in and plague my mind. 

The only thing that has changed now is I've started listening to myself. However hard it may have been for me to block out depressive thoughts or feelings of panic when really there was never anything to panic about - I've managed to do it. That's a good word to describe the process - managing. You have to learn to give in to the demons before they consume you. Listen to them, acknowledge them and then fight them. They are not you and the most definitely aren't the making of you. 

One of the biggest things I found hard when coping with anxiety is just how hard it is to tell someone I had it. Stigma against mental illness is still very real and I don't think people really believed me unless they saw me have a full on panic attack. And because I really only seemed to panic when I was somewhere safe, around friends - hardly anyone would see it. 

Other than the former, my symptoms would be few and far between. When I'd experience worry I would experience it like an intense illness for weeks. Rather than coughing I would worry about everything. Then that illness seemed to go and I'd start feeling paranoia. Everyone for sure hated me and people only really spent time with me because they felt pity for me (this is admittedly something I still struggle with now) and I found it hard to believe that anyone would want to have anything to do with me. My body became a vessel of negativity and I couldn't seem to scratch off any positivity whatsoever. This process repeated in a bitter cycle for ages.

Then something clicked last Christmas. My mind seemed to stop, and I realised I hadn't had one feeling of anxiety or depression in about a week. A WEEK! It was magnificent. The week turned into a month, and here I am in March still feeling like the Thomas before anxiety. Don't get me wrong, I have had a few panic attacks (and they have been a few of the worst I've ever had) but they've been random. It's as though my body is confused because I'm not really anxious anymore so it feels like it needs to panic. 

I can't give advice on how to get through the constant uphill battle that anxiety is, I'm sorry. The experience is so different for anyone going through it, even if the symptoms are very similar. The only thing to strive towards is knowing that one day you will feel better. You might wake up and laugh at something before you begin to think of anything worth worrying about. You might muster up the confidence to go to a cashier in a shop instead of asking your friend. You might even just realise you aren't biting your nails as often as you used to. It's all about the little steps - they might seem small to other people but to you they're quite the opposite.

Thomas.

Go check out Tom's blog here; http://www.thomascrawshaw.co.uk/

March.

March began with a momentary panic.
This is the month I hand my dissertation in and the rest of my life is decided on this.
Okay so that's a little dramatic, but it's big. So how did I settle myself down for this? The answer is quite simple;
Alcohol.

(Be prepared, this one is going to make me look like a raging alcoholic)

Coincidentally, I had a works leaving do and my housemate's birthday night out on the same day. And it's fair to say, I completely overdid it. I'm not going into details, however i'm sure it's "one of those nights" my friends will be reminding me of for some time.

The Association where I teach dance had their annual 'Presidents Night', where we celebrate the change over from our previous President, to a new President for the year ahead. Some of the groups from Showgroup put on a little performance and Emma & I sang House of Gold by Twenty One Pilots. We then preceded to drink copious amounts of alcohol, after which I went shouting "after party at my house" and a few friends came over until the early hours.

Em & I dancing after many an alcohol.

For my Mum's birthday, we took her out a few times. The first was as a family to Tick Tock Unlock in town. It's one of those game things where they "lock" you in a room and you have to find clues and solve puzzles to get out. It was very stressful but we all enjoyed it. We also went to see the new live action Beauty and the Beast. It was honestly a great film. I hated the way they changed so many things when they re-did Cinderella, but this was more or less kept the same. The music was insane, I had goosebumps the whole way through. To be honest they did go a little crazy in Be Our Guest with the CGI but i'll let them off for now. My sister & I also took Mum to see Michael Flatey's Lord of the Dance at The Grand Theatre (not Dad's cup of tea). My sister and I didn't really know what to expect, let's just say we were sat the entire time with our mouths open in shock.
INCREDIBLE.

We escaped! Can't get rid of us Rileys that easily.

Me and the work pals went up to Manchester for a night to visit our friend, Mick. Despite Viv dropping both of our McDonalds milkshakes at the train station (Viv hurt her shin but my heart was broken more at the fact I was really looking forward to that milkshake). We had a really good night and all got a go on Dave's Nintendo Switch (I didn't have a clue what was going on, I was just winging it). After Mick told us a dramatic bedtime story at 4am we eventually drifted off.

Another weekend I had a family friend's 18th. There were a few people there that I hadn't seen in a while which was great. We played a few drinking games and my cousin managed to twist my arm and convince me to go to town with him and another of our friends despite only having £5 to my name, (shout out to Bank of Dad). From what I remember we danced to S Club 7 and Paramore, until we called it a night at 4am and went for a takeaway.

Em & I (again) managing to take a nice drunken picture.

Unfortunately we lost another LEGO soldier, Kelsea, so we went out for pizza and prosecco at Buca di Pizza - if you go, get the BBQ pulled pork. It's the most amazing thing i've ever had in my mouth. The bubbly was actually really nice too. Afterwards we wandered over to Roxy Ball Room for a couple games of beer pong, ping pong and pool, where I put my excellent beer pong skills to good use (I was a little rusty having not played since Australia). All in all it was a good night with great people.

So you know, life isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and as you are reading the Life of Riley, I always keep things as honest as I can. This month, my cousin, who's practically my twin, was diagnosed with cancer. Yeah, it's pretty damn shit. I have to say though, the way he's handled it just makes me admire him even more than I already do. He's an absolute trooper and isn't letting anything stop him from carrying on how he always has done, it's amazing. What's also amazing is how our family and friends (we're all pretty close knit anyway) have come together and we're doing Race For Life's 'Pretty Muddy' in Josh's name in June to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Within less than a day of our fundraising page getting set up, we'd raised over £300. Within 3 days we had over £800. And within 5 we reached 4 figures. We're now almost at £2k.
The kindness and generosity of others overwhelmed us all and I think it gave us all a well needed boost. If you're reading this and you've already sponsored us, or you're about to, or you've even just shared the link on Facebook, seriously thank you, from the entire Riley clan.

And to end the month on a positive note; my dissertation is finally handed in!!!

If you didn't take a photo handing in your dissertation, did you even hand it in?

My course celebrated by doing the Otley Run in fancy dress; Carnival theme. We just used it as an excuse to go absolutely nuts with chunky glitter and feathers.

Me and some girls from my course. On the top row from the right we have my housemates Sian, Ellie and Me.

Not gonna lie, I wanted to keep this on forever.

Slimming World update: Due to a lot of late night sessions in the library and dissertation stress, my weight hasn't been great this month and in total i've put on 5 pounds, which i'm completely okay with because I had a lot of celebrating to do after handing my dissertation in!

Annabel

Mental Health Series: Me.

I've been sat on the fence with posting this for ages; funnily enough a result of anxiety. But here I am taking the plunge and being brave.

'Mental health' is still something that is very taboo, even in this day and age. I think whenever someone hears the term 'mental illness' their mind diverts them to an image of someone strapped to a bed screaming or bashing their head against the wall. I think what people don't realise is that there are cases that aren't necessarily smaller in comparison, but when looking at someone's face are less obvious. It's bubbling just underneath the surface, waiting until they get back to their room where they can scream into a pillow, letting out all of the energy that's been spent fighting their own brain 24 hours a day. Various mental illnesses affect many of my family and friends and it's something that if you don't really know much about, it can easily be shrugged off or forgotten. I think the most common way this happens is that mental illnesses aren't really seen as 'illnesses'. A panic attack is a symptom of increased anxiety, just as a fever is a symptom of the flu. Neither can be helped, and neither are easy to deal with.

Recently i've been told I have anxiety, social anxiety to be specific. At first, it doesn't seem that big of a deal, and whilst I don't want a massive deal to be made about it, I feel like people need to be educated about it as there really isn't enough awareness about mental illnesses.

Throughout the next couple of months, I will be publishing various posts about mental illnesses written by different people with their own experiences and feelings about the subject. This is with the hope that it will help someone, anyone. Even if just one person benefits from the various tips or feels encouraged to go get some help, then this post will have achieved it's purpose.

Little quote from my Queen, Michelle.

I will be honest, the first time someone told me they had anxiety (before I knew it was a thing), I thought to myself "so you just get a little bit nervous every now and again?". I couldn't have been more wrong. I feel like this is many people's reaction as a lot of individual's aren't educated in this at all. Anxiety isn't just feeling nervous. It isn't something that someone can help. And panic attacks can happen out of nowhere. I myself have never had a panic attack, and the way some people describe them, I don't really want to. But that's out of my control. Anxiety means your brain is different to others, and I know lots of people flinch at the word 'different' but it's true. The best way I can describe it to those who aren't familiar is it means your brain is hardwired to go into panic mode from certain triggers, and this 'panic mode' can't be controlled or reigned in very easily. Sometimes you don't even need a trigger, your brain just panics.

For as long as I can remember I have never been able to relax in a room of people, I am permanently on edge: my brain in a constant state of panic waiting for something to happen or wondering what everyone is thinking about me. I struggle to speak in front of a group of people, I am extremely uncomfortable when meeting new people, 90% of the day my brain is trying to figure out what people think about me - and I wish this was an exaggeration. Just think about how tiring that is, constantly battling the thoughts that are trapped in your brain, even when you don't want to think them. Whilst writing this post i'm thinking about how I will be judged by anyone who reads it, but I want to be as honest as possible in the hope that it will help someone. It was a big step for me when I decided to post the links to my blog on Facebook, and it's still something I struggle with now. Every time I post a link to my blog on social media i'm thinking about who will read it and what they will think about me. Someone said to me a few weeks ago, "you're the most confident person with anxiety i've ever met". This isn't true. In fact, I don't think my self confidence has ever been so low, my voice just seems to get louder to overcompensate and to cover up the fact that my body is completely on edge. It's either one or the other, i'll come across as confident because i'm overcompensating and being forward, or i'll be completely reserved and just listen to conversations rather than partaking in them.

I'll be honest, it's also affected situations at University too. Sometimes I just get so tired of arguing with myself in my head about worrying what people will think about what i'm wearing, how I look, what bag I use, how I talk, what my hair looks like, what shoes i'm wearing... that I just decide my day will be easier to just stay at home and pretend i'm physically ill. Every morning I get changed and i'm not picking out clothes because of what I want to wear, it's what I think people i'm seeing that day will think look nice.

But that's enough about me. There are a few more people that you're going to hear from throughout the next couple of months, so I hope you'll stick around and listen to them. If you would like to contribute a post to this series - let me know via the contact me page. And if you've listened to me, thank you, because that was hard for me to write.

Annabel

PS. I found this article the other day, it's only a short one but it sums it up really well; Thought catalogue

February.

Finally back to a proper monthly round up. It's always nice to look back on these and remember everything that I was up to.
This month I had my final first day at University. This summer i'll be graduating (hopefully) and that's the scariest thought i've ever had. A lot of my free time was spent on a hot date with my dissertation, writing towards my goal of 10,000 words of complete and utter bollocks.

Kiri is one of the closest friends I met whilst I was in Australia, and luckily enough, she only lives 2 streets away from me here in Leeds. We've been meaning to meet up for ages but we've been busy, and when we talked about it we figured that we'd been putting it off as we didn't know if things would still be the same now we're not in that amazing country any more. We couldn't have been more wrong. We had an amazing catch up and talked for hours. Both of us needed to be up super early in the morning so we agreed to "have a few drinks" and aim to leave Box at 11pm. This did not happen. At 3am we were sat in a girl's room that we had met that night (she wasn't a weirdo she was lovely), when Kiri turned to me and said, "Annabel, we definitely need to go to bed now". Miraculously, I still made my 9am lecture and Kiri made it to work. A nap was needed.

One of my most favourite things not just in February but like ever was seeing Green Day at Leeds First Direct Arena. I really don't know what to say now because I can't put into words how amazing they were. Billie-Joe Armstrong was the most entertaining artist I have ever seen, and he was so natural and genuine with it. The performance the group gave was amazing and I really hope I get the chance to see them again. I pretty much just spent the night screaming with my sister, Emma and cousin, Natasha. (Shout out to Posicle Riley & Uncle Simon for getting the tickets and taking us).

Best. Gig. Ever.

For Em's Christmas present, I surprised her with tickets to go see Jack Whitehall, and finally the day came! He was hilarious, I laughed so much my cheeks hurt. I've been to see a few comedians before but it was a first for Emma, who thought it was really weird sitting down in Leeds Arena.

I honestly had the best Valentines Day. I spent the evening with Kiri, Peree, Harriet and my Mum. I'd just won my stone and a half award at Slimming World so I felt like celebrating (we ate, A LOT, of shit*). There was Daim ice cream, cookie dough, melted chocolate, pizza, Walkers Sensations, wine... But we had a lovely night in with my Mum telling the girls embarrassing stories about me, watching TV and laughing at various memories when we'd consecutively go; "do you remember when..." or "remember that time...". All in all, it was a great night, however I ate nothing but vegetables for the few days that followed!

I feel like this month it would have made more sense if i'd just moved into Leeds Arena. This time it was to see Kings of Leon, a band i've loved for years. Jordan, Harriet (both cousins), Emma (sister) and I went and they were absolutely awesome.

My dissertation deadline is next month...i'm not freaking out yet but there is still time.

Annabel

Slimming World update: Got my Stone and a half & Club 10 awards this month, 1st 11lb lost in total.

*not literal shit...

Rambling Post #11: What Do I Do Next?

I'm pretty sure 99% of Undergraduates experience this, but right now, i'm a little freaked out. Graduating from University always seemed like something that was far away and it was something that 'Future Annabel' would have to deal with, not me. But now i've started my final semester at Uni and it's all starting to get a little real.
So what do I do next?

Samuel L. Jackson memes are always relevant.

Obviously the usual thing to do after graduation is find a full-time job and become a proper adult.
No.
Not for me.
Not yet.

Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to have a proper job and get earning more money so I can get my own car and maybe a flat. However I get the feeling that as soon as I get a full-time job, i'll get comfortable and forget to do other things that maybe when i'm older i'll wish I had done whilst I had the chance. My problem is, I just don't know what order to do them all in.

24 weeks to Graduation.

So there's Camp America, travelling the South-East, save up and get myself a car, summer working at Disneyworld, Masters Degree? (still unsure about this one), volunteering abroad, move out...
I know this is totally a first-world problem kind of thing but it's been stressing me out and I suppose it's always easier for me to write things down to make sense of them.
I suppose the logical way to go forward would be to get the majority of the travelling and volunteering done, then go for a Masters if I decide it's something that i'd want to do. Then I suppose it will finally be time for a graduate job and to get my own little flat.
This is the first time in my life where I don't really know what's going to happen next, and whilst it's quite exciting with endless possibilities, i'm used to having a plan and a structure and knowing what to expect, so it's a little scary.

For now I guess I just need to focus on graduating.

Annabel

January.

Happy New Year!
So here's a fresh new year before us, I wonder what it will bring? Fingers crossed it brings everyone success and happiness. For me, 2017 will bring my graduation, a trip to Canada to visit my sister from another mister Priya, my 23rd birthday (it freaked me out the first time I said that), and being a Bridesmaid for one of my close friends, Rachel.

Now this is quite possibly the shortest monthly round up I've ever done and hopefully will ever do. In all honesty i've been quite busy this month but i've been too occupied with enjoying it to take any pictures or to remember to write about it, so i'm just going to do a few bullet points.

• I recovered from NYE just about (I actually fell up some stairs that night and really hurt my knee - I couldn't walk properly for a few days!
• I gave my cousin her birthday present, which is tickets to the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
• Did non-stop work for Uni because it seems like deadlines are coming out of every orifice.
• Mum and I started shopping for bits and bobs for the room swap (I can't wait to completely redecorate).
• I actually needed to take a dyslexia test at Uni, but i'm all clear.
• Us Bridesmaids went to Rachel's house to sort more things out for the wedding but we ended up just ordering a takeaway and watching Bridesmaids.
• Viv and I went to see Passengers at the cinema and very much enjoyed Chris Pratt's derriere. 
• Mum's Christmas present was tickets to go to the Emmerdale Tour at ITV Studios, so we had a grand day out along with lunch at TGI Fridays (and lots of cocktails).
• On the same day it was my work Christmas do. We went for food at Akbar's and the food was great, but I was stuffed beyond belief. We then went for some drinks afterwards, then I made my way to the cinema.
• Because I was now meeting Megan and Charlotte to see the final episode of Sherlock at Vue. It was amazing. Ben C is bae and Hudders is the Queen of sass.
• I got drunk with my work friends. Again.
• My sister had GymFest performing at Leeds First Direct Arena. Like what?! I just saw my sister on the same stage that i've seen Bastille, Lee Evans and McBusted, and will see Green Day, Kings of Leon and Russell Howard on. It's just so bloomin' cool.
• I moved back up to my Uni house for my final semester EVER.
• The final event of January was going to see Two Door Cinema Club at Leeds O2 Academy for the 4th time. They were brilliant.

So really I just wanted to enjoy January and make the most of what was going on after a busy Christmas, which is also why I didn't write a December round up. But hopefully February will be more exciting!

A quick update on Slimming World, i've now lost a grand total of 1st 5.5lbs. Feeling pretty chuffed with myself to say the least.

Annabel