Learning to juggle...

I really must learn to juggle, and by that I don’t mean so I can join a circus, more so I can run the circus that is my life a little better.

Although being at college has been the happiest time of my life it has also been the busiest. Although I haven’t had as many hours of lectures as you would expect at University I tend to fill every other waking moment with other things. I am on two society committees both of which have a weekly meeting, at least one event every week and planning and organising to be done in the mean-time. I also jump at almost every opportunity I am given, partly because I understand the importance of seizing every moment in life but also because I hate letting people down. I am not suggesting I should be praised for how I live such a busy life. I bring it upon myself and I really wouldn’t have it any other way. I dive head first into everything I do before I realise I am drowning a little bit!

Although this life at college keeps me occupied, meeting new people and trying new things it can often snowball rapidly and cause me to become quite stressed. Stress for me is something that gets me into a rut. I get stressed because I have lots to do, be that assignments, society stuff or just mundane tasks. When I am stressed I become incapable of doing anything and tend to procrastinate which just adds to my stress as I am getting nothing done to reduce the amount I have on my plate that caused the stress in the first place. Although I know that the cycle happens to me I find it hard to overcome until I am anything from a few days to a few weeks into high levels of stress. I also find when I am stressed I become quite anxious, about anything and everything. I also have recently started getting social anxiety, although I have never been a fan of big groups of people in the past year and a half I have had to leave these situations more often than not because of a feeling of panic that consumes me in the moment.

I have noticed in the most recent stint of stress I have been stuck in there were a number of factors, what seemed like a mountain of assignments that I couldn’t even look at, pressure from myself to make sure the society I am chairperson of is maintaining its success from last year and lastly feeling unhappy in myself because of my lack of effort to work out and keep fit. Although I could say I just simply don’t have time to workout I know that isn’t true. 24 hours in a day there is 30 minutes somewhere in there for a workout. I was really good about making this time at the beginning of my first year of college but as my schedule got busier I got lazier. When I don’t workout I am more tired, more likely to get colds, eat less healthy and drink less water, my mind is cluttered and I feel like I’ve stepped into a slower moving, uncomfortable body that I keep hoping isn’t mine.

I keep on top of my schedule and I am very good about writing lists and planning my week but the only things that get done seem to be the things that other people are relying on me for, not the things I am doing for me. I need to take more time for me to do what I need to get done, assignments, workout and just time to look after myself to stop these all too frequent ruts of stress and anxiety. There was no better cure last night than a freezing night walk to capture Dublin by night!

I even decided last weekend that I would book a fashion shoot of me for my blog for mid December to motivate myself. I really thought it would give me the kick I needed to get myself back in shape and feeling better mentally, physically and emotionally but a week has passed and I haven’t done anything differently. I’m not sure how I can write a blog post on body confidence and body positivity when I do not feel it at the moment. Writing all this down here will help me I think to hold myself accountable and if I’m not in the right head space in a few weeks when I want to post about body confidence I won’t because I’d be lying to myself.

I need to learn to say no to people when I am feeling overwhelmed.

Make time for me and get shit (Sorry mammy) done!

Take a step back if I need to, give myself a chance to recharge.

Don’t be so hard on myself, life isn’t perfect so everything I don can’t be either.

Back to this level of happy please!

(David Gannon Photography)

I am a creative person and I am quick to volunteer myself for so many different things when a light bulb lights up in my head and I have an idea I want to run with. As I said to my friends mum once, my brain as was hers is a string of fairy lights and just one single light bulb that lights up!

Dxo

From Bratislava with love...

6:45am....alarm goes off and for a moment I wonder what ungodly hour this is and then I remember I'm off on another adventure, putting another pin prick on my map of the world. I then proceeded to get dressed with one eye still closed holding onto a final few moments of sleep. Stepping outside the air was crisp and cold and as we walked to the bus stop my brain was rudely awoken by the bitterly cold air.

7:50am....pulling into the airport always brings about several emotions for me, I'm always a little bit anxious but also excited, two feelings that tend to go hand in hand I suppose. 

8am....and the glorious aroma of coffee as we walk through the airport calls my name and there's nothing for it but a Venti Starbucks before we make our way to the gate.

9.10am....and we are finally boarding, unexpectedly busy but we have some how managed to have an entire row to ourselves.

1pm....Slovakian time, hours have passed and we have done nothing but chat and catch eachother up on the past almost 2 years of our lives.

1:30pm...bus hoping to make our way across the city to our apartment.

3pm....we have finally made it to our humble abode for the night and after a quick change, makeup touch up and a spritz of perfume we are ready to explore at last.

We struggled slightly to make our way around the city but eventually having wandered for a while stopping at different stalls and shops we began our hunt for some Slovakian or at least Eastern European dinner.

We found a pub/restaurant down a cobbled street and decided to have a look, quickly realizing there wasn't another soul in the place we decided a drink would be the best idea and then find somewhere else for dinner. The beer was lovely and brewed in their own brewery, the Monastic Brewery.

Perhaps at a different time of day there would have been more of a crowd there for food and more of a guarantee of good grub.

We wandered on and found Divny Janko. Having to request in English was the first promising sign in my mind, if this was where the locals ate, we may just have struck gold. We decided to split our orders to try a few different things and ended up ordering chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce with stewed rice, chicken schnitzel, with boiled potatoes and last but not least sauerkraut! The food was delicious and such comfort food. We then split an ice cream Sunday and had an espresso each to keep us going for a few more hours after our early start. The interior of this restaurant was also amazing, with an arched roof, brick walls and bathrooms down in what looked like caves it was quite the experience.

 

After a delicious dinner we followed Trip Advisor’s advice once again and went to Uisce Beatha Irish bar which again proved quite tricky to find! However, there weren’t many there and it wasn’t the experience of an Irish bar abroad I have seen in places like Brussels. It was a nice little bar though with seats for no more than 20, so for a cosy night it Uisce Beatha is perfect!

We then made our way down a cobbled streets directed by the one and only Google Maps to another Irish bar that other than its mini thatched roof cottages in the smoking area and as the entrance to the bathroom didn’t have much of an Irish feel about it either. We stayed there for one last drink and then headed back to the apartment for an early enough night to make the most of our morning the next day before flying home.

On our way to a taxi we came across the Oldtown which is what we had been looking for all evening to we made sure to take note of where it was to go and explore it the next day.

7am….once again an early start, this time to go on the hunt for our last supper (breakfast) in Bratislava.

With the help of our trusty tour guide Google, we found our way back to the Oldtown and found Mondieu. With cakes and pastries filling their windows we couldn’t walk past. The menu was overwhelming and choosing was almost impossible! Everything from the freshly squeezed orange juice to the avocado on sourdough with sundried tomatoes was delicious and their coffee was amazing, so amazing in fact that I bought a bag of their Brazilian blend!

 

We then spend our final few hours looking in the gift shops and treating ourselves to a new Caprisa handbag each.

11:30am….Heading back to the airport we agreed that it wasn’t a city we wished we had more time in for the fact that there didn’t seem to be a lot to do and it wasn’t very lively. The people were friendly, the food was great but the city it’s self was quite dull and rundown.

No.1 Tip: Download both Uber and 5€ Taxi apps. Uber cost us only €6 from the Oldtown to the airport, which was a 20 minute drive and 5€ Taxi was very handy to get around the city when we didn’t know our way.

4pm….So 33 hours later, another country has been ticked off the list, my goal to be spontaneous and venture outside my comfort zone between 20 and 21 is being fulfilled and I had such a wonderful time catching up with a great friend.

Dxx

Patience is a virtue I do not possess...

patience

ˈpeɪʃ(ə)ns/

noun

1. 1.

   the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.

Patience is a virtue I do not naturally possess. However, in recent years photography has taught me patience as nature does not dance to anyone else's tune. In a split second you can capture or miss the most spectacular photo. Waiting for a sun to set or for a wave to crash gives me reason to sit still if only for a moment waiting for the perfect opportunity to press the button.

When I go out with my camera I feel as though life moves slower as I take in my surroundings and keep an eye out for a photo opportunity. As soon as I have my camera in my hand I feel as though I fall into another world where the most beautiful aspects of my surroundings stand out and the dreary weather, dilapidated buildings and noises of a bustling city fall into the background.

I am usually the type of person that likes to be time efficient and constantly on the go, with places to be and things to tick off my To- Do List. Escaping to the world of photography is a nice change from this mind set as when I am taking photos I am done simply when I have captured all I want to and am eagerly anticipating importing them to my laptop for some touch ups and a closer look.

At the end of the summer I tried my hand at film photography which requires a lot of patience and forward planning as you have a lot of setting up to do and then quite a bit of waiting to endure as you wait for people to move out of shot or for a break in traffic. It did stress me slightly because of the restriction of only having a certain number of shots on a roll of film and the waiting period before you actually get to see them.

Growing up in Donegal where I was surrounded by mountains, beaches and forests the majority of my earlier photography involved scenes in nature which produce breath-taking with very little effort! However patience is something that you require a large scoop of as you wait for the most spectacular wave to crash or as you follow insects and bugs as the flit from flower to flower to capture them at work.

I have found a new love of city photography, finding the beauty amongst the haze of pollution and eruption of car horns and shouting as commuters make their way through the city and street vendors announce their deals of the day to the passers-by.  I get a feeling of such excitement when I find hidden gems in the city having ventured off the beaten track.

By day Dublin is a melting pot of cultures and languages, by night Dublin becomes a melting pot of colours as light cascades from buildings, bridges and the never ceasing traffic.

Taking photos of family, especially little cousins, it is nearly impossible to capture them in moments when they are in the depths of their imagination or in their own little world.

(Little cousins discussing whether or not they could swim to the other side of the beach or some other equally sophisticated topic captured from a far so as to not interrupt the discussion and beautifully capturing a moment of calm between brothers.)

There were a string of photos before this one where either the bubble had burst too soon or my little cousin was doing the classic little kid thing of grinning madly at the camera which although adorable was not quite what I was looking to capture. 

I have now done two shoots which were more about completing a task than for enjoyment. One was for the boxing club in DCU. I had envisioned incredible action shots but what transpired was a lot of blurry images and me feeling rather stressed! Just this weekend I shot photos behind the scenes at a fashion show which ended up being a rare occasion in which the joy and peace that photography usually brings me disappeared within seconds of stepping into the building.

 I could never do photography as a career, that would entail people expecting great photos as opposed to it just being for fun and if I'm not happy with the outcome of any of my shots I'm not letting anyone down, which is something I cannot bare to ever do. Photography has to be an escape from me, a world in which to relax and live a slower paced life even if only for a few hours. 

(Other moments of patience have been finding perfect symetry, capturing animals that are rather photogenic and ensuring the perfect focus points.)

Dxx

Discover the Emerald Isle...

Fáilte go hÉirinn (Welcome to Ireland, pronounced <Fall-che go hair-inn>)

Ireland, the Emerald Isle has an abundance of hidden gems, you just need to know where to look. Despite being a lover of travelling I love coming home again to Ireland. The rolling green hills, coastal paradise of cliffs and sandy beaches bring a smile to my face as I fly in over Dublin Bay.

There is something so quintessentially Irish about the welcoming and homely feel you experience after touching down on Irish soil. There is no shortage of places to explore, everything from bustling cities to quaint countryside.

I have been lucky enough to have visited almost every county in Ireland as the majority of my family holidays have been within Ireland.

Some of my favourite counties Include Donegal, Dublin and Wicklow to mention just a few. Donegal is where I have grown up and it is a county I still love going home to. Donegal is one of the most beautiful counties in Ireland in my very unbiased (of course) opinion! We really do have everything from beaches not unlike the Mediterranean coast to the highest sea cliffs in Europe.

As well as an abundance of coastal beauty Donegal is also known for its mountains, such as Errigal and the stunning Glenveagh National Park set in a glacial valley.

If you’re the adventurous type there is more than enough to keep your adrenalin pumping while staying in Donegal. Go surfing in some of the best waves in the world. Surfers come from all over the world to surf the rip at Rossnowlagh and Tullan Strand outside Bundoran. Surf Co. is my go-to surf company for lessons and rental. They’re friendly and really good value. For the avid hikers there is no shortage of trails along the coast to Fanad lighthouse which is spectacular or through Glenveagh National Park or attempt climbing Errigal and witness the breathtaking views at the summit.

Now for the inside scoop, as a coffee lover there is nothing better than finding coffee that is perfect every time, in Donegal the place to find that perfect coffee is The Counter in Letterkenny, which is the biggest town in the county where you will find all the chain stores as well as the longest Main Street in Ireland.

Just outside Letterkenny is the town of Ramelton home to the best ice cream and fizzy drink in the county. Whoriskey’s 99s are something to write home about and Football Special which is a locally produced drink are musts especially on a sunny day.

There are so many little towns and villages in Donegal that have maintained their traditionally Irish feel and are full of Irish knit and tweed shops. Many of these are in what is called the Gaeltacht which is an area where Irish is still the native language of people there, so you could try a few phrases such as thank you, ‘Go raibh maith agat!’ (<Go row my-h ugg-it>). Another place to visit is Derry which is a bordering county where you’ll find lots of history surrounding Northern Ireland as well as a wonderful craft village.

Travelling south-east to Dublin, the heart of the country you will find more than enough tourist tours, attraction information that I don’t need to tell you about. I have lived in Dublin for the past year while at University and have grown to love the city life in contrast to my country life. Temple Bar is a must in Dublin, the atmosphere is wonderful and Irish traditional music can be found on every corner. Murphy’s Ice Cream shop is amazing. Despite having some unusual flavours such as Soda Bread and Guinness, their ice cream is fabulous!

For a really Irish pub, Doyle’s near Trinity College is my favourite spot, quite a cosy pub with old furnishings and great music.

Dublin by night is magical!

Circling back to coffee, you have to try F&B They have taken off where Bewley's on Grafton Street (the high street) used to be. A great buzz in here when you pop in for a coffee and always know it will be just what you needed!

Be adventurous when in Dublin and go off the beaten track. The Grand Canal is a very picturesque part of the city and is usually nice and quiet and an escape from the bustling city. If you follow the canal down to the dames, cross a few bridges you will stumble across the old Grand Canal sign that overlooks the docks and is quite a cool place to take photos.

For any history buffs out there Dublin is not lacking in fascinating exhibitions of Art, History and Architecture. Kilmainham Gaol is a must see for anyone interested in Irish history and our harrowing past.

The Botanic Gardens are another lovely place for quiet meanderings and a breath of fresh air.

A short DART (Dublin area rapid transport) journey away from Dublin is Wicklow, and my personal favourite town, Bray. Along the coastline, Bray in the sunshine is as beautiful as a south of France town.

I was recently on holiday there and loved how small and accessible the town is. A walk along the waterfront is the perfect way to spend a relaxing evening. An early morning walk up Bray Head along the coast to Graystones and you will find well known YouTuber’s The Happy Pear café and veg shop. For a healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner or quick snack it is the perfect place for delish food at a great price, with locally sourced organic food and a wide selection of Vegan food available.

For a day out exploring in Wicklow, Glendalough is a must, whether you fancy a hike or a  stroll along the lake this is another beautiful part of Ireland that I visit time and time again.

Top Tip -  While in Ireland a few ‘must have’ foods are the not so traditional Chicken fillet roll (baguette, breaded chicken and your choice of salad etc), Spudbox (featuring a baked potato with your choice of toppings) in MVP and Spicebag (chiecken, chips and veggies in a salt and chilli rub). Despite not being typically Irish they are a firm favourite amongst locals.

There is so much more of Ireland to discover, 29 other counties in fact, so be sure to come explore!

Dxo