The Grand Explorer

Since my last blog post my life has changed a lot! I moved to Scotland, away from every single friend I had, away from the support network of pizza nights, ridiculous nights in 'Pinks' (local club), away from the safety net of the Waterstones I practically grew up in, away from the cinema which holds some of my favourite memories and also away from my job in Publishing.

I made a choice to leave because I wasn't happy, more so than I cared to admit at the time. A year and a half earlier my family had decided to move to Highland Perthshire and yes in the grand scheme of things 426 miles is not that far, but in my case it felt like it. At the point they decided to go I'd spent the last 4 years in and out of surgery, and unfortunately was very dependent on pain medication (thankfully I've broken through that now), so it felt like a million miles away. Yes I had my friends around me and they are some of the best people I know, so at first it didn't feel like a huge loss, but it definitely hit me harder than expected. 

So I moved, after a crazy weekend of commiserating over the outcome of the BREXIT referendum (a load of twenty-somethings with wine, depressed about politics and wanting to forget that half of the country had decided something so monumentous for us) and also my 25th Birthday celebrations. It was a pretty whirlwind experience, and about three days later I had a job at a local chocolate shop and was heading off to Skye for a night. 

It's now almost a year later and in that time I have been a supervisor at the Edinburgh International Book Festival - an experience I really wish I could repeat. I met some amazing people there from publishing and some with just a shared passion for books - straight after that I spent a 7 months at The House of Bruar - which is a unique, family run, large retailer in the middle of the highlands. All of these experiences have changed my outlook a little and as always the people you meet along the way have added a new facet to my life. All of this has given me the chance to explore Scotland. I've spent time in the glens where I spent my holidays as a child, I've driven 100's of miles to see a particular castle, and I've enjoyed every sort of weather you can imagine. It's been a grand adventure really!

However when it got to the beginning of May everything changed again, I got another job in Publishing (the industry I'd spent years trying to stay a part of)!! I moved to the slightly obscure Dingwall, north of Inverness, and rented a room with a woman 5 miles down the road. And all I can say right now is, so far so good!

I suppose the message of this post is it's strange where the decisions you make finally drop you, but you just have to embrace everything that happens. And for now I'm happier than I was this time last year and I hope that it continues.