A Cambridge Graduate

Sarah · 24 · London

[acambridgegraduate]

mostly bland, but add a bit of colour

That’s how I’d describe my sense of style.

Like everyone on this earth, I’ve been through lots of style phases in life, including being a ditsy print fanatic and a preppy uni student (...satchel in tow).

I’ve now refined what has become my staple ‘style’, as it were. Mostly, my wardrobe is made up of neutral (usually black) clothes, with rare features of animal print or understated patterns like stripes, spots or checks. 

However, I do have a peacock-like side of me that is attracted to those bright, flashing items of clothing that stand out beyond all else, whether its block colours of red, blue or yellow, or SPARKLE. I do also have a secret love of neon, but I’m trying to work out how to wear this comfortably...perhaps on future nights out I’ll be able to work it in.

I’m not really a frivolous buyer like I used to be as a student. Now, I would never shell out over £150 on a bright red satchel I would go on to hardly use because I ‘just loveeee’ it. Now I know what I like and what works, I know pretty much straight away how to distinguish a piece of clothing I get distracted by like a magpie but would never truly wear, and items I know I will wear constantly. Who knew that earning your own money and paying rent will make you more frugal…

Here’s a summary of my key items.

Black t-shirts 

A true staple & one I’m never going to stop wearing. Black t-shirt & black jeans combination is basically my life. 

Black dresses

Black dresses are the superheroes of my life. I have 3 that I seem to wear at least once a week each.

I don’t have a full-length picture of the black dress I wear most. It’s a midi black dress from Zara with short sleeves to just above the elbow, with a tie-front waist and 2 x splits up each side. It’s comfortable and versatile, and also looks professional without feeling constraining, so is great for a last min client meeting.

Next is a recent purchase of an ASOS strappy wrap dress I most recently wore to work, and then on a date. For work I layered a black polo neck underneath, but for the date layered a black mesh top and felt sexy AF. Wasn’t too revealing but I was still freezing in the January evening breeze, so I knew I probably looked good haha…

FINALLY, it is my TRUE love. Who cares about men, this black 90s slip dress from Urban Outfitters exists. In summer I wore it alone and felt great. I had hesistated buying this dress because I thought the cut wouldn’t suit someone who has curves, but as soon as I tried it on fell in love. This winter I’ve also been discovering new ways to wear it, with either that same black mesh top as I layered underneath the last dress, or a cream polo neck top and tights/trainers for a bit of a preppy vibe.

Jeans

Basically my advice is to have black jeans, blue jeans, and then jeans in a different colour. I have some ecru jeans that I was scared to wear at first because of the thighs/booty, but I’ve learned not to give a fuck.

Denim Jumpsuit

So I love dungarees, but they always seem to sit too low for me; I carry more weight around my hips and am personally more comfortable with a high waist fit rather than a mid fit. BUT THEN THE URBAN OUTFITTER GODS created this dreamy denim jumpsuit, and I knew I had to try it. I spent pretty much all summer in it as just a stand-alone piece, but in colder months layered it with t-shirts, cropped jumpers & polo necks. There’s something about the jumpsuit vibe I really love, it’s a lazy girl’s dream – I’m on the lookout for a boilersuit next…

Coats

I’m quite bad with coats as I always buy them and then get bored. I’m still on the look out for THE perfect coat and think I’m going to save up to get one like this from &OtherStories, but for now I usually stick with either my plain black coat (Zara), my trench coat (Weekday), or my faux fur coat (Topshop).

Leopard print

THE print of 2018…but I’ve been wearing it into 2019, too. I found this absolute steal of a £20 leopard print wrap dress from Zara over the summer, which was sultry as hell with a low cut (DATE ALERT), but which feels even classier & more wearable on the reg with a black polo neck layered underneath (in all honesty, with nothing layered underneath you do need to keep checking for nip slips).

Also a staple is a basic ‘basic bitch’ leopard print skirt. There’s so many out there (this one was from Zara), and they’ll probably go out of fashion very soon, if not already, but I do keep on discovering new ways to wear it & I’m not gonna stop.

AF1s

I wanted Air Force 1s for about 3 years before actually shelling out to buy my white ones last August – believe me it took a lot of strength to part ways with that amount of money, but I’d also had a really shit day emotionally and was in a TREAT YO’ SELF mood (I remember the purchase very well). But after wearing my white AF1s solely, day in, day out, I realised I needed more pairs. So, now I have 3 pairs (white, black/gum sole, sand/gum sole), and my life is probably (probably) now complete. I basically don’t wear anything else on my feet. I walk to work & they’re comfy, I also like the height, they feel stylish & look classic. They tick all boxes.

(But I do have my eye on some Adidas trainers that are white with flashes of colour too, just again having to justify them to myself…).

Doc Martens

I recently purchased Doc Martens after deliberating for a year and a half whether to get the patent pair or the classic pair…I got the classic pair. After the initial blinding pain of breaking them in, I’m slowly starting to realise all the possibilities they bring, and they felt really robust for walking around Paris a couple of weeks ago. Practical, classic & versatile. Oh and they look on point.

Red

I have a confession to make. Amongst the sea of black and beige, my forbidden lust has to be items of clothing in the colour red. I have red dresses, red jackets, and my go-to for feeling extra is my red lipstick. I’m not sure what it is about the colour, but I do just love the way it pops, and I love the way it makes me feel. It’s the complete opposite to anything I usually wear, so I think it just makes me feel special.

My red dresses are from Urban Outfitters (the same 90s slip as my black version) and Zara (the silky cami dress); the red denim jacket is from Topshop. I would really love to purchase red dungarees next, but as I’ve said above, not sure about the fit…

Sparkle

I’ve actually dulled down my level of sparkle of late, but I do have quite a few sequinned dresses, tops and skirts hanging up on my rack that have only ever seen the light of day at festivals. However, I’ve found a balance between full-on SPARKLE and my usual drab wear in the SAME Urban Outfitters slip dress I have in both black and red, in a black and gold sparkle. Perfect for nights out.

I think that pretty much sums up what my wardrobe is made up of. The curating of my style will probably never end, and I think as I get older I’ll maybe get braver. I’d love to be an older woman who wears bright, daring block primary colours, with funky glasses and even funkier hair. And I think that where I buy my stuff from will probably change over time, too, when I am able to spend more money on high quality items.

In the past I’ve felt the need to dress a certain way to fit in with certain crowds, but now I genuinely do feel like I dress for myself only. And I’m kind of a lazy girl who is hardly out of trainers, who usually wears a black t-shirt or poloneck top and mom jeans, and every now and then has a peacock moment where she parades about in red and sequins. And I’m comfortable with that. Finally.

Sarah

[acambridgegraduate]

Hi Sarah, I've really admired your style. Do you mind sharing where you purchase your clothes/some staple items of yours?

Post coming up on this! x

[acambridgegraduate]

What are your staple clothing items from your closet? I love your sense of style.

I’ll do a post on this next! x

[acambridgegraduate]

Dear Sarah, what would you recommend packing for a trip to Cornwall in October? :)

Lots of layers and warm clothes and maybe some wellies or trainers you don’t mind getting dirty. Definitely a waterproof. 

Cornwall is beautiful though - I’m jealous! Haven’t been there since I was around 17 years old... 

x

[acambridgegraduate]

Hi sarah, i was just wondering if at Cambridge you ever had a weekend or a couple of days spare to go and visit friends? I'm starting in october and I want to go visit my boyfriend from time to time, and some pals too and was just wondering if thats a realistic hope during term time? Loads of love xxxxx

There were always people who had other commitments outside of studying at Cambridge and they managed to spend some weekends/days away from the city with their loved ones - so I’m sure you’ll be ok! Let me know how it goes.

- Sarah 

[acambridgegraduate]

Hi sarah!! glad you're enjoying london :))) it's probably a bit of a schlepp for you but if you like/want to explore the south kensington area (it's my favouirte!) I would definitely recommend a little ~cafe~ (sort of) called Brompton Food Market! (you sit outside (it isn't cold I promise!) but so peaceful and you sit on woolskin... anyways just give it a go if you'd like :)) )

!!! 

Although I’m in East London, next time I’m West I’ll definitely give this a go, thank you. 

If anybody has any other recommendations for coffee shops/restaurants/bars in London, definitely shoot them my way! 

x

[acambridgegraduate]

How did you realise that you wanted to go into advertising? And was the sector they you didn't want to go into but applied for a job anyway banking?

I don’t think I had realised that I wanted to go into advertsing per se, but I read a few job descriptions about roles in the industry and felt that I had the skills to do the job, so I thought I would give it a go. When I graduated I genuinely had no clue what to do! 

The other job I had applied for was consultancy...

x

[acambridgegraduate]

Hi! I wrote to you a while ago about trying to manage anxiety and depression while sitting finals and you wrote a brilliantly helpful answer. I screenshotted it and must have read it a million times over the course of my exams. Yesterday I found out that I achieved a first and I am over the moon, and I wanted to sincerely thank you for your kind and thoughtful words! You really helped me. Thank you xx

This is probably a very old message, but it really warms my heart. Good luck for the future. ❤️

[acambridgegraduate]

Sarah can you recommend some books you personally like?

Heya, 

Going to list 13 I’ve read since graduating that I have loved: 

- A Little Life (Hanya Yanigahara)- Killing Commendatore (Haruki Murakami)- The Sellout (Paul Beatty)- Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche)- Milkman (Anna Burns)- Hot Milk (Debroah Levy) - Men Without Women (Haruki Murakami) - 4321 (Paul Auster)- Purple Hibiscus (Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche) - Half of a Yellow Sun (Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche) - A Horse Walks Into a Bar (David Grossman)- All that Man Is (David Szalay)- The Wind Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami)

I was thinking of doing some book reviews on a few of the above & for future books I read? All those in favour say ‘I’? 

x

[acambridgegraduate]

would you mind talking a bit about how on earth you can afford london doing advertising?? its my dream but all the starting salaries are like 22k and idk if its feasible to live in london on that :(

Hi - so I’m not going to go into my current finances as obviously over the past 2 years working in advertising, I’ve gotten pay rises and switched jobs. So at the moment I can worry a little less about ‘affording London’ (am still ending up with close to £0 at the end of the month though, but that is after I’ve been able to transfer money into savings accounts, buy the stuff I want to buy, do the stuff I want to do, etc.). 

But when I first moved to London I had accepted a job on £20k and I’m not going to sugarcoat it: I struggled. My rent was £600 a month without bills and my travel pass was around £140 a month, so when you do the math I didn’t have much left over. I wasn’t really able to save and I made some personal sacrifices, like no gym membership, no beauty treatments, no trips or holidays abroad, I didn’t really go out much, I didn’t pay for exhibitions or theatre trips, I didn’t really date much because it was expensive…it was boring and grim, especially when a lot of my friends were on higher starting salaries, but I kinda knew that if I wanted to stay in London, I needed to carry on with it. I’m a bit stubborn in that way. 

£22k is probably feasible. I’d recommend heavily using spreadsheets to create your own budgets. Just don’t be under any illusion: you may need to make some sacrifices on personal or home comforts.  

Sorry to not be of much help. There isn’t a magic formula for it. 

In my first year here in London, I prioritised seeing people over personal stuff - so I was more likely to go for a few drinks with the new friends I was making in this new city, over getting my eyebrows waxed/having a Netflix subscription/having a gym membership. 

Looking back, I wouldn’t change things for the world as I think being on a lower salary when I was first working taught me a lot - not just about budgeting, but about what my priorities in life are. 

- Sarah

[acambridgegraduate]

It’s not like Mad Men

I’ve had many asks on here about the industry I have gone to work in following Cambridge: advertising. This evening, I just want to provide an anecdotal summary of the past 2 years, to perhaps give a flavour of my opinion on it.

I started working as an Account Executive at a small advertising agency in Soho back in 2016 – a little over a month after graduating from Cambridge. In all honesty, I didn’t know what the role entailed, and didn’t know that much about advertising at this point. I’m not actually sure how I got the job, to be honest.

Fast forward 2 years and I am now an Account Manager, and have recently started a new role at a much bigger agency, Grey – where I’ll be working on ads for Volvo Cars UK.

A short description of the role of an Account Manager is basically, ‘project manager’. We run and oversee each project, we’re the client port of call, and we’re pretty much the only people on the team to be involved in the journey of the project from conception to completion.

The past 2 years, career-wise (…alongside every other aspect of life, of course), have not been plain sailing. They’ve come with massive highs and quite catastrophic lows, and for a long time last year, I wondered whether I had done the right thing, whether I was in the right career, what I would do if I was to suddenly quit my job, with pressures like huge rent and living costs in London looming over me.

I felt like I couldn’t be honest on this platform about those times during my employment as I had a lot to lose (potentially my job, if posts were found, read and misconstrued; subsequently my entire life I had founded here in London). But for a long time I found myself unhappy, had myself questioning my decision to lunge into an industry I knew nothing about.

But something kept me going. I think it was the fact that something about Account Management in particular appealed to me. Looking at Account Managers in my old agency, I think what attracted me, and kept me going, was their ability to lead – and the confidence with which they did. As someone who this quality doesn’t come to naturally, I found myself longing to learn just how they did it.

I am not a naturally sociable person who is great at things like small talk – and as an Account Manager, you do need to be. In the end, I ended up creating an ‘Account Manager Sarah’ persona, until it became second nature. You need to be able to approach things with a certain confidence, even if you have no clue what you’re doing or how to solve the goddamn problem. But a lot of my learning on how exactly to do this has been in realising that simply asking other people (perhaps from other departments) for their point of view or opinion on how to approach a problem, goes a long way. It doesn’t show weakness, but instead shows responsibility. I was once scared to ask questions. Now I do it all the time. (FYI: I think this is advice that would suit any career, not just advertising).

In all honesty, I have no idea whether I will always have a career in advertising. But I don’t feel pressured as I once did at university to have an extended ‘life plan’. I’m at the stage where I am extremely familiar with the way things work, I enjoy being in ‘control’ while running projects, and I really enjoy having a hand in the creation of something. I love working on shoots and with production companies and post production houses on projects ranging from small documentary-style stuff, to animation, to book or even beer production. I now have an opinion on what I think works in the industry, too. I believe there is a need and an opportunity for genuine creativity in advertising, and I also think that advertising can instigate genuine change in the way we think and behave. If I am to stay in this industry, my aim for the future would be to become more involved with increasingly more creative and behaviour-changing projects. I feel I’ve got good groundwork to be more selective in what I do going forth.

Alongside the tribulations of office politics and your usual gripes that arise when working as a team with people who you may/may not get along with, there’s something else I struggle with. After being deemed the ‘creative’ one ever since I was small, sometimes being seen as the one in the ‘non-creative’ role in advertising is frustrating. Account Managers don’t usually get rewarded for their hand in the creation of something – no matter if we were there at the forefront of the development of an idea until it is right, no matter if we were the ones also in the office until stupid o’clock trying to get the goddamn thing approved by clients and supplied to wherever it needs to be supplied to. Awards within the advertising industry can seem to…brush past Account people. Creative awards won are highly esteemed in the judgement of how well a Creative is doing in the industry – but not Account Manager. It sounds egocentric, but advertising itself is a pretty egocentric world where accolades somehow signify a lot. So weirdly, it can feel strange that Account Managers aren’t considered in this.

But for now I can still personally take pride in what I have a hand in, regardless of accolades. I genuinely enjoy what I am doing.

I wouldn’t necessarily want to advocate advertising as a career path to copy in any way, but I’d recommend looking it up as an industry to consider, following graduation. The hours are long, the work is sometimes tedious when things drag out – but it also feels really great to see a creative idea come to fruition and succeed in solving a business problem. Agency life is great too. And you never really know what is around the corner, or what you’ll turn your hand to next, which is what I find really exciting.

Just want to leave you with some memes to sum up my working life: 

(it’s actually a really good life though) 

X

[acambridgegraduate]

hi sarah! what is it that made you interested in advertising? what do you like about this field and your particular job in it?

Post coming up this eve! x

[acambridgegraduate]

How did you decide on a grad career in advertising? Did you think about other careers like publishing as well? Thank you xx

I’m going to do a post on my career in advertising later on this eve which will probably explain a little more. But I definitely first wanted to get into publishing, however didn’t actually know how to go about it, and after multiple applications and being ignored for everyone, I had to try other avenues. I came across my job role by chance and actually had no idea what it entailed...so took a real chance on things. x

[acambridgegraduate]

Hi Sarah, do you mind providing me with any memorisation/study advice?

Heya, 

So it’s been MONTHS since I checked my inbox on here, but guess who is spending NYE alone because she’s ill...this gal!! 

At uni I used to use flashcards as memorisation tools, carrying them with me everywhere. Would usually put the question or key ‘prompt’ on one side and then the answer on the other. Then once I’d gone through the cards for a while, I used to make ‘mind maps’ of certain topics using knowledge from the flashcards. 

People have really different methods of studying, for some just reading and re-reading notes helps. But I always felt that I worked best when things were visually stimulating, and I personally couldn’t trust myself to remember my original notes. 

x

[acambridgegraduate]

My tiny corner of London

I had a few messages on Instagram after I had posted a picture of my bedroom in my story, asking me to write a post on my room decor and any tips I may have for decorating - so here it is! 

It’s no new news I love living in East London. But with the proximity to 1. Shoreditch, 2. transport links to Central and 3. the Overground that pretty easily transports you to The Other Place (South London), comes the ££££. So often, compromise is essential. 

In our house, I have the smallest room. I can only just about fit a double bed in there, and apart from my bed and a tiny bedside table, I actually have no other furniture. Not even a chest of drawers. 

Oh and, it goes without saying that my room is rented. So there’s only so much you can do with it. 

I’ve found that the key to beginning to make a rented space feel like your own, it to use a little imagination. 

When I first saw my room, I was a little mortified. What had once been a built-in wardrobe, had the doors missing, so there was basically an open space with a weird shelf thing above it. My initial plan was to put storage boxes up there with clothes inside, dreading the daily hassle of having to pull the boxes down each day to find something to wear. But after gathering my stuff together, I realised I had a ridiculous amount of books with nowhere to put them. So the shelf became a bookshelf temporarily to get the books out of the way while unpacking...but I’ve never moved them from the spot. I actually really love it now as they’ve become a bit of a wall as over the past few months, I’ve added so many more books that I’m certain I’ll run out of space by the time our 2-year lease is up. 

I added some fairy lights to the shelf the first night I moved in, and in the process of pinning them to the wood beam then discovered that the old pole from the wardrobe was still in place... I HAD STORAGE SPACE!!!! I now basically hang up most of my clothes there, and have a small basket I bought from H&M’s Home collection for underwear underneath. 

Next: the bare walls that make rented spaces feel so cold and uninviting. I’m sorry to say that I haven’t got the grasp of what I would call the ‘adult’ knack of making a space feel homely without blu-tacking or washi-taping random stuff to the walls; I guess I’m still transitioning from university in that sense. But I often feel like what makes me, me are all of the photographs I’ve taken of memories I’ve made with people in my life or of things I have found beautiful; are the postcards I’ve purchased following art exhibitions I’ve seen; are the small drawings I’ve made over the years. But I have confined myself to only doing this in one section of my room (otherwise I would be unstoppable), and so the back of my door - well, that corner of my room - has become my collage space. It makes me feel that bit more content when I’m in my room with the door closed. 

There was already a shelf on the wall opposite my bed. I had wanted to replace the shelf at first because ‘aesthetically’ I didn’t really like it (it has these matte silver sides that have circles cut out and looks a bit weird), but not wanting to expense myself any more than needed when I moved in & had just coughed up the pricey deposit, I just left it. Told myself I was being too precious. And I was. Now it’s where I keep my makeup. There was also a random nail in the wall above it so that’s where I’ve put a colourful Klimt calendar & where I’ve taped my 25 Things To Do Before I’m 25 list.  

It was my plan to create a ‘frame wall’ on the wall above my bed after seeing so many ‘inspo’ posts on social media. But after months of collecting various things to frame alongside the frames to put them in, I’ve figured it’s not worth nailing multiple holes in the wall of a rented room for it to come back & bite you on the ass later. So I have chosen to hang the singular thing I have craved for this space for SO LONG on the singular nail that was already present here: my Frank Ocean ‘Nostalgia, Ultra’ print. I bought it from Etsy just after we moved in here, and I am so in love with it it makes me a bit emotional inside. 

In terms of my bedding, my bed linen is a recent (and spontaneous!) find after searching for a while for something quite neutral but fun. It’s from H&M’s Home collection, and as a little tip to anyone who loves candles as much as me, their candles are also very good & very cheap! I have the Clean Linen one & it gives wonderful waves of fragrance. I’m also a fan of throws and cushions. My striped throw is from Primark and is probably the softest thing I’ve ever felt in my life, which makes it the best £10 purchase I’ve ever made for my room. The other grey throw is from IKEA. And most of the cushions are also from the H&M Home collection.

Weirdly and luckily, various family and friends have gifted me jewellery storage from Oliver Bonas which has lots of pretty things for the home; I keep them on my small metal bedside table which I bought from IKEA and put together myself. My spherical lamp shown below is also from IKEA and gives off a really atmospheric glow - I usually just have this on rather than my main light as it feels more homely and cosy. 

The other bit of space I can utilise is my windowsill. I haven’t been gifted by the landlord with curtains in this room, and my blind is shit and is basically translucent, which means I’m woken at the crack of dawn most mornings. It’s lucky I’m a morning person. ANYWAY. This space is where I keep the items that don’t really hold any practical purpose as such, but that create an atmosphere, like plants, candles & small photographs. I’ve bought most of the stuff here from Columbia Road Flower Market (apart from the candle which is the H&M Clean Linen one mentioned before), and the small yellow patterned ceramic tile where I usually put tea lights was only 75p from a shop there! 

That’s about it for my room. It’s small, a little all over the place & disorganised, but I’d like to think in a relatively orderly way. I have a lot of things, and a lot of stuff, but I think I’ve done well not to resort to buying additional furniture for the rented space - it would only create more hassle when I’m trying to move out. 

I think my main tips for places to shop for home stuff in the UK would be the places I’ve mentioned: IKEA, H&M, Primark & Oliver Bonas. When you’re renting, similarly to being in a university room, you usually do have little say over furniture, so its the smaller details that then really do count. I also think that being a little lax with yourself over a ‘theme’ for a room will help you to actually find things for it too. I set out with a strictly simple, plain, monochrome theme, but it turns out I just love pops of colour and pattern way too much. It turns out, I lead a colourful life. Shocking!

I also hope that revealing a little about where I have shopped for my room has shown that I’ve tried not to spend too much money on what I’ve done to the place. The bedside table I bought myself was really needed, and I think I’d use it in the future. I’m next thinking of getting something to put my beauty stuff like creams, cleansers, etc. in or on, as at the moment they’re in a basket on the floor, haha. And although I keep telling myself I don’t need any more ‘things’, there’ll always be more books to buy, more plants and flowers to add, and more clothes to hang, so I dare say it won’t be too long before I’m bursting out of the space!

- Sarah 

[acambridgegraduate]

Hi Sarah, I’ve read your blog for years and just love it so much. Sorry if this question is too nosy but I was wondering how you earnt money during summers in between uni, whether you got a job? I’m feeling really bad and guilty because I haven’t been able to find a job this summer and can’t afford to do anything fun. No pressure to answer of course I was just curious xxxx

No worries, it’s a pretty standard question! 

Usually, during summer I would get a job in this bar back home in Birmingham (...so just let me know what cocktail you want & I’ll make it). I did find it really difficult to get a job over the summer though, purely because everyone else is looking too, and I do think it was sheer dumb luck I got that bar job. Then, one summer I had a one month paid internship with an online publishing company in Cambridge & although I didn’t get paid until after, my mum was happy for me to borrow from her until I could pay her back, which, again, was very lucky and I’m completely aware of that. 

My advice would be to apply for absolutely everything for summer employment. I’ve worked in quite a few places, ranging from John Lewis to cocktail bars to Wetherspoons in an airport...every little helps! Just as an FYI usually it’s coffee shops that are over-subscribed so it may be more difficult if you’re exclusively applying for that kind of stuff.

But whatever you do, don’t feel guilty if you can’t find anything! It is really difficult, and really sucks when you can’t find something, but it’s completely understandable. I have had a summer where I didn’t have employment, and so couldn’t really go on holiday or go out loads with friends, and while it sucked the down-time staying at home, helping out with decorating and reading was actually really needed. So maybe try to re-frame your thinking from what you can’t do, to what you can do - maybe paint, draw, read, pick up a new hobby, go for bike rides, run, hike, etc.?

Let me know how you get on.

- Sarah

[acambridgegraduate]

25 Things

In true Sarah fashion, as soon as I turned 24, I started to think about turning 25. 

25 sounded so old. An age of accomplishment, self-assurance and maturity. (Although I do currently know a couple of 25-year-olds who definitely need to grow up, tbh). 

From what I can see on the internet, mine is a common strain of thought, as thousands of '25 things to do before you're 25' posts do litter the internet. Most of these are written by people way before the 25 mark (we're talking 5+ years before) so you could say I'm really late to the game. 

But with only the short space of a year to go, I've found it helpful to write down a list of things I feel I should have done by the time I reach the age which is roughly a quarter of my life expectancy. Because I only have a year, a few of them may seem really simple, a few aren't even things to 'complete', and a few may never actually get done.  

But they are personal to me. They're the things I feel insecure about, inadequate about, or feel too scared to do. They're the things I think will help me become a better, more considerate, more rounded person. And some of them are just things I've never done or tried not because I've been too scared, just because I've never had the chance to.

You could say a few of them probably fall into the 'body confidence' category, as I guess there's a fair bit of getting naked involved in a couple of these. I've always wanted to be a life drawing model as I think it's going to be a sure-fire way of making me feel empowered, it's just a case of biting the bullet and doing it. 

Put simply, it's also about time I got the tattoo I've wanted since I was 18. Last year I didn't regret getting a helix piercing for a second, but I had deliberated for ages beforehand just because of the permanence of the damn thing. But as soon as I had it I realised I had become more 'me'.  

A few are family/friends based goals. I can't believe I've been in employment for nearly 2 years and haven't bought my mum a meal at a restaurant. I've cooked many a meal for her, bought her lots of drinks, etc. But never a meal in a restaurant. 

More are to do with hobbies that I feel I've let slide a little - this blog being one of them. I want to retain the hobbies I enjoy by employing goals like financial profit (selling my art), or gift-giving (giving away my art), but I also want to learn new things in this next year. 

In the realm of #wellness, I've been vegetarian for about a month now, but I want to aim to stay this way for longer. I'd also like to be able to stick to meditating for 10 mins each day for at least 1 month, too. 

So the goals aren't big, generic and sweeping, like, 'VISIT ASIA' (which would mean I'd have to somehow cough up £400+ for flights alone in the next year), but things I feel will be achievable. However, these are things that could mean I feel progressively more confident, accomplished and a little more mature by the time I do eventually turn 25 in April 2019. 

Wish me luck. 

- Sarah