I Have a Rut and His Name is George

Hi Guys,

Okay, so lately I've been feeling kind of weird, and not my usual Pride & Prejudice loving, Merlin watching, sporadic meowing kind of weird, but a depressive, I-feel-like-a-fat-tosser, totally less-than-usual sort. Wow, what a lovely, positive start to my first proper blog post in months...

Anyway, ever since I finished my HSC exams (that's the A-Levels to all you British people, and the SATs for USA residents) in early November, I haven't been able to drag myself out of what may be the biggest rut of my life. Seriously, I have spent the last month watching Jacksgap videos until 5am, eating copious amounts of ice-cream (depsite my apparent veganism), avoiding sunlight and/or socialising at all costs, and generally feeling SHIT! Excuse my language..

At first I revelled in my quiet time, regarding it as a well-deserved holiday after a year filled with HSC stress, but now that the novelty has worn off I just feel, and look, disgusting. Yes, this hermit-esque lifestyle has left me not with fraying robes and a long, white beard (thank goodness!), but equally appaling, possibly worse, dull skin, acne, limp hair, and an extra 5kg... yay. I feel wretched, I look wretched, and basically this blog post is some sad attempt at publically addressing what I am calling 'Post High School Depression', a condition I am sure other have experienced, or are currently experiencing, in this excruciating 6 week limbo between finishing exams and getting marks and ATARs (the Aussie ranking/score system for univeristy admissions).

I have little experience with getting out of ruts or depression or whatever you'd like to call these negative feelings (Julietta perhaps? Or George..?) as I am generally a very happy and very strong human being... who knew that finally being freed from school would be my downfall!? Anyway, despite my minimal experience in dealing with George, I am going to attempt to help fellow sufferers, by outlining how I am turning my own life around and getting back on track. I feel a nice list would be appropriate, so accio dotpoints:

• Get your sleeping pattern under control. Sleep is essential for a healthy life, so a dodgy sleeping pattern can lead to dodgy health. I have always had a very regular sleeping pattern, besides a year long battle with insomnia in 2010/11. Basically, I like to be in bed by 9.30pm and up and at'em by 6.30 the following morn. When faced with exams and the mad last-minute cramming sessions that so kindly accompanied the HSC, my 9 hours of shut-eye became 8, then 6, then 4... and soon enough my body couldn't take it anymore and BAM! I started sleeping in. Now, just in case you were wondering, I HATE SLEEPING IN. I think it's a massive waste of the day, and I always get up feeling groggy and disgusting, yet here I am, a month later, still sleeping in until 10 each morning... YUCK. For me, the first step in getting out of this post-exam slump is getting back into a regular sleeping pattern, even if that means getting up early for a couple of days, feeling like absolute death, before my body catches up with my logic and starts letting me get tired at 8.30pm again. So yeah, first step in recovery: Set that alarm and do not, I repeat, DO NOT hit the snooze button!!

•  Eat healthily and exercise. So, not only is this a positive and pretty much essential lifestyle choice (who wants the gazillion health issues that come with junk food and sitting on the couch?!), it is also a sure step in the right direction when it comes to boosting motivation levels and getting y'all out of your post-examination rut. I've got to admit, I am nowhere near perfect on the healthy living front, in fact, I could be classed as overweight, but there is no time like the present blah blah blah, so I'm going to be a good girl and practice what I preach! PROMISE! When I say eat healthily and exercise, I do not mean go on a super restrictive diet and start running marathons, unless of course you're into that (the running part, not the crazy-ass restricting... RESTRICTING AIN'T GOOD). What I mean is start adding healthy foods into your diet, until you realise that vegetables are absolutely amazing (I <3 BROCCOLI) and that a homemade burger with a big salad and wholegrain bread tastes way better than a soggy and extremely underwhelming Big Mac (sorry guys, I'm one of those people who will never understand the love felt for Macdonalds). Trust me, one day you'll realise how great healthy eating can be, and fast food will become some distant memory. Except for chocolate, which is too great to go without anyways. Same goes with exercise, start of with a little a day of something you actually enjoy doing; it could be a walk on the beach, a game of tennis, or, if you're like me, dancing in the loungeroom to One Direction. Just start somewhere and reap the benefits (weight loss, better mood, more energy, better sleep), and you'll soon feel fab. YAAAAAAAAY!

• Get dressed for the day. This one is kind of weird, but it works for me. Instead of getting up at 8am and lolling about in your pyjamas, try showering and getting dressed nice and early. Put on something you would be comfortable wearing out for a day in town, brush your hair, wack on some makeup if that's you're thing... just make yourself presentable. Not only will this encourage you to actually leave the house, you'll also feel better about your appearance and therefore yourself. Which has got to be a good thing.

• Find a purpose. And I don't mean your purpose in life, though if you're that organised then great! Just find something that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning. This could a job at your local Maccas (hopefully it will put you off their food through over-exposure to greasy fries and hour old chicken nuggets?), regular social gatherings with your forgotten highschool pals, or even a self-delegated challenge to recreate an entire outfit of Salvos and Red Cross bought items... Personally, I have decided that blogging and vlogging is my current distraction from lazing around in bed, though it's proving to be less effective than intended... I keep watching Jacksgap videos, citing them as 'educational'. Hmm... but yeah, hobbies are good!!

• Get excited. My final form of motivation and positive thought is EXCITEMENT FOR THE FUTURE. We've just finished high school, we're all (mostly) 18 and therefore ADULTS, we're off to university, apprentiships, full time jobs, and/or European youth hostels, backpacks at the ready! This is an incredibly exciting time of change and oppurtunity, so rather than dwelling on the past and all that we miss about it, it's time to embrace all the awesome things to come! Wow, that sounded so cheesy, but I don't even care, YAY YAY YAY GET EXCITED WOOP WOOP!

So there you have it, one blog post down, hopefully there will be plenty to come, and hopefully you all took something away from my poorly constructed, yet rather enthusiastic list.

Thanks a million for reading and I will see you all soon!

xx