At the moment I'm living with such a bag filled with mixed emotions. I honestly don't know how I'm feeling half of the time, or if I'm trying to kid myself that I'm okay when all I need to do is have a good cry.
It's at that point, as my good friend Mary tweeted; One of those days where when you drop a pen you want to cry.
Moving in to a new environment is exciting, scary... A lot of things! Living with complete strangers and learning to be completely independent is quite a big stepping stone - and quite a hard one! Being responsible for eating well, getting work done and having the initiative to get yourself to training without the help of your parents to make your breaky in the morning and to get you to the session. Finding my own two feet hasn't been too tricky for me as I've always seen myself as quite an independent person, I don't feel as if I need to rely on others for help for anything such as cooking; I'm just unbelievably clumsy. However it's just been draining when you get home from a session and your tea isn't ready on the table and you remember you have to make it yourself.
I said to my coach the other day that, so far, every day something has gone wrong. Of course I'm looking for positives and every day has been great so far, however I would love for one day to just be normal. I.e. no issues to occur, no illnesses or injuries for the day. I was greeted to a phone call off my dad just yesterday saying he had a letter through the post about a 100 pound parking fine that I'd created whilst being here in Leeds. However it's being sorted out due to the circumstances. It was only 2 hours before I'd rang saying I'd been given a parking fine for parking outside of the Carnegie Stadium for my lecture. For anyone coming to Leeds with a car:
1) You can't park anywhere for free.
2) Don't come to Leeds with a car. Get the bus, train, bike... Or even walk.
However, yesterday was the first swim session EVER that I hadn't been lapped on a pull set. It seems ridiculous how someone would be happy over being able to keep up on pull, but I've always been uterly rubbish at it so when I finished the 800 still in contact with the next swimmer, I don't think I've ever smiled so much about something regarding training.
It's the little things that can make your day all the better, especially when emotions are running high off the fact you burnt a piece of toast that morning or you turned your white bra into a black and white stripey one after putting it in the wash (guilty). Uni and independence is a big thing and is all about learning. Things are bound to go wrong (not necessarily as much as what's happened to me) but just focus on the little positives out of the day and you can laugh off the negatives. I also managed to smash a plate last night.
I think everyone in their first month of uni are nervous, emotional and generally confused about pretty much everything. So my advice, if you wish to take on board, is to give a small kind gesture i.e. a little compliment to your friends and I guarantee that it will put a smile on their face and turn their day in to a good one. As Tesco say... Every little helps!
I was also given the all clear from the physio up here in Leeds to get back on my bike yesterday. So a quick spin today has set me up for potentially a good Halloween! I hope to be running by next week. Wohoo!
So, yeah... Happy Halloween!
Leah x
Saturday, 31 October 2015
Friday, 23 October 2015
Life in Leeds
Thought I'd write a blog and update you all on my new living quarters and what not up in Leeds!
It has been, by far ( as you would probably guess) the toughest few weeks I've experienced for a while.
Why? Not really for the fact that I miss home as such, or the fact that I'm an awful cook (although that contributes to it), but it has been one thing after another for the wrong reasons.
They say things come in three's, yet my bouts of bad luck arrived in what seemed like an exclusive pack of 8.
So, feel free to indulge on my absolute failures throughout freshers and the start of uni, to be honest I'm sure it would be hard to not laugh!:
1) The day I arrived to my new home I came down with, yet again, tonsillitis. This time it wasn't so bad, however I'm currently in the process of requesting a tonsillectomy, so hopefully that will finally be rid of!
2) It was the Friday night on the first week of freshers. My house mates and I went to the 02 Academy to watch David Zowie and Phillip George. It was ace... Until I burst my nose and looked like I'd been in the ring with Muhammad Ali.
3) The week I went away on residential I came down with a very painful kidney infection. So without any signal to inform my parents on the situation, I was taken to the local medical centre where I was treated after I collapsed on the floor due to the pain. A prescription was written and I was right as rain by the end of the week. Overall the residential was really enjoyable and the views were pretty stunning. We also took part in a 12 hour mountain walk where we ended up in Grasmere. I bought some of their famous ginger bread for my mum. I'm now the favourite child.
4) Returning from the residential I was so lucky as to have deodorant sprayed in my eye. But not only that, when I went to sleep and woke the next morning, my other eye was also the colour of Rudolphs nose. I looked like this for a good week.
5) It was after one of my first lectures that I arrived home wanting nothing more than a simple egg toastie. Until I went and cracked one of my eggs in to the pan and it was frozen.
6) My first gym session with the Leeds Development Squad was something else. I haven't done much gym work in the past other than core work and a bit of leg work, so to get stuck in straight away was a shock to the system. All week I've suffered badly to the extent my arms were stuck at a 90 degree angle. At our second gym session on Wednesday, S&C coach Nick said he's never seen anything like it.
7) The session that I unnoticeably ruined every muscle fibre in my arms, I had a swim on the Wedneaday morning which was definitely not going to go well with the situation I was in. I couldnt straighten my arms in to the streamline position, so when I dove in with my arms in the shape of a dodgy 'Y' out of the YMCA, I was greeted face first to the floor of the pool.
8) To help with my issue of the arms, I decided to wap out the deep heat which I haven't used in a while. I slathered it all over my arms, back and anywhere else that hurt. I lay in bed like a little ball of fire in hope I'd feel better in the morning. At this point my eyes were still on the mend, but still irritating me, so without thinking my eyes started to itch, so I only went and made the situation worse by rubbing deep heat in to my eyes for a good 30 seconds before I realised.
Just 8 things I can think of off the top of my head which have happened to me in the short period of time I've been in Leeds. I'm not writing this for sympathy at all, but I also have learnt to just laugh it off. It has been painful and not pleasant by any means but I don't think I've ever been upset by any of the issues. That's down to the people I'm surrounded by. I've met so many ace people already and I'm so happy to be training and being with the guys I've known for a few years now. The coaches understand what I need out of my sessions and even though I am a complete sloth in the water at the minute, I'm not phased by other people's pace or my own lack of pace because I know it will come. I've gone to every session with a smile on my face regardless of what disaster I've faced that day, because even though there are quite big negatives, there are double the positives!
As I told a friend one of my mishaps the other day, they laughed and said "This is so funny, it's as if it's scripted". I'm glad my pain amuses you guys, and it does seem like every day something else goes pear-shaped but I'm pretty sure it can't last forever. Or at least I hope it doesn't!
I also attempted to eat a 1/2m pizza. I failed. Miserably.
So I'm enjoying my degree at uni (Sports Business Management) where I've already recieved my grade for my first assessment. It was 70% for a first, and yep, you guessed it, I was awarded with 69%. Not bad though for my first go, but it would have been nice to have that extra 1%.
My house mates are great and I'm currently playing about with meals and recipies to kill any down time that I have.
I've also just booked my flights to Spain with the Leeds Development Squad which is over the new years for 2 weeks so I'm really excited to get out there!
Hopefully my next update will be a little better, but we shall see!
Leah x
It has been, by far ( as you would probably guess) the toughest few weeks I've experienced for a while.
Why? Not really for the fact that I miss home as such, or the fact that I'm an awful cook (although that contributes to it), but it has been one thing after another for the wrong reasons.
They say things come in three's, yet my bouts of bad luck arrived in what seemed like an exclusive pack of 8.
So, feel free to indulge on my absolute failures throughout freshers and the start of uni, to be honest I'm sure it would be hard to not laugh!:
1) The day I arrived to my new home I came down with, yet again, tonsillitis. This time it wasn't so bad, however I'm currently in the process of requesting a tonsillectomy, so hopefully that will finally be rid of!
2) It was the Friday night on the first week of freshers. My house mates and I went to the 02 Academy to watch David Zowie and Phillip George. It was ace... Until I burst my nose and looked like I'd been in the ring with Muhammad Ali.
3) The week I went away on residential I came down with a very painful kidney infection. So without any signal to inform my parents on the situation, I was taken to the local medical centre where I was treated after I collapsed on the floor due to the pain. A prescription was written and I was right as rain by the end of the week. Overall the residential was really enjoyable and the views were pretty stunning. We also took part in a 12 hour mountain walk where we ended up in Grasmere. I bought some of their famous ginger bread for my mum. I'm now the favourite child.
4) Returning from the residential I was so lucky as to have deodorant sprayed in my eye. But not only that, when I went to sleep and woke the next morning, my other eye was also the colour of Rudolphs nose. I looked like this for a good week.
5) It was after one of my first lectures that I arrived home wanting nothing more than a simple egg toastie. Until I went and cracked one of my eggs in to the pan and it was frozen.
6) My first gym session with the Leeds Development Squad was something else. I haven't done much gym work in the past other than core work and a bit of leg work, so to get stuck in straight away was a shock to the system. All week I've suffered badly to the extent my arms were stuck at a 90 degree angle. At our second gym session on Wednesday, S&C coach Nick said he's never seen anything like it.
7) The session that I unnoticeably ruined every muscle fibre in my arms, I had a swim on the Wedneaday morning which was definitely not going to go well with the situation I was in. I couldnt straighten my arms in to the streamline position, so when I dove in with my arms in the shape of a dodgy 'Y' out of the YMCA, I was greeted face first to the floor of the pool.
8) To help with my issue of the arms, I decided to wap out the deep heat which I haven't used in a while. I slathered it all over my arms, back and anywhere else that hurt. I lay in bed like a little ball of fire in hope I'd feel better in the morning. At this point my eyes were still on the mend, but still irritating me, so without thinking my eyes started to itch, so I only went and made the situation worse by rubbing deep heat in to my eyes for a good 30 seconds before I realised.
Just 8 things I can think of off the top of my head which have happened to me in the short period of time I've been in Leeds. I'm not writing this for sympathy at all, but I also have learnt to just laugh it off. It has been painful and not pleasant by any means but I don't think I've ever been upset by any of the issues. That's down to the people I'm surrounded by. I've met so many ace people already and I'm so happy to be training and being with the guys I've known for a few years now. The coaches understand what I need out of my sessions and even though I am a complete sloth in the water at the minute, I'm not phased by other people's pace or my own lack of pace because I know it will come. I've gone to every session with a smile on my face regardless of what disaster I've faced that day, because even though there are quite big negatives, there are double the positives!
As I told a friend one of my mishaps the other day, they laughed and said "This is so funny, it's as if it's scripted". I'm glad my pain amuses you guys, and it does seem like every day something else goes pear-shaped but I'm pretty sure it can't last forever. Or at least I hope it doesn't!
I also attempted to eat a 1/2m pizza. I failed. Miserably.
So I'm enjoying my degree at uni (Sports Business Management) where I've already recieved my grade for my first assessment. It was 70% for a first, and yep, you guessed it, I was awarded with 69%. Not bad though for my first go, but it would have been nice to have that extra 1%.
My house mates are great and I'm currently playing about with meals and recipies to kill any down time that I have.
I've also just booked my flights to Spain with the Leeds Development Squad which is over the new years for 2 weeks so I'm really excited to get out there!
Hopefully my next update will be a little better, but we shall see!
 |
| The 1/2m pizza I told you about... With the lovely ladies Mary and Jemma! |
Leah x
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