Creepin' Out of Hiding pt. 2 - I'm Sticking Around

Dear all,

It's another one of those apologetic 'update' blog posts, one where I try to redeem myself for my absence that the total five readers of this blog obviously would have been so upset about.

But it's the last one, I promise. No more reappearances, no more updates - I am now finally in a place where I can finally completely emerge my self into the world of travel, culture, blog posts and an endless summer of fun - a life I've been pining for the past two years.

Since I last updated you, I jumped out of a plane (yup - parachute opened and everything was fine and dandy, even if I did feel nauseous for a good few days), finished my A-Levels and now anxiously await results day, came down with a brilliant case of tonsillitis (yum), went on a three day girls holiday to Amsterdam with my best friend Sophie, and raised £5000 of my £5650 fundraising target!

I'm living the life of someone's Instagram profile I used to stalk, wishing it was me - a life without exams and revision and coursework, a life filled with riverside drinks in the sunshine, meals out with friends, sleeping in late, exploring cities and culture, morning coffee dates, concerts, visiting old friends, walks with my dog and drowning guilt-free in the endless options on Netflix, all of which I'm now able to do without the nagging feeling at the back of my head telling me that I need to stop enjoying myself and go home and do work. I feel lighter in my strides and get a fuzzy feeling in my stomach when I stop and think I am now finally, finally the nineteen year old gal that five year old me used to envision - a happy, care free adult (if I can even classify myself as one) about to go and explore the world.

 Yep - that's me hanging 30,000ft in the air!

Fleetwood Mac last night at the Genting Arena,

Birmingham

Amsterdam, June 2015

This blog post marks the fifty day countdown to India and I plan to bring you along as I prepare for my year in this stranger of a country to me, full of culture and treasure that I am yet to discover. It's real, it's happening and it's really blimmin' scary - but it's also really blimmin' exciting. Some days I stop to think about it all and I want to jump up and down and scream at the top of my voice 'I AM MOVING TO INDIA FOR A WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR! I AM NOT COMING BACK IN THAT WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR! HOW COOL IS THAT!' Other days, in particular the days when I'm having a cosy roast dinner and a laugh with my wonderful mum and dad, I get the reoccurring anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach that is telling me not to go. In hindsight, I need to man up and push that feeling aside and focus on the fizzle of excitement I've constantly been feeling for the last two years that I've been planning this move.

So - what's next? The next two rounds of jabs, training and the remaining £650 left to fund raise - alongside hours of re-watching Skins on Netflix and making the most of the English goodies I will be without for a year, namely Caffe Nero, EastEnders and Mum's pasta.

With that in mind, I shall leave you to take in my ever so excitable ramblings and eagerly wait for my next blog post, which will most likely be about my five day training course for India up on the beautiful Isle of Coll with Project Trust.

Stay golden,

L x

Creepin' Out of Hiding - an update

Dear all,

Over the past year and three months (yikes) I've seriously neglected this blog. If truth be told, I literally didn't have anything to write about. My life's been a-levels, friends, gym, a-levels, food, a-levels, work, a-levels, sleep, etc. You get the picture. A mixture of serious laziness, procrastination and a new found love of Netflix have caused me to hide under a duvet of life and not show my face in the bloggin' world.

However, though I know that the small, small number of people (I think there are like five of you) who read this blog didn't even notice my period of absence, there have been some huge changes over the past year in terms of my future, leading me up to possibly the biggest adventure I'm about to take in my life.

In September I'm taking on the biggest challenge yet and moving to India for an entire year.

My Sixth Form was going on and on and on at us making choices for what we wanted to do after a-levels. I was having meeting after meeting with careers advisor and my head of Sixth Form, sitting in countless lectures of people from universities and apprenticeships companies, and having nearly every relative, employer and teacher ask 'So Lottie, what are you going to do with your life?' The hardest part was honestly having no answer. On one hand I knew deep down inside I wasn't ready for University and wasn't sure if I'd ever be, and on the other hand I had no idea what sort of job or career I wanted to go into. In my tearful state of knowing that I wanted to go travelling for as long as I could and leave sleepy Leamington behind, I came across an organisation called Project Trust. And I could hardly believe my luck. I was searching for ages for abroad volunteer placements that a.) lasted more than a month, b.) didn't require a ridiculous upfront deposit, c.) wasn't a religious organisation, and most importantly, d.) would take me to India. My love for India started when I was eleven and my sister went there for three weeks with her school, and grew when working in an Indian restaurant for a year where I became really attached to essentially my second Indian family.

Project Trust not only offers a 12 month placement, but also offered a selection course to see if I was eligible to volunteer, an opportunity to pay for the entire trip through fundraising and most importantly, could place me in India. With my head in the clouds I applied, got invited to a selection course, spent a wonderful four days in the remote Isle of Coll off Scotland where I attended my first Ceilidh and made friends for life, and then drunkenly cried down the phone to my Mum at Reading Festival who phoned me with the news that I had been chosen by Project Trust to volunteer in India for an entire year.

That was in August 2014, and since then I and all of the friends I made on selection have embarked on the enormous challenge of fundraising the grand total of £5650 (yikes) in order to take up my volunteer placement. At times it seems impossible, but I currently stand at the total of £3188. Project Trust's Easter target is £3500, which I'm determined to reach by the time me and my dad do our sponsored sky dive for Project Trust.

Oh yeah, I'm doing a sky dive on the fourth of April.

I told you things had changed, huh?

So that's where I currently stand in life. I'm so stupidly happy with my decision - I've wanted to travel the world since I can remember and now I finally get to start by moving to India for a year. There aren't enough words in the world to describe everything I'm feeling, which is why I've decided to resort back to blogging. Here I'll keep you guys updated with my journey as I prepare for my life in India through fundraising and hopefully, depending on the internet access, life actually in India. There's so much I want to talk to you guys about and share with you all, so we'll take it one blog post at a time.

There's still so much I need to update you guys on, so stay tuned. I hope you'll enjoy following me on my journey - I know I love reading travel blogs and recently I've been keeping up to date with the girls currently in India with Project Trust, so I hope it'll be the same for anyone reading this blog.

I hope you all welcome me back into the blogging world with open arms after being gone for so long.

Lots of love,

L x

ps. I nearly forgot, if you fancy donating towards my fundraising, please feel free to visit my fundraising page!

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/vmgssozone/vmgLoginJAvascriptDisabled?gateway=true&service=http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/j_spring_cas_security_check