happy new year, one and all.
I just finished doing what I promised myself I would for a long long time: breaking up with twitter. I used an online thingy to delete every one of my tweets (which was a weird experience, throwing up photos from as far back as 2015 when I was just a raw little egg on the internet) and now the account is just sitting there, redirecting people elsewhere, like a sign at a crossroads.
It feels good. Odd. Not nearly as grand a thing as it could have been considering I've been phasing myself away gradually over the past year. Taking long breaks, deactivating, muting, blocking. But there comes a time when all of that curation just becomes more admin. Also, I don't care about prince Harry's book so it's a win-win.
The year has started well over here. Slowly. I'm not returning to PhD work until Monday so I've managed to give myself one of those breaks I thought were only reserved for school days. I ended 2022 with the worst burn-out I've ever experienced, on almost daily B-12 shots from a lovely nurse, a course of iron supplements, and advice to sleep and rest and take it easy. So that's what I've done, and that's exactly what I'm bringing into 2023 with me.
I'm also dealing with the fallout of a new acne medication so if you see me in real life no you didn't. I'm not up for being observed at the minute. Though my face is more angered than it's ever been, I'm finding myself feeling strangely positive about it. I'm doing something, so there's that. There might be light at the end of this tunnel. And if there isn't, and I have to continue avoiding my mirrors, we'll cross that bridge. If for any reason you're struggling with body or self-image right now, especially given the time of year, I cannot recommend ignoring your mirrors enough.
Along with the rest of the world, I'm also following along with Yoga with Adrienne's 30 Day Journey for January. It's day 5 today and I'm writing this to semi-procrastinate. I'm enjoying it though. It's nice to remember that you're body is for more (so much more) than looking at. Breathing is amazing when you slow down and pay attention to it.
That's all for now folks, except to say that my lovely pal Sarah Griffin has also started a newsletter (the brilliantly named Griff Notes) which I think you'd like. She's an outstanding writer. Buy her books.
I hope you're going gently into this new year. We have all the time in the world.
Love,
Andrea
