LIFE AS A PLUS SIZE GAL

Now, this probably is not the first blog post you've read on the subject of being plus size. I hope not anyway. Body positivity has become a widespread phenomenon and rightly so. For too long, women have been told to hate themselves for the way their body looks so taking back that power is bloody brilliant and I love how my timelines are full of beautiful confident women being unashamed what they look like. Your fave geordie chica is no skinny minnie. I never have been and so genuinely don't know what it's like to navigate the world in a body that isn't bigger than others'. I've wanted to write about this for a while but it's hard building up the courage to do so. Putting up a picture is one thing, letting people in on your soul is another. This is not a post I've bashed out in one evening, it's been sat in my drafts and been written over a larger period of time and mulled over since before I even started packing to move to Lanzarote. Be nice, I guess?

PCOS

So, how many of you have heard of PCOS? How many know what the letters stand for? And what they actually mean? 
PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Which means PCOS sufferers have cysts on the ovaries. Except when they don't. Welcome to the fun! Side note: this post is not for the faint of heart or those who don't like TMI when it comes to female anatomy. 

LONG DISTANCE

Long distance is hard. This is not a new concept for me. Six years ago I started university in a city 260 miles away from home, leaving my friends and family behind. I then did my year abroad at a university a further 1,340 miles away. I then graduated and started a job 2,500 miles away. I have friends and family miles and miles and miles away and it's hard. However, when you say the phrase 'long distance', what comes to mind is a long distance romantic relationship. And now I'm in one of those too. Currently a 262 mile distance apart. It's like I'm a glutton for punishment or something.

WHY TEACHING ISN'T FOR ME

Now, to everyone who's asked me in the last six months or so what my plan was after this year in Lanzarote, I've said "I'm going to apply to do my PGCE". Everyone who's asked me in the last three months or so has received the answer "I'm going to apply to do my PGCE at Oxford". Oxford obviously entered my headspace because my beau lives in Oxfordshire and studying at Oxford gave me a way to him. How could I not want to be close to this wee hunk?