June Reflections – Illness and Travelling

Well it looks like we can all breathe a little easier as this post is going to be a lot more positive than May’s Reflections: otherwise known as the episode in the series in which disorder is the star of the show and no one knows where the plot is heading next. I would say head on over to check out why May was like rooting for Germany in the 2018 World Cup (on paper it looked like it was going to be a celebration but in reality it was a stressful disappointment) but that post is pretty depressing. For that reason I’d recommend sticking with this one (which has been more like the Russian football team: everything surprisingly and impressively pulled together in the end, and no matter what happens now no one can deny the excitement and success so far).

If football references aren’t your thing – and believe me, they’re not really mine either, that’s just what happens when you spend a month travelling with a football fan – then don’t worry as that was the last of them.

The first week or so of June was just as rough as May: after a chain of viruses my body took it one step further with a nasty case of tonsillitis that left me unable to eat, drink, talk or even swallow. I felt drained all the time and it took nearly a week of antibiotics to feel anywhere close to normal again.

During that recovery period, my friend from Florida arrived in England ready for our month-long travel adventure. A few stressful days passed as I wavered on the line between being too sick to travel and wanting more than anything to be able to go. When the day rolled around for us to fly out to Greece, I felt marginally better and decided I would go for it anyway. So with antibiotics and painkillers packed, we set off.

First we had a layover in Bulgaria, which became a whole adventure in itself. We managed to see the capital, Sofia, for a few hours and the rest of the time was spent attempting to sleep on the concrete floor of the airport. Eventually we arrived in Athens and it felt like the trip had really kicked off at that point! A few days of dusty, sunny sightseeing amongst countless ruins and pretty streets later and we packed up our bags again and headed to Warsaw, Poland. The European cities totted up as we crossed over to Prague and then Amsterdam; we took advantage of as many free walking tours as we could and learnt lots of facts about the places we saw. For the last week of the trip, we headed across the pond to New York, an amazing end to a wonderful whirlwind tour.

By the time we were halfway through our travels, I was feeling so much better physically, and this combined with a change in environment and busy schedule helped drag my mental wellbeing back up out of the darkness too. I had so much fun abroad and feel so grateful to be able to have experiences like these. Travel is an incredible medicine I wish more people had the time and money for. Of course, it doesn’t fix everything.

Read: How To Make Budget Travel Plans

Coming back home, I know I have to spend some time getting back into the healthy habits I started back in April but which got kicked into the gutter throughout May. I want to be more mindful of healthy eating and exercise, keep consistent sleep patterns and bullet journal entries and focus on self-care and organisation. I want to put more time into blogging and writing and make use of the summer months to push forward with my passions.

Read: Catching Happiness

In terms of writing in June, I didn’t really get a chance to blog at all as I wanted to focus on being abroad and present in the moment. I did have nine scheduled posts for the month though, and they all went out without a hitch.

Read: How To Make Friends When Living Abroad

That was my first time experimenting with pre-written posts and it went shockingly well. My stats haven’t suffered too badly from me taking a bit of a break and my mind feels even more motivated to write now. This experience has taught me that taking breaks from anything is vital; you wouldn’t play five World Cup matches in a row without letting your muscles recover (okay sorry, that really was the last one) so why expect yourself to consistently and constantly write without giving your mind a little bit of space?

I’m leaving June feeling motivated. Motivated to get a little bit more in control of my physical and mental health. Motivated to make the most of the coming two months I have away from both work and education. And motivated to create.

How was your June? I hope July treats you all well!

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