Starting Again

[More of a rambling life update than a blog post, but maybe that’s what this is for?]

So, I finally quit my job in March, and have been trying to navigate money-making, job-searching, and creative-life-building ever since!

I enjoyed tutoring and working with children, but the lifestyle (or the way that I was managing it) was making me very unwell and unhappy. With weekly migraines, erratic schedules, and constant stress, I found myself in bed for days on end, followed by always-slightly-headachy hours on the computer planning lessons and travelling to and from distant areas of London for lessons. I loved working with my students, and was especially enamoured with the younger ones, who showed their enthusiasm (or boredom) without any reservations, unironically declared their love of school, and begged for more homework (or hid under the sofa, depending on their mood).

Fortunately, after leaving that job, I’ve had the time to explore migraine treatments and eventually found an amazing osteopath and acupuncture specialist who could help. I had three sessions with him and have only had one almost-migraine since then. Turns out using the laptop was the main cause of the problem, so long sessions of online tutoring and intensive lesson planning certainly didn’t help. Less fortunately, leaving due to illness meant that I had no alternative jobs lined up, so I’ve spent a lot of time over the past two months sending out applications. I found some part-time work quite quickly, including freelance writing, proof-reading, and editing. More recently, I started as an Assistant Producer at a small feminist theatre company, which has shown me how much I love working in theatre and production (and, even if it does sound extremely dull, being organised). I also started doing some social media marketing for a cool craft market in London, through which I’ve already met some lovely makers and impressive entrepreneurs. Their successes doing what they love will hopefully prove inspirational. (Annoyingly, everything I write now has undertones of (bad) cover letters…)

Living in London remains expensive and tiring at times, but in amongst job applications and freelance/part-time work, there are sunny days, friends, and time to fill with creative things. I’ve been recipe-developing, writing, and co-producing and -directing a theatre show which will be at the Roundhouse in July and at Underbelly during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (mabelandmickey.wordpress.com). I’m also trying to find moments for smaller things – reading, swimming, gardening, drawing. Hunting for house plants. Watching weird films. Eating dinner in the garden. And writing – there’s always room for more writing.

Lx