In the book, Meditations, Marcus Aurelius reminds himself of the people he will encounter every day. That they would be “ meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly.”

Yes, you’ve said it before, that you really do mean to learn Spanish or brush up on your French. But this is the year. This time, it’s really going to happen. Here’s why.

In our fast-paced society, we feel a lot of pressure to accomplish a lot of stuff in a small amount of time. That can lead to a crippling fear of failure and a feeling of burnout. Both of these, in turn, lead to procrastination. Don't beat yourself up and think that it's a personal flaw. It's not. It comes down to one simple thing:

Life’s a bit weird right now and honestly, a lot of us don’t know how to handle this overwhelming boredom of staying home, but for the world’s sake, stay home and calm down! This article can provide some helpful tips for anyone that feels restless, lost, and more. Just take a deep breath and keep reading. Everything will be okay!

As you’ll know by now we are on lockdown in the UK. The dreaded term – buzzword, if you will (you probably don’t) – of the moment is now fact. Our collective daily lives are currently set in an unthinkable dystopia. Not future. Present. Spring is here, and as with every yearly growth spurt we fancy some time outside. Time with friends we haven’t braved the cold to go see over the past few months. We were all just waiting for the sunny, just pleasant enough, “still a bit cold,” “summer’s almost here” beer garden Saturday afternoons.

Act 1: Do What You Can

Ever since I signed up for Vocal (back in 2018, I think), it has been my goal to write more. It's always been a huge passion of mine, and to get paid for writing about whatever I want?! It couldn't get more perfect.

People around us are scared. Scared of the unknown, scared of the virus, scared of dying. And of course they are, when many of us haven’t lived. What do I mean by that? Most people follow norms that eat them up, don’t fit them properly and that doesn’t leave space for their own individual thinking and way of living. Perhaps you ”should” get that degree, ”must” get that house and ”have” to work full time. Why? Simply because everyone else is doing so.

Some of the most miserable people in the world are the loneliest. Everyone can agree that human beings are socially driven people. It can be extremely difficult to feel good without a strong support system and the knowledge that people out there are going to care about your well being and offer you assistance if you should ever need it.

If you struggle to do what you ought to do, this post is for you. Don't even think about stopping, and keep reading because what's coming next could change the perspective of your life.

What do you think of when you think of the phrase “Selflove” ?

I was clearing a paper jam from the photocopier near my classroom the other day when I heard a girl ask her friend, “Why are we even here?”