Visually, colour links the images of how I spent this month. But my life was more colourful than I gave it credit for, up until I looked back at the words and photographs it evoked. I have the flat to myself for the summer and I was alone in the office for two weeks so it felt as though I was alone a lot. This is something I relish: I enjoy entertaining and pleasing only myself. I like my own company. But I cannot deny that it is a little less vibrant than when I am with others, loved ones in particular. Yet, though I was by myself for many hours, I also spent some serious quality time with people from various parts and times of my life over the course of June. There was a lot of laughter, eating and catching up. As it turns out, a month that felt so slow and mundane, at times, as I was living it, was in joyous technicolor more often than cool and collected black and white.
At the beginning of the month, the skies were perfectly clear, beautiful light beamed down and danced around Dublin, making it especially lovely, and, on the very second day of June, I met secondary school friends for dinner. We rarely all get together anymore and every time we do, I remember how much I love hanging out with them. From starting the month on such a high, we went right into a long weekend, which I spent at home with my family, playing racquetball, spending quality time with my parents, welcoming a new member into the extended, barbecuing, laughing.
The rest of the month was spent grabbing after work drinks in the sun; trying out new restaurants; going to a Korean Film Festival; hosting a dinner party; singing my heart out (badly) at karaoke; attending the Primark AW16 Press Day; hanging out with a college friend I hadn't seen in a year; being home for arguments that no longer involve me and realising I'm really living my own separate life; a Father's Day spent eating and shopping; spending a childhood friend's birthday with her for the first time in years; having a sleepover; Jury Duty and listening to 44 counts of child abuse being read a harrowing three times but, luckily, not becoming a juror; falling into a book hard and being so entranced and anxious of the roiling plot that I was torn between feverishly reading on or never finishing it; listening to a former Miss World talk about nutrition, sampling juices and hanging out with other bloggers; a bizarre Pride that wasn't very Pridey but fun nonetheless; bringing my little brother to see his favourite band play; lunch and catch-ups with my American relatives; and ending with a date with my besto in my favourite restaurant and drinks in my favourite bar.
I suppose, overall, it's very easy to find yourself focusing on the boring days, the hard days, the lonely days, the days when nothing much happens at all but, when I write it all down like this, in one place and not across a diary or texts, statuses or tweets, I realise how good I've got it. For all the uncertainty and stress of life, mine is also rather full of kindness, love, laughter, good people and access to little luxuries that cheer me up.
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