Stress, Happiness and Dolphins

I am currently buried deep in the middle of revision for the final exams of my degree. As you can probably imagine, my stress levels (and eating habits) have reached their peak and I have become slightly bogged down in negative thoughts. I am not generally a negative person but I am a massive worrier and I am under a lot of pressure from myself to do well. I found myself becoming irritable, angry and upset which is an unpleasant mix to be around and is definitely not productive.

A couple of days ago this all reached its peak (oh no I'm NEVER going to do well in these exams that I have been revising solidly for for over two weeks), and I was forced out of my revision hole by the wonderful Ella. We walked down to Aberdeen harbour to see if we could spot dolphins, and as soon as we arrived we could see them jumping out of the water! Sitting watching the dolphins in the fresh air whilst having a good old chat was exactly what I needed and I am now refreshed and ready for the exams (well, sort of).

Aberdeen from the harbour mouth

The dolphins were to the left of the ship but my camera isn't good enough to capture them. Also the beautiful sun was replaced with rain after I took this photo!

Remember that however important something is and however hard you have to work, you need to take time to look after yourself and focus on the positives. After my exams I am going to make an extra effort to stop and appreciate the things that make me truly happy, and not get bogged down in stressing and worrying about the future. Life is good.

Birthdays and Balls

I am in the final stages of my degree (seriously, don't talk to me about how soon my exams are, it makes me feel a little sick...), and this means that I have been taking excuses to get out and about.

A couple of weeks ago it was my friends birthday, and we took a bus to a small town about an hour out of Aberdeen called Banchory. We walked for most of the day before finding a pub to eat a massive dinner, it was great fun and a nice change to get out of the city and relax.

The River just outside Banchory

We saw a tree creeper near here building a nest

We walked to Crathes Castle which is a proper fairytale castle, turrets and all!

Last night I got all dolled up and went to our biology ball, which was a lot of fun. It's the only ball I have been too while at uni, and I am glad I got to experience it. Ceilidh dancing is a lot of fun, even if you do end up sweaty at the end of the night! I don't have photos because I trusted my camera with my friend who took many close ups of her food and the tablecloth. You know who you are!

Now time to dive back into university work. See you on the other side!