04 FebProcrastination – a blessing in disguise!

During the last couple of weeks my first semester here in Austria has been coming to a close and I have been in a race against the clock to do as much cramming as possible for end of term exams. I will be the first to admit that I am great at procrastination. It is one of my many talents and something that always comes into full view during exam time. I always find myself searching for ways to stop procrastinating which is of course procrastination in itself! During one of my mindless internet surfing hours, I came across a fantastic blog called thechangeblog.com. It is run by Peter Clemens and focuses on the stories of those who are on a journey of personal change. Each blog entry focuses on a different element of change such as confidence, goals, happiness and motivation, to name but a few.

imagesThere were many reasons why this blog appealed to me, apart from the fact that every article I read felt like it was written specifically for me! The blog is easy to navigate, the authors use their own personal experiences in each post (they actually practice what they preach!) and when you comment the authors mostly reply to you! You can subscribe to the blog so when a new post is published you will receive an email – no need to keep refreshing the page! It seems like an all round winner.

The area of personal growth and self help has always been of interest to me ever since I can remember. I always buy self help books and my most recent purchase has been “Feel the Fear and do it anyway” by Susan Jeffers. I used to be a fairly shy person when I was younger but through many experiences I have become a lot more confident in the last few years. I try to take each opportunity presented to me and look at it as a possibility for personal growth. Living abroad has been a huge challenge, one which has allowed me to step outside my comfort zone and therefore providing an opportunity to “find” myself, one which I fully intend to take advantage of. However during the writing of this post, a question has actually come to mind – Has anyone ever discovered their whole self?

Til next time,

J x

04 FebMy first step into the world of blogging!

I can’t believe I’ve managed to overcome my aversion to technology and actually create this blog! You can’t see me right now but I am actually grinning like an idiot! Okay fine I’ll admit it, I used YouTube videos to help get me up and running but who cares, I’m here and I’m writing, that’s the main thing! I feel an immense amount of satisfaction already and this is only my first post. DSCN5703

As you can see from my “About Me” page, I’m Irish but I actually live in Austria, in a charming little city called Linz. Although I have lived abroad twice before, in Germany for 2 months and San Francisco for 3 months, this is my first experience of living abroad on a long term basis and it is so much more difficult than I thought it would be! Each day brings new challenges and opportunities which can be found in the most mundane tasks and every day is an adventure. I hope I will be able to share some of these adventures with you during my journey as an erasmus student!

Til next time,

J x