Slow days. When I was younger, I would get really annoyed with myself if everyday was not filled with as much as possible – every book I read had to add to my knowledge base, everywhere I went needed to be documented, and if I wasn’t socialising as much as possible, was I even a true young adult?
I realised when I was in my early 20s that I am far too introverted for such things. Social gatherings, no matter how much I may enjoy them at the time, are always very draining experiences for me, and I find that after every social event I need to retreat back into my own little bubble for a little while just to cover some of my strength and to recharge my social battery.
But I have also learnt how nice it is to not have a plan for a day. I wake up when I wake up (somewhat annoyingly my years in a commercial job have meant 8am is now a lie in for me) and just see where the day takes me. I may plan to go for lunch somewhere, but there is no set time to this. If I happen to get distracted on my walk there, or I happen to change my mind at the last minute and decide to cook at home instead, I do so. I also think that working a very regimented commercial job means that normally, my work days are very set in that I have set hours where I am in work mode, and very few hours where I am not. So when it comes to my weekends, I now feel a need to keep them totally to myself as much as possible. Sure I love to see friends and to go on day trips out and about, but I am slowly embracing this idea of ‘slow living’ – especially the idea of not having to document every little thing that I do. Even if I am not posting online, as a young adult I kept a paper planner of all the things I had planned, and then I wondered at the time why I felt so burnt out.
Taylor Talks Vegan 