“Risk, then, is not just part of life. It is life. The place between your comfort zone and your dream is where life takes place. It’s the high-anxiety zone, but it’s also where you discover who you are.”     Nick Vujicic

I am sure by now most of you know what I am banging on about, if not you can read about the start of this journey here. I literally can’t tell you how much this journey is totally transforming my life, I am meeting wonderful people, my self-confidence is building back up and I have become massively aware of just how much I am truly loved and how many incredible people I have in my life. I brought to tears nearly every day by the sheer amount of love, support and kind words I have been receiving. Thank you to everyone who is following my journey.

Day 20

I had my first-second meet up with the same person from Bumble BFF, this might not sound new to you because I had already met Sam. However, she was the first person that I decided to see again after the initial meet up and a lot like dating you are on your best behaviour when you meet the first time so a second meet really shows you what the person is like. Don’t worry I won’t be adding a third, fourth or fifth meet up to the list! By far this has been the best experience I have had since starting the challenge, I’m kinda addicted to Bumble BFF, there are so many beautiful, incredible funny women out there and I free so lucky to be meeting them. I have now met four women from the app and I can honestly see myself being friends with two of them for years to come. For mine and Sams second, catch up we headed into Stockton Heath to enjoy the sunshine alongside the canal. There may also have been food and lots of gossiping and a few minutes swapping each other’s Tinder, hey we need all the help we can get! We also arranged another meetup!

Day 21

I think sometimes we forget how lucky we are to live on such a small island, we can go from cities to countryside or mountains to the beach in less than an hour which is something that I totally adore about living in Britain and something I never take full advantage of. During our mini heatwave a couple of weeks ago I was sat in work wishing I was sat on the beach enjoying the sun, then it dawned on me that it is actually possible to still go to the beach and thanks to google I found a beach exactly 60 minutes away from my workplace in Manchester. So I 5.30pm I jumped in my car and headed to Crosby beach on the Wirral (although as writing this I remembered I forgot to pay the toll so now I am expecting a fine through the post, oops). Slightly cooler on the coast I still enjoyed a big ice cream and a walk along the beach, as the sunset I found a place to sit in the sand dunes, put some music on my phone and just watched the sun go down. I think it is so easy to get caught up in trying to make a living that we forget to actually live a life. I am planning on spending my whole summer having after work adventures however if a toll road is included in that I will remember to set a reminder, still worth though!

Day 22

I don’t know when or how it started but I stopped wearing what I wanted and started wearing what I thought I should wear, which is no way at all to dress. So I treated myself to a new outfit and went to the pub, at first I felt really self-conscious but at the same time I felt super good and it must of shown because as a second first that day I wrote my number on a bar mat, walked over to a guy and gave it him, litrally the first time ever in my life i had done that. I would never have had the confidence in the past to do that or I would have over thought it and decided better of it! It really is safe to say that this challenge has really helped my self-confidence which before I had started didn’t realise how low it was! By the way, he text me before I got home and we are arranging a date!

Day 23

I have worn glasses since I have been 18 months old and have hated it every single day since. When I wear my glasses I really struggle with low self-esteem, I never ever approach new people and even when talking to people I know I won’t look them in the eye, I tend to talk to the floor. I am not entirely sure why but I got builled a lot as a kid for wearing glasses and as a result, in adult life, I don’t want anyone to notice me while wearing them. However with my long days and working on a computer all day I have to wear my glasses to work which in itself is an issue for me because the low self-esteem follows me to work. I really want to battle this now and embrace the fact I do wear glasses, after all, there is nothing I can do about the fact, laser eye treatment won’t work for me. So for day 23 I booked to have an eye test and treated myself to three pairs of glasses in very different styles, I wear glasses so I want to feel comfortable and confident wearing them, I know this might take a long time but I feel positive I am now on the right path.