Enter Graduates

Waiting for the ceremony to start... Mortar board and all.

So I feel as though the last two weeks have been about two days. It's like the days are tripping over themselves to get here, and I'm running out of time to get everything done. Since finishing work a week and a half ago, I've spent five days in Devon, (where admittedly, we did a lot of sitting around and watching TV), taken a trip to Cheltenham, graduated and celebrated with my friends, some of whom I won't see again for a long while.

I've started packing my suitcase for Tuesday, and I've also been trying to sell my car, so I feel as though I've been run off my feet! Even though it's been stressful, I've been glad to be keeping busy, although the odd day to relax, write or paint is always nice, especially since I'll probably be even busier very soon.

Graduation was so much fun. Although I was apprehensive about the ceremony, and really nervous, we all had a real blast and it was so great to see everyone one last time. We spent the whole evening in our favourite pub, and even though I don't drink, it was a lot of fun watching everybody get more and more unsteady on my feet. It's a shame I didn't have my camera to hand.

Shaking hands with the Vice Chancellor... or the Pro Chancellor. I didn't know him, anyway.

I was really grateful to Tom, who's putting me up in Singapore in April, for letting me stay overnight in his flat, and we went for coffee and breakfast early the morning after, despite the fact we didn't go to sleep until 2am! It was great to catch up with him too, and the next time I see him will be on the other side of the world.

I was so pleased to have my family around me, and so so proud of all my friends who graduated with me, especially my darling friend Becca, who won the creative writing award for enthusiasm and hard work.

Becca with her award.

My flight to Australia is at 10.30pm on Tuesday, flying from Heathrow, and happily there doesn't appear to be any snow on the forecast. I'm really excited to get going, and although I haven't been able to save as much money as I wanted to, thanks to the generosity of my grandparents, so long as I'm careful, I'll have plenty to keep me going. Expect my next blog from Melbourne, and I'll keep everyone updated!

Roll on Tuesday,

Em

What we do when we go to Sleep

It is rare for me to have what one might consider a 'normal' dream. Okay, so dreams are dreams, and I appreciate that they are never precisely normal. Our subconscious worries, fears and contemplations manifest themselves in strange ways, that more often than not make no sense at all to us.

I'm not a lucid dreamer, but I do believe I have some amount of control over what I dream about... To a certain extent. I wonder if this is down to my distaste for living in reality; I am a fantasy writer after all, so perhaps my subconscious takes note of this and chooses my dreams more carefully. For instance, I haven't had a nightmare for several years (not since I went to Madame Tussaud's and walked through the live museum. Never again.) 

I think this comes down to positivity. I look forward to dreaming, and I don't allow myself to worry myself to sleep. This seems to culminate in the strangest dreams, and sometimes, I manage to pluck the thread of a story out from the complex dream weave of my sleeping mind. Sometimes I dream about stories already written, sometimes about real people who I've known and loved coming back in to my life.

I don't claim to be a expert on dreams, but one thing I have learnt is that my dreams are a sign, and not always in the way you would think. I've learned to take each dream and interpret it individually. If I'm dwelling on something that has been worrying me, I may dream about that - maybe a failed Exam or a missed train. But when I wake up, I am relieved, and in many cases, I know to expect the opposite of my dream.

When my dreams take a turn for the strange... Well there's not a lot I can do about that, except the above. Turn it into a story, which is what I plan to do with last night's dream. Perhaps I will post a sample of what I write in my next blog.

Anyway, the summary of this blog I suppose is to consider taking control of your dreams, and if not, then learn from them, and don't be afraid of what a dream is trying to tell you. Remember that dreams are a part of our minds, so why shouldn't we have say in what we do when we go to sleep?

Stay tuned,

Em