#5 Limbo and Learning

Just realised it's the last day of September and I haven't written another post since my 'revision' one on the 11th. To be honest, I don't have anything that interesting to write about. The first half of September was filled with revision and the other part I've been recovering from all the studying - it almost feels as if September never really happened.

It'll be two weeks tomorrow since I had my exam and I feel like I'm in limbo; I can't fully relax until I know if I've passed or not - and I still have around four weeks to go. It's strange to go from three years of full-time study to nothing. I love learning (I am 100% an advocate of lifelong learning), I have an incredibly active brain that needs to be kept busy and I cannot stand just sitting around, so I am finding ways to keep on learning and stay busy. I have been; trying out new cooking and baking recipes; throwing myself into my workouts (not literally); looking up courses on FutureLearn; as well as reading up on EFL teaching so I'm prepared for my CELTA course in January. I also want to start re-learning Spanish and do more creative things - we have a ukulele that's never really been played, I'd love to develop my non-existent drawing skills and am thinking about starting acting lessons again. I don't consider myself creatively talented but I wholeheartedly enjoy creative activities, I always have an urge to do ~creative things~ and I find creative expression helps me stay sane. I suppose writing on my blog is classed as creative, right? I want to do something meaningful with my time so I'm toying with the idea of volunteering (if anyone has any volunteering experience please let me know!).

I've also been trying to get back to 'real life' and sorting out things that were put on the back-burner this past year. Meeting up with friends and family, visiting places and I've had a massive bedroom clear-out which was super therapeutic (anyone else find cleaning and organising therapeutic?). I'm starting to sort through all the work I've done over the past three years and thinking about what to do next.

Something else I'm doing is forcing myself to rest and relax; I have a habit of doing too much all at once and burning myself out - I could do a whole blog post just on this. My first two years of OU study were back to back with only a weeks break between the two, and my third year involved 11 months of pretty much non-stop study, so I think I have earned a little holiday without feeling guilty. I have been sleeping for around 10 hours or if less, then I'm power-napping during the day, so I know my body needs to rest and recuperate after quite an intense number months. I like to be kept busy, but it's also important to take time to unwind - reading, walking, yoga and watching documentaries are perfect for this as I still feel like I'm doing something.

I realise I'm in a privileged position where I don't have to worry about bills or other responsibilities, so I want to make the most of this time. I know once I become a ~proper adult~ I'll look back and wish I had been more productive and appreciative of the time I have now. I'm in a transitional phase at the moment so life seems unclear and uncertain; once my degree is confirmed I'll be able to get the ball rolling and start thinking clearly about my next steps. For now, I have to adjust and get comfortable with being in limbo.

Feel free to share how you felt/what you did when your degree ended, or during a transitional time in life - I'd love to hear your stories and experiences.