Last night I was dressed for a wedding, and I was thinking, what the hell am I doing? I’m 35 and look at me, I have pink hair and a cat tattoo. Am I trying to be a funky young twenty something person, or have I finally realised that NOBODY ACTUALLY GIVES A SHIT WHAT YOU DO? I hope it is the latter. Growing up I never thought I would be 35, without children and with a cat tattoo and pink hair. Life is funny isn’t it? Full of surprises. Here are seven things I thought I would never do.
Get a tattoo
My parents absolutely hate tattoos. They hate mine. This is probably why I was so anti-tattoo for such a long time. I never contemplated getting one until I saw how cute these teeny tiny kitty cat tattoos are. I wanted one to signify the journey that this blog has taken me on and to remind me to always be curious. I thought about it for a year to be sure about it. No regrets so far six months in.
Run a marathon (or run at all)
If you told me in high school I would have been a runner, I would have laughed in your face. The most exercise I got in my early twenties was walking out of a nightclub to smoke cigarettes. Then my flatmate in London convinced me to sign up for a half marathon, and the rest, they say, is history. I’ve done a marathon, 5 half marathons, a half ironman and soon to be a 21km trail half marathon.
Fall in love with Bali
I’m easily led astray with opinions sometimes. I had heard so many terrible things about Bali and Kuta over the years, I didn’t know how amazing it could be away from the crowds. I’m so glad I went there on a whim to review a yoga retreat in 2015, and discovered the east side of Bali and my freediving training ground.
Have pink hair
Never thought I would have pink hair but why the hell not? Hair is hair. Life is too short to not play sometimes.
Fall in love with The Ginger Hunk
When I met The Ginger Hunk, I had my life all planned out. I was with my ex, we had been together for a ‘safe’ amount of time. I was waiting for him to propose, then we were going to do the right thing, move home, settle down and make babies. It always felt pressured rather than something we both wanted to do. But a trip home and a chance meeting, made me do a life 360. Messy but for the best eventually for all involved.
Quit my job with no plan
As Liz Gilbert says, sometimes the yes isn’t there but your head is screaming NO so loudly that you have to say yes to the NO voice before you can find out what the yes is. So in December, I left my dream job. With no job. It wasn’t the best financial strategy seeing the mess we are in with Ginger Hunk not working. But I was able to actually recover from the stress of the job, and test out freelancing. I now have the balance with a part time job I really enjoy and freelance.
Freedive to 26m
Again. I’m not a risk taker. The Ginger Hunk had been freediving on Koh Tao while I was more than happy to sit by the beach. The only reason I actually tried freediving is because I was on a travel writing gig of sorts with Palawan Divers in El Nido. They asked me if I wanted to try it and I thought, hmmm okay. I was nervous as hell but in the clear waters of Bacuit Bay, my instructor Florent made an apprehensive student a new freediver for life.
What about you?
Anything you thought you would NEVER do but have?
Happy Sunday!
Love Ashleigh XX
