October Reflections, Highlights and Favourites

Helloooo all my lovely readers!

Honestly, it feels absolutely terrifying to be writing my little monthly reflection of October already. How the hell has time flown by so quickly?? 

I mean, so much has happened this month!

The big and obvious one is I turned 21, hitting that iconic milestone a lot of teens dread and many adults reminisce over. Of course, it was strange and sad not being with my family and boyfriend, but I still had a fantastic celebration in England with my friends, including going to an ABBA appreciation concert the night of my birthday, so that was awesome! If you want to read more about my 21st birthday though, you can check out the post I wrote about it here! 

However, there was also so much more that happened! I’m now almost halfway through my first term at university (aahhhhhh!!!!). My Disney society is well and truly launched! We had our first big event, a big pub quiz at a really cool bar in town, karaoke night and today we’re actually having a big Halloween costume party, with a costume competition, of course! 

We had a formal dinner in our college, which was great because we really missed out on our first-year college experiences, so it was great that they put on an event for the second years so quickly. It also meant I had an excuse to wear my unofficial Harry Potter robe, which is always great fun and just generally a fun evening with my friends. 

And last but not least, there was a fantastic event in the Durham University Cathedral… a silent disco!! I’d never heard of a silent disco before, and the concept just seemed really weird, but oh my word, I am so glad that I went because that was a bucket-list experience that I will probably never get the chance to have again. What made it even more extraordinary is there was a stunning moon installation in the cathedral, so not only did we get to boogie inside a world heritage site, but we got to boogie in a world heritage site under the freaking moon!!! 

Because this month has been so busy, it’s meant that I haven’t had as much time to read books for fun, watch movies, or bake, so I’m talking more about my fun experiences in this post (as you have already read), and a smaller selection of favourites! So let’s move onto that section, shall we? 

Favourite book – The Element by Ken Robinson 

Okay, so I’m never sure if I can include more serious/academic books here, but I figure so long as I’m reading something for enjoyment and not for a class or academic requirement, then it counts! Ken Robinson is an icon of mine, and I am obsessed with his TED Talks, his theories, comments on education, and his books, so I’m slowly making my way through his list of published books. This was the most recent one read. 

What I really loved about this book was the core message – we all have an element, this magical part of us that is essentially our talent, mixed with our passion, desires and hard work. In the book, he talks about different people who have found their elements and how our elements can be discovered, fostered or extinguished, and it was pretty startling how much it spoke to me. Especially as someone who doesn’t really think they’ve found their element yet. If you’re also looking for your element, or like me, just love Ken Robinson, I highly recommend this book. 

Favourite series – Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia 

I’m not doing a favourite movie this month because I sadly haven’t seen any new ones, and all the old ones I’ve rewatched are beautiful and glorious in their own right, and it didn’t feel right to pick one over another, so I just went for a series. Over the summer, I rewatched a few series I’d already seen, but I suddenly realised I never highlighted Trollhunters as a favourite series, and it really deserves it! 

I mentioned the movie in my August reflections post, but the series deserves a special mention! This series (and the two subsequent series) kept me sane during my hotel quarantine. Whoever created it is a genius – I would love to meet you and pick your brain for my own writing!! It is pretty light and whimsical, but it’s essentially a fantasy series with teens as the main characters dealing with real issues, on top of some more fantastical ones. There’s lots of intense action, romance (OMMGGGG I love the cute relationship in this series), magic, and lots of comic relief. It was such a great series to watch, and I have become so invested in all these characters, so even if you’re just looking for something light-hearted to watch while you do housework or something, this is a great choice! 

Favourite moment – Turning 21 

As I have already mentioned (so this will be the last time, I promise!!) I hit the big TWO-ONE this month! I am a legal adulting hooman across the entire planet, as terrifying as that thought is. I think the most satisfying thing about turning 21 is, in a way, it makes me feel like I’m finally old enough to be comfortable with exactly who I am and not feel the need to apologise for it. I don’t know if that’s a common thing with age? But yeah, that was a super fun day and, once again, a massive thank you to my incredible family, amazing boyfriend and all my fantastic friends who made the day special! 

Now I know I usually talk about my eco-friendly challenge for the month here too – the truth is I was initially planning on doing a collab with another blogger, but due to complications, we never managed to do that collab, so I thought I’d take this month to actually take stock of all the eco-friendly challenges I’ve done this year and see how many of those practices I still do on a regular basis. Honestly… I do a lot more than I thought, which is fantastic!! It’s much easier to keep up my eco-friendly practices when I’m living by myself because it’s just me I’m dealing with. On top of that, it also limits the amount of ‘other options’ I might have. At home, it’s a lot easier to conveniently do something less eco-friendly, but here in my flat, it’s a lot more noticeable (such as leaving lights on, not conserving water etc.) so let’s see what my last two challenges have to offer (By the way I’m seriously looking for inspiration for those so please leave your thoughts in the comments section!!) 

But otherwise, that’s all I have for you today!

What were your favourites this month? Do you have any particularly fun memories from the last month that are now firmly stuck in your long-term memory? Or any great movies, books or series you’ve come across? Lastly, any ideas for my final eco-friendly challenges??

I look forward to chatting with you all in the comments section !!

Lots of Love

Blondey on a Mission xxx