Hello, again.

Where do I start? 

My last post on this blog was written in 2021 - around the time I made the decision to take a bit of a step back from photography to focus on my studies and career, and to come back home to myself. 

Since I moved back from Scotland, each day I spent unable to focus fully on my PhD dissertation was a day of guilt, shame, and self-flagellation. The imagined cloud over my head grew bigger, darker, heavier, and yet I felt like a deer in the headlights - unable to make any tangible progress in my writing. My job in the Social sphere took up a lot of my brainspace, and whilst I loved the learning curve and my application of my studies to the field of social policy, it was leaving me with very little mental energy to come back home and focus on my thesis. I needed that time to unwind, recharge, and do things that engage me in new ways. 

And let’s face it: photography alone wasn’t cutting it. Photography is second nature to me - those who follow my stories on social media know this, because I’ve never let go of capturing my little moments, and I've still done some portraiture every now and then. 

I took up scuba-diving, and satisfied my need for new challenges by pursuing certifications, discovering new underwater landscapes, and getting lost in the beautiful Mediterranean sea - all whilst meeting people who shared the same passion. I needed this more than I thought, because it reconnected me with my inner child - my past - my roots. It rejuvenated parts of me I didn’t know I’d lost over the years. And that’s why the sea became a recurring theme for my portraiture since then - as you can see in my portfolio. 

I went to therapy, I made the move into the Health sector, and shortly after, into a new home that belonged only to me. No flatmates, no family, no parasitic boyfriends. No distractions. Just me and my haven - my safe space. 

I cut ties with toxic ‘friends’, gossip and negativity, and said ‘no’ to social activites that didn’t fulfil me.  

I finished my thesis, I passed my Viva, and I graduated my PhD just last November, for my 30th birthday. 

Now, after these years of reflecting and recalibrating, I feel like I can take the next steps I’ve been waiting so patiently to take. I feel like I’m out of a limbo I’ve endured for too long. 

Whether it’s related to my full-time job and career in Health Behaviour Change and Public Health Psychology, or my passion for photography or scuba diving, I feel less like a deer in the headlights, and more like I can move forward. 

So, here I am, expressing myself on this platform again. 

Hello.