Living by my Calendar: February

(Catch up on the ‘Living by my Calendar’ series here)

This month, I have once again let my lovely calendar by The Bright Side take over as my personal guru and general life coach. As well as the occasional daily challenges and hastily invented but utterly brilliant holidays (‘International Do Nothing Day’ was a particularly appealing one for this month, but rather sadly fell on a Monday. ‘International haul your overly heavy suitcase from London to Oxford before handing in a job application and doing the laundry day’ really doesn’t have the same ring to it…) the calendar also provides a monthly mantra on a lovely splash of colour. This month was all about Loving Me, Loving You; here’s how I got on:

February: Love every inch of Your Body (and, when at all possible, every inch of somebody else’s as well)


Cunningly slipping in Valentine’s Day possibilities without excluding the single or cynical, this is a brilliant slogan for February, when it’s still dark and depressing and most New Year’s fitness resolutions have now been sensibly relegated to the ‘too ambitious anyway’ bin.

However, well-chosen as it is, I wasn’t exactly sure how to honour this month’s challenge. It’s quite hard to quantify “loving every inch of your body”, especially for me. This month I’ve been saving up for schooling, so had no money for clothes in which to drape said cherished form. I was also on work experience with Sky News, the long evening commute from which made soaks in bubble baths or home-spa evenings somewhat tricky to find time for.

An opportunity presented itself however, in a rather unusual form, so this weekend, I’ve decided to basically force the issue: I’m having nude photographs taken. Of course there’s an element of this which quite frankly terrifies me, because guess what, chaps: it’s quite hard to love every inch of your body. It’s relatively easy to pick and choose the odd good bit; the eyes you like the colour of or the tummy which stays mercifully flat. It’s very very hard, however, to cultivate a catch-all acceptance of every single element.

Physical perfection, we are told, doesn’t exist, yet somehow we are forced to look at it every single day; on shop mannequins, in doctored images, on professional models whose job it is to get as close to ideal as possible. When you’re stuck with a pointy elf ear and hips that certainly don’t lie, this plethora of superior examples is a bit bloody annoying.

More than annoying, in fact; it can be damaging, affecting your ability to appreciate even the bits of you which used to cheer you up, because someone somewhere always has even nicer eyes, a flatter stomach. We need to learn to see beauty for what it is; a totally subjective spectrum, whose greatness lies in difference.

This is why I’m taking my clothes off. It’s not only about proving to myself that I love every inch of my body, but about trying to help spread that love a bit further, because (deep breath) these photos aren’t for my eyes only. I’ve written about The Yes Resource before—it’s a wonderful website promoting frank and honest discussion of sexual issues, gender equality, rape culture and body image. In their next promotional bid they are showcasing naked volunteers, posing with slogans about positive body image and consent. That’s where I come in. Wish me luck!

Daily challenges. 5th: do a press up and succeed day. Further to my wholehearted success on last month’s ‘do a push up and fail day’, I’m happy to report that I can now do 7 actual push ups in a row, and 19 half push ups. Win.

9th: Create an air of mystery day. Perhaps designer Lily Bright was thinking more along the lies of a femme fatale wardrobe or unexplained errand here, but I went for a slightly different tactic. The 9th was the day I made my valentine’s cake with the mysteriously (!) concealed heart inside.

26th: Give a compliment to a stranger day. My you read this post quickly, well done you! No, in actual fact I did give a compliment to a stranger. Lara in Waitrose; your earrings really were incredibly gorgeous; I can’t believe you made them yourself.

Living by my Calendar: January

I have the best calendar in the entire world. It’s by The Bright Side, and it’s utterly brilliant. The slim hang-up format means its perfect to hang above a desk without it being too obtrusive in your eye-line, and because it’s largely white, it will go with any bedroom or office space decor. But designer Rachel Bright also lives up to her name; she sees life as full of colour, and tries to make you see it too. Each month is headed by a beautiful bright splash, inked over with a handy piece of advice which is sure to make you smile every time you look at it. Additionally, knowing perhaps, that many modern professionals have to live religiously by the dictates of their calendar, she has also made sure you have a lovely day every so often, coining new holidays such as “17th October: Feed Some Ducks Day”. This is utterly my kind of thing. So I’m trying to take my calendar’s advice, following its instructions and embracing its life-lessons as whole-heartedly as I can. I’ll review how I get on each month.

In the calendar’s own words, “Welcome to a Year of Utter Brilliance, Dream Success, Physical Perfection & Ultimate Balance”. Go forth and be awesome.

January: “Less Worrier, More Warrior”

I love this saying, and it’s a wholly apt choice for January, where worries about “where my life is going” tend to creep menacingly up to the surface of my poor stressed-out little mind. The bracketed advice to “flex bicep and make power face whilst reading this” is also a valuable metaphor: when you’re worried, take action; do something about it.

This month I’ve had a bit of a re-think, career wise. This was meant to be a year to find out what I wanted to do, but after many stints of work experience, I think I’m more or less there, decision-wise. I’ve also realised that landing that first job might require a bit of further training, so this January I’ve been looking at ways to make it happen, attending open days, applying for trainee schemes, and stalking the career histories of anyone who seems to have made it. So, if the “worrier” isn’t quite defeated, at least I’m feeling like a have a bit more control about where my life might head one day.

Of course, “warrior” can also be interpreted more literally, and if you’re job-hunting or worried about career choices or exams or making the rent, I really really recommend trying to be a bit more warrior-like in your own way. No need to bankrupt yourself with the gym or anything like that, but scheduling something that makes you feel strong- whether that be a run, a workout video on youtube, or even a session punching your pillow- will make you feel better. Anyway, exercise is horrible, we all know that, so if you’re feeling decidedly un-smug about life, it will give you something to gloat about later, and help you feel like you deserve your downtime. This is one of the worst things about job-hunting; that night out or DVD marathon seems un-earned somehow, because you don’t feel like you’ve been at work all week (even though you have). Ending the day with some warrior-training will help mark out your job-hunting time from your free-time.

Daily Challenges. 9th : try to do a press-up and fail day. Huh. No problem there, but having done a few yoga videos and one training session, I can happily report a solid ability to do 6 or 7 half push-ups (more commonly, and more depressingly, known as “girl push-ups”)

25th: Burns night. No specific instructions attended this entry, but I chose to honour the day in my own way. That’s why I drank all that whiskey. For culture.

28th: experimental cooking day. Being short of any fruit in the house, lazy, and in urgent need of something chocolatey, I invented a recipe for chocolate orange cupcakes which incorporated nearly an entire jar of marmalade. I loved it, but I’m not sure it really deserves the title “cupcake”. “Chocolate Orange Soup” might have been more texturally appropriate.