Something I've been thinking about lately... is parents.

Everybody has them but everyone's relationships with their parents are different. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

And most people who have decent relationships with their parents will defend their parents style because they grew up with it, they think of it as normal and what parenting should be. At least, that's how it is for me.

Like, my Mum doesn't crawl into my bed early in the morning and cuddle with me while we have D&M's, but she's there for me when I want to talk. She supports me when I need it, she gives me space to be myself and do my own thing, and she doesn't treat me like a baby. She doesn't stay up waiting for me to come home late at night, or fret or make me leave notes saying where I am. But she buys me all my favourite foods without me needing to ask, and if my room gets terribly messy, she cleans every inch without asking for thanks. My Mum is terribly selfless. She's works herself ragged looking after me and providing for our family. I've never doubted that she loves me, or that I could do anything to make her fall out of loving me. If shit hit the fan, I wouldn't have to wonder where she'd be because I know it'd be with me. I read a book once, called Surviving Hitler. It was one of my favourites, and it was about a young boy around 12 who managed to get sent to a concentration camp rather than straight to the gas chambers like his mother and little brother. Sorry, morbid I know. I just finished The Book Thief so that would be why Nazi's are on my mind, but the boy said that when he pictured their final moments, he pictured his mother holding his younger brothers hand and comforting him, and that gave him comfort.

Maybe as I have a mother and younger brother, that's why I was always able to picture it, but if it were my Mum, she'd do that too. She'd cuddle us up and even if she knew what was about to happen, she wouldn't let it slip, she'd just soothe us and be the adult while we cried.

I really, really love my Mum. She's just good. I suppose since on Exchange, when we talk about our parents, we have to describe them with a bit more insight because none of our friends have met them so we start to think of them more as people, with their own personalities, not just as 'Mum and Dad'. Jen describes her parents as 'just, kind. Really, really kind.' I like that.

I think if I was to pick a word for my Mum, it'd be selfless.

She may not be the warmest, most affectionate, hands on Mother, that's not her and that's not me, but if we were Jews and there was only room for one of us to hide in a basement from the Nazi's, she'd let me be the one, no question.

She has her own things that make her happy, of course, that's healthy, and as we get older, she is getting more involved in her own happiness again, but she pretty much gave up the last 10 years of her life to raising me and my brother and we suck. And we are literally the worst. My whole childhood, the latest Mum ever got up in the morning (and this was sleep in day)- 9 o clock. I don't even remember the last time I was awake that early.

Mum's are superheroes.

Quick life update

It's been forever since I updated. Not because I haven't done anything interesting, but because I have.

Between my journal, close friends and my parents, I feel like everything I do I already recount about 500 times and anything else, I am too exhausted from the travelling to properly tell.

But I went to Portugal for 5 nights with my friends. We tanned, we walked, we drank and we ate and that pretty much sums up the trip. It was a beautiful country, the coast of the Algarve was incredible and my favourite memory was when all my best friends decided to go out exploring, leaving me with one girl in my group and her three besties. We ended up at the cliffs and took so many pictures and had so many laughs, before ending up at a resturant on the sand, with the waves actually hitting it, that's how close it was.

It was beautiful.

We drank sangria in the sun and I had an amazing time. With people I didn't know until the trip, that was exciting.

Then we came home, and I repacked my bag for a week in Wales. Saturday morning until the following Saturday evening.

It was hard yakka. It was 7am starts every day, with work until 11 at night. But there were breaks for food and the food was incredible. I now know a lot of bird calls, including the Robin, Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit and the Chiff Chaff. I know so much about deer, but I love deer. I know how to identify pond striders by gender, and know why Whirligigs bounce off each other like maniacs. And I learned how to set up experiments and do statistics and all other kinds of cool shit.

Plus I made friends and spent a whole week with English people which was great, because I don't tend to see many English people generally. We played rugby netball every evening and everybody ended up loving it. We tramped through mud and swamps and I saw three adders (the only dangerous snake in England) and got drunk with my lecturers and it was just a great experience, even if we were so exhausted by the end that we just crashed.

Then, one day at home (Sunday) and then 10 days in Ireland with Jen. We stayed in Co. Cork, in the rural town of Clonakilty. I learnt all about the famous Michael Collins, revolutionary, and met all my Irish family.

It was a quick 10 days, but it was tedious in parts. The relative we were staying with was a bit hard to deal with by the end and overall, our assessment of Ireland is the Tumblr quote 'People from small towns aren't quirky, they're fucking racist.' But everyone was welcoming and I had a nice time.

Now I am back in Exeter, with 5000 jobs to do and exams and reports to study and write up. Do I stay at home mostly watching movies and marathoning TV shows when not staying up last reading or drinking with my mates? Yes, that is a fair assessment.

But I can change! Ha.

Hahaha.

Hahahhahhaahahaha.

Anyway, that's my update, I think that's all I can bear writing.