Alice Catherine Alice Catherine

 I’ve been feeling generally quite overwhelmed lately – my life took a drastic change in direction over the course of what felt like a mere heartbeat. When you suffer with anxiety, great opportunities can often feel daunting, even frightening, and this sometimes overrides the positive feelings of self accomplishment and excitement. I mentioned recently that I’ve just started to give blogging a shot full time – this wasn’t something that I ever imagined happening so soon, and I still don’t really feel like I’ve digested this new life change…

A couple of weeks ago I was still stuck in an office job I hated, wading through customer complaints and producing copy for clothes that I just wasn’t enthusiastic about. I’d be at my desk by 8:30am each day and would practically run home come 5pm to start work on my blog. I was answering emails during my lunch hour, and secretly scribbling down content ideas whenever I could. I’d be up till gone midnight a lot of evenings writing blog posts and making sure that I kept on top of everything, then I’d be shooting every weekend pretty much without fail. I had barely any down time, social media was consuming every thought – I was mentally exhausted and stuck in a constant state of limbo. I was making excuses to get out of social interactions and leaving very little down time to hang out with those I cared about, every spare minute was spent worrying about the job I hated, or working on thing thing I loved – my blog.

I tend to be very hard on myself, I find it hard to switch off and my mind is constantly ticking away with the next task that I need to complete – I think it’s a lot to do with my anxiety, and partly to do with the way I’m wired. I’m an impatient soul, and when I have an idea I feel the urge to bring it to life immediately. I’m basically a weirdo and need to learn that patience is a virtue and that it’s important to switch off now and then. It’s so essential to have down time and not let work consume your life too much – it generally makes you better at what you do if you can learn to hit the refresh button now and then. I just strongly felt that it was important for me to put in the hours to create the type of content I was proud of, and nobody could really tell me otherwise. I didn’t really care that my social life was suffering a bit, I kind of felt like this was ‘my time’ to prove to myself I was capable of taking control for once, rather than taking a backseat and just letting things happen.

Eventually my job become too much to bare, it was making me utterly miserable and I was having to turn down blog opportunities because I just didn’t have the time or means to create the content. Then came the tipping point of having to choose – I felt so so grateful for everything that was coming my way, but also the constant guilt of cutting off a full time/reliable source of income. Luckily I’d worked my butt off for the last six months and had been careful with my spending habits – I knew that it wouldn’t be the end of the world to walk away from a job that was depressing me, but somehow there’s just a huge ‘adult guilt’ that comes with taking a risk and pursuing your dreams. Yanno, that annoying inner voice that tells you to be sensible and responsible – to not make any brash life choices and maybe think it all over with a cup of tea? I’m not sure if anyone else feels that way too, but my dreams always felt completely unobtainable, I never expected to be in a position where I’d be in charge of myself – freelancing in the big wide world and getting to grips with an industry that’s growing and changing every single day.

It’s a big change from being in an office everyday and it’s a huge shift in routine – one that I’ve had to completely figure out myself and build each day. I still get scared about meeting up with people for the first time, catching a train somewhere new, or sharing my honest thoughts on something like this with you guys, but I’m so so thankful that I can. The support and little community I’ve developed on here keeps me motivated every day and never ceases to surprise me. I’ve realised that it’s healthy to be uncomfortable sometimes – it means you’re growing, and I still feel like I have a lot of growing to do. I’m so grateful for this space (starting to sound like some kind of mad hippy/bare with me), it’s taught me to believe in myself a little more, to not be afraid of what others think and to work hard at what you love relentlessly because you never know what might be round the corner. I guess this new life altercation has got me slightly sentimental (can you tell?), but I always find these more personal style posts the best form of therapy.

It’s early evening as I curate my thoughts, I’m sat here in mismatched pyjamas and can hear the hustle of the city outside – I have a feeling that I haven’t had for a while, a sense of being content with the uncertainty ahead, because no matter what lies ahead we are able to pick ourselves up and move forward. Sometimes onto better things, but always onto things that we are capable of, no matter how much we tell ourselves otherwise…

Alice x


Photography by Adriana

Blouse – H&M | Jacket c/o  – Sezane | Jeans – Vintage Levi (similar here & here) | Shoes – And Other Stories (similar here) | Necklace c/o – Chupi | Sunglasses – Mango | Bag – Etsy

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15 Comments

  1. Holly White says:

    Alice, this is literally like you put the thoughts that are swirling round in my brain right now, down into words for me.

    We are exactly the same (from what you’ve written anyway). I am just like you in the sense that I am impatient, I don’t give myself a break and if I have an idea, then I have to get going on it straight away. I feel overwhelmed and like my dreams are totally unobtainable, yet I still work and work and work in the hopes that it’ll all one day be true. I suppose it’s slowly working, but it is totally overwhelming.

    It’s amazing to see how much you’ve achieved. To me, your blog is amazing, completely original and one of my favourites to read and it makes me really happy that you feel content right now! You totally deserve all the happiness and opportunities that come your way! xxx

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Ahh Holly, you are such a little angel! Thank you for always leaving sweet comments – this made my day. I love your blog too, the photography is always so unique/well styled, we need to meet up soon 🙂 xxx

  2. Sheila Joy says:

    I think it’s awesome you worked up the courage to quit your day job to blog, Catherine! I can understand how overwhelming that must feel, especially since freelancing is such a different source of income than your typical 9-5. I believe you will succeed 🙂

    http://www.insearchofsheila.com

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Thank you – it definitely feels like the right thing even though it’s scary! xx

  3. That’s so awesome that you’ve taken the plunge into full time! I am sure you’ll succeed and it must feel so good to leave a terrible job behind to do what you love! Good luck and I can’t wait to see how your blog grows xxx

  4. Lisa Sengel says:

    I looked for blogs for the first time about a year ago just for some style inspiration. Your blog is the only one that I revisit, your outfits are gorgeous, the content is inspiring and you always make me feel better if I’m having an off day. Good luck with full time blogging and I hope it brings tons of exciting opportunities, looking forward to seeing what happens next. xx 🙂

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Wow such a compliment, thank you! Means more than you know xx

  5. violetnikol says:

    I’m sorry that you went through these days. I hope you will be fine soon. Anxiety is a struggle, I know it, personally. Your smile is gorgeous, I also really like your style ♥

    Btw: my blog is in Czech, but I plan more articles in English ^^

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Thank you! Sending love to you xx

  6. Nina says:

    I love this so much <3 Like I don't really have anything to add I just love it xx nina

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Thank you! xx

  7. nicole says:

    OMG! I think we are the same person. I randomly just went to your blog for the first time and read this. I too am at my wit’s end with my office job and I have anxiety so bad I’m scared to do a lot of things. It’s really hard living with anxiety like I have. I want to start a blog so bad and have been doing research, etc. I can’t stand where I am at in life with my career. Thank you for this post:) This gave me some courage to move a little closer. xxoo

    1. alicecatherine says:

      So glad to hear it helped you in some way! I never thought I’d have the guts to walk out of my job but I’m so glad that I did. Obviously it’s not the right move for everyone, but it was definitely the push I needed to make something else work! Hope you start a blog – I’m sure it will be amazing! xxx

  8. Samantha says:

    I must say you are soooooo cute and inspiring!I am a foreign student in Manchester and hope to run into you one day~

    I have a WeChat subscription (public account which is very popular among young people in China)and I recently I am going to write a article to introduce you to more of my friends.

    Thank you for sharing your experience with us again~xxx

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