Alice Catherine

I really hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! And for those that didn’t,  just know that the hard moments always pass eventually, and whilst January can be a daunting time, the symbolism of a ‘new slate’ can be something we can all take comfort in…

I spent my Christmas at home which was lovely – my sister surprised us all and turned up unexpected from a two year travelling stint. She’s been living in Australia so it’s hard to keep in touch properly at the best of times! Having her live on the other side of the world is pretty difficult, so her festive presence was just the winter ‘pick me up’ my soul needed, and I’ve been trying to spend as much quality time *offline* with her as possible.

Taking time offline is always something that I find hard to adjust to around the festive period. I’m so accustomed to updating social media daily and sharing lots of my life in the online world. As a freelancer (and someone who curates a public platform), it’s hard to know when to take a step back, and sometimes even harder to convince yourself that people will still be there when you return. After all, I really don’t think anyone cares if I take a week or two offline to refresh myself, but sometimes anxiety gets the last laugh and you find yourself hiding your phone under various objects and hoping you forget about it…

As far as ‘New Year’ goals and motivation goes, I don’t believe I’ve been struck with any just yet. I don’t have any big travel plans in the books, and I haven’t really given the old ‘content schedule’ much thought either. I want to ease myself back into the year and avoid any ‘January Blues’ related meltdowns caused by overwhelming myself too quickly. Whilst I’m all for a motivational ‘New Year’ moment, sometimes when I’m faced with a wall of well intended ‘positive goals and plans’, I find myself retreating back into my oversized blazer as though it’s some sort of protective shell – shovelling in another left over Christmas chocolate and hoping the endorphins kick start my own impressive ‘New year plan’… 

This isn’t me throwing shade at anyone who has started filling out their 2020 diary either – I totally see the power in setting goals for the New Year ahead. This is just me taking it upon myself to remind you that the opposite is totally okay too. There’s also power in being unproductive and reclaiming those hours you thought you’d lost binge watching your favourite show or reading a new book. These hours are just as important as the ones you spend planning, and hoping, and dreaming for the future. The hours you allow yourself to *just be* are the most rewarding of all in my humble opinion. It’s so important to just sink into yourself and allow yourself the headspace and the energy to begin moving forward again… whatever moving forward looks like to you.

I never feel more at ease than when I’m by the sea – the soothing sound of the waves is like a sort of therapy to me. The chaos of the online world suddenly seems insignificant, and I find myself more clear headed and able to focus on the things that really matter.

These images were shot on a trip to Brighton last month. I thought December seemed like a strange time to visit, but it actually ended up being exactly the sort of trip I needed before the madness of Christmas descended. Despite the uncertainty of the New Year and all it may bring, I feel quite peaceful looking at through these images again – they remind me I have a happy place to work towards, and I’m motivated to make more trips to the seaside a reality… 

Once I have the usual two day panic post New Year induced hangover – I usually feel ready to convince myself that I’m just one human trying to make their way in the big wide world, and I try and let go of any silly New Years related pressure.

If you’re reading this then the likelihood is that you’re just one human too, and this is just one more year ahead of us – filled with a million different chances to discover new experiences and new meaning. After all, we can plan, schedule, and organise as much as we like, but things rarely end up up happening exactly how we imagined. The older I get, the happier I am to surrender to the New Year and all it may bring – the good, the bad, and the ugly. We are stronger and more resilient than we give ourselves credit for, and although this New Year is likely to test us at times, we have already been tested many times before, and here we are still standing – the 2020 confetti barely settled beneath our feet…

No matter what my inevitable ‘New year freak out’ looks like or how many times I try and convince myself that my career is over and I’ll never work again – there always comes a time again when I’m itching to dig my laptop out of hibernation, and putting an outfit together suddenly feels like a magic mood changer again. I make myself a coffee, sit down on my sofa, and suddenly the sound of my fingertips typing makes the chaos inside my head feel oddly at peace…

Photographs taken by Catherine Booty 

Coat – Nanushka (old season/similar here), Jumper c/o – And Other Stories, Jeans – Redone, Boots – Miu Miu, Hat – Alexa Chung (old season)

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