re:new

sometimes we need a fresh start.

sometimes, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to start over.

over the past few years, I have changed so much. I've lost my religion, finished my degree, become a feminist, gained and lost friends, relationships and jobs. My mental health has fluctuated just as much as my life has over the past few years. Sometimes, even in between a few days I can go from feeling 100% fantastic to 100% not-so-shiny.

Often, it makes me feel better to drop whatever I'm working on and to just have a fresh start - or at least to take a moment to lean back and look at what I'm doing. I need to see how things could be better, and it's pretty dang hard to do that during a panic attack or during high stress moments.Change is good. Change is challenging, but change is good. It's good for your mental health to rethink things sometimes. :)

As you can see, I've changed some things here on the blog. Definitely be expecting more changes - this mini facelift on the blog is just another example of taking a step back and seeing how things could be better.

graduation + studenthood

Yep. Finished my degree. Convocation is on June 10th! And it's just starting to set in - a few days ago, I got home from work and turned on the tv. After mindlessly flipping through channels for awhile, I realized that I should probably be more productive. I turned off the tv, and sat down at my desk... only to realize that I have nothing to do. No homework. No readings. No papers.

It feels pretty great. Also a few days ago, I was filling out some kind of form/survey. I got to the question "how much education have you completed?" and for the first time could answer "Bachelors Degree" instead of "some college" (whatever that means).

It does make me think, however, that being a student has been a part of my identity for such a very long time. I've been a student for about 17 years - and I've only been alive for 22! But I'm excited to see what non-student life is like. Once I get past the post-exams-12-hours-of-sleep-per-night phase.

I'll miss this guy!

change

Today, I finished my undergraduate degree. What a crazy feeling! I have been a student at the ualberta for 5 years - it's such a crazy time for change. I'm also going through a break up, getting involved at a new job, exploring new volunteer opportunities and trying new creativity projects. What a weird time in my life. Things feel out of control and stressful, but also exciting and energizing.

I know it's been a solid while since I've blogged. Firstly, I want to say thank you so much to everyone who reached out to me after my last post. Secondly, it was hard to imagine writing another post after a post that vulnerable. It's not like I could just pop in an ENFP confession and pretend I hadn't just bared my soul to all of the internet. But now that school is out and my life is going in a new direction, I'm hoping to find the time to blog more often - and maybe to give my blog a bit of a makeover & a new direction.

I just wanted to share these little updates, but also I wanted to have an excuse to sign my name:

Much love,

Robin Hansen, B.Sc.