A blog for documenting my personal life experiences and thoughts featuring a pun from my avid interest in sport.

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Who am I?

I am absolutely awful at introducing myself but here goes…

I’m currently a 22 year old male from England, who is guilty of being a little opinionated from time to time. I am here to share my thoughts on just about anything, whether it is something I’m passionate about or whether or not it grinds my gears! Some of the things I will talk about will involve my hobbies which include music and sport. I’m at University studying to become a Physical Education teacher at the moment. Therefore expect some University related articles to help you to survive your studies!

This is my first shot at setting up a blog but its an idea I’ve been contemplating for a while. Despite the shocking sporty pun, this blog will not be exclusively sport content, instead catering for anything I fancy discussing. Although my username does originate from former footballer Martin Laursen who played for my favourite football team Aston Villa. I’m an avid football fan all the way up from Sunday League and Non-League, so expect to hear stories of away days and big clashes!

Throughout this blog I will be open and honest as I can be, as I document my personal experiences and struggles. One huge aspect of my personality and life is living with autism, which brings an interesting journey that I hope you will take with me.

Please do tell your family and friends about my new adventure. It is something I’m excited about and would love to share to a wider audience.

Thank you for reading.

P.S. My Twitter is @sleeeponit if you ever want to get in contact for whatever reason, such as topic ideas or tips you’d like me to discuss.

Soulmate

There can be so many definitions for a ‘soulmate’ but I feel the one below describes it best…

I am lucky enough to have met my soulmate in 2020, when the world was falling part, we were falling together. Over the next 2 years this connection developed greatly and formed such a strong and unbreakable love and desire for one another.

Having a long-distance soulmate is one of life’s most difficult changes, but by sticking it out you will reap the greatest rewards. The time spent together is unmatched as is the feeling your s.o. can give you from simply just being around them. That soft sweet smile, or the magic in the silence between two people on the same wavelength, quietly comfortable in each other’s company. The two of you not only tolerate each other’s little quirks, but actually quite likes them. The understanding you have for one another is on a deeper level than you ever expected, or ever could reach with anyone else in your life.

I have found out firsthand that when you find someone special like this, it can be difficult to settle for anything less. You may have friends from various walks of your life who you do care about, but you know for certain you would do anything to be in the company of your soulmate. You do not have to explain your quirks, your habits, or your situation because they not only know them, but they understand and can appreciate them.

When I am around you, I simply feel at ease. The limited time we get together because of distance continues to provide some of the best adventures of our lives. This has brought us across countries and cities, proving that love knows no border. This journey we are on together will lead to something magical, something we are both dreaming of and longing for. Our next adventure will be a great test, something that proves our strength and resilience in the toughest of situations. What that time will show is a little glimpse into the beautiful future of two destined soulmates.

2021

It has been a while since my last entry but finally, I am here and here is my first post of the new year. I start by wishing you a ‘Happy New Year’ despite these troubling times. I hope you were all about to have a nice Christmas and New Year regardless. I would love for you to tell me in the comments what you did, or what presents you got. Or maybe you just really enjoyed the time off if you were able to rest.

For me, my studies have been consuming a lot of my time and energy. More energy than I have got half the time. I have not been able to do the things I love or some days even the bare necessities due to a lack of energy. The things that have kept me going are the hopes of a better 2021, with less stress and more adventures. I know that this is months away though, which is the most difficult part for me. It is really hard to get yourself motivated every day and balance everything when you feel like this. But the main thing is to have an end goal that you keep chipping away at in little chunks, so that the mammoth task feels more manageable.

Regardless of the summer or lack of a ‘true summer’ we might have this summer, I will look forward to the sunny days, the rest and the peace. I thinking studying is difficult enough as it is, but in the middle of a pandemic too is nigh on impossible. Especially as students and those in education in England have been treated so poorly. Maybe it is similar in your country too? It is bizarre to think as our country goes into a third lockdown, that we are expected to produce the same quality and quantity of work. I can’t get my head around it in all honesty.

How do you feel about 2021 and what are you looking forward to?

Five things you probably didn’t know about me

Here on my personal blog I am very open and I share my life experiences. You all know I lived and study abroad for over 7 months, and that I love sport and music. But there are some other things you did not know about me… Here I shall list five things.

I cannot ride a bike!

Yes, I am 23 now and I still can’t ride a bike! I am not ashamed, I just feel sad that I miss out on bike trips. I was on a tandem bike in my trip to Taiwan (how great it was not having to pedal by the way!) but I haven’t been on a bike properly since. I tried to in Sweden once but with my fear of falling and hindered by disability, I just couldn’t improve!

I am programmed!

It seems that most nights, I am programmed to wake up at a certain time, which appears to be 8 hours from whenever I go to sleep! I.E. if I didn’t sleep till 2 am, you can count your chickens that I will be up at 10 regardless of how tired I am. Perhaps my brain and body are not co-operating to realise the latter is still very tired! Because of this, I try not to sleep before midnight otherwise I will be awake far too early!

I am really indecisive!
I hate taking the lead as I want others to feel comfortable and confident with things – such as if we are going somewhere. I am not afraid to say no if it would make me unhappy though, so I prefer a 50/50 amount of effort, where two people can mutually agree on something that they both enjoy.

I am very philosophical!

Maybe those on my social media know this by now as I share a lot of philosophical and inspirational photos. I just love learning and understanding things and the reasons behind them. I have my thoughts, morals, beliefs and values that I hold so tightly and profoundly.

I am not (too) afraid to grow older!

Man in Black Jacket Wearing Black Headphones

I may be 23, but I feel like I have matured very quickly and I am already over the whole young and immature persona. I look forward to the future as hopefully I will have a job I enjoy and my own place to live in. Most importantly my own washing machine and tumble dryer! Gosh, I live an exciting life right? I might as well be that man shaking his fist at young skateboarders! The only things that scare me about growing older are my hairline and physical body worsening.

What are some things that people do not know about you? Share them in the comments.

What have I been up to?

I have been back in the UK almost two months now and I am into my third and final year of study at the moment. I have been very busy with my studies but I have also been up to a few things! I thought it would be fitting to offer a kind of catch up post, so you can understand why there has been more time between blog posts than usual. Don’t worry though! There are plenty more posts scheduled that are coming up in November. You can count on it!

Sadly the main thing I have been doing is studying! I bashed out a 2,800 word assignment that was due only a month after starting this year again. Crazy right? It was enjoyable topic area really but very stressful. It was for my disability class and I was looking at how disability is perceived and how school children with disabilities are mistreated. It is a topic familiar to me and something I feel strongly about, so it was quite easy to think of things to write about.

I am a perfectionist at times when it comes to studying, but it can often cause more problems than it does solutions. I will spend way too much time on work and not allow myself any time to relax or recuperate. This year with utilizing the help of others and other healthy realisations, I am doing my best to not get ‘burned out’ essentially. I know it is bound to come as I am already incredible tired and such, but I am getting out and about more which I think can do wonders. It is not good to stay inside for too long which I seem to do if I am busy studying. But even just going out on a short walk to see something other than the four walls of my room, it can only be a good thing. This is something I have been doing more lately, seeing the sunsets, appreciating the nature and just trying to be more healthy really.

Finally, I have been trying to get a little bit more active but I still have a long way to go. My activity comes through sport and recently I have played Tennis and Badminton. I love my racket sports and soon I will be playing Table Tennis. I also love to watch sport and I have watched quite a few football games in person since arriving back to the UK. Apart from the poor results they have been very enjoyable! Sadly winter is looming and the cricket season is long gone. I can’t wait for spring to start up again already so I can be even more active! But for now, please do share with me some ways you like to keep active and inspire me!

Feel free to suggest things in the comments, that you would like to read about on this blog so I can be inspired by you! I will try my best!

Five unskippable albums

I spend a lot of time listening to music but I do not like to change the album all that often. Because of this I try to listen to albums that I know I will never get sick of as every single track is great. There are so many out there but here are just five of my favourites. I can easily listen to these once every 24-48 hours!

1. Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent.
This is the debut album by Scottish singer song writer Lewis Capaldi. If there is a song you know off of it, it is probably Hold me while you wait, Someone you loved or Bruises. There are many more singles on this album unsurprisingly, but also some other songs that could easily feature as singles.

My favourites: Maybe, Forever and One.

2. Busted – A Present For Everyone
To be honest, I could have named any of Busted’s four studio albums. This is their second effort and was released all the way back in 2003, in their youthful pop punk sound. This one is also packed full of singles which includes the fan favourite ‘thunderbirds are go’ and ‘crashed the wedding’.

My favourites: Fake, Nerdy and She Wants To Be Me.

3. Dean Lewis – A Place We Knew.

I am sure you have heard me talk about this Australian singer song writer before on my blog! This a much newer album and was released last year as his first. This is another one packed full of amazing unskippable tracks, which is important due to his limited back catalogue. I hope its not too long we have to wait for his second album!

My favourites: Waves, Chemicals and Don’t Hold Me.

4. Blink-182 – Enema Of The State

The famous line “nobody likes you when you’re 23” from hit single What’s my age again. I recently turned 23 so it seemed very fitting to include this album today. That and all the small things will be the most popular songs of this album but there are plenty of great songs that I know Blink fans still love, even 21 years after this albums release. A timeless classic in my opinion!

My favourites: Dumpweed, Don’t Leave Me and Dysentery Gary.

5. Dermot Kennedy – Without Fear.

As you can tell by now, I love my singer song-writers and Dermot Kennedy is no exception. His debut studio album released last year is the fifth and final unskippable album that I am writing about today. Despite its release as an album last year, its five singles spans over almost two years with the first ‘Moments Passed’ released in September 2017 and the latest ‘Outnumbered released in June 2019.

My favourites: What Have I Done, Outnumbered and Rome.

These are just three of my favourite songs from each of the five albums, but I could list so many more. I highly recommend that you listen to at least one if not all five of these, and find yourselves some great albums to listen to thoughout.

Please share if you know these albums already as well as any albums you find unskippable!

5 Tips to stop procrastinating at uni

Bored formal man watching laptop at desk

University for many is a constant struggle between finding the balance of having fun and motivating yourself to study. If we are constantly studying, we are never having fun. But if we are never studying, we are not having any fun either when it comes to our grades. Here I share with you some tips I use to try and help me survive a little better.

To not procrastinate, you may have to procrastinate a little!

This may sound a little strange off the bat but I cannot even begin to describe the importance of it. What I mean here is do not work yourself too hard and allow yourself to have a healthy amount of breaks that do not interfere with your productivity. I am guilty of trying to work through the stress and I can assure you that the quality is not merely as good as it would be if I took some time off. I feel that if you try to work through stress like this it is demotivating and make me less likely to study or get anything meaningful done.

Switch off from the world!

Switch off from as much social media applications and stuff that can wait until you’re done studying. The constant desire to check your phone is incredibly distracting. Ever since I muted notifications for quite a few of my apps, I noticed that I started to check my phone less. There’s no distractions or noises which means you can fully focus and try to get into the zone for your studies!

Organising and to-do lists!

This one is incredibly important to me. You can use a diary or whatever works for you, but just write down the things you want to achieve in a day and work through it as a checklist. Make it realistic and achievable so you do not get too disappointed if you do not achieve everything. Be kind to yourself but also have some kind of goal or achievement that you are working towards. Do not forget to have breaks too and allow for recovery days which may not be so productive for your studies, but productive and kind for your soul.

Intense periods without distractions.

I think we have all been a stage where we are struggling to work whether it is because we are demotivated or struggling to find the information we want to include in our work. We end up checking Facebook every twenty minutes or so and we do not seem to get anywhere with our work. If it has got to this stage then maybe you would benefit from an intense period such as an hour, where you try to do as much quality work as you can. Or at least stay off social media. I like to give myself breaks when I can so this does not always work for me, but I appreciate that everyone works differently. Find the best study skills that work for you and that are healthy!

Set up your work station!

You are going to want to take breaks of course regularly, to go the toilet and stretch so make sure you are not in your seat for too long. Do not let your eyes stare at the computer too! But what is beneficial is to have your work set up to a state of comfort that helps you study, but does not hinder your performance. I like to have a full water bottle nearby with a snack just to help me power through. You can also have all your pens and paper nearby so you have no excuses not to be studying!

I hope you find these tips useful and enjoyed reading this entry. Please use the comment section to share some of your own tips!

Life is moving on quick…

Too quick. Now in my third year of university and back in England, the life I once created for myself earlier this year seems like a distant memory. As much as I hold onto the memories, I am excited for the future. But for now, adjusting to (what feels like a whole new life… ‘back to reality’ and all that) life again is pretty dismal if I must say so.

Its strange though, I am not sure if the final year of my studies is the busiest, but it certainly is the most difficult. For a bunch of reasons too. It is not just the big step up in work, but it is the energy that I am severely lacking to finish something I was so excited about a few years ago. It seems that everyone talks about how university will be the best years of your life (and damn, my semester abroad may well be) but they rarely if ever talk about the detail of the stress and anxiety it causes.

I’m not just talking about the little stress over leaving your work to the last minute, or anxiety about a singular grade. I’m talking the kind that slowly eats away at you until you have nothing left. Somehow though I am still fighting, but fit and fight… I am not so sure? I am ‘COPING’, I guess. I am like that hamster who keeps running around his stupid cage, or that boxer who keeps getting up after each knockout. I do not seem to know when to quit.

University is probably not the best thing for me now and I honestly cannot tell you how excited I am to finish right now. It is ironic really, as I think it has been a journey that I needed, but now I really could do without. The day I finally graduate will be a milestone, for a range of reasons. But mostly for the mental strength that has got me this far.

Stay strong and stay positive 🙂

Five of my pet peeves

Mad formal executive man yelling at camera

I have so many to name, I can already a sense a part two coming. 😛 But for now, let us get started on five of my pet peeves (in no particular order). You know, the things that you absolutely cannot stand that other people do. The things that are testing your patience and even though you are dying to warn your friend or acquaintance about, you save them from the potential embarrassment.

1) Old fashioned views / narrow-minded people

I think that these two generally go hand in hand, so I have included them as one whole pet peeve. I like to have an open mind and surround myself with like-minded people for the good of my mental health. But it is so easy to come across narrow-minded people. It can be the older generation who are stubborn and refuse to listen to new music or it can be the younger generation refusing to try new food and culture. Narrow-minded people exist at all ages and it drives me crazy. These people will dismiss things before they have given them a fair chance. It is isn’t rock science to give things time and a fair opportunity in my opinion.

2) Obstructed sight

This is perhaps a particularly unique one that I do not hear people discussing often and I wonder how many people it does annoy. I am generally referring to when I am a football match and I have to watch it through the netting, or a fence, or if there are poles in the stand that spoil my view. I cannot relax that well in these situations as I find it so obstructive and distracting. Another time I noticed this quite recently was when I was at the beach and I wanted to look out and appreciate the wide strand without distractions.

3) Selfish/Inconsiderate people

This one is pretty clear and obvious. It must affect a lot of people. Those that play music too loud or smoke in bus shelters are just some things that selfish and inconsiderate people do. I think most of the time people are just too selfish to think about if the shoe was on the other foot… They need to think about how it would feel if they had to put up with their annoying behaviour.

4) Incorrect mask-wearing

This one is especially relevant right now and it goes out to those wearing a mask around their neck, or not covering their nose. Or even worse, not wearing one at all. If they are exempt then this is okay but I feel that too many people are abusing these rules. I mean I have autism and I am asthmatic, so I could have reasons not to wear one. Yes, it is uncomfortable and not ideal but if its something that can save me or others then it has to be done. Don’t be difficult… If you can then wear your mask and wear it right!

5) People who watch videos in public spaces without headphones

Woman Placing Her Finger Between Her Lips

Oh gosh, I cannot believe that I did not think of this one sooner. First of all, it is selfish and inconsiderate to everyone around you. Second of all, headphones are portable and cheap so there is no excuse. Nobody wants to hear your tinny music or annoying mobile phone sounds. What I loved about Sweden was they had a properly designated quiet zone that people took seriously. I think Swedes are perhaps more reserved than other people but they are not afraid to speak up when someone is spoiling their quiet zone. That I can respect and it made for some peaceful journeys.

Do any of my pet peeves also bother or annoy you? What are your pet peeves? Please do share in the comments.

being too hard on yourself

I think we are all guilty of being too hard on ourselves at some point in our lives. For some like me, it is a constant struggle that can go unnoticed or forgotten as we are so consumed by live moving by awfully quickly. The stress of everyday life or important tasks can build up and there is also a lot of social pressure and competition that many people of all ages face. This means we can form such high expectations and eventually exhaust ourselves with the constant thinking and worrying if we will meet these expectations.

Depending on the context or circumstances there are a range of ways to handle yourself so that you are not too hard on yourself. I think what is most important for me and possibly a lot of other people is AWARENESS. I am referring to the ability to recognise the problem at hand, but also to acknowledge where we are at currently in our lives in comparison to where we have been. When you have been at rock bottom you know just how bad it can be. I have tried to use similiar negative experiences to this as a means of pushing myself forward. It makes me want to work hard so that I can grow and not be in bad places. If you are able to acknowledge the past like this but not dwell on it, then I think it is of incredible value to your self-growth.

I would like to think that the majority of people are striving for the best versions of themselves, but any kind of progress is progress really. If you are moving forward at your own pace then you are doing something right in my opinion. Make realistic goals for yourself so that you have an idea of what you are working towards but do not get too upset if things do not work out the way you had planned. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. There is time to adapt and change, there is time to grow.

Don’t think that you have to do EVERYTHING the ‘right way’. Be realistic and stay true to yourself. There are likely to be setbacks but you are incredibly strong and can do this in your own time. Focus on the most important things that will bring you immediate happiness so that you can get started on the right foot.

Premier league 20/21 season starts tomorrow!

Flat Screen Television — Sadly we are going to have to get used to this view in order to get our fix of Premier League football.

Sometimes it feels like just the other day when the final ball was kicked of the 19-20 season. It was a beautiful day when Jack Grealish scored the important goal to keep my favourite team Aston Villa in the Premier League. But as we know life moves on very quickly and new challenges and adventures are always forming around us. Tomorrow is just that, with the start of the new Premier League season kicking off at 12:30 pm with a match between Fulham and Arsenal.

Right now there will be no fans inside stadiums at this elite level and I can see it being like this for a while. I think it is safe to say that football (at any level really) is simply not the same without its fans. This is a topic I feel strongly about and have mentioned previously on my blog. But I also believe that the true die-hard fans of football will be grateful that we can pull together any kind of football in these difficult times. It is not the way we would like it, but it is the way it has to be for now. What we MUST appreciate is the effort that has gone into making the return of football feasible, such as the extensive cleaning measures and safety precautions that are occurring.

I for one am incredibly grateful that football is back, in any kind of capacity. It is possible to enjoy non-league football around England which is great, but it also feels great to have another Premier League season kicking off. I will be watching closely and hoping that my team Aston Villa can continue to stay in the Premier League after our first campaign back there last season. We have made two positive signings I feel and I am excited to see who else we can add before the transfer window shuts.

Seeing all of these signings and more occur, I have become even more excited for the season opener tomorrow. I wanted to take things into my own hands and act as the manager for these exciting athletes. So for the first time in many many years, I have decided to register a team for Fantasy Football. For those that you do not know what it is, you basically pick a team of 15 players for a combined price of £100m. You then earn points for how well a player performs in real life. It is a great way to connect with the game whilst competing against friends and family!

I invite you all to join my free Premier League Fantasy Football league Just click this link and follow the steps https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/280yfc

Are you looking forward to the new Premier League season? What team do you support? Who is in your Fantasy Football team?