My first post!

Hey, I'm Denise and welcome to my blog. I've named this blog 'As told by Denise' in reference to a TV show I used to watch as I was child, which, to be honest, I never really enjoyed as there were other shows on Nickelodeon that I much preferred (i.e., Drake & Josh, Keenan & Kel, Hey Arnold etc). Nevertheless, I feel as though it's fitting for what I want this blog to encapsulate - a collection of stories and adventures through my own lenses and in my own narrative.

Since partial lockdown in UK I've been exploring new hobbies and interests that I hope to keep with me once life returns back to 'normal'. I've also been very reflective these past few weeks, thinking about my current situation during this pandemic and how lucky I am to be able to social distance, to have access to good food and drink, and, to be able to work from home. I find myself constantly thinking about people in developing countries and what their lives must be like; I think about my relatives in the Philippines and how different their lives are to mine, especially in a time of social, economic and political hardship that this pandemic comes with. I also think about my family in Hong Kong, which gives me a sense of relief because I know my parents and brother are in a city that is well prepared to fight this virus and that they're safe. I find myself wanting to yell at the UK government to say 'follow in their footsteps!' but obviously you can't compare a country to a city.

I've been running regularly since the start of lockdown. Running is something I've done on and off but never consistently so I am very pleased with myself for keeping it up so far. I've always wanted to call myself a 'runner' so perhaps in a few months time I'll feel like I've been running consistently enough to justify that. It started off as a spontaneous 10km run which I surprisingly managed to do in 57minutes. Since then, I've been able to run for 2 hours straight and more importantly, have realised how therapeutic running is. After the first 6km, my breathing is so controlled that it is like meditation to me. Each run I do is a meditation - I become so mindful of my surroundings, I hear the sounds of birds chirping and can smell of freshly cut grass. Running has been great for my mental wellbeing; it clears my head when I am anxious or stressed and makes me feel so much better afterwards. Recently, I started running without music and it is honestly such a refreshing and relaxing experience.

Baking cakes and treats has also been another hobby of mine that I've been doing more of during this partial lockdown. Within the last couple weeks, I've made NYC style chocolate chunk cookies, shortbread cookies, banana bread, and chocolate cupcakes (frosted beautifully I must add!). I will make a separate post about my baking and add photos and recipes too! Keep an eye out of that :)

In terms of my work, I am currently learning so much from doing one-to-one therapy and assessments via video platforms (for those of you who don't know, I'm an Assistant Psychologist). It's so interesting that my work, along with other jobs, have learnt to adapt so quickly to recent challenges. I've also realised how important non-verbal communication is in social interaction and how it can be easily missed when speaking on voice or video calls. However, that being said I think it's working well and it's something the field of psychology and mental health is moving towards.

In other exciting news, I received an offer to study psychology at a doctorate level and I have officially accepted it! I will make post about this at some point as the interview experience was so fascinating; it was done online due to lockdown but I'm so happy it all worked out alright.

I'm going to leave it at that for now. Expect another post very soon!

Stay home, safe and well :)

Denise