I leave for Canada in about 6 hours..I'm going to be there for about four and a half months and I already know it won't feel like enough.

The last time I was travelling, I think I was a little bit depressed. I didn't feel any excitement or joy. I was in some of the most beautiful and remote corners of the earth. Places that throughout my life I never would have imagined I'd one day see with my own eyes, and I felt nothing.

I did not make the most of my time in any of those places.

I think that is a big part of why I ended up seeking a way to put down roots. I didn't want to waste these experiences if I wasn't going to appreciate them or properly be in them. It's a huge privilege to be able to travel and I never want to waste that privilege you know? If I'm going to be sad, doom scroll and disassociate I can do that in the UK.

Anyway, with that said, I do feel like I am out of that little low stage. I am insanely excited to leave for Vancouver tomorrow. To be around mountains, maybe even go up some? It's all a bit unknown for me, what to expect from these next few months, and that's exactly how it should be.

I'm in awe just at the thought of studying abroad. What an absolutely insane opportunity. 

This is on the list of things I never imagined was in the cards for me. I intend to make the most of every single day. No watching shows, no spending hours on social media. I intend to spend as much time as I can outside, meeting new people, going to cool bars, drawing, learning, soaking in this super cool city I get to call home for the rest of 2026.

I can't wait to share some of those experiences and moments here.

Also, it's now been a week of this limiting screen time project. I feel like it has been successful, my goals for the week were:

• delete instagram app, only use it on my computer
  - I hope I never go back to having instagram on my phone. I had so much extra time each day. Plus go online on my laptop feels very much like logging onto Facebook in 2011 to chat with friends after school. 10/10 recommend doing this.
• no phone or YouTube whilst eating
  - almost managed, minus one meal, but that meal happened to be the worst pasta I ever made anyway so it's almost good I wasn't entirely 'present for it'
• send five postcards
  - done :) 
• write daily blog posts 
  - Done :)
• explore Oxfords museums like a tourist, maybe even learn something new
  - I even emailed one museum correcting them on a mistake in one of the signs next to a model of the solar system. I was very polite about it, but they claimed Uranus was discovered by John Herschel and you see I spent 7 months in New Zealand telling tour groups the story of how William discovered the planet, and no one messes with my favourite amateur astronomer. 
• go on 'no phone' walks/bike ride? 
  - I did a couple, one very long no phone walk around Oxford, I didn't even had my watch, I was out for 6 and a half hours with no concept of the time and no notifications coming at me, it was delightful.
• finish reading my book - Diary of a CEO
  I am roughly 30 pages away from finishing and may try and get those in before sleep tonight so that I don't need to carry it with me tomorrow... but also it's there is only five hours before I need to wake up.. so maybe I will suck it up and bring it with me 

Anyway, I'm off to bed :)

lots of love, 

Elle

Packed and ready :)