Another photo challenge! I didn\u2019t have a particular goal in mind for this one, just the day to day documenting of the month, which I\u2019d always known was going to be a busy one. That plan kind of went sideways halfway through but I liked what I\u2019d included so far so I decided to continue the post anyway. September was busy and inspiring and exhausting and frustrating and exciting and unimaginable and as the month drew to a close, I felt that that was more than enough of a reason to document and share it. <\/p>\n
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1. IN THE MIRROR<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019ve been wearing my makeup the same way for so long now: concealer, eyeliner, mascara, and sometimes a bit of highlighter. And some eyebrow tint very, very occasionally. It\u2019s quick (unless the eyeliner refuses to cooperate) and relatively easy to do but I\u2019m so short-sighted that I have to be SO CLOSE to the mirror; my nose practically touches the glass and I\u2019ve knocked various products against the mirror more times than I can count. I\u2019ve started needing to take an actual mirror with me if I ever have to stay at a hotel because, guaranteed, they\u2019re always above a sink or desk and I CAN\u2019T SEE THAT FAR.<\/p>\n 2. AT THE TABLE \u2013 <\/strong>Having committed to a thirty day music production challenge \u2013 where I had to make something everyday throughout September \u2013 I spent a lot of time at my desk, working at my laptop with my recording gear. Now that I have a good, supportive desk chair, working at my desk is easier than it used to be but I still struggle with executive function of transitioning from one task to another, especially if it\u2019s in a different room \u2013 so I\u2019m often stuck at my desk or stuck on the sofa. ADHD is incredibly frustrating. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. ON THE FLOOR<\/strong> \u2013 My Autism Assistance Dog, Daisy, still finds it somewhat confusing that I randomly \u2013 to her at least \u2013 lie down on the floor at random intervals (in order to do my physiotherapy exercises) and so sometimes she feels the need to come and lie on me and make sure that I\u2019m okay. It\u2019s not particularly helpful for doing the actual exercises but it is very, very sweet!<\/p>\n 4. ON MY FEET \u2013<\/strong> A friend gave me these Pomeranian socks just after I got \u2013 and they met \u2013 Izzy (half-Pomeranian half-Chihuahua was understandably a bit too niche a breed to feature on socks) and I absolutely adore them. They\u2019re holding up pretty well considering how often I wear them!<\/p>\n 5. OUT THE WINDOW<\/strong> \u2013 As much as I struggle with the summer months, they have granted us with some spectacular sunsets. This one was gorgeous and it wasn\u2019t even the most gorgeous one I saw throughout September. <\/p>\n 6. SOMETHING I\u2019LL EAT<\/strong> \u2013 The wording of this prompt tripped me up a bit so I ended up just taking a picture of something edible, which \u2013 on this particular day \u2013 is this new chocolate that I\u2019m obsessed with. There\u2019s something about Cadbury chocolate that really activates the sensory seeking part of my brain and having found this, I want to be eating it constantly \u2013 for the dopamine spike alone\u2026<\/p>\n 7. IN MOTION<\/strong> \u2013 The journey to London is one I\u2019m very, very familiar with at this point. Of the music and the work stuff, I can manage\u2026 a lot of it is in London. Sometimes I can manage it by train but for most of this year, a train journey has taken up more energy than I can afford if I want to properly do the thing that I\u2019m travelling to London for. I\u2019m incredibly grateful that my Mum\u2019s work is often flexible enough that she can drive me when I need to go (and that she\u2019s so supportive and willing to help me). So although I\u2019ve been pretty homebound over the summer, the drive to London is a regular one and my Mum and I often use it as an opportunity to listen to music: new albums, refreshing ourselves before concerts, old favourites, and so on.<\/p>\n 8. SOMETHING OLD<\/strong> \u2013 I bought my Bose QuietComfort headphones in 2015, I think \u2013 I know it wasn\u2019t long after my Autism diagnosis. I was commuting to London for university and we\u2019d realised that the noise of the trains and public transport, plus the general commotion of the streets in Central London, was likely contributing to how exhausted I was everyday. I\u2019ve taken great care with them because they were so expensive (and would be so expensive to replace) but I\u2019ve worn them so much over the years that the ear pads are finally starting to fall apart. I was worried that I\u2019d have to buy new headphones but thank god, you can buy replacements of just the ear pads. My bank account lives to see another day! <\/p>\n 9. MY COMMUTE<\/strong> \u2013 Given that I haven\u2019t been going up to London much over the last month or so, I\u2019ve mostly been at home and so my commute has pretty much been the staircase in my house everyday. It\u2019s not particularly glamorous but then disability often isn\u2019t. I am very grateful that home is a safe place and that I can do a lot of the work I\u2019m able to do from my desk or my sofa.<\/p>\n 10. SOMETHING NEW<\/strong> \u2013 Out of desperation post therapy, I went looking for art therapy methods on YouTube, since it\u2019s something I\u2019ve never tried, and I came across something called Neurographic Drawing. I don\u2019t fully understand how it works and I\u2019m not totally sure I\u2019m doing it right (because almost every video explains it slightly differently) but I believe the concept involves improving emotional regulation and forming new neural pathways and connections, without relying on verbal or cognitive processing of a trauma. I\u2019ve been enjoying my rudimentary practice of it and have had a couple of drawing sessions where I\u2019ve worked at it until my hand cramped up, which I\u2019m not sure is the ideal approach, but I\u2019m still learning: I\u2019m reading more about it to find out what are the truly beneficial parts of it and when I feel like I\u2019ve got a better grasp on it, I\u2019ll share it here because I think it\u2019s really interesting. <\/p>\n 11. BEHIND THE SCENES<\/strong> \u2013 Izzy is my little shadow (and often my weighted lap pad) so wherever I am, whatever I\u2019m doing, she\u2019s usually there \u2013 keeping me company or keeping an eye on me, I\u2019m not sure which. But I\u2019m certainly not complaining; she\u2019s always adorable and she\u2019s always cuddly and she\u2019s always happy to see me!<\/p>\n 12. A FAVOURITE SPOT<\/strong> \u2013 Not long ago, I finally got my shit together and started making a conscious effort to decorate my bedroom. I obviously don\u2019t particularly care what it looks like when I\u2019m sleeping in there but it\u2019s also where my desk is and since I was trying to work at my desk more often \u2013 rather than carting my stuff around as and when I needed it \u2013 I figured that having a bedroom that I actually enjoyed being in might help with that. It\u2019s not finished yet but I really love the vinyls I\u2019ve got displayed above my bed \u2013 either favourite albums, favourite artists, or both \u2013 and I love the little shelves I put up, filled with sentimental stuff that I\u2019ve collected over the years: a wooden Kiwi I brought home from New Zealand, a little clay figure reading a book that I found in Portugal, a painting that a friend gave me, Funko Pops of Daisy Johnson and Samantha Carter (two of my favourite fictional characters), a book given to me by my first really good therapist, a little bottle of sand from my favourite beach, a candle I made in Nashville\u2026 The room feels much more me<\/em> already.<\/p>\n 13. A PLANT I HAVEN\u2019T KILLED<\/strong> \u2013 I have never managed to keep a plant alive so I only have fake plants now. I blame my ADHD: I have so much noise and chaos in my brain that it\u2019s hard enough to stay on top of everything as it is \u2013 there just isn\u2019t the capacity for plants as well. I\u2019m very content with my fake succulent.<\/p>\n 14. ALMOST BEDTIME<\/strong> \u2013 Every night at the same time, Daisy (my Assistance Dog<\/a>, for those of you who don\u2019t know) takes herself off to bed \u2013 my bed \u2013 and patiently waits for me to join her. It\u2019s hilarious and I can hear her grumbling if I take too long but it\u2019s a very good prompt to pack up my stuff and go to bed. <\/p>\n 17. I USE THIS DAILY<\/strong> \u2013 I don\u2019t go anywhere without my Bullet Journal. Well, it started out as a bullet journal and then, over the years, I adapted the system to more suit the individual intricacies of my neurodivergent brain. Due to my ADHD, I struggle with a lot of executive function skills, especially when it comes to planning and organisation \u2013 like setting goals, structuring my time, task initiation, and so on \u2013 so writing it all out physically and being able to look at it again and again helps me to stay on track. It also helps a lot with my anxiety but that\u2019s a whole other thing. I made a post<\/a> a LONG time ago about the system I use (and another one when I added Bingo Boards<\/a> to help with goal setting) but maybe I\u2019ll do an updated one at some point because I find it so, so helpful: it feels like getting my brain down on the page so that I don\u2019t have to expend all of my energy holding onto it all. <\/p>\n 20. IN MY POCKET<\/strong> \u2013 I almost always have a fidget toy in my pocket (and if not in<\/em> my pocket, then within reach). What can I say? They really do help with my focus and with regulating my emotions, especially if I\u2019m overwhelmed and anxious. <\/p>\n 22. EVERYDAY BEAUTY<\/strong> \u2013 As I said earlier in this post, I\u2019ve been wearing basically the same makeup for YEARS (those social media videos of people with rooms full of makeup products are truly baffling to me when I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever had more make up than I can hold in one hand), partly because it\u2019s straight forward, relatively easy, and I like how it looks, and partly because I find wearing makeup really difficult from a sensory perspective. I can feel it on my skin and brows and lashes, my hands feel magnetically drawn to my face to rub at it all, and it makes my face ache \u2013 even the weight of mascara on my eyelashes makes my eyes and the skin around them hurt. By the end of the day, I\u2019m positively desperate to get it off; I cannot sleep with makeup on. It\u2019s not a huge deal given some of the things I deal with as a neurodivergent and disabled person with mental health issues but I do find it frustrating: I often marvel at what people are able to do with makeup \u2013 I will die on the hill that it\u2019s an art form \u2013 and would love to be able to experiment more, or at least wear cool makeup looks created by other people. (I realised later that this is probably a very literal interpretation of the prompt \u2013 what can I say, I am<\/em> autistic.)<\/p>\n 24. A FAVOURITE TOOL<\/strong> \u2013 I once saw a t-shirt on Redbubble with the phrase \u2018weapons of mass creation\u2019 (it still exists!<\/a>) and I still think about it at least once a week. I\u2019m a writer and a singer and I\u2019m most comfortable when holding a pen or a microphone; I honestly feel more anchored with one or the other in hand, maybe because they\u2019re often a way into a creative flow state. <\/p>\n 26. A CORNER OF MY ROOM<\/strong> \u2013 My desk backs me into a little alcove in my room, which does put me more in a work headspace than when I had my back to the room and the door, facing a wall. It\u2019s also where I make most of my social media videos so, with the help of my Mum, I hung up some coloured fabric as a fun backdrop. Plus this blue and pink are colours that make me feel inspired and creative and engaged.<\/p>\n 27. ON MY BEDSIDE TABLE<\/strong> \u2013 While it looks quite organised, that was just to make sure everything fitted in the photo\u2026 My bedside table is always a mess because I\u2019m trying to fit too much on it: my day-to-day meds, my as-needed sleep meds, my retainer, my end of day skincare, at least one water bottle, and then my bullet journal and accompanying pens that always gets added last thing. It\u2019s also been stacked high with extra cold and flu pills, throat soothers, etc while I\u2019ve been sick. I\u2019m usually trying to balance a book on there as well because apparently I\u2019m trying to maximise bedtime as well every other part of the day.<\/p>\n 29. SOMETHING UNEXPECTED<\/strong> \u2013 This prompt being on my birthday was pretty unnerving since my birthdays are usually a source of stress. There were some tough aspects of the day but there were also some really great parts, including the announcement that Suranne Jones will be performing in An Oak Tree<\/em> at The Other Palace Theatre in November. I LOVE Suranne Jones and have for years (and was lucky enough to meet her briefly at the end of August \u2013 I still can\u2019t quite believe that happened) so seeing her on stage was a very exciting prospect and, although getting access tickets had me more stressed out than I would\u2019ve liked to have been on my birthday, we did get them and I will be going to see her perform! That was definitely very unexpected and definitely very exciting! <\/p>\n 30. A FAVE THING<\/strong> \u2013 The night before my birthday, on the evening of the 28th, a very cool thing happened: Chloe Bennet, the actress who played Daisy Johnson<\/a> of Agents of Shield<\/em> \u2013 my biggest special interest character, the inspiration of my song, \u2018Last One Standing,\u2019 and the namesake of my Autism Assistance Dog \u2013 commented on one of my Instagram videos of my Autism Assistance Dog that used the song, saying that she loved my video<\/a> and my dog and my song and I\u2019m still freaking out over it days later. It was so sweet of her to comment on it (and in the same roundabout style as the video\u2019s caption) and it\u2019s just really lovely to know that she knows that this character that she played \u2013 that she put so much time and work and love into \u2013 has had such an impact on my life. <\/p>\n I dropped the ball on this challenge a bit, partly because I was working so much on the music production 30 Day Challenge (which was so fun and I learned so much!) but mostly because I got sick about halfway through the month. I don\u2019t usually catch whichever illness is going around but about once a year, I seem to get absolutely flattened by something and that pattern has continued here. I just about managed to complete my personal goal for the production challenge but that was about all I could manage. Even now, I still don\u2019t feel great, which is more frustrating than anything else at this point. I don\u2019t like being unwell; chronic illness is something I\u2019ve learned how to manage \u2013 even if I\u2019m not always practically very good at it \u2013 but I still don\u2019t really know how to be short term ill. I\u2019m really, really ready to be feeling better; I\u2019ve got things to do!<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/findinghopecouk.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/screenshot-2026-09-09-at-20.52.01-e1788983616245.png?resize=740%2C740&ssl=1\")
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\nRelated<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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