Let me start this blog with possibly the most painful entry I may ever have to write… who am I? We may all find ourselves in this situation in our lives at some point or another, whether it be university applications, job interviews or perhaps just typing out our Instagram bios. But it always feels odd writing about yourself, who you are, where you came from, the morals you preach. We all have a story, some shorter than others, some more painful than others. So where does mine slide into the equation?
I am and have been in my lifetime a model, student, graduate, volunteer, ambassador, chambermaid, interior designer, chef and most recently a receptionist (I could continue but the list is quite honestly embarrassingly endless). I have travelled to extraordinary places, met people who have only brought light to my life and have learnt about things I never could of dreamt would exist. So where do I even begin to try and pin myself on a board?
I am opinionated, yet awful at assertiveness. Knowledgeable, yet clumsy. And passionate, yet am easily affected by other peoples comments. Perhaps maintaining opposition with myself stops opposition with others. I’d like to say I’m fun, friendly, adventurous and warm hearted too… but these are those sorts of comments we only feel our friends and family can say about us in this strange world we live in where to put ourselves down is easier than to praise.
But why am I doing this? What am I so invested in that I feel the need to have to share my thoughts with the internet?
I am passionate about the world I suppose. A rather large topic I know, but I am a geographer and so broadness can only be expected. I am actively invested in environmental issues; climate change, natural disaster, biodiversity and animal welfare. As for humans, I am devoted to sharing issues on the refugee crisis, climate displacement and post disaster aid. I find it fascinating, the things that connect us; that make us one big globe both human and natural. Global borders are simply lines drawn on a map by leaders hundreds of years ago, so what is it that really makes our world separate or in fact unified?
And then there’s the other Lydia. The Lydia who spends her days on glamorous wedding shoots in big mansions, or cosied up in log cabins for her favourite outdoor brand. This is the girl who managed to find her way into the unprecedentedly complicated world of freelance modelling; where one week you could be ecstatic from some fancy job, and the next thinking of nothing to do but start a blog because you have too much free time and not enough money.
So I suppose that’s where I would place myself. Add in a few random jobs here and there, but at the end of it all I am just a girl with aspirations to present documentaries, living in the heart of my favourite county having studied my passions… hoping to write to you about those odd thoughts that breeze through my brain from day to day.
Lydia Cooke 