Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Au revoir 2018
Time for my annual bit of self-indulgence – talking about my year and what I liked about it. It was quite a surreal year, personally. I completed a dream internship with the Green Party in the EU Parliament, which always seemed something only available to those with connections in the right places. Instead, they saw…
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Baden-Baden, Germany
One of the pluses of living in Strasbourg, is that it borders on Germany (and Switzerland is not so far away either), so you can plan a last minute trip to another country for the price of less than 15 euros return on FlixBus. Wow, who would have thought freedom of movement could actually be,…
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Colmar, Alsace, France
Fun fact: Colmar, located in the Alsace region of France, is where the designer of the Statue of Liberty was from. But other than these cute little arrows guiding you around the hotspots of the small town, it was far more boastful of its Alsatian heritage. It is also just a cheap hour FlixBus ride…
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When stuck in undiagnosed purgatory
The time between the first symptoms of an illness, and the day you receive a diagnosis are strange. A lot of worries, appointments, trials and errors. People often tell their “diagnosis story”, I wrote about mine, but I feel like the little details and the emotions you go through when you are searching for a…
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A New Chapter in Strasbourg
Bonjour! A new update in life means I’ve needed to update my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and now this blog. I left Brussels at the end of July, having completed my internship with the Greens, and now I am currently undertaking another with the communications department of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg! The Council of Europe is a separate…
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Exeter, United Kingdom
My sister is currently 2 years into her PhD at the University of Exeter, and so I finally booked a Megabus to go visit her. Just a brief 7h20 coach ride to Devon from Leeds. One of the main sights is the cathedral – an Anglican cathedral with stunning architecture; surrounded by green area to…
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Lupus and Facing the World of Work
I wrote about my experience undertaking a postgraduate degree not long after I was diagnosed with lupus. With the degree in the bag, I have just completed an internship – my first experience of full time work since my diagnosis forced me to quit my teaching job. Of course, 5 months as an intern does…
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Dinant, Belgium
After seeing a beautiful snap of this city on Instagram, and a recommendation from my flatmate, I decided to hop on the train (1h40 from Brussels) to see it in person. The journey itself was fun: travelling through Belgium always feels strangely familiar, as the suburban houses, stretches of fields, and glimpses of the smaller…
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Antwerp, Belgium
Antwerp! The fourth Belgian city I have visited, and less than an hour by train from Brussels. My sister was arriving in Antwerp to go to a metal music festival close by, so I used that as a reason to check out what Antwerp has to offer. Wandering around Antwerp, I wasn’t as taken by…
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Being Healthy in your 20s vs Being a Spoonie in your 20s
To be young, wild and free… Often a person is diagnosed with chronic illness when they are young, such as teens or twenties, aka in the “prime” of their life. This not only means you tend to be the youngest person in the doctor’s waiting room by a generation or two, but it also means…
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Inside a Mind 