The sun shined

Dear Diary,

For the first time in a week I actually got dressed and left the house. Between struggling with my depression again and the rain we've been having lately I've had little to no reason to go out. But when today dawned cold but sunny I had to grab the chance to get myself some outdoor time. 

I decided that today was the day that I was going to climb the big hill near my house that I've talked about going up since I moved here but never actually have, until today. Today I clambered up near enough 847 ft to see the view from the top of the hill.

Views from my climb, and me.

The start of the climb was the hardest for me, it was a lane, but very steep and I'm out of practice when it comes down to exercise recently so by the time I got to the crossroads half way up my heart was ready to pound out of my chest and I felt like I was going to be sick. I didn't give up, and after a short rest to calm my breathing down I was ready to keep going.

I got some brilliant photos of the view from the top of the hill, a few I've posted above, I also watched a rain squall come in from the sea then get blown along the coast rather than coming inland towards where I was up the hill.

This rain-burst thankfully missed me

I'm hoping that getting two hours of high quality sunlight will reset my body’s natural circadian rhythm, which always gets knocked out of sync in winter, and the exercise I got today will let me get some restorative rest when I head to bed tonight, because I've had a bad bout of insomnia again recently which is no help when you're already feeling down, it just drags you down further.

On a student based note, I got assigned a tutor today. For anyone not aware, I'm starting my BSc (Hons) Earth Science degree with the Open University this month, having a tutor assigned means that the course starts fully soon. /Exciting/ 

We've already got access to parts of the Module (S111) but cannot submit any coursework nor see the full work yet, when the course opens fully so does everything else associated with it. I've struggled to keep my enthusiasm going even in relation to my course, but I'm determined that depression will not defeat me.