Am I boring?
Confessions from a quiet life in Scotland
Hello, I’m Molly, a fulltime creator based in the Scottish Highlands. Subscribers can enjoy weekly posts around the themes of slow living, thriving in a creative career, books & nature. Members get access to ALL my content, including video tea times, slow scrolls of all my favourites and seasonal book reviews.
Curious? We’d love to have you for a cuppa…
“So, what are your plans for this evening?”
This is the kind of question I hate.
It wasn’t her fault. It was perfectly acceptable question. Yet, I felt the familiar twinge of embarrassment. Lowering my eyes, I studied the congealing pizza in front of me and mumbled something about an early night. Laughing it off and quickly changing the subject.
My answer is always the same. It never occurred to me that it could be different.
And, worst of all, that’s exactly how I like it…
What makes someone boring? Well, according to the rather brief Cambridge Dictionary definition, boring is described as ‘not interesting or exciting’.
On the face of it, I’ve lived quite an interesting life. I was home-educated and spent much of my childhood growing up on a Scottish Island.
My previous career as a wildlife conservationist means I’ve lived in some wild places with a fair number of unusual wildlife encounters. Waking up with a puffin in my bedroom is just the start of it.
I now live in our self-built Tiny Home in the Scottish Highlands and make a full time income from my creative career. A far cry from the more typical suburbia 9-5 lifestyle.
Yet, on reviewing my day to day life, I’m afraid to admit that I’m unbearably boring.
Ways that I’m boring
I don’t have a packed calendar
I am a self-confessed introvert and highly sensitive person. Having a calendar packed with social commitments just isn’t viable for me.
As much as I love seeing my friends, I need to spread this out. Too many commitments and I easily become exhausted.
Even when I do venture out, I tend to socialise on a 1:1 basis and would much prefer chatting over a cuppa at a friend’s house or a cosy café, to hair flicking over cocktails at the latest trendy bar.
My job is dull
On the face of it, my job could be considered ‘interesting’. Being a content creator, full time at least, is still not a standard way to make an income.
However, unlike the glamorised influencer lifestyle that can be propagated online, my life is actually nothing like this.
Most of my time is spent at home. In a comfy t-shirt and leggings. Tinkering away at my laptop between slurps of tea. I may light a candle if I’m feeling fancy, but that is about the extent of my excitement.
I don’t watch telly
Since leaving social media, my knowledge of current affairs has dropped from minimal to essentially non-existent.
This means that when conversations arise around news-worthy topics, the latest reality TV hit or trending content on Tik Tok, I draw a blank.
Not exactly a scintillating conversation starter.
I don’t like holidays
I’ve never been a holiday kind of person.
I don’t enjoy enforced celebrations and tend to avoid them as much as possible.
Although I firmly agree that we should let ourselves rest and have something to look forward to, my ‘ideal’ kind of holiday is a far cry from the tropical destinations that are plastered all over the internet.
A couple of nights away in a rural Shepard’s Hut suits me just fine.
I live for routines
I’ve always been a routine kind of girl.
I find knowing what the day will hold comforting rather than restrictive. This means my days are very similar, as I indulge in quiet, often solo activities, like writing, walking and reading.
I don’t see this changing any time soon.
I’ve never understood FOMO
When you consider how my life has ended up this way, the nub of it is that I’ve never suffered from that notorious ‘fear of missing out’ (or ‘FOMO’) that seems to be rife in this social media era.
Now I’m 31, I know what I like. I prioritise what makes me feel happy, inspired and fulfilled. I feel no desire to chase someone else’s dreams.
I’ve never been a jealous person and I don’t feel like I have something to prove. I have no need to chase status or covert things or experiences that don’t fit my definition of happiness.
I’ve learnt that by accepting myself for who I am, the people that really matter in my life will do the same.
Its all part of your story
Like many teenagers, I was terrified of being classed as boring.
I vividly remember writing an angsty diary entry to this effect. Ranting about how all my days were the same. Agonising about when I would finally leave for University and my life could really start.
A few months into my degree, I found this diary entry. I no longer felt that anger. Instead, I felt a longing. A nostalgia for the simple life I had before. It wasn’t boring at all. It just needed retelling.
This serves as a reminder that the days that can appear the most boring now, might someday become my most precious memories.
It is all part of my story…
Until next time,
Molly xx
Well, "boring" is the attitude of the viewer. Some people find everything boring even in the middle of the merriment in an exotic location. Others find watching a tiny wildflower exciting. I liked your musing on the topic. Being two decades older than you, I find that having the kind of peace of heart and acceptance as you have is a fabulous state to be in a life.
I'm so pleased for you that you've discovered this while you're young and have the courage to live by it, and I relate to it all. It is far from boring, but is quite an adventure! Sadly it took me a long time to realise that a quiet, simple, life, living close to nature, was what I was always longing for.