The Happiest I’ve Ever Been in a Mirror

GRWM and London’s corporate/gym baddies

Surprise! Random off the cuff post today!! I felt inspired and furiously texted this post in the Notes app on the bus home from work. I hope you enjoy :)

This morning, I got my ass out the door by 6:30am and down to Old Street, to meet my friend at the gym to catch up over leg day and lattes before work.

My family jokes that I only get out of bed early if it’s for a vacation or cinnamon rolls; now, meeting up with friends amidst a crazy schedule coupled with a small dose of accountability joins them.

My London friends can be hard to nail down — they simply have more people to contend with, and as an expat I have more FaceTimes through the week. If I can only get them for an hour and a half on a Tuesday morning, I’ll be there!

Every time I hang with Romy — who I met in my first year in the UK, and became inseparable with from day one of our Master’s course — feels a bit like a slumber party. At the ripe turning-point age of 26, I yearn for things like this! So naturally, she can convince me to roll out of bed in the name of fitness and friendship.

This morning, I couldn’t help but be amazed at what felt at least a little bit magical in the scene before me: standing at the mirror, getting ready with other twenty-something’s in the ladies locker room. There were seven or eight of us in a row, applying serums, curling lashes, and blow drying hair in various states of half-dress (it’s clear we’ve all had our fair share of pit stains while using heat tools in a rush). An unspoken sense of community raced through in an electric current. These sets of tired eyes were preparing for battle.

Coming to life as our delayed adrenaline started to kick in, Romy and I carried on giggling and chattering as if we were the only ones there, simply making room for ghosts to move around our makeup bags and sweaty clothes.

“Don’t judge me, I’m trying something new with styling these adidas trackies,” I had said to her as we walked back from the showers.

“Do you think this jumper smells rank? Can you smell it from there? What if I walk by?” (Not from back here, but definitely up close)

“That ribbon in your hair looked so cute that I saw in stories over the weekend! How’s your mum by the way?”

“Are you using that straightener? Is it even plugged in?” Nope.

“I think I’m doing a slick-back look for our PR awards on Friday.”

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In my experience, this kind of sisterhood GRWM has been relatively exclusive to the precursor to a night out, accompanied by a few stiff cocktails and playlists titled “issa party ting” or “modern disco glam dancing queen”. It was entirely new in this setting, so bright eyed and bushy tailed before speed walking through the spitting rain to ye olde 9-5.

It has me thinking about parallel play (we shouldn’t always “just get drinks” with our friends !!); the third spaces at our disposal (if you have any); public etiquette (how long is too long to be naked while getting dressed in a locker room? Am I being too self conscious?). But not everything about the moment was inspiring. We didn’t make new friends, or borrow someone’s tampon, or give a random compliment…in fact, I was very conscious of how much space I and the other girls at the mirror were or weren’t taking up. Those kinds of things bug me when someone doesn’t have court awareness, to bring a sports analogy into it. I’m not even sure anyone else at the mirror really knew each other. And yet, I felt so profoundly with my fellow early riser/committed gym-goers in the moment. Like we had been bonded by the simple act of quietly putting makeup on next to each other.

I walked into WeWork afterwards with two hefty totes on each shoulder (which either signals the aforementioned morning gains or poises me as an American on a work trip carrying everything in before heading off to Heathrow), three beauty products in my Safari tabs, two new ideas for my newsletter, four books added to my Goodreads, and a smug-ass face that can only come from knowing you made hay before the sun rose. This 6am alarm will certainly not become a frequent habit, but I can rock with it for today.

IlovemyfriendsIlovemylifeIlovebeingme

Ryann x