Gen Z Diary: My legs should be at their aesthetic peak — varicose veins had other plans

Life has this inexplicable way of humbling you — like the minor surgery I've just had on my leg, one that is most commonly performed on women in their 40s who have had six children

I switched my bandages for a compression sock that goes from toe to thigh. It is a dark nude colour that makes me feel like my granny.

The first time I decided I was confident enough on a bicycle to take on a public road, I was four. I attempted the 300 metres from my house to my grandparents’. With my mother walking behind me, I set off on this journey. As I descended the slight hill towards my grandparents’ house, I felt so free, so capable. With wind in my hair and the stabilisers on my bicycle, there was no stopping me. 

I managed to topple myself into a thick pile of nettles 50m in. I was not pleased.