It all started with a side quest. A literal side quest, that is. Not a day that took an unexpected turn, or something that happened that I would later reframe as a side quest in the retelling. No, an actual, proper side quest, set within an amazing online community I’m part of called The Armoury.
This article isn’t about The Armoury, but if context is your thing, go and visit Main Character Club Scotland and check out all the socials. You won’t regret it. You could even consider it a mini digital side quest.
Anyway, every month in The Armoury has a theme. Things like Romance Thyself, Month of Making or The Renaissance, each with its own collection of weekly side quests that tie into the theme. Prompts, activities and adventures designed to get you doing things, trying things and perhaps looking at the everyday a little differently.
No matter how big or small, side questing can change your life. Which, as I was about to find out, was very much the case.
July of this year brought with it a new theme: The Check Point. A chance to check in with ourselves, set some intentions and think about how we wanted the second half of the year to look. Week four came, and on a warm Friday morning, that week’s side quest dropped. And everything changed.
It was called School of You, and the prompt was simple: create your own curriculum. No deadlines, nobody telling us what we could or couldn’t study, just a blank timetable and the freedom to fill it with whatever spoke to us.
I’d been in a particularly creative headspace around this time. Almost unstoppably so. A recent friendship breakup had been the catalyst. And I had a heart, nervous system and mind all desperate to channel the grief into something meaningful.
So when the School of You side quest dropped, something clicked. I didn’t just want to create a curriculum. I wanted to create a whole damn academy to help me actually show up for it.
It was like something had taken over, and Foxglove Academy was born. I chose my curriculum, created a crest and started building an entire world for it to exist in.
And honestly, I haven’t stopped figuring out what that world is. What Foxglove Academy actually is. When the idea first started pouring out of me, I knew it was something. I felt lit up from the inside out, and every time I shared a little piece of it with friends or in The Armoury, the response felt nothing short of magical.
The reason this blog exists now is because I have figured it out. I found the words for what Foxglove is.
And do now I’m not just the founder of Foxglove Academy, I’m its very first student. I’m living the life I started to dream about the moment that side quest dropped on that July day.
I’m ready to follow my curiosity. Imbue the everyday with magic. And seek knowledge beyond the written page.
And I’d love to take you along on the journey. If you’ll have me.