About Time - Lessons I loved from this film

This film was recommended to me by a good ole YouTuber, Will Darbyshire through this tweet here:

It made me incredibly happy to see the trailer so later the same day, I embarked on the journey of watching a beautiful film blossom.

Instead of ruining it for you, here's the gist: Tim is told by his father (Bill Nighy) that he can time travel back into his own past and this means that he can do lots of things that he didn't do the way he wanted to, in a way that is most suitable. But here's the catch - he can only be in one place at one time - and I'll leave you with that!

It's a wonderful concept and it's driven so beautifully through the film but here's the main thing I took away from the film that made me incredibly satisfied:

Imagine you could time travel like Tim and you could live every day again, if you really wanted to - imagine that you've picked today to come back to because you know you're going to have the best day, and when you wake up in the morning, you treat it like so :) 

This just made me happy because it made me think of all the small moments we often fail to recognise and we fail to take full advantage of. It's something I believe the film illustrates it too well for me to try and give you examples so if you have an evening to spare or a couple of hours, do go and check it out! I feel like I've not really given you much to cling onto but if I tell you that the same people who made this film also made Love Actually, does that make recommend this film even more to you? If anything, it has the best ending, I can promise you that!

During this holiday season, I hope that you guys have the most joyous and wonderful time and I guess the message that I want to leave you with is that you should take every chance you have to make a good moment the best moment ever! Make the world wonderful :)

Merry Christmas guys and who knows? Maybe I'll see you before the new year? God Bless you!

p.s. I did a more picturey post of this film on my side blog so if you have a moment, go check it out here!<3

Charlie McDonnell - Our Brother Review

Hey guys!

Quite a few weeks back now, Charlie McDonnell (aka Charlieissocoollike) released his new short film series named 'Our Brother'. I feel like I can't share what it's about without injecting my views about it so here goes!

The two parter is about two siblings who are struggling to cope with the death of their brother after the films start with a video clip of them proclaiming to their brother, who was clearly suffering from some sort of chronic illness, that he was finally coming home. From what Charlie had said about the series before it went live, it was supposed to be quite a teary series and though it was definitely sad, I wouldn't say I was bawling though admittedly, though I cry when things get emotional, I certainly wouldn't have bucketed all the way through.

Despite this initial misconception, the series itself was very, very good and the one thing I loved about it was the fact that it was so completely realistic. It didn't feel like an ideal situation, it felt really organic and that's what I feel Charlie has really done justice too. The elder brother of the two siblings who are left is unwilling to admit how much he misses his brother and the psychological turmoil that he's facing and this can make him appear quite cynical and unsympathetic towards his sister who constantly asks him whether he's ready to talk yet, to which he stoically replies 'I'm not ready yet.'

It's a beautiful series because of the way that their relationship works and just how simply everything works out and how it makes sense. It doesn't feel far-fetched and that's what makes this film series work so well.

I hope that you guys can appreciate this post and go on and watch the first one of the two here and the second here. All of Charlie's videos are amazing so check his channel out here.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post and as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts! I hope to speak to you soon, take care of yourselves!

Falling in Love with Ideals

Hey guys!

It has occurred to me many a time over the past few years or so that we often fall in love with ideals. This theme is also prevalent in many films and can also translate into real life relationships too where people go into relationships thinking they know the other person really well and that they know exactly how it's going to turn out but what they forget is that they expect their ideals to be the truth rather than getting to know and learn about the actual person who's in front of them.

By doing this, which in some way shape or form I feel we're all guilty of, we place unreal expectations on a person who's merely human and not someone who should be burdened with the expectations of being perfect, doing everything exactly like the movies and all that sort of thing.

Just to wrap up, if you ever make friends with someone or start a relationship with someone, make sure that the person you think you know and the kind of person they are isn't your ideal but is backed up by proof and evidence that you've witnessed first hand, not imagined in your day dreams.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post and that you have wonderful weeks and that hopefully, I can speak to you soon!<3

University - the Low Down

Hey guys!

I watched this video from Matt Watson and it really made me realise how big a step university is because of the amount of time you spend there and the numerous experiences you have along the way.

It's very easy to forget the scale when you've not got to worry about it for years yet but it's not until it starts getting closer that you realise why it's so daunting and important and why it's such a fundamental stage of your life.

I do really think that his video was immensely helpful in giving general tips on how to pick the right uni for you so don't forget to check the video out here as well as his channel here!

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post and I hope to speak to you soon!

Having a backbone

Hey guys! I hope that you're well!

Having a backbone can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people and it only really struck me recently because it made me question whether I have one and whether the fact that my backbone has a questionable existence is really all that important and whether I need to make it more definite.

What made this spring into my mind was a TV show which is all the rage at the moment in England, coming back for its 10th series, the Apprentice. Just to give you guys who haven't heard of it before, the Apprentice features the successful British Entrepreneur Lord Sugar who puts a number of candidates through 12 weeks of gruelling business orientated tasks as two teams in order to find his next business partner. In previous years he's had 12 candidates for 12 weeks, last series he upped it to 16 and this year, to celebrate the 10th birthday of the program, 20 candidates from the start.

At the moment, the series is on its 3rd week, the 4th week being broadcasted on Wednesday here in the UK. In the 2nd week, the teams were asked to produce a type of wearable technology but what happened was, those who had more expertise in the area than others couldn't push their product idea forward enough amongst the hubbub to be able to produce a product that manufacturers would want to purchase. This, Lord Sugar put down to 'not having a backbone'.

This made me think of the way that I feel like I may also have a similar quality in which I try and please everyone in order to not make any enemies, whether that be a frenemy or just a plain old person who hates my guts. I have no idea whether to consider this a flaw because generally the things that you may dispute about in school aren't really worth losing friends over and therefore, should I really be putting my friendships on the line just for a little pride in being right? That I don't think is right in any relationship. Understandably, when it's a question of making money, the bar is a lot higher and the expectations of the teams are as high as can be but the question I have for myself and anyone else who feels like they're kind of like me, do we have the right mentality and would we be able to fight for what is right and risk losing some friends in order to produce something that's the bests? Would we?

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! Whatever you thought, I would love to hear it in the comments and I hope that you have a lovely weekend and I'll speak to you soon!

Inspirations - The Film makers and Photographers

Hey guys! It's great to see you here again!

This was something that just made me so happy and so I thought I would share it with you.

One of my favourite YouTubers and inspirations, Louis Cole (aka FunForLouis) and his friends, also great inspirations of mine Ben Brown, Steve Booker (Blog and YouTube), Will Darbyshire and Nick and Ang Miller are all in NYC at the moment and just the talent that they all have and the beauty of the shots that they're capturing at the moment there are absolutely stunning. Ever since Louis got his new camera, the slow mo shots have been absolutely brilliant! Here are some of them and the videos/links to where you can see all of them :D

'Double Date Night' - 22/10/14

'Double Date Night' - 22/10/14

'Double Date Night' - 22/10/14

'Sunrise & Pennyboard Adventures' - 21/10/14

They also went to go and see Casey Neistat and his studio which are absolutely insane (the vlog is here). His camera collection is well and truly mind-blowing and incredible and to see some of the film-makers that I adore like Jack Harries asking him about the quality of the camera was amazing. It's always great to see who inspires your inspirations and that was just amazing.

Some more screen caps of the vlog just to give you an insight - absolutely amazing:

Casey's punch bag which he uses as a distraction

Ben and Casey take to the rings!

An awesome set up

A giant screen which you can use to see yourself - Ben's funny faces :D

So yeah, this has been something that has inspired me beyond belief this week and just to see all of them getting awesome shots and working together to produce awesome content has made me incredibly happy :D If you guys do have an hour or so to spare, go to Louis' channel and check them out! They're absolutely brilliant and always make my day, especially when he has his friends goofing around too :D

I hope that this has inspired you too! As always, leave your thoughts below, I love to hear them and I hope to speak to you soon!

The Perfect Person for You

Hey guys! I hope you've been well!

I was thinking a while back and now about a topic that Will Darbyshire brought up in his video named 'A Letter to My Future Wife' and it really hit me when he talked about how she was somewhere in the world, growing up, getting on with her life. It struck me that that is true for all of us. We all have someone out there who is probably the best person for us and yet we're, at least for the moment, on completely different paths, living our lives as we normally would. It feels so mundane thinking that someone who can change you so much and make you feel so great is so intrinsically normal. It's both brilliant and amazing.

For me, it was quite a revelation simply because of the 'Prince Charming' stereotype I guess. Fairy tales and all of that jazz. We forget that amazing people do exist and no, they're not going to be perfect but hey, they're real people and do exist and there is a chance you could meet them one day. Isn't that a lovely thought? :D

I just thought I'd share that little bit of hope and sunshine with you and I don't know what you guys think of this information, whether you agree with me that it's a wonderful thought and revelation or whether you think that there's barely any chance of finding someone that's right for you.

Whichever you choose, you can tell me about it or just go along and have a wonderful day! I hope I can speak to you soon!

Passive Aggressiveness - My Thoughts

Hey guys! I hope that you're as well as can be!

Passive aggressiveness was something that has been stirring itself around my mind in a number of ways.
For example, on Thursday, my French class had a debate, in French, about the legalisation of cannabis, just to get us used to replying to each other in French, articulating ourselves and remembering the vocabulary that we've recently come across. According to our teacher, it was the most lively and engaging debate that she'd ever seen from the Year 12 class and I loved it though I came out of the class feeling like, at least during the class, I may have made some frenemies.

As I may have told you before, my French class is the one class where I know the least people and is also the smallest class of the four I have this year with a grand total of 15 people in it. For many people and I can certainly say I fall into this group when I'm not careful, a debate in class can feel quite personal though whatever happens may not be as close to heart as it comes out as. For the cannabis debate, we were split randomly into two teams and that meant that you just had to fight the corner that you were sat at. Sometimes though, it feels as if it can become a matter of who's right and who's able to get the other person down rather than just a matter of the class and that can become problematic when you're trying to make friends with new people. Nevertheless, in this specific case, I haven't had a French lesson since the debate so I'm hoping no lasting damage will have been had because my French class is pretty awesome.

This also leads me on to another thought that stemmed from this from another debate that we were having in my health class, whether giving into do what another person wants to avoid arguments is the best thing to do. For many of us this was definitely a grey area; isn't it better on a small scale to sacrifice the small things so that everything in the bigger picture can move on more swiftly or is it more detrimental to a relationship when the person who's leading forgets that there are limits to what the other person may feel comfortable and within their boundaries to do? In the end, I think it's probably a bit of both but I guess it's always going to be slightly different in every set of circumstances.

Overall, sometimes passive aggressiveness can be good because debating in a formal manner without being rude or saying things out of turn, though it can feel like you're personally attacking another person, it can actually be really good and can really help you develop your character and the way you face defeat and the way that you learn how to not take it personally and how to actually make good friends out of those who you debate with. However, passive aggressiveness in a relationship can be detrimental when it means that one person is constantly having their opinions repressed and their feelings ignored.

So, what do you guys think on this subject? Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments because I'd love to hear them and I'll speak to you guys soon!

p.s. on this note, I did have a little specific picture that came to mind when I thought of this post, so here ya go :)
p.p.s. who knows what film this is from? :o :D

Greet yourself, shake hands and smile

Hey guys! I hope that you're all as well as can be!

'Greet yourself, shake hands and smile' - a thought that everyone has in some shape or form - what would it be like if you met yourself? I know that I'm quite a lot like the majority of people who've thought this - I'd probably hate and annoy myself beyond belief.

Despite this fact, there are a ton of merits you can get from meeting yourself from an outsider's perspective and that's something I've learnt myself.

A time ago, for an hour or so, I went through a little mental phase where I thought that morally, I couldn't improve on anything at all - for a little while, I was deluded that I was somewhat perfect - in other words, I couldn't think of anything I could do to make myself better and sure, I may be a decent human being that most people deserve to be greeted by when they meet a new person but by no means am I perfect. Looking back on that now, I don't understand where I ever could've thought that. Mental, I know.

This led me to realise that there are a ton of things we can all do to make ourselves better and many of them are small which may have led to my delusion; we so very often disregard the small things we don't do that we become satisfied with just having not done anything big wrong. There can be something very big wrong too if you don't do the small thing right before even considering anything bigger you can do.

There are many things that we can do that can make us better people and we shouldn't be content with thinking that small things don't make a difference and don't make us better people - I've said it before and I'll say it again, I try believe that it's the small things that count and sometimes it's the good things that other people do that remind me to be nicer and kinder and that can make a difference, knowing that you've consciously made the decision to become better.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! As always, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, I do love to hear them, and I'll hopefully speak to you soon! God Bless!x

'That's okay' - what?

Hey guys! I hope that you've all been fine and dandy since I last spoke to you!

This was a topic that really has bugged me for a while and I'm pretty sure anyone who feels guilty about small things or relatively small things they do wrong probably understands where I'm coming from.

Most people know the feeling - you do something small wrong or you forget to do something - and you instantly feel bad but then whoever it'll affect or whoever you expect to perhaps blow your head off goes on and says 'No, it's okay' with a smile and continues on.

This confuses me so much. Whatever I did wasn't okay otherwise I wouldn't have bad for doing it! Why on earth should it be okay with you for me not to do what I'm supposed to do? How is that okay at all?
I feel like it's more confusing when the person says that's what they expect of you - how do you do the thing when you can't do it anymore? How do you rid yourself of the guilt of knowing that someone is trying to make you feel better when it's your inadequacy that probably means they have more work to do because of you? How can that ever be okay?

This for me is generally most confusing because it's never followed by an explanation. For example, if the other person thinks you have a genuine reason for not having done the thing like because you've had a lot of work or because you've been focusing on other parts of your responsibilities. That's only really cuts it when you can agree with them but how can you move on knowing that you could've done the thing but didn't really want to?

I may be making no sense whatsoever to some of you but I guess it bugs me when I don't learn from my mistakes and try and grow and move on from my laziness. If any of you guys can empathise with me in any shape or form, it would be so great to hear from you in the comments! Even if you don't please tell me why, I'd love to hear why!

Thank you so much for reading, I can't tell you how much it means to me! Have an awesome week and I hope to speak to you soon! God Bless :) x

Time and where it all goes

Hey guys!

It feels like months since I've last spoken to you and indeed it's been almost that long! How crazy! I'm sorry that I haven't been able to find the time or the content to give to you but I do hope that I can find things to show you and to inspire and interest you and that we can continue to have these little conversations at some point during the weeks to come!

I just wanted to ramble a bit today I guess and I feel like today is a day that just showed me how quickly time can pass. It's not really something that you need to be told really but it's something that we all have to be aware of. This was really brought on and reinforced in my brain by Carrie Hope Fletcher, that wonderful woman and it really is hard to live in such a way that you remember that you do need to tell people how important they are to you because a lot of anything could happen between the next time you see them.

Change is so ever present in our lives and we always seem to forget that things won't stay as they are forever. I think that we can sometimes allude ourselves that because of the length of our relationships with the people around us, they must simply know what we are thinking and the way that we know that they're just there for us whenever we need them. That isn't always healthy in a relationship because it can lead to the other person forgetting their worth and not feeling the positivity from the relationship that they're giving to it.

I've felt that way myself before and I have evaluated myself and the way I feel. I know that one friend I have suffers from severe anxiety and therefore is rarely the one to start a conversation, however, just because I may be the one to start the conversation, doesn't mean we can't stem one from there. I have another friend who I used to be able to have rather lengthy conversations with because we met on a forum website where we'd write each other paragraphs and reply every other day or so because time zones wouldn't permit us to really be able to IM each other. Our convos moved to twitter and it's hard to feel that you're feeling the commitment to the friendship, especially seeing as though there are many reasons the friendship shouldn't work because of the distance.

However, having said that, I know that sometimes I feel like if you do constantly message someone, they might be a bit creeped out and a bit overwhelmed but I guess, back to a post I did about one of Carrie's videos, you've got to say so.

In conclusion, time can lead to relationships becoming strained and to people feeling like the commitment isn't showing through the action of the other, however, that isn't always an adequate excuse for not putting as much effort into a relationship as the other person.

I hope this wasn't too much of a random post but please, as always, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below and I hope to speak to you soon! God Bless!<3

A Reality of Life that Makes me Sad

Hey guys! I hope that you're all ready and set up for a new week ahead!

I was thinking recently about something that really upsets me in life and it made me realise how much I love fantasy worlds too because it feels like other people in the past have realised the same things as me and have tried to rectify them in their stories. In the case of this one thing, J.K. Rowling seemingly has an answer.

The thing I don't like about life is the fact that we forget. It makes me so sad knowing that I could have the best day ever and in the space of as little as two weeks perhaps, or a month, forget how awesome the day was and just how happy you were. Or just important moments in life like when you meet someone for the first time or any other first times that are so awesome and you want to remember but you know that inevitably, you're probably going to forget.

It feels like in this way, life screws us over countless times.

It also means that, in the future, you may forget what your younger years were really like because you'll have forgotten and that makes me sad because being an eager historian, it's great to be able to have the benefit of hindsight but that only helps if you have all of the evidence in front of you. That certainly isn't possible if you've managed to forget most of it, it really isn't.

I think that was one of the main reasons why I started daily blogging but I found it really hard to keep up with once I started school so for the moment, I've abandoned it. I think I may start doing a post, perhaps once or twice a month on this blog to let you know some little things that have affected me for yay or nay and I hope that you guys can gain something from it and perhaps share your own so we can remember for years to come!

The one thing from Harry Potter that would also be useful in this endeavour would be a pensieve and I absolutely love the idea of having one, being able to relive and relive a moment. I guess the only thing is, you can't be yourself and I guess it would be odd reliving it too much because it could then change the way you see it which may not be the best thing.

Nevertheless, I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! As always, the comments are open for your thoughts so empty below if you wish and I hope to speak to you soon! Take Care!

Putting in The Work

Hey guys! I hope that you're all fine and well and dandy and all those wonderful things!

Right now, I'm in the second week of my A Levels and I feel like because I'm aiming for the highest grades, I'm not yet putting enough effort and putting extra effort into my work and that is quite disturbing because feeling like you might already be putting yourself at a disadvantage before you've even started isn't probably the nicest feeling ever.

However, I do feel like I can get better and that's what's important because let's face it, I'm not even a month into my studies - there's still plenty of time for me to find out what I can do to become a whizzo and then I feel like, though I may end up with even less time than I've already got, I may end up feeling a lot better having done extra work and really becoming familiar with the subjects and the topics that I need to understand.

Moral of this little worry on paper being, if you want to change something about yourself, try and do it sooner rather than later because the later you leave it, the more stress you can end up putting on yourself and the more unhappy you can end up becoming. Now, wish me good luck for organising my time and actually becoming a more happy and content human being! I wish you all the same too!

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! If you did or didn't, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below and I hope to speak to you soon!

Lessons I've learned from work

Hey guys!

So, last Saturday, after two weeks away from work, I returned, tired from school but still rearing to go. Nice one Zainab, nice one.

It was a tiring day but it was definitely rewarding because I feel like the shop that I work at, though it's small, receives some of the nicest and most interesting people off of the planet and they make my day so much more wonderful.

It's especially wonderful to hear people with different accents because, as you guys may or may not know, I absolutely love accents and being able to just fangirl on the inside when someone talks is just wonderful. I've heard Australian accents and South African accents and Scottish accents and Spanish accents and Italian accents and German accents, all from the most lovely of people and honestly, if you like me have a ginormous appreciation for different accents, you like me, would be in heaven.

It's especially great because I live in a really small town and that means that on the outside, it doesn't look like we have much racial diversity but when you look closer and learn more about the people, you can come to really adore where everyone comes from and what that means about what kind of people they are. A lot of people are wonderful and not stuck up like a lot of people become the closer you get to London.

I'm not really sure what this post is meant to be aha, but I really feel like, though my work is really tiring, it gives me my biggest boost in faith in humanity because a lot of the people look wealthy and you can tell that by the money they're willing to spend or the cars that they drive. For some of them, it makes them as nice as hell and I guess that's because they want to meet people who are genuine and not people who are just being friendly with them because of their money. Other wealthy people can be quite stuck up and it's not the nicest thing to see but I guess you can't have everything in a person.

You also have the other end of the scale where people feel like they can't pay for our services and end up scrounging around for a deal and sometimes it can make you feel quite bad but sometimes it feels quite rude, especially when they know what quality you're providing them with. The shop I work at is really quite reasonable and it feels like people try and undermine the kindness of my boss without good reason and it's horrid to see.

I hope that you guys thought something of this post. Feel free to leave those thoughts in the comments below and I hope to speak to you soon!

From Another Walk of Life

Hey guys!

This little subject was bugging me, so I thought I'd talk to you guys about it and see what you think :)

I find it hard when people don't try and empathise with other people when they've come from a different background from themselves, especially sometimes when they've come from an extreme so a really wealthy background or a really poor background. It hurts me because they act as if the people are acting inconsiderately or are acting really self-involved and in a selfish manner whilst whatever they're experiencing or have experienced is just the way life has been for them from wherever they've come from.

It also annoys me because these comments and judgements are often overlooking the good parts of the person's personality which are often in much larger abundance than the other parts of their personality and what makes them who they are that other people may have a problem with.

It annoys me most because of the fact that they expect people to be able to find exactly the right way to say something when that's practically impossible because you can't always be considerate and you can't always find the 'right way' to say something. Some things will always have negative connotations or a specific connotation and there's nothing much that can be done other than to try not to see it in that way.

All I'd like to challenge everyone here is, if you hear something negative or say something negative, always try and think about how the best way of having said that would be. If there's no other way of saying it, don't take offense or be surprised if other people are offended by it. It always pays off to think that way so you don't feel as if you're constantly being offended. Also consider other factors like how much time the other person was given to come up with their response, that can always change the way they word things too.

Finally, also try and accept people for their flaws and that sometimes people don't always have the eloquence or the quick wittedness to be able to express the way they think or the way they feel adequately. Don't judge them for it because if you know that if you were them, you wouldn't want to be labelled by your flaws either. Instead, try and label people by their strengths. I personally find this makes me a much happier person because then you end up feeling less horrified and more appreciative of the people around you and their talents :)

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments below and I hope to speak to you soon! :D x

Appreciating Everything

Hey guys!

One thing I realised within myself definitely was the fact that I don't actually appreciate everything that comes my way and I always pray for it to be perfect, when, in fact, I'm incredibly lucky to be in the position that I am.

I feel like that comes with the fact that we know that we're lucky but then it's case of maintaining and raising where you stand in the world and that means that anything that can take you on your way is something that becomes more of a necessity rather than a luxury.

For example, a few months ago I got a new laptop but unfortunately, it didn't have Microsoft Office downloaded on it. It did have a package called Libre Office on it which did the job for a little while but then I honestly felt kind of trapped by it. I didn't know how to do more than the basic things and I didn't like the fact that I didn't have the same control over what my work looked like like I would've done if I had Microsoft Word to play with.

This also shows that the culture we live in also expresses a sort of dislike for change and a dislike for discomfort which is really unfortunate because of the fact millions and billions of people face discomfort every single day. It shows that we only feel comfort when we control as many aspects of our lives as we can and it can be quite detrimental wanting to do that because there are many things that we can't control in life.

However, especially living in the privileged position that we do, it does seem rather wrong to not make sure that we take as much advantage of it as we can and this shows the main predicament the modern human being faces - you've got to keep living and keep moving forward but you've also got to look at the head start that you've got that all of those people don't have - and don't forget it.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! Please leave your thoughts in the comments below freely and I hope to speak to you soon!

Optimism and Happiness!

Hey guys! I hope that you're feeling brilliant and beautiful!

This post, is in fact being written later of the same day as the last one and I feel like I've changed my outlook a bit.

Sometimes I feel like being invisible is a great thing, other times, like when earlier today, I feel like I don't really matter but I think I often forget that it's the worth that you give to yourself that often matters the most because changes will always happen and just because you don't make friends that are really close, doesn't mean that you can't just make more friends that you can talk to when there's no-one else to.

I feel like, especially with social media, we forget that every contact that we make with another human being is really special and we should always try and forget that they could just be talking with someone else and perhaps having a more excited conversation. It's especially valuable, I think, to remember that just because they may change the way they stand with other people, doesn't mean that the way that they stand with you and the way you stand with them has to change.

Simple friendships can often mean everything, especially when you're in a new environment and just a person to talk to and to feel comfortable can be so important.

So, to wrap it up a bit earlier than some other posts, don't be afraid to lose friends because the people who matter will stay and the people who go aren't bad, they're different, just like you! :) Appreciate the similarities you find with other people and cherish them because there are billions of people who are all different, so finding friends who understand something about you is really something I personally marvel :)

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! I feel like it compensates for the less happiness that I felt in my earlier post but please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below! I hope to speak to you soon!

Unpopularity - frustration, blargh

Hey guys! I hope that you're all well!

So last week, I began the next phase of my education - Sixth Form. This is where I'll spend the next two years of my life and where I'll complete my A Levels.

The main problem I feel like I'm facing in this new phase of my life is keeping new friends. I've met some new people but what I feel like is my main problem is that I feel like I have no more to say, I feel like I'm inadequate and that there's no way for me to hold onto new friends because sometimes I don't have the right interests to be able to discuss anything further with them.

For me, this can be for a couple of reasons.

1. As part of my religion, I don't listen to music and this means that a subject that lots of people can slip into quite easy is blocked off for me which means that I can't really use that as a way to get to know a person.
2. I hate gossiping and over the past few years I've come to realise how easy it can be to say something small against someone, especially if they're a teacher because it feels like a role of being a secondary school kid is to always bitch about your least favourite teacher. Though it's definitely a normal thing in student culture, I now feel a lot more hesitant to say much against teachers unless it's something about their teaching style that's going to directly affect the grade that I'm going to get at the end of the year. This means that I don't tend to go down the route of saying something against someone else route to start a new conversation.
3. I don't really watch many TV shows either. That's simply because I know that I'll end up getting sucked in and I'll lose a heap load of time I could've been using else where. It also begs the question that how much can you talk about one program? The only thing I can use to justify this question is if new episodes have been airing and I think that's one great thing about YouTube because there's always new videos going up and there are always new successes and comedies to be enjoyed and celebrated.
4. I'm a hermit and don't really go out much. This means that I can't really have many new experiences with new friends to become better friends over and can be quite detrimental to me making new friends which is rather sad.

On a side note which links to my second point, someone once told me to always watch out for the way that someone speaks about other people because this is often the manner in which they will talk about you to others. I'm lucky enough to not know if anyone talks about me (probably not anyone really at all because I'm practically invisible) but that is something I prefer not to see in other people because knowing that they get conversation from other people's mistakes and faults isn't really something I want to hear.

As a conclusion, I feel like whenever there are people who are funnier than me and know of more bands and more TV shows, they're never bound to stay with me because I'm nowhere near the kinds of people that they could be becoming friends with.

I have no idea what you guys will think of this post but please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below and I hope to speak to you soon! 

p.s. If you'd like to me to do a post on my thoughts on Sixth Form so far or any other requests. please do feel free to leave a comment and I'll be happy to look into it :)

'To This Day' - Inspiration

Hey guys!

Today a certain Rad Haggis off of YouTube tweeted out this inspirational video from vimeo. And despite the fact it feels like sometimes there are many representations of depression and bullying, this one really struck home because of the way it was portrayed, as anyone who's ever felt alone or felt like a misfit.

The metaphors and the art that are used in this video are just phenomenal and even if you've never felt that extreme of emotion, like myself, or if you've ever felt alone, even if that was for a few moments, or an hour, you'll be able to relate to this video.

The typography and the way things move around is just beautiful and the message and the way the man who voices the video speaks really strikes home, especially seeing as though he can go from sounding quite calm to shouting. It really affected me and I would strongly recommend that you watch the video, if not for anything else but just for the experience.

As the video is around 7 minutes long, I can't quite include everything in the video myself but the main message of the video is that if you feel like no-one's on your side and you feel like you've finally got to the end of your line, always remember whatever kept you going for so long? Which part of your brain convinced you that all of the names and the disappointments were wrong? Why did you not believe them for so long? Why did you keep trying if you're going to give up now?

Always remember why they were wrong.

It also really focusses on the effects of your words on other people, how names can stick and how they can impair how a person sees themselves for the rest of their lives. It feels like it's easy to say that you're calling someone a name as a joke but the way you make them feel isn't always going to be something you find out though it may plague them for years and years and years.

I hope that you guys will enjoy the video as much as I did! Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below and I shall hopefully speak to you soon! :)

Third Visit on Holiday - The National Museum of Scotland - Edinburgh

Hey guys!

I hope that you've been enjoying the pictures so far of my holiday that I've been able to show you! I had an absolutely wonderful time! For the day that we spent in Edinburgh, we went to three main places so here's the second place: The National Museum of Scotland!

I loved the place though
we were pretty tired and in need of food when we arrived. The building itself was absolutely stunning and we found some pretty interesting artefacts such as Dolly the Sheep! I also bought a beautiful ring for myself and it was a great memorandum for our visit!

Here are some of the pictures! :D

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! If you did or didn't, please leave your thoughts in the comments and I hope to speak to you soon! :)

My Thoughts on Compliments

Hey guys!

I don't know if it's just me (I suspect it's probably not) but I never really know how to take compliments.
It's often just because I don't know if I deserve praise because often it's just me doing what I'm supposed to be doing, in which case, is what I'm doing really that spectacular? Do I really deserve praise?

However, having said that, I can completely understand why people give compliments because I do it myself and it's often for encouragement purposes. For example, I was helping to train a new member of staff last week and she was absolutely brilliant and was great on the ball and making sure every step of the process was done. I think the reason why a lot of us sometimes feel like we should compliment people is because it can sometimes feel like it's a lot easier to criticise people than just to accept that they're pretty amazing at something. Not saying that you would just focus on the negatives but I think it's great to have that encouragement to know that you're going in the right direction, even if you're just doing what you're supposed to be doing.

However, I think the point is that sometimes you can feel obliged to give someone a compliment to make them feel better and I feel like sometimes this can happen more often with kids because they're a lot more sensitive. If a kid is making a lot of mistakes and you have to keep telling them that they're making the mistakes, you can feel like you need to tell them about the things they're getting right so that they don't feel like they're not making any progress and getting everything wrong.

I think, personally, the main problem I have with compliments, whether it be on your work or on your physical appearance is exaggeration. I hate feeling like I can't accept a compliment because it's too over the top and not realistic when, in fact, it might be. It's one reason I find it hard to give compliments because I feel like the way I see reality isn't good enough to warrant giving a compliment that would serve to encourage a person. I wish I would have enough confidence to be truthful in my compliments and not over indulge. I don't want people who are like me to feel like they can't accept compliments because they're probably too good to be true.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments below and I hope to speak to you soon!

Inspirational People #2 - My Boss

Hey guys!

Today, I'd like to talk to you about my boss, Fairy, who's second on my inspirational people list to talk to you about.

The reason I find her so inspirational is because she's incredibly motivated. For you guys who don't know, I work in a dry cleaners in my town and she's the one who opened the shop and got it started from scratch. Despite the fact that she's not had much business experience herself, she's motivated and believes in what she's selling because she knows it's top notch quality (believe me, it really is) and she's not afraid to let people know that her service is better than many others.

She's also one of the most kind hearted and warm people and she's just that way with her customers which means that they feel like they're being treated personally and fairly and that she genuinely cares (which she does) about her customers and the quality of the service that they receive. She's the kind of person who goes out of her way to make sure that she can help her customer like being able to do cleaning and alterations at short notice and going to collect them herself as well as not being afraid to give people discounts if she can really see that they're going to struggle to pay for the service.

She's also very, very fair and a rational thinker. She's not the kind of person to explode for no reason and she really cares about how she's affecting you with what she does. If you make a mistake, she makes sure to let you know that you're not to worry and if you've made a big mistake, then she'll do everything in her power to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

On top of all of this, she's not a very well person and still motivates herself to keep going and to keep smiling and to keep doing everything she can, including giving sweets to her customers to make sure that she can keep them happy and make their day happier when they come into her shop. It's brilliant and I don't think I've personally seen anyone who spends that much time being warm and friendly and asking about the health of people ever in my life. It's truly inspirational and admirable.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! As always, please feel free to empty your thoughts into the comments below and I hope to speak to you soon! :)

Second Stop on Holiday - The Botanical Gardens - Edinburgh

After we stayed for a day in Newcastle, we went to Glasgow for a day but as we spent a lot of the day shopping, there wasn't really much to see. Anyway, the day after we spent the day in Edinburgh and the first place we went to was the Botanical Gardens and the flowers and plants were beautiful.

Here are a few snaps and I hope that you enjoy them!

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! Please leave your thoughts below and I'll catch you guys soon! :)

Results Day - Realities and What Happened To Me

Hey guys! I hope that you're all fine and dandy and that if you collected your results in the past two weeks that you got the results that you wanted!

So, for me, it was my GCSE year this year and I went to collect my results last Thursday which is the day that this is being written. I feel like I may have told you guys this before but I want to do Medicine at university and it goes without saying that you need top marks for that. So when I say I didn't get the grades I wanted, I got some A's and not A*'s, it's not me being ungrateful, no, not at all! It's me saying that my dream may be crumbling and that some of those A's really could've been A*'s!

I was writing this post to tell you guys all about my problems but honestly, I feel like I've inflicted my own personal misery on too many people! So instead, I'm going to list all the things I'm proud of myself for, for my results! Please join in in the comments so we can share the joy and not dwell on the despair!

Okay, here goes!

1. For the four subjects I'm taking next year I got 2 A's and 2 A*'s - isn't that great groundwork? :D It's making me especially ready and rearing to go so I can smash A Levels :D
2. For History which was one of my A*'s I got 100% on two of the papers. I was a wreck before those papers because unlike many of the subjects, you have to know exact facts because almost nothing is given to you and you can't just rely on what they've given you so I'm so happy that I actually managed to do well in those exams!
3. In my English Lit where I also got an A, the only thing that stopped me from getting an A* was my hatred for poetry and my really bad teacher. 3/4 texts I actually got an A* but I got a C in my poetry so if you discount the poetry, I actually did pretty well! I have no idea how I'm writing this, please don't judge me!
4. I got an A* in Physics which is my worst science! Get in there!
5. Despite the fact I got an A in my RE which was one of my best subjects (I did get an A* in the mock) I actually got full marks on the module I usually drop the most in? I don't know how that works but hell, maybe that's an achievement in itself!
6. I also got an A* in French which I'm taking next year and I'm so excited for it and yayayayay!

I really hope that you guys can understand where I'm coming from and that you can please listen to me objectively. It's very easy on the internet to get hate for 'not being appreciative' but it's like anything that you dream about, no matter what you want to become. If you don't do well enough in any sort of test, you're bound to feel low but often, whatever happened, happened for good reason.

I hope to speak to you guys soon, Take Care and be proud of how far you've come and right now, don't worry about how far there is left to go, just stand and appreciate the moment, on top of that mountain :D

Sixth on the List: 1984 By George Orwell

Hey guys! I hope that you're well!

So recently I finished reading 1984 by George Orwell and I thought it was an awesome book, especially seeing as though it was written in 1949. It's a really interesting read because it's one of the earlier dystopian fantasies and is a lot more poignant than today's dystopias because the phenomenon he writes about in his book is worldwide rather than just based in England (like the Slated series which I wrote about here) or in America like the Hunger Games for example. It's worldwide and that means that all of the destruction and the hypocrisy and hatred is widespread.

Just a few details about the book before I continue:

• The main character, Winston Smith, works for the Ministry of Truth, constantly changing the past so that it fits the reality of the present. This in itself means that history is constantly being changed.
• In most rooms, especially in the rooms of those who work for The Party, there is a telescreen. These are present in homes as well as at work places and they are constantly producing noise, whether that be bulletins of news or music or things that make no sense what so ever. They are also like cameras in the way that they can 'see' you and can hear everything you say that is above a whisper.
• This means that you have to completely control your face and your expression because anything that gives you away as someone who is secretly against The Party can lead you to disappear. Because of the fact they can remove facts from everywhere, they literally erase you from history and this means that anyone who knew you won't ever have known what happened to you. This happens to Winston's parents and he always blamed himself because he was a selfish child.
• The head of The Party is known as Big Brother and this is where the expression 'Big Brother is Watching You' was coined.

All of this makes the book really interesting to read because it really makes you explore the inner facets of who you are and why you believe what you believe and it makes the book really intriguing because it means that Winston is constantly analysing his rebelliousness inside him and is always analysing the society around himself and what it means to be part of it and how it works. The book in its entirety is really interesting for us in modern day because we can still see similar trends in the world today and it really sets out ideologies in black and white without any sugar coating.

So, all in all, if you're a fan of dystopias I would definitely recommend the book because it's really interesting and gripping and really challenges the motives of people around you and how the people who make the world run do what they do! Also, they have a different ideology on torture which I found really interesting and an awesome twist to the story but I won't spoil it for you! You'll have to find it our yourself :)

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! If you did or didn't please leave your thoughts in the comments below so I can hear from you and I hope to speak to you soon!

First Stop on Holiday - Newcastle

Hey guys!

The week before last, I went on holiday to numerous places, one of which being Newcastle. I didn't get to take that many pictures in the city itself which was sad but the buildings are beautiful. Nevertheless, after we finished in the city centre, we went to a nearby beach. It made me incredibly happy because I haven't been to the beach in ages so here are a few snaps! :)

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post, I was on holiday for 5 days so I'll be doing posts every once a week or so as a break from my normal posts :) Speak to you guys soon! :)

A Little Pot of Happiness

Hey guys!

At some point last week, my mum and I had gone shopping and we were walking around our local market when I saw a flower stall. Then, I saw a little pot of roses and I basically fell in love because they were so cute! As you can see in a previous post, I love the rose bush in the front of my garden so having a little plant which we could keep inside was just amazing.

I honestly hope that I can have a little rose plant when I grow up because I feel like having a little flowery plant just makes me so happy. Oh dear aha, when I sat down to write this post I thought I could write how I felt about the plant a bit more specifically but all I can tell you is that it makes me so happy :D

Anyway, as I can't say anymore, here are some pictures of the little flowers :D

Thank you so much for watching! I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! Have a wonderful week and I'm so sorry for having missed last Saturday, I had an incredibly hectic week! I'll speak to you soon :)

Anxiety, The Feeling of Loneliness, YouTube

Hey guys!

I recently saw a video by Kian Lawley which you can check out here and it really reminded me that despite the fact that YouTubers may have a ton of subscribers doesn't mean that they're as comfortable with people as they may appear to be on camera or around their friends.

I don't personally suffer from anxiety but I can relate to the feeling where you feel like other people are only putting up with you and that you're actually quite alone when you're with your friends. This used to happen quite often over the summer break when I'd see my friends a lot less often and I'd go back to school completely afraid and half convinced that I'd imagined that they'd liked me and that I'd actually end up with no friends and completely alone. Thank God it always feels like we're better friends at the beginning of the year than at the end. For me, somehow, on a side note, losing a friend has actually made me a ton closer to my other friends so losing a best friend out of two was actually a blessing in disguise.

Back to the point, I think a lot of the time it can really help us help each other if we listen to each other without phones or other distractions in front of us and spend quality time with one another. The fact that the presence of mobile devices at social gatherings has become a norm is worrying and I feel like it's one way in which we can give the impression to our closest friends that they aren't worth our full attention when in reality, we don't feel that way at all.

In Kian's video, he talks about how telling his mum about his anxiety and the fact it was a problem was probably the best thing he did and it really made him feel so much better about it because he felt listened to and cared of. In that way we can see that if we really care about those around us, they deserve to feel it and to feel like we're always given them our undivided attention because sometimes, despite the fact having lots of followers on a social media account can feel like we're popular and we have friends, the reality can be the opposite.

What I loved about Kian's video was the fact that he disproved this statement and I think it's a testament to the nature of YouTube and the fact that he hasn't accumulated an awesome 1.8 million subscribers from nothing. For him, knowing that there are people who can understand and connect with his videos makes him feel like they're less alone as well as the same for him and it made me happy knowing that social media is great for people who feel alone sometimes though my personal opinion is when you're face to face with someone, social media shouldn't play a part in the face to face time that you have, if you see what I'm saying.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! I feel like it was a bit more of a roundabout post in comparison to other posts because I made a ton of more varied points but as always, leave your thoughts in the comments and I hope to speak to you soon!

Dates and their apparent insignificance and yet intrinsic significance

Hey guys!

This subject was something that passed my mind during this past week.

It started with this simple fact; if memory prevails, all of us share our birthdays with a massive 150,000,000 people worldwide. That fact alone is just mind blowing but for me it simply gives me a reason to be happy everyday because every day is someone's birthday and it's a wondrous phenomenon.

It also occured to me that there are dates all the way through history. Every day something or other happened and that in itself is inspirational because of the fact it proves to us that everyday is a day that we can make a change in the world.

I personally feel like we often go through life treating one day the same as the next and this is so easy when we've settled into a routine. We shouldn't feel like weeks go by with no change because everyday is a day to cherish and everyday is stupendously different.

Once we appreciate that, life can become so much more interesting :D

Happy Birthday to you if it's your birthday today! I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! Please do leave your thoughts in the comments below and all the best for the week ahead! I hope to speak to you soon!

P.s. if you guys have any topics that you'd like me to offer my opinion on like a thought provoking post or video, I'm open to suggestions!

A New Mug That's Pretty Damned Awesome

Hey guys!

So randomly enough, one day I was getting something for my dad from the back of his car and I realised that he had this wonderful red mug with words on it just sitting there in bubble wrap. Just being me and my dad out of our family who don't have our own mugs, rather just the conventional ones that are more generic than the others, I was intrigued and having unwrapped it in all its goodness, I've found it a source of daily inspiration!

In spite of the fact it's actually an advert for what accountants from a certain company are like, I find the adjectives used to describe them rather inspiring and they motivate me to become better and to feel better because of the way that they are phrased and just the kind of words that they are.

All of the phrases on the mug are:

Business Leaders - Professional - Employable - Ambitious - Brilliant - Dynamic - Amazing - Respected - Dedicated - Strategic - Qualified - Thought-Provoking - Motivating - Courageous - Credible - Ethical - Pro-Active - Empowering - Fearless - Bold - Influential - Decisive - Engaged - Priceless - Passionate - Game Changers - Global - Skilled - Smart - Inspiring - Innovative - Dedicated - Forward-Thinking - Tireless - Profitable

As you can see, these sorts of things are the qualities that all of us, wherever we want to go in life, want to be. We all want to be dedicated and professional in what we do, we want to become the best that we can. We want to have the courage to go forward, be as fearless as we can and being bold and through that, even if we don't succeed, we can motivate and inspire others to try something new. You can see how this works and how having something as simple as a mug can really help anyone really on a day-to-day basis to feel better about themselves and to give them goals to work towards, qualities that they want to have within themselves as they develop.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this little burst of inspiration today! If you did like it or dislike it, as always, feel free to empty your thoughts into the comments below and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I'll speak to you soon!

p.s. I went away this week and if you're lucky, some pictures'll be on your way some time soon! I'm so excited! Also, please do let me know what you think of my photography, I'm an amateur! :)

Fifth on the List - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Hey guys!

This is one of the older illustrations and I do love the
expressions that the characters have as well as their
up turned noses!

I thought, as I hadn't really updated you on what I've been reading recently, it was time for it to have a comeback, mwahahahaha, okay, not so evil but here's what I thought of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

I absolutely loved the book, simply because of the fact that it could both simultaneously make no sense whatsoever and still make any sense at all! What I really loved about the book was the fluidity of everything and the literal and nonliteral sense of everything that you read. For example, there's a character called the Mock Turtle and the reason why he doesn't stop crying is because he isn't a real turtle anymore. Once you see it that way, his name makes perfect sense but he still acts like a normal turtle and that's why it's so startling!

I also love the way the Cheshire Cat is almost Alice's friend throughout the novel when he pops in and out and eventually almost gets captured by the King and the Queen of Cards whilst the Queen can't decide whether she can actually get his head chopped off or not because he infamously disappears before she can work out whether he actually has a neck or not.

This is a very short book review, I must say, but that's mainly because I don't want to spoil the fun! Please, if you're a fan of classics and want a laugh or a bit of a queer read shall I say, then please do go ahead and give it a read! It's wonderfully brilliant and silly and I have to say that's why I love old classic children's books, especially like those by Enid Blyton because they have magic and it's wonderful!

I do hope that you guys liked this post! If you did or didn't please leave your thoughts in the comments below and I look forward to reading them! Have a wonderful rest of the week and I'll speak to you soon!