Teachers + Interwebular Discussions

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

So on Monday I had the most awesome discussion with my French teacher about the internet and whether it necessarily takes over your life. This was completely related to my work which is rather odd but it did lead to some awesome discussion!

Like for example the fact that internet addiction can be seen as a very bad thing and in many cases, it really can be. But what a lot of adults fail to see is the fact that people can often be brought together across the internet by things that aren't necessarily internet related like events happening across the globe as well as films and TV shows and books! The internet isn't something that takes you away from enjoying life because in many ways, to make friends on the internet you have to be active in the rest of your life.

I know that for many of you that would be blatantly obvious but also the opposite, like for example the fact that I love blogging about YouTube videos. Without YouTube being on the internet, I wouldn't necessarily have as much to blog about and that shows that of course, there are definite internet connections that can only be made through content on the internet. What I love about my life is the fact that the internet can play such a big part in my life and yet still not take over. I have that flexibility and I don't have to be attached to it all the time.

Thank you guys for reading this post because it doesn't necessarily feel relevant but the fact that it does have an impact on us and the way that adults then go on to perceive us and our relations to the internet made me want to write about it. The internet is too broad to not have real life integrated into it and when you meet other people, it's much like meeting irl - you can't say that internet friendships are somehow less valid than irl ones because they still require the same skills.

Anyways, I hope that you all have wonderful days doing whatever you're doing and that you're able to be present and at one with everything :D

'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

Embracing Your Limitations, A Challenge For the Masses.

Hey guys!

This post was inspired by Nick Miller's video called 'Embracing Your Limitations'. I found it inspiring because it wasn't meant to downplay on anyone's aspirations, it was just a reminder to be realistic when you're setting out goals you want to achieve.

I used to find this incredibly hard because I would try and push myself too far and then blame myself and upset myself when I couldn't reach those goals. If any of you guys have stuff you need to get done, please, take it from me, start off light and build because otherwise you could end up more stressed than ever, for a long time! It's not worth it, so do take care of yourselves :)

Another point that popped into my head related to this subject is slightly off-piste but go with me. In my Religious Studies class at school, I learnt that suffering is ultimately caused by free will (that is suffering caused by humans, not necessarily nature). I find this hard to deal with within myself because I hate knowing that I can hurt one person by trying to be kind to another. I hate knowing that in spending too much time with one friend, I can neglect and make another good friend feel bad. In this way, I find it hard to embrace my limitations as a person and accept that in choosing to spend more time with one friend can ultimately have negative consequences on my relationship with another. I think that made sense, I hope does to you!

Before I leave, I would love to recommend you guys to Nick! He's an amazing, down to earth guy with a vision that he's working on bringing to life with Marcus Butler. If you guys aren't really YouTube people, then maybe you would enjoy his snapchat stories at nickmillerza (which is the same as his YouTube Channel).

I feel like my next post may have to be YouTuber recommendations aha, I give them to you practically every post so maybe one place to put them all wouldn't be an all bad idea :)

I'll speak to you guys soon and I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!

New Beginnings, Change, A Topic Stretched Beyond Recognition.

Hello guys!

This post was inspired by a few things.
a) the fact that I have technically finished High School, having finished my GCSE's and will
b) be going into Sixth Form to do my A-Levels in September.
c) Also this video by thisbedottie who is Patty Walters' girl friend :)

On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, I have my two day induction into Sixth Form which for many of the people my age is something that's quite an experience for a number of reasons! For one, you experience an A-Level lesson for each of the 4 subjects that you have chosen to take next year. This can be quite nerve racking because you sometimes have to go to a different school for some of your lessons which can then lead to you not knowing whether you're going to settle well or even like the subject anymore. Not knowing anyone in a new school can really lead you to hate a subject that you once loved and despite the fact I'm 'lucky' enough to not have any lessons based in another school, I've friends who both love and hate the new experience.

For me, it was an awesome yet slightly daunting experience. I found out that two of the subjects for which I was anticipating tiny classes actually turned out to be quite big classes, one being French which turned out to be full of people I don't know. However, the other lessons were pretty gosh dang awesome and I'm really looking forward to taking them next year. I did enjoy French (just to clear that up) and I'm also taking Biology, Chemistry, History and Maths. Those of you who are calculating people will realise that yes, that means I am anticipating taking not four but five AS Levels next year. Hence the anticipation. And the nerves. And the what-on-earth-have-I-got-myself-in-for-four-is-hard-enough feeling.

Before I go onto the second part of what I wanted to say, I wanted to say that Sixth Form is awesome otherwise. I'm so looking forward to meeting the new people in my classes and making new friends as well as enjoying the new responsibilities and liberties that being in Year 12 gives you as a student.

Here comes the second part to which the video links to. I am incredibly afraid that I'm not going to be able to cope and to do well in the subjects I have taken. Many a knowledgeable person has informed me that in order to fulfill my dreams of becoming a Doctor, Maths is unfortunately probably my best bet but when I was told this, I already had my heart set on doing History and French too, hence five was born. The video really helped me to see how other people see their worries and it made me think about how I want to change myself and to improve the way that I work to make sure that I can cope with what I want to do and what that'll mean for me and the way things have worked with me thus far.

So, in conclusion, I am determined to survive the next year, come what may, and it's always a relief to know that you're not the only one to have doubts about yourself and your abilities. This video by Bertie Gilbert also explores how you can change negativity in your mind into something positive (like his awesome new short film 'Tick Where it Hurts')

I'll speak to you guys soon!

Comparing Yourself to Other People - Truth?

Hello guys! This was a topic that was playing on my mind recently:

So, all over the internet, we're all coming to the realisation that comparing yourself to other people can truly lead to your demise and your sadness and displeasure for the simple reason that you're not the person you're comparing yourself to. However, if you're true to yourself and don't try and emulate a person as perfectly as you can and down to every little detail, then should taking someone as a role model really have a bad impact on your life?

This also then comes down to what sort of qualities you admire in the idol that you have. Is it something that you can truly emulate like kindness or I don't know, perhaps one quality that doesn't depend on physical ability? Or is it their physical appearance that you can't perhaps emulate perfectly? Or an ability that perhaps is harder to gain?

I know that must sound really bad but the point I'm trying to make is, when you compare yourself to other people, you've got to remember that the success you're going to have in doing the same thing or something similar to what they do isn't going to be the same as their success, purely because of the fact you're a) different people with b) different capabilities and c) different opportunities and circumstances. This all leads to the fact that if you think that you can achieve exactly the same outcome as your idol, you're definitely mistaken.

To finish and clarify, I'm not saying don't emulate people or look up to people and try and be like them, I'm saying be realistic in your expectations of yourself because though it may seem that their definition of success is the one way you can be successful, everyone has different measures of success and that means that you've got to remember that your success will be undoubtedly different to theirs.

I really, really hope this post doesn't offend anyone and I hope and pray that it makes sense!

This post was sort of led on by Alfie Deyes' addition to the YouTube Culture discussion that's been whirling over YouTube for a good few months now. I really think, as did a few people, that he really managed to encapsulate the truth of both sides of the argument and if you haven't seen it yet and want to get a taste for the insight he provides, the link to the video is here!

Please leave your thoughts down below and stay wonderful! :)

Speak to you guys soon x