Never Take Love For Granted.

Oh my gosh guys! On Friday night I was watching a video that didn't bring a tear to my eye, but a WATERFALL.I'm a little bit weird and sometimes I'm just in the mood to cry. Happy tears, sad tears, who cares, I just feel like having a good old cry. When that feeling occurs I like to watch inspirational or emotional videos. Anyone else do that? No? Ok. Anyway, I was having one of those moments so I looked up sad videos on YouTube (as you do) and found the most heart throbbing story.

I won't go over the video, because that would make this post way too long. Here is the video:



Watch it first and then continue reading this post straight after!

Watched it? I hope so. When I say I SOBBED, I mean I SOBBED. I just got such an important message from it and it's genuinely such a sad story that so many people in this world unfortunately have to live.

The thing I got the most from the video was to never take love for granted. Sometimes we overlook love, in search for love. What I mean by that is we overlook the love we already have and receive from people, whilst trying to be loved by others. In the video that you watched, she really distances herself from her father and pushes away the love he gives her, in order to receive approval from the young people that bully her.

No matter what her father did to show he loved her, there was always more that she wanted. She was never satisfied with what she had. It really is true when they say you don't know what you have until it's gone.

After watching the video, I was just really inspired and I guess renewed. I'm not the type of person to constantly ask my parents for things or be unsatisfied at all, however it still very much made me feel refreshed and gave me a whole new outlook on love. It really inspired me to show my appreciation MORE and to show that I'm truly grateful for all the love that is in my life.

I'm so privileged. I have a loving family, amazing friends, an opportunity to have a great quality education. I get to see the world, I have a full meal in front of me everyday, there is a roof under my head. Of course I've always known that I'm privileged but I found a new form of privileged. I have a family that will never leave me, I have friends that help me to grow as a person daily, I've grown up in a house with Christ and love as the foundation.

Often we take those things for granted. We don't mean to most the time, but things can get in the way that can cause us to forget or be blind to it. For me the video was like a glasses wipe or cloth. With glasses you can see but then it gets dirty. You can still see but now it's a little blurred and unclear. Once you grab that wipe or cloth and clean the lenses, you can see again. That video had that sort of effect on me. I could see but now my vision is a lot clearer than before.

We can sometimes be blind to the fact that there are people watching over us everyday. Like guardian angels. It can be a huge slap in the face to them and at times may make them question why they bother to stay. I have witnessed way too many times, girls who constantly go on about wanting a good guy, but fall for the same bad guy over and over. Meanwhile there is a sweet, charming prince that has been through the heartbreak and pain with you and is constantly overlooked. I remember watching Lizzie McGuire as a kid and thinking 'GORDO IS RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE" and watching Zoey 101 screaming "WHAT ABOUT CHASE?". See, even TV producer see that this very thing is a problem. They look miles and miles for a love that just isn't for them, when love has been there all along.

I don't just mean relationships either. Parents. We take our parents for granted all the time as teenagers. We have relationship problems, friendship problems, sibling problems, who gets the backlash? Who gets the rejection for wanting to know what's wrong? Parents don't constantly ask us if we're OK because they want to bother us, they ask us because they know something is wrong. I mean for goodness sake we were literally a part of them for 9 months. LITERALLY. I know for a fact that my mum knows exactly when I'm upset. Even when I try to hide it, I never can, She just knows. We shouldn't get angry because they're "invading our privacy", we should be grateful that they care and that they're there. Even if we'd rather just keep it hush, just say so! I have the sort of relationship where I can tell my mum all the details but she also respects whenever I tell her I'd rather not talk.

 I hate seeing status' and Snapchats saying "I hate my mum/dad" "I can't wait to leave home" blah blah blah. We're allowed to get annoyed at our parents, of course, but we should never have that sort of mindset or attitude. Our parents just want what's best for us and they're trying their best! I have never had be a parent but stopping my brothers scrapping itself is enough to tell me how difficult parenting must be. It's frustrating. Cut em' some slack will ya!

Love isn't something that just comes around, it's a choice. The people around us and in our lives choose to love us, flaws and all. Never take love for granted.

You're a Failure.

Failure. It's inevitable. Everybody HAS to fail. I'm a failure, you're a failure. At some point. I don't know about you but at some point in life I feared failure immensely. I have always been a go getter and determined to suceed in life. I remember back in year 10 I cared so much about grades that I would get upset over what I considered to be a low grade. People would tell me that they WISHED they had the grade that I had but I just had such high standards for myself that I didn't care. One's failure is another's success. We need to remember that.

I've definifely learnt a lot about failure and failing over the years, especially 2016. My mum is a huge contributer to that. My mum is the best advice giver. I go to her for pretty much every problem because she always knows what to say.

All those role models and influencers that are practically rolling in money, known world wide for their achievements and enrich our lives daily, all failed at some point. Whether it be rejected, told they weren't good enough or didn't have the finances to do what they do. They all failed. When one succeeds we hear of their successes but how often do we learn of their failures?

I used to be that negative nancy who would moan and groan whenever I didn't succeed. I remember seeing that B grade next to English on my GCSE results paper in year 10 and going to the bathroom just to cry. It wasn't that a thought a B was bad, I just knew I was capable of better. In every mock beforehand I had always gotten higher than a B so when I saw that the only time I got a B was in fact the real deal, it was heartbreaking. I've wanted to be an English Teacher for a very long time so a large part of my mind started to assume the worst and my heart shattered thinking that I would be incapable of teaching English when I myself didn't get an outstanding grade.

My mum really put things into perspective for me. She told me that I shouldn't be upset that I didn't get the highest grade, it should make me more determined to be a teacher. I should have the mindset to prove that you don't need to be the best to achieve your goals. I could actually inspire young people by showing that you don't need to be the top of your class to succeed in life.

Having that talk with my mum was really inspiring and really motivated me to think differently about the idea of failure.

Failure isn't an excuse to give up but an opportunity to try harder and to better ourselves. We should take our mistakes and weaknesses to make us stronger. I actually re-sat my English exam and got an A the second time around. I knew I was capable of it so I tried again. I could have remained defeated but I chose to get back up. When we fall, we should get back up, dust the dirt off our knees and keep going.

You only fail if you stop trying. Let's be frank here, there is always going to be someone better than you at whatever you're good at but something gives us that special touch. Whether it be that we have a  better work ethic, a unique story or method to our progression, something makes us great.

My favourite quote about failure sums up everything. "I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can not accept not trying" - Michael Jordan.

As long as we take a chance and try to be the best version of ourselves possible, failure won't hold you back. Failure isn't the opposite of success but part of the process to success. So my challenge to you, with everything that you do, is to keep on going because whether you're first or last at the end of the marathon, you made it!

My Perfect Imperfections Tag

As you all know, I am a huge believer and supporter of self love and being true to yourself. The perfect imperfections tag created by YouTuber, AndreasChoice in 2010 is so inspiring and definitely deserves to go more viral. The tag features 3 things you love about yourself and 3 insecurites, however I chose to do 4 of each just to make it longer. It is a tag that shows that everybody has insecurities about themselves, even if they do come across as 100% confident. Here is my take on the tag!

Imperfections

I'm a confident person, generally but of course I have imperfections that I am totally aware of. Some of them I am trying to change, just because I know that I can, however I would never choose to get surgery or change those assets in a way that may cause harm etc.

1) I have a really wide nose

I have never been a huge fan of my nose. I mean I don't get emotional over it and I would never even consider getting a nose job but it's still something that I don't like about myself. It's not so much the size, but how wide it is. I don't have a very slim nose and contouring just doesn't seem to work. I have definitely learnt to own this flaw and it doesn't stop me from doing anything in life, however it is still an imperfection I am aware of when I go to do my makeup.

2) My Skin

I have acne prone skin. Let me tell you, it is frustrating. When it starts to clear up, I get too excited and the next day it will come back. I have tried endless "skin life hacks", products and tried changing my diet and it just doesn't seem to keep my skin clear. This is the one thing out of my three imperfections that I'm trying to change. I am aiming to find a skin care routine that works for me this year. I know that it may just be teenage spots and hormones, which is why I'm not exactly crying over it. My skin could change at any time, but I'm still going to try and find products that work for me now.

3) My figure

I'm not super insecure about my figure but I do wish that I had a bit more of a shape. I have hips but they're only really shown in certain outfits like bodycon dresses and leggings. I don't want super wide hips like Kim K or anything like that but I love Kylie jenner's figure when she was my age and Salma Haylek, I also get bloated VERY easily so I wish my stomach stayed as flat as it is before I eat. Haha

4) My Forehead

My forehead is almost a 5. It's just over a 4 but not quite a 5. So pretty big. Of course with contouring and makeup some people don't notice it but it is definitely noticeable when I don't wear makeup. I don't hate it but it's definitely something I see as a flaw.

Perfections

1) My eyes

I love my eyes. It's funny because I used to hate having such brown eyes but I really like them now. In certain lights they look really big and I think it's pretty cute. They always look smaller when I wear makeup though and I wish they stayed nice and big.

2) My height

Again, I used to hate my height but it's something I have learnt to love about myself. I'm 5'1 which is obviously really short and it's something that people used to point out to me all the time and still do. I genuinely think being short is so fun! haha. I swear to you, short girls are life changers and will take over the world. I love being short!

3) My eyebrows

Again, I used to HATE my eyebrows. I have always had light, brows in comparison to my hair colour so sometimes it looked like they just weren't there. They've actually gotten darker now though, which makes me happy. I don't have much brow hairs naturally which is what used to bug me so much, but now I really appreciate them because I have never had to get them done, simply because they never grow and are naturally the perfect shape. Save the pain and money! I just fill them in and because of my old brow insecurities, I now know how to get a good strong brow with the use of cosmetics. (I practised a lot when I first started wearing makeup).

4) My smile

It's so weird because all my favourite things about myself now are things I used to hate. I was a really insecure person a few years ago though so I pretty much hated everything. My smile was always something I couldn't stand. I never liked showing my teeth in pictures because I have a particular tooth that grew in the wrong place back when I was like 10 and it was super obvious when I smiled but now I love my smile. I still have that same tooth and it's still obvious but it doesn't bother me anymore and smiling is just my favourite gesture to do. I'm a happy person! It's in my nature.

So that is the tag! I tag anybody who comes across this to do this tag. Whether it be on your own blog, YouTube channel, Facebook, whatever.

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x

My 2017 Bucket List

2017. I have said it a million times and I'm never going to stop saying it until the year is over. I truly believe that 2017 is going to be the best year of my life! So many memories and adventures.

Today I bring to you my 2017 Bucket List! I know for a fact that I won't complete all of these things but these are just things I would like to do this year for fun or as a goal.

1) Re-decorate my bedroom
2) Get a Job✔
3) Go on holiday with friends
4) Go to London with friends
5) Start a Travel Vlog channel
6) Learn to Drive
7) Go to a Music Festival
8) Keep a Journal✔
9) Surprise a loved one✔
10) Learn how to speak Italian
11) Try skiing
12) Meet a YouTuber or someone famous
13) Learn how to roller skate (again)
14) Get offers from all my university choices✔
15) Go on a zip-line (again)
16) Visit at least 3 other cities in the UK✔
17) Visit the states again✔
18)  Go to the theatre and start a standing ovation (that would be cool)
19) Have a candle lit dinner
20) Have/ go to a photo-shoot✔
21) Go on a bike ride (I never ride)
22) Become a member of a dance company
23) Go a day without technology
24) Become a mentor✔
25) Host a giveaway on my blog

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x

How To Slay The New Year

Happy New Year! 2017 is officially here. I hope you had a great New Years Eve, whether you were partying or just relaxing at home with your family.

Every year we create goals for our life and decide to make small (or big) changes but how do you do them? To achieve your goals you need a game plan. Today I'm going to give you some tips on how to slay the new year and achieve your goals.

Discipline

Without discipline, achieving your new years "resolutions" or goals which is what I prefer to call them, it's very difficult. Every year you strive for better health, right? Well I'm pretty sure only a small percentage of people actually reach it due to lack of discipline. We want to start eating better but we haven't learnt how to discipline ourselves and stop ourselves from reaching for that chocolate bar we tried to hide away. We start the year by going to the gym everyday during the month of January but February starts and it just doesn't happen anymore. Reason for that? Excuses. We're always looking for a reason not to do something (Guilty) and we don't stand our ground.

Find a way to discipline yourself, no matter what the goal may be. If you're trying to use your phone less and be more in the moment, set an alarm for a certain time and make sure to switch it off for a couple of hours. If it's to be more healthy, start a journal and track what you're eating, how much and what you're drinking etc. If your goal is to stop swearing so much, make a jar and put a pound in every-time you cuss. Whatever it may be, find a good way to discipline yourself.

Commitment 

Kind of similar to the first tip but not entirely. How determined are you to reach your goal? What made you decide to do it? What are you going to get out if it at the end? When you're trying to reach a goal, it requires commitment. You need to WANT to reach it. I have found that one of the best ways to stay committed to a goal is to have it written out in front of you. Whether it be on a post it note on your fridge, on a poster in your room, the top of your notifications on your phone or in some kind of journal. If you write down what you're trying to achieve, why you want to achieve it and the benefits of getting there, it should motivate you to try harder everyday. Don't give up when things get tough, keep going!

Buy a Planner/Journal

I have briefly mentioned this one already but buy yourself some kind of Journal, Diary, Planner etc. It will keep your life in order. Everyday, write tasks to do and smaller goals to help you achieve bigger ones, I don't know what it is but for me personally, if I visually see the long list of things I need to do, I get things done quicker. I may not get them all done in the same day or space of time, but things get completed much quicker than if I were to go by memory. This is the best time to buy your planner. They'll be selling them everywhere and there are some really pretty ones out there from as little as £1.

Have a theme for the Year

This is something that I have only been doing since the end of 2015, so it's fairly recent to me but it has been so beneficial. Last year I decided to have a theme for the year, after reading a blog post (I will link the post if I ever find it again). I decided that my theme was going to be self love. This year my theme is giving. What a theme does is that it provides you with a focus. Last year my focus was that by the end of the year I would have had more confidence and love for myself than I began with at the start of the year. This year my aim is to have shown my appreciation to friends and family. By giving yourself a theme for the year, it allows you to achieve something specific.

Examples of themes you can choose:

Confidence
Change
Positivity
Spontaneity
Friendship
Courage
Renewal

Have smaller goals to reach bigger ones

Again, I have briefly mentioned this. This post is kind of like a full circle I suppose. Make small goals that will help you to reach the bigger one. You can't just think OK I want to be healthier and leave it at that, or I want to be confident. Those are way too broad to just go with. The best way to do it is to make small goals that will all lead up to those bigger ones. So if you want to be healthier, make a goal of yours to do the squat challenge everyday for one month or become vegan for one month to try out different diets, I don't know. Do things that will eventually make you a healthy person. If you want to be confident, everyday try and do one thing that is out of your comfort zone, decided to talk to at least one new person everyday etc.

Take lots of Pictures

Taking pictures throughout the year can not only show your journey and progress but it's something to look back on at the end. If you travel to a new place, try a new activity, manage to drag yourself to the gym, take lots of pictures. You can see how far you've come and what sort of year you have had. Sometimes we forget some of the amazing things we see and do. It's hard to remember 365 days worth of things. By taking lots of pictures, we will never forget the amazing days we have in the year.

Make the most of it

It's a new year. That means a new beginning and a fresh start. Don't go into a new year holding a grudge of what happened between you and another person YEARS ago or even DAYS ago. We can choose to love or we can choose to hate. We have enough hate in the world as it is so you choose the right answer. Make the most of everyday you have. God has given us another year, another month, week, day, minute, second of breath. Make the most of what you have.

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x