A New Beginning

So, 2012 is finally here.. Madness. Where has the last year gone?!


I spent New Year's Eve at a small gathering with friends which was really enjoyable and a great way to see in the New Year. We had a good laugh playing multiple rounds of Twister, and I'm proud to say that I am now the reigning champion!


Each year I say how much I would like to go and see the firework display in London and I never go. Once again I failed to go last night and they looked beyond spectacular on the television. Maybe this year I will actually get my act together and be one of the keen-beans that get there at midday to get the best view. Watch this space....


For me, 2011 flew by in a whirlwind of some incredible highs as well as some unfortunate lows. 
However, we rounded off the year pretty well by welcoming a 7 week old puppy into our home! He is still without name, but I can assure you he is the cutest thing you will ever lay eyes on. I'm not a great lover of animals myself, despite the fact that we already have a dog (who I love very much), but every time I look at the puppy I feel as if I am melting! 
It's going to be exciting to watch him develop over the next month before I go away, and by the time I get back from my travels in late April I'm sure he will have grown so much, but will still be a bundle of joy. He's a lovely addition to our family and I'm so happy that I have the first two days of 2012 off to spend lots of time with him! 


So, onto the topic of traveling! We can now say that we are leaving NEXT MONTH.. ONE MONTH TOMORROW.. 31 DAYS.. etc etc! Unbelievable! We still have so much to organise, but the two of us are really very excited for what our adventure will bring and opportunities that we will experience whilst we are away.
I'm slowly getting all my 'essentials' together, and thankfully Father Christmas was very practical this year and treated me to the likes of a sleeping bag liner, first aid kit and a torch. I must be getting old! 
A big shopping spree will be in order in a few weeks time once it's payday, and then it will be time to pack and be on our way.
The only thing we have left to really organise is our itineraries. As we're only in Asia for 3 weeks, we want to ensure that we make the most of it, so the plan is to do lots of research over the next couple of weeks and plan what we want to do in each location and make sure that we don't miss out on anything whilst we're there! 
I am a great lover of planning, but it is unbelievably hard to decide what it is that we want to see in the time that we have in each location, whilst being realistic at the same time.
Australia we will take more a laid-back approach to as we have more time, but we still have long lists of all the places we want to see. Best get to the organising now then!


Today hasn't been the most inspirational of starts to a new year, due how dark and wet it has been for a majority of the day. However I still feel inspired by the notion of starting afresh and making 2012 a great year for me.


It's time for me to get positive and cease every opportunity. Life is too short and 2012 is already underway.

The Good And The Bad.. The Right And The Wrong..

It's been 12 days since I last posted here, and I don't know why I've left it so long again. When I first begun 'My Love Affair With The Devil',  I was convinced that I would have something to write about each and every day. Clearly, I don't.

I seem to write best when I'm inspired, which only leads me to believe that I do not create enough inspirational opportunities for myself. (Note to self - Good idea for a New Years resolution!)

So, what was I inspired by that has led me to write a post this evening? A couple of things actually..

I seem to have spent most of today feeling negative. I'm so quick to notice something that I don't like or don't agree with, almost too quickly that I forget to appreciate the things around me that I do like and should enjoy.

Secondly, I read a recent post by someone I know and was truly inspired by what they wrote and how good can easily switch to bad, right can quickly turn to wrong; Often without us knowing.

As my previous posts have illustrated, the last couple of months have been a bit of a roller coaster journey for me, and I definitely wouldn't choose to experience them again. I've also been saddened to learn that those who I have believed to be my true friends for a number of years can rapidly become strangers for no reason what so ever.

If I think about it all too much, I become genuinely upset. Letting go of someone you care for is tough, and in the last quarter of 2011 I have done that to someone I love and I seem to be having to do it to a couple of friends.

Are such decisions right or wrong? Aren't we supposed to fight for what we want and do all that we can to hold onto people and objects which make us happy. Surely if you care about something you're supposed to hold on tight to it with two hands, not let it walk away from you. 

A fantastic theory and somewhat compelling, but a lot easier said than done. 

My life seems to have gotten into a habit of constantly throwing obstacles at me to deal with and get past. I'm aware that I have dealt with various issues in the past and gotten through them in time, but perhaps I didn't notice them as much because they came less often, rather than all at once.

I'm proud of myself for maintaining a fighting spirit with regards to one or two obstacles, but I've almost begun to think that if something is meant to me you needn't fight so hard for it and should instead let fate work its magic.

Fate;

Noun: The development of events outside a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power.

Unfortunately I don't really believe in the whole 'supernatural' malarkey, so my belief of 'if it's meant to be it will work itself out' isn't looking too great right now. Talk about contradicting myself!

It would be great if I could have a sneaky peek into a crystal ball right now. I don't want to see my entire life's journey, but I would really appreciate being able to see a few months down the line so that I could know which choices to make right now. Is what I'm selecting to do each day good or bad? Right or wrong? 

My decisions in life haven't always been great, but they have made me the person I am now and I'm not doing too badly as I type. However.. I seem to be facing some life changing decisions at the moment and I am truly scared that I'm going to get them wrong which will results in being on a path in life that I really don't want to be on.

So, my conclusion to all this rabbling? Gosh, I have no idea.

Time to go and ponder...

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012..

I wanted to have this post written by December 1st; the beginning of the last month of 2011. But a day late will have to do! 

So, it's almost the end of 2011 and we'll soon be celebrating the beginning of 2012. Where has the last year gone? Seriously, time has absolutely flown by. 

For me personally, there have been a multitude of highs and lows this year. I won't discuss the lows as it's first thing in the morning and I'd prefer to start the day feeling positive! 

Highlights of 2011 include my 21st birthday, graduating from University with a 2.1, being allocated tickets to the 2012 Olympics and planning to go traveling in exactly two months time! I could go on to list even more, but those four really stand out for me. Two of which  I've celebrated this year and the other two I am looking forward to as the New Year creeps up.

A part of me is sad to know that 2011 is almost over, but every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end, and I have a sneaky feeling that 2012 is going to be a fantastic new beginning for me. I also think that there are one or two things I need to leave behind and move on from, and the New Year is a perfect time to start afresh.

I'm so excited to make new memories, meet new people, explore new places and obtain new experiences. I'm also keen to see how I develop as an individual over the next year and see where my path in life takes me. 

So, what are my New Year's resolutions?!

Well besides the ones that I make each year and never manage to stick to (exercise more, eat healthier and save money), I've decided to take some of the lessons that I've learnt over the past year and use them to make the most of 2012.

As I celebrate the start of another year, I will be thinking about the importance of life and how we need to make the most of each day whilst treasuring the people we love and care about. I don't want to look back on my life and feel as if I've wasted it or that I've spent periods of time as if I were stuck on pause.

Enjoy the rest of 2011 everybody and here's to 2012.. I think it's going to be my favourite year yet. 

Something To Look Forward To..

This picture right here is one of the locations that I'll be visiting when I leave for my travels in less than 11 weeks.. Excited? Oh yes!

I've titled this blog 'Something To Look Forward To' because the adventure that awaits my friend & I in the New Year really is something for us to look forward to. 

As I've explained in previous posts, my life feels as if it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride over the last few months and I've often wondered where I'm going in life and what I'm doing with the time I have.

Currently I am spending most of my time at work in order to earn enough money to pay for my travels. It's resulted in a pretty boring period of time for me, but I know that it will be worth it and that I have 3 months off to look forward to so I can't really complain! 

With regards to a certain relationship (or should I say lack of), I'm just trying to take each day as it comes and not expect myself to get over it instantly.

It may have been because of my age or the fact that I've never really devoted myself entirely, but previous relationships have never really had much of an impact on me upon reaching their shelf life. This one has been completely different though, and I don't know why they call it 'heart' ache because my whole body has hurt over the last couple of months.

But slowly I'm getting there and I know that I will be alright. It feels so good to be able to type that and know that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Regardless of the fact that the light is only very faint at the moment, I am confident that I will reach it in good time. 

I went through a phase where I struggled to feel happy. I've written before about how happiness is an emotion and not a destination, and although I wasn't attempting to reach a destination, I was seriously struggling to find any emotion that felt at all like happiness. This scared me so much that I it seemed to restart my emotions because one day I woke up and knew that feeling unhappy was going to get me nowhere in life and suddenly my happy emotion came back to me.

Of course there are still times when I am not happy, I think I would be alien like if I was content all of the time. But it's nice to know that my happiness is never too far away from me.

So, with something to look forward to in a matter of weeks (76 days to be precise), I'm feeling optimistic about how things are beginning to pan out for me.

I've learnt over the last three or four months that we can't control fate or destiny, and that sometimes things just happen because they happen. It's widely believed that everything happens for a reason, and I truly believe this. We may never know what the reason is, but there is always an explanation for why something has turned out the way it has.

Reading back over the posts I have written since beginning this blog, I am proud of myself for how my outlook on life has changed and how I have developed as a person, even in such a short period of time.

Each day needs to be something that we look forward to and make the most of. I can't say that I'm excited to get up early for work in the morning, or the morning after that, but by making the most of the next couple of months, I will in turn reap the benefits by enjoying three months in Asia and Australia.

And that really is something that I am looking forward to.

Me, Myself And I

Once again, I seem to have taken an absence from my blog. My head is currently filled with so many thoughts and emotions that it has been almost impossible to put them to one side and focus on a post.

So instead of attempting to banish everything from my mind so that I can write clearly, I've decided to use my thoughts and channel them into this post.

I've used the title 'Me, Myself And I' because over the last few days I seem to have lost my way a little bit and although I promised myself that I would make a conscious effort to focus on my own happiness, I am definitely not doing this.

Recent circumstances have led to me becoming quite a weak person and too dependant on other people. Although there is nothing wrong with each of us experiencing moments of weakness and the need to rely on other people, neither of these things sit very comfortably with me. I've always been a fairly strong individual and haven't let my emotions get me down or hold me back, so feeling weak and reliant is not something I enjoy.

I think that the image above is wholly accurate in it's statement; We cannot expect others to love us if we do not love ourselves. If we don't appreciate ourselves and care for how we feel, how can we expect other people to appreciate and care for us? Simple answer; We can't.

With regards to one or two aspects of my life, I feel that I know what I want. But with these decisions comes many a consqueunce.
By wearing my heart on my sleeve, I have put myself in a vulnerable position, despite being wholly aware that I'm more likely to get hurt rather than end up happy.
Why am I doing this? Because I am experiencing severe levels of weakness and am yet to find the strength to put myself first and to love myself.

So, what am I going to do about it?!

Well, I need to get out of this rut because I am a true believer that life is too short to spend time being unhappy or worrying about how things are going to work out.
I need to find the strength that I know I possess, and in turn, prioritise my feelings and not allow others to mess with them and hurt me. 

In order be loved, respected and appreciated, I need to be capable of loving, respecting and appreciating myself first. 

For the next few days, I'm going to attempt to take time out from worrying about other people and instead focus on how I feel about myself, and realise that the most important individuals right now are me, myself and I.

The Curse Of Sleepy

I wonder how many of us can get through the day without feeling tired.

I have a regular sleeping pattern; I always aim to be in bed at a sensible hour and I get up at the same time each morning. But due to the fact that I never sleep through the night without waking up, I tend to begin my mornings counting down the hours until bedtime rather than feeling fresh and eager to cease the day.

Since deciding to go travelling in the New Year, I have become a bit of a slave to work in order to save enough money. For the last month or so, I've worked between 10 and 12 hours most days, and am yet to have a whole day off. I work one job until lunchtime and then have about an hour long break before starting my second job. During that break I almost always resort to having a nap.

A NAP!! I sound like a baby..!!

However, as today is the start of the rest of my life, I am determined to not rely on sleep as much as I previously have. (And as I write this, I really am trying hard to not think about how heavy my eyelids feel!)

Glancing at an old magazine last night, I read an interview with Jamie Oliver something that he said gave me inspiration and has in turn, inspired this post. His statement was along the lines of how he has taught his mind and body to not be affected by tiredness. Thank you Jamie, this is now my plan of action!

Over recent weeks, I have used my tiredness as an excuse to come home from work, chill out and go to bed. Due to this, it seems that I have become a bit of a social recluse.
However much I love my sleep, I can't live life to the full when I'm in the land of nod and I don't want to look back on my life and wish I'd done more with the time that I had.

Now I'm not saying I am going to deny myself the odd little nap once in a while, especially as they are actually meant to be good for you! But I'm going to try my hardest to cease as many opportunities as I can each day. Sleep can wait until I have lived each day to the maximum.

It's The Simple Things In Life..

Reading back over my posts, there seems to be a bit of a pattern  of feelings and emotions hiding behind my words.

I have always been someone who reads in between the lines, and I can often be found guilty for making meaning out of nothing. This is why the way I write is almost code language; If you deconstruct it enough you will find that almost everything I say is a metaphor for how I am feeling at the time of writing.

A friend of mine who clearly knows me too well, took one glance at my posts and knew that I was writing the way I was because of my dislike to my recent single status. They saw instantaneously that my words are a way of helping me cope with and understand my feelings and that I'm using them as an aid for recovery.

I like to think that I have stayed pretty upbeat with what I have written, and am yet to become dramatic and claim that my life is over. But I suppose most people are inspired by their experiences, and this is clearly an experience that has inspired me to write.

So, let me explain why 'It's The Simple Things In Life' is the title for my most recent post.

I've come to realise that I don't want to become someone who asks for a lot in life. I don't mean that I won't ask a lot of myself as I take my journey through life, but I don't want to ask a lot from other people.

Once again, I seem to be writing ever so slightly in code. Sorry - Bad habit. Let me try and say what I'm trying to say without hiding behind what I type.
Basically, I don't want to rely on other people for my own happiness. I'm fully aware that I will never be free of peoples opinions having a slight impact on me, but I don't want to  rely solely on the hope that everyone will be nice to me and about me just so I can feel happy.

And to deconstruct that even further, I don't want to rely on a man for happiness. When was it that women decided that we needed men in order to be happy?!

I know that I can be completely happy by myself but I suppose I have forgotten that as it's been a while since I have been fully on my own.
I think that being alone is something I've never really thought that I would enjoy. And if I'm honest, a part of me hasn't enjoyed it over the last couple of months, but I'm slowly beginning to see that there are positive aspects to it as well.

But still I haven't written about the simple things in life..

All I want is someone who fights for me, who will go out on a limb to make me happy and treats me with respect.

I'm not saying that I'm looking for that right now;  'Me time' is certainly what I need at the moment, but it's simple little things like that which I look for.

But I'm not going to wait for someone with those qualities to come along in order to make me happy; I make my own happiness.