Fun.

Hello friends. So my blog has taken a backseat for the last few months, not because I didn’t want to write in it but rather because I was in final year of college. It was sometimes hard to find time to eat, let alone write for fun. There were times when I craved it after all we all know it is one of my greatest loves and it saddened me that I couldn’t give into it but other things were far more important. Now, now I can because you see people, I am in that ‘oh my god what am I going to do with my life?’ limbo stage and I can do whatever I bloody well like.

This weekend I volunteered at the Cat Laughs festival in Kilkenny, for those of you who do not know what that is it’s an annual comedy festival held in June and really cool people from all over come and perform. I had fun. I made new friends. I met some really class comedians. Here’s pictures of me with Al Porter and Karl Spain just because.

Having fun is important, it doesn’t matter how old or young you are everybody needs fun. I thrive on fun. I missed fun during the last few months; I was all about studying, reading (academically) and writing essays. I lost parts of myself, I found myself trapped in a wrath of responsibility and commitment and to be frank I hated it. Now, don’t get me wrong obviously we all have responsibilities in life, and I will have many more as my life goes on but I’m only 22. I’m reluctant to accept that this is what the rest of my life is about, that when you finish college and it’s working 9-5 Monday to Friday. That can’t be it, not for me anyway. I'll be damned if I enter a world of seriousness at such a young age. The world is my oyster.

 

(I Just had to) 

I like to have fun. The younger generation now thinks that fun comes in the form of technology and the internet, which I guess, is understandable because that’s all they’ve really known. For me, it’s completely different while it is true that fun can be got from playstations and the like, that's not all it s about. I have fun by talking to my friends, going for tea, hanging with my family, reading books and even hanging with people I’ve barely met. Meeting interesting people is fun. Experiencing new things is fun. I know I go on about the younger generation and their habits but if I’m being honest, I just don’t really get them, sometimes it feels like they come from another planet but that's a discussion for another day!

I prefer to be happy rather than sad, but as you all probably know it’s hard to be bouncy and on top of the world all the time! Actually, I don’t think I’d ever describe myself as bouncy; it’s not a right fit. Maybe enthusiastic might be a better word. Having adventures thrills me. I have sad days, but with every sad day comes many happy days, so it balances itself.

The key to my happiness and fun having? I’m real. I don’t pretend to be anything other than what I am. Isn’t that what life is supposed to be about? I don’t change according who I hang with, what would be the absolute point? I’m opinionated, and everyone knows it. If I have something to say I’ll say it. You only get one life to live, don’t bottle it up and follow the crowd. Live the life YOU want to live, not what other say you have to live cause then that won’t be fun.

The message of this post: Have fun, don’t be too serious, live your life, be real, go on adventures. As my mam would say; you’ll die and get rich anyway, I have no idea what it means but it seems to be promising so I’ll pass it on to you.

Good day my special readers, until next time. This has not been one of my best posts, and I've probably repeated a lot from my other uploads but sure as we say here in Ireland, it'll be grand. In the meantime here's a little number to keep ye all in good spirits.

The ups and downs and over and backs of living in France!

Once again I must apologise for the huge lapse between posts, but this time I have a legit reason other than just being lazy. My laptop broke while I was in Spain, and then there was the whole starting back in college bla, bla, bla, basically once again, life got in the way. But let's face it folks, when doesn't it? I'd rather be busy than have nothing to do!

Living abroad comes with both positive and negative things, naturally, but a lot of them are just downright inconvenient, so I said I'd compile a list of Pros and Cons about living in France for anyone who was contemplating spending any length of time there, or anywhere really.

N.B. These are not in any particular order, merely the order in which they entered my brain.

1. The Bread, but not just any 'ol sliced pan now, the BAGUETTE (from a boulangerie of course), it's like the God of bread. (Nom).
2.  The weather, I mean the sun is just somethin' else, a little advice to the newbies, invest in A LOT of fans, a cool abode, and (if possible) a portable shower. If you're from a hot country then this point is void. 
3. The beaches, the soft sand (avoid when windy cause then that shit gets annoying. And sticks to EVERYTHING) and the warm sea, (I have yet to brave the Irish waters since returning.) A little warning: Be prepared for people to just whip off clothing as they wish, they will never be described as a self-conscious nation. 
4. Bad words don't really sound like bad words. Merde, Putain. See? Completely innocent. (Except when shouted at you by druggie to whom you would not give money.. sort of needed that for food you see.)
5. Things are cheap; food, accommodation, cinema, alcohol. Makes me think like, Ireland, get your shit together. 
6. The markets. You find the most randomest crap here, I mean they sell ANYTHING. If you happen to find yourself thinking, oh, I'd love to buy a huge Peugeot sign, then hit one of those up. I'm not even joking, there was a market that sold this. It's great! 
7. Disneyland. Who doesn't love it? If you go to France for a prolonged amount of time and don't go, then you are crazy and you will need to get that checked. Go at Christmas time, it's out of this world. And so colourful. It's possible I may never grow up.
8. The architecture, everything's just so beautiful. Mr. Eiffle, you are some man. 
9. One of the best things? Meeting people from ALL over the world, I feel so cultured.

1. They don't like to share. Students in particular, just don't ask for notes, it's as if you asked if you could kill their favorite pet. 
2. If you are foreign, you will know you are foreign, you might as well write it upon your forehead.
3. The milk. What even is that? AVONMORE, people, AVONMORE! 
4. The tea. Just bring your own, That's all I'm saying. And then get family members to post more when you run out. Just another note: If you have a friend named Barry, your Mam will find it the most hilarious thing to send you Barry's tea. And you'll be all like... Okaaaaaaay. 
5. Opening hours. Reminder: THEY DONT OPEN ON SUNDAYS! And sometimes randomly close in the middle of the day. That's cool, it's not like I needed anything. 
6. Most of your family and friends are in a different country, and you can't annoy them with your strangeness everyday like you used to. 
7. Nightclubs are sleazy,
8. The train people LOVE strikes. And it always seems to happen when you really need to get somewhere.. 

That's all I've got for now, but no doubt there's plenty more to be noted! So if I think of any I'll be updatin', if you lovely folks think of any, leave a comment!! With all it's ups and downs I really do love France! And the language too, it's just so beautiful! So long my lovelies, I promise I'm getting better at this blogging malarky starting this month :D 

Whirlwind!

So clearly, with the lapse between my blog posts, I've had a bit of a mental block when it comes to blog posts, it's really quite easy to run out of material when nothing remotely interesting happens in your life! It started to get frustrating because obviously you can't maintain a blog without a subject matter, it's like a door without a handle, it just doesn't work! Then one fateful night I was casually watching some mindless TV when and idea popped into my head, it really wasn't that great of an idea but in that particular moment I felt like an absolute genius! Out came my phone and onto Snapchat (it has quickly become, for many, the primary mode of communication! what is happening to the world?) I went, sending a post to each of my contacts asking for a word in hopes that it would spark into an idea! I got a few replies, some are trickier than others to write about but I've never been shy of a challenge!

The first word I've decided to go with is Whirlwind, now I could talk about whirlwinds in the technical sense of the word, but that wouldn't be really fun for anybody would it? But today my friends, we are gonna use it in the metaphorical sense! Metaphorical, what a lovely word, it makes plain old things so much more exciting, I think you can think of most things in a metaphorical way, door to my life, closet to my secrets, window to your soul, cereal to your.. okay, well I did say most. Anyway to get back on the right track, I think whirlwind is a good metaphor for life. Like a whirlwind, life is fast, deadly and thrilling, it's a labyrinth. I mean life is full of emotions, experiences, opportunities, good and bad! So much happens in such a short space of time it's almost too difficult to comprehend!

Proceed with caution, this post is gonna get a tad sappy in the following sentences..

There's been a couple of people who I know, or who I know of, that have been going through some tough times, and it really is heartbreaking to see! So for that reason alone this post is dedicated to anybody who might be feeling a little down at the moment, obviously I'm not going to be able to make the feelings stop or take away the situation, whatever it may be, but hopefully it'll make you see that it's not going to last forever and remind you that it's all part of the whirlwind that is life! It's strange to describe because being in a different country, or some cases a different continent, it's really challenging to give friends or family the support they need, or deserve for that matter, there's a certain separation from the situation and a lot of the time distance is a good thing, gives you the room to gain perspective on certain things, but when you want to be there for someone physically, it sort of becomes a hindrance more than anything else! It's okay though, I've figured that one can always perform ninja like actions to cheer someone up, just because you're not in the same zone doesn't mean you can't make a difference; send a letter, a post card, a cake, some flowers, whatever your heart desires!

So you might feel sad now, or maybe you feel happy, or angry, or frustrated, or whatever. So what? Who cares? Feel it all you want, there are people in this world (people I don't understand and would like to hit with a rubber hammer) who tell you it's not okay to process the negative feelings, and make you feel bad about feeling bad! WELL, SCREW YOU, is what I say! It's utterly ridiculous that these people exist, who even raised these people? These are the people who think everything should be the same, and my god how monotonous life would be if that were the case? Okay, obviously I'm not telling you to feel sad ALL the time, then life would be no fun whatsoever (and you always need fun), but it's not wrong to have negative feelings once in a while nor should you feel guilty about having them, that's just crazy talk, if anything it's normal that you feel like that sometimes, like I said, it's all part of the whirlwind of life. It's what makes life manageable, being able to release all these pent up emotions, it's like allowing your body to regenerate and breathe! So I say be free to cry, scream, shout, laugh, cackle, sing, what ever you're into, just do it! Although, if at all you can refrain from randomly bursting into any of these in public, especially cackling, please do so, people will think you've lost your marbles. If you have, in fact, lost your marbles, be my guest, create the biggest scene imaginable to man!

Too many people spend their lives being afraid to feel. Afraid that they'll be seen in a different way or that they'll no longer be the 'tough man', well I call it Bull. If anything, feeling makes you the toughest man, showing your emotions is brave, it takes a real person to do it. Now, I'm not one to make my feelings known to the entire universe but it doesn't mean I don't do it. You don't have to write it in the sky for it to matter, that's not what it's about, it's about opening up and ridding yourself of all the negativity so that you can move on to the next positive phase, like I said, life is zig-zag, up-down, over-back kind of thing, there's gonna be times when we want to cry, times when we want to laugh, times when we hate everyone and everything, and times when we just want to scream for the entire world and it's brother to hear, there's nothing simple about it, and that's just the way it is. We're never gonna be able to change it, so to be frank, we just gotta take what we have with both hands and dive straight in. Everybody will figure it out, everybody will learn how to live in different ways, nobody can tell you the way you live your life is wrong, that's just ridiculous, it's like saying that the way you have your hair is wrong, or the way you stack your cupboard is wrong, or the way you decorate your house is wrong. It's your right to do things how you want to do them, don't take the shite that people say about how you should live your life. Just do it your way. (I feel like this is becoming a common theme in my blog posts, but it's true so WHO CARES?)

In the famous words of Ronan Keating 'Life is a rollercoaster and you just gotta ride it'. Or rather, life is a whirlwind and you just gotta get sucked in and hang on the best you can, tomayto - tomato, it's the same concept! So go, be free, live the whirlwind that is life, eat cake, be lazy, go for a run, cry, smile, laugh, I dunno, do some stuff.. and if you see somebody else having a hard time, buy them a cookie, or give them a hug, sing them a song, just do something nice and you'll be all the better for it!

So now my lovelies, I'm sure you're sick of reading the word whirlwind at this stage, and you've probably never seen it used in the one place as much in your lives so I'll leave you in peace! Hasta luego mis amigos!  

Les Aventures Parisien!

I've been home 3 weeks already (how the time flies eh?). The weekend before coming home we went to Paris for two days. Which was nothing less than amazing to tell you the truth. It was a very productive weekend. While there I overcame two of my fears, that I've been wanting to overcome for many years now; I climbed the Eiffel Tower and went on my very first roller coaster (it wasn't very big but ya gotta start small right?). On Saturday we spent the day sightseeing (and eating) in Paris city. It involved plenty of walking and many a metro trip. It all started with a three hour odd train journey. Then we went for lunch with my housemate who also happened to be in Paris at the time, and we all know how much I appreciate food. Then we took a stroll along the Seine towards Notre Dame, there were some lovely stalls with various Parisien merchandise. I bought some really pretty paintings. Here's a picture of the Notre Dame (and some random people who happened to be lurking around):

Paris is really pretty at Christmas time. All the lights make it really magical! OH! and we found a love lock bridge...

Looking sad because I know I'm goin' to grow old with my cats..

After the Notre Dame we made our way back down along the Seine towards the Eiffel Tower (or so I thought). But after a few minutes of walking my friends started running and shouted to me that if I wanted my Christmas present I may start running towards the boat. Me, being the daft yolk that I am was thinking 'Why the bloody hell did they put my present on the boat? That must've been a bit hassleful'. I was oh so very wrong, my present was the boat itself. Well okay, obviously they didn't actually buy me the boat. That would be a bit ridiculous. But they got me a boat tour along the Seine, I couldn't stop smiling. I probably looked like a right oul eejit on the boat. I was mesmerized. The lights were reflected onto the water creating a beautiful hue to the river. Everything was lit up as the evening became close. It was everything I thought and more. It was the best Christmas present to date (no offence to the other present buyers...but come on, you understand right?), completely incredible and I am so lucky to have been afforded the opportunity. Sure I'll throw ya a couple of photo's so you can get an idea..

After the boat ride, we hopped off at the Louvre with the intention of seeing the Mona Lisa. We took some hilarious photos of us which seemed like we were holding the pyramid of the Louvre by our fingers. It was good craic! Then we entered the museum only to find that it had just closed. (but hey, it just gives us a reason to return to Paris doesn't it?). Instead we browsed the shops (which we could never afford as ya know, we're mere college students) and got a hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll. (NOM).

We then proceeded to walk along the Champs d'Elysees (which takes FOREVER) so that in the end we'd reach the Arc de Triomphe (which is pretty cool I guess). During which we went to THE BUSIEST McDonalds I have ever ever seen in my entire life. Worse than Dublin on Halloween, or Arthur's day...or any of those mad nights. It was ridiculous...there were people hovering around with their food waiting for people to leave so that they could take their seats. It. was. cray.

Despite what this picture might suggest I promise I did not lean on an occupied car, this is an illusion. 

         

Finally, we went to the Eiffel Tower, with the sole intention to get to the top. We decided we were goin' to be very active and take the stairs to the second floor from where we could take the lift to the very top. Now. At first I was being enthusiastic about taking the stairs, being adventurous and whatnot. But by the time I got to the third flight I was like SWEET JESUS WHY ARE THERE SO MANY STAIRS? I honest to god thought they were never goin' to end. I'd never been so grateful to reach the top of stairs in.my.life. I'm not even jokin' when I say the French love stairs. They're EVERYWHERE. Enough exercise for anyone. We had to pay extra to take the lift the rest of the way up but I thought, why stop now? Best go the whole way while I'm there. How many times will this opportunity come around again? The journey up in the lift was adventurous in itself. It lasted less than a minute but it was packed like a sardine can. There was myself, my friend, and my housemate (who is also my friend of course). I've always had a sort of fear of heights so when we could see ourselves getting higher and higher I started to think maybe it was a bad idea after all! And my housemate really wasn't any help at all. She decided this was the perfect time to declare she 'had a feeling we were gonna die' and that she 'thought the person operating the lift might be suicidal'. GREAT. THANKS. It was okay though, clearly we didn't die. obviously. I'm still here to tell the tale. It was ridiculously windy at the top of the tower. It'd blow ya away so it would. But in the end it was all worth it when we saw the view, it was breathtaking. And this was at night time. Paris by lights.

This was the exact moment I decided that this is what I'd be happy doing for the rest of my life. (obviously not standing on the top of the Eiffel Tower, that would be cold. and lonely. and dangerous. nope .not that.) What I mean is, travel. I would be completely content with visiting different places and the famous landmarks for the rest of my life. I've never been one to want a desk job. I'd get awfully bored. It's just not me. All I need now is a way to fund these dreams. Where there's a will there's a way.

You know the irony of it all? I nearly got killed by an umbrella after my adventure to the top of the tower. Imagine that headline 'Girl dies by umbrella after descending the Eiffel Tower' Ha! What a story that'd be!

Sunday was the day we went to Disneyland and also the day we returned home. If I could live in Disneyland I would (let's put aside how unbelievably expensive this would be and dream a little). I felt like a child all over again. It's magical. And it never gets old. I had been there before but it was like I was seeing it all for the first time again. There was a MASSIVE Christmas tree which was very colourful (and I love colours). Here: 

I was in awe of everything, I spent the whole time taking mental pictures that I could keep forever. It was like we had walked into another universe and entered a dreamlike adventure. I LOVED IT. We started in the Magic Kingdom Park, which had many different worlds included....there were Alice in Wonderland themed things, we did the maze which was quite hilarious because we kept getting lost (this attraction is aimed at like three year olds). We saw the Christmas Parade (unbelievably amazing!), visited Cinderellas castle, the Robinson's tree house. and Davy Jones cave. 

Then the time came, the moment I had been trying to put off for as long as possible...I was going to embark a roller coaster (Thunder Mountain)...I was determined to do it. It was the one thing I had been telling myself that I was definitely going to do while at Paris. I was the picture of utter ridiculousness. The waiting time was estimated at forty five minutes, which was a lot of time to freak oneself out. My friends were laughing at me, as one can imagine, I mean, there were youngsters queuing up. I think I spent a good half an hour just freaking out, I would have turned around and ran back but the absolute effort of moving through all the people was just overwhelming (that and I knew I'd be so mad at myself if I didn't do it). By the time we got to the front I was very very hungry and at that stage my fear had subsided and I just wanted to get on. And guess what? I loved it. I spent the whole time in stitches laughing (partly at myself for being so stupid and also because it's a hilarious ride). When I got off I just wanted to go again...here's the aftermath: 

Then we decided we'd go to Planet Hollywood for lunch (when in Disneyland and whatnot). However, when we got there I began to question if it was really worth it...we had to wait for forty five minutes before we were even seated, then they had to take our order and deliver it and what not. But when the food came, oh my god it was like heaven in my mouth, if I go to heaven I'm pretty sure that's what it would be like. I really should start a food appreciation page don't you think? I just think food is the best thing ever...it's also essential. jeez, I have problems. Anyway, after that we went to the Walt Disney Studios Park, which was also pretty cool, we were going to go on this new roller coaster ride but the waiting time was too long and we didn't have THAT much time left before we had to leave for our train to the airport. I'm not goin' to lie, I was kind of relieved, I think one roller coaster was enough for one day, baby steps, us oldies can't handle too much excitement in one day ya know? We did go on this special effects train which was awesome to say the least, it stopped at various movie sets at manifested fire (yes, real fire) and water. It was way cool. Again, I was mesmerized (this seems to be a common sentiment throughout the trip doesn't it?). The wait for that one wasn't too bad, but the wait never feels long in good company, we had some...interesting...conversations. We learned that our friend is glad he's not a camel. Good to know for future reference I guess. And there was this man doing weird things with his clothes to entertain his kids, but also provided some laughs for us. It was funny! After this amusement we went to get some hot chocolate (which came with a free travel mug, bonus methinks) while we waited to go see a short movie.( which was also cool, I'm not gonna bother explaining what happens cause I've already said 'cool' far too much in this post). 

Afterwards we did some shopping and got our train to the airport, and then boarded our flight to the lovely land of green! Despite there being a delay on our flight it was one of the best trips I've had to date, and what made it even better was seeing some members of my family at the airport. Being away from them for so long makes you appreciate them even more, and my Dad was wearing a Christmas Tie, brought me some taytos, and a can of club orange, what a man! 

Who needs grown ups anyway?

If somebody had told me that being a grown up was so difficult. I would have opted against it. (yeah like that's possible.). It's strange when I think about it. I remember the times when all I had to worry about was who I was going to hang around with that day, or what I was going to spend my next installment of 'pocket money' on. I mean, can anyone pinpoint the exact moment that they stopped being kids? It happens so suddenly that you can't even comprehend that it's happening until it's been and gone. In the blink of an eye you're faced with questions that you never even thought about before. What school should I go to? Should I trust these people? How am I going to afford to live from day to day? The things you always heard your parents talking about become real, become something that you have to learn to cope with. It's overwhelming to say the very least.

As we get older we realise that life isn't always a ray of sunshine, despite what we may have previously thought. It starts to get far more serious and challenging than before. It's one hurdle after another. Time and time again we have to prove to ourselves that we can surpass everything and anything, sometimes it's extremely difficult, other times not so much. We make decisions based on how we feel in the heat of the moment, these can be the right ones, or unfortunately a lot of the time they can be so very wrong. But this is nothing to feel disheartened about because in the end you made the decision, dealt with the consequences and moved on. It rapidly becomes a tiny tiny thing in a long line of other things. It becomes insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

I used to look forward to being a grown up. So many opportunities and experiences to be explored. New people to meet. New everything. It all looked so simple from that perspective. Like it was a piece of cake. Oh how very wrong was I? I mean I'm not saying life is bad. Cause it really isn't. It's actually quite beautiful to be honest. I do love life. Most of the time. It's just those times that seem so rough, so rough that it feels like they'll never pass. But they do and they will. In that moment though it's like there's this rain cloud that won't go away, you know the ones that literally stay for days? (okay, that means every cloud in Ireland,I know but just roll with me here). Eventually though, the rain goes away. And what to we find? No rain. Duh.

Lets be honest with ourselves here. We've all made mistakes, some big, some small. At some time or another we've made absolute gobshites out of ourselves. But it's okay, why you ask? Because we live in a world where one gains respect by drinking a large bottle of an alcoholic beverage in under an hour. In my oh so valuable opinion, this gives us the right to act like utter eejits because if that's how you gain respect these days. So be it. Gone are the days where respect meant role models and good attitude. Oh world, what it happening?

I tend to just throw caution into the wind these days. There's no point holding back right? I mean, each day we grow a little older. And although I'm still only a mere twenty (yikes) years old, it feels like I've been on the earth a whole lot longer. Maybe that's because of obstacles I've had to overcome or things I've experienced. I really couldn't tell you why. But I've learned that people are going to have something to say about you either way, so why not give them what they want? Give them something to talk about. Let them waste their precious time thinking about you. Then you'll have won.

In a particularly difficult time of my life a wise (most of the time) man (my Daddy) said to me 'sometimes I think these things were made to test us'. I for one, could not believe he had said it. I mean, I hadn't had a lot of 'inspirational' pep talks with my dad over the years so this definitely made me think. And I realised he's right. I mean what would be the other purpose of challenging times other than to test our coping capabilities. If these are all tests, I want to pass them all. I don't want to fail at life. What a disappointment that would be. The trick is to defeat life, not let life defeat you. Lets let that be a lesson learned.

Another look into my random thoughts. Until next time my little chickens.

"Where'd the days go, when all we did was play? And the stress that we were under wasn't stress at all just a run and a jump into a harmless fall" - Paolo Nutini

Let your ears be filled with the sweet sweet melody..

I have recently discovered many new artists thanks to the recommendations of a friend. I now have found many new obsessions. I love listening to music, but moreso I love music I can relate to. Many of the songs I have lisened to from these musicians I have been able to relate to in some sort of way. I thought I'd share some of their work with you so that you too can enjoy the magic that is them.

Here is a song by Lights which features Coeur de Pirate, both are Canadian musicians. The song is called Peace Sign and I really think it's so beautiful.

Coeur de Pirate also has other songs which I love. This is one of my favorites:

She also has other songs that you should check out that I think are amazing. Try listening to 'Comme les enfantes' or 'Adieu'. I really really love her music, its so beautiful!

Through listening to Coeur de Pirate, I found another singer whose work I enjoy. Her name is Joyce Jonathan. I like her music too, here's a video for 'Je ne sais pas' but you should also check out 'Pas besoin de toi' and 'Les souvenirs' too!

                          

I know most of these songs are in French, but even the melody is amazing so you should definitely listen to them. Even if you have no idea what they're saying.

J'adore la musique, c'est très belle. La vie serait ennuyeuse sans elle. Écoutez et apprécier mes amis!

Inner Punk

Do you ever feel like just letting go? Just going off the rails for just a while? I do. Something inside of me just begs to be set free, I call it my 'inner punk'. A part of me that is suppressed for too long. Everybody has an inner punk, though many do not ever let it show. In today's world, it is socially unacceptable for your inner punk to reveal itself. We live in a world that has become obsessed with money and status, and people will stop at nothing to become the very best. Even if it means forgetting who they really are.

Today was one of those days, I decided to dress scruffier than usual. Clad in denim, ripped jeans, boots that have seen better days, multiple bracelets, necklaces, hair just thrown back, music blasting through my headphones, I set upon my journey across town to my Dad's house. I could feel eyes on me as I walked. I knew it was because of the way I had chosen to dress this particular day. It was not 'typical' attire for a young woman. I don't care. I was comfortable for the first time in a long time. That's when I started to think about it.

I started to notice how people dress to suit society's norms, not how they really want. They have become brainwashed by society. Children of the Celtic tiger. Always working to make more money. I agree, money is important of course, however, it is not everything. They start to mold themselves into people they think they need to be in order to succeed. They somehow get lost along the way. They start to forget who they were before they began climbing, and start to believe the life they've created. I hate fake people. Don't lose yourself just to become successful.

Personally if I suppress my true personality I feel less confident. I lose my spirit. An example, in the place where I work I have to wear a uniform, sensible shoes, hair tied back, no bracelets etc, etc. I don't like it. I feel like I can't express who I am. I mean, I can hardly go around looking scruffy or edgy while working. This is what has become of the world. Freedom of expression is restricted. There's not many places or people who accept certain looks. It's ridiculous. I suppress my style, I suppress my personality. These people will never know the true me. I'm not sure they'd ever want to.

All these restrictions annoy me. To think that I have to think carefully before getting a tattoo in a visible place because it may not be 'acceptable' in a working environment is bull crap. You don't know the meanings of them or the reasons behind which one may have gotten them. I have several piercings. So? What's that to you? It doesn't affect the quality of my work. Neither does my expressive personality. Stop buying into all these limitations that are created by society. Fight the demands. Be original. Not a clone.

I may dress edgier/scruffier than most girls. I may not spend hours on my make up. I don't wear heels and I don't like girly girl things. So what? I am who I am.  I don't judge people who are into those things, why should you judge me for going against the norm? For having the courage to express myself even though society may not be impressed.Who cares? I might look different or whatever but I still harbor the true values that have been long forgotten by many people, friendship, family, loyalty and freedom of expression. Where have they gone? The world is too organised these days. You'll find that the most successful people are often the ones who are not afraid to express themselves freely. These are the true heroes of the world. Don't be afraid to let your inner punk be free, even just for a little while.

P.S. I still love my cat.

You are what you write.

I love writing. I'm a writer, always have been, always will be. I get an idea into my head and I just gotta get it down on paper right away. A prime example. It is currently 1:30 am and I am writing a blog post, the idea came to me just as I was about to close my eyes for a good nights rest, but clearly my mind had other ideas.

Writing to me is like therapy to another. It releases emotion. I can create a world in which I can escape with just one touch of a pen to paper. A whole new world opens up and it can be whatever I want it to be. Once I start I just can't stop. It's an addiction. I feel free, like I can be whoever I want to be when I write. The sky's the limit. There's no rules on what you can and can't write. It's one of the few things left in the world that isn't restricted. I can be me.

There may be a lot happening around me, but when I write none of it matters. I don't hear or see anything. I'm present in body but not spirit. My mind is elsewhere. I'm engulfed in the new life I have created. The characters have become my family, their life has become my own. I've escaped. I feel, hear, see everything that I write. If I close my eyes it almost feels... real.

I write about everything, no matter how big or small it may be. My life becomes words which become sentences which become paragraphs which become pages. It goes on and on until I run out of material. It's never too long before I come across something else to write about. My mind is always ticking. The stories manifest in my brain before I can even comprehend what is happening.

I make mistakes, I formulate them into a story. I create a plot. I play it out. I don't like the ending. I change it. That's the best thing about writing. The thing that I love the most. You can write about all the things you've done wrong or the horrible things you've said. You can write them down exactly as they happened. Only one thing is different. You can erase them. You change them, make them better. Change the ending. And for a while, it feels right.

I achieve things. I celebrate with words. I make them into songs, poetry, whatever I might feel like writing. I write it. You can even elaborate on the celebrations, make them bigger than they should be. Nobody will bat an eyelid. Why? Because it's fiction. It's supposed to be 'out of this world'.

The excitement I feel while I write is indescribable. Unless you've felt it before you will never know what it's like. To finally finish a great piece. Something you've been working on for a long time. When it's done and dusted, it feels amazing.

When you get praised for your work. To know that people actually enjoyed reading something that you wrote all by yourself. Without the help of anybody else. That's real accomplishment. To know that your words have inspired somebody else to start writing, to follow their passions or to even begin to hope again, there is no better feeling.

To know that a part of you will always live on through your writing is piece of mind. To know that maybe your work may be passed down through generations, well isn't that enough for anybody?

You can say anything you want with words. There are no limits on creativity, put the pen to paper and just write, a story will be born. Everybody has a story to tell it's just about having the courage to find it. As William Wordsworth said 'Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.'

Writing. That's real happiness.

Judgment.

This is a serious post. Just because I do this thing where I pretend everything is all fun and games so that I can avoid the serious topics. Unfortunately, life is filled with seriousness (but fun too). The topic of this post is judgment. I hate it. It is the most utterly degrading thing in the world. People make assumptions at first glance, without a second thought. Why? What gives you the right?

I've been judged. My friends have been judged. My family has been judged. Everybody has been judged at some point. Doesn't make it feel any better. Actually, it makes it worse, knowing that those who judge you know how it feels but they do it anyway. The purpose of this post is to maybe, just maybe, make you think before you judge.

You might think you know a person but you really don't have a clue. That still doesn't give you a right to call them names or make them feel shite about themselves. You don't know what they've been through, what they've had to deal with, could be nothing, could be something. You could be the final straw. Don't make them give up. Life shouldn't be something to give up on. It should be enjoyable. Don't be the one that makes them hate the world.

And to those who are judged don't change just because of other peoples opinion of you. It's not worth your time or energy. It all becomes irrelevant anyway. You'll move on. They'll move on. You probably won't even remember them in ten years time. Just be you and that's all anybody can ask from you. They don't have the right to ask anything more. It's not their life.

So I'll end this post now cause I don't want to rant on for ages. Just please think before you judge somebody. Think about what they might be going through in their own life. Walk in their shoes for a second then walk away. Don't say or do anything. Just walk away.

P.S. I just got called a bagel by a certain somebody (you know who you are). I feel hurt that you equate me to a piece of 'crusty bread with a hole in the centre' (I'm not really hurt. I'm just exposing you as a name caller to the internet.). I've also been called a spoon before, people gotta get some better insults!