8 Day Rules

Hey guys!

So today I thought I would talk more about learning how to keep yourself happy. With the way that I have been over the past couple of days, it is safe to say that a lot of people can go through rough spots through their years. Sometimes, like in my case, it was for no particular reason. Sometimes I would just accidentally do something small and for the rest of my day I would just sit and be angry until someone else snapped me out of it.

So instead of sitting here brooding over a little bit of this and that, and nothing really in particular, I thought of different rules you could set through your day to help to make the day that little bit easier.

So here goes.

1. Smile at your reflection in the mirror before you leave the house.

2. Dress to impress... yourself. The only opinion that matters is your own. If you feel comfortable in the hoodie that is three sizes too big, then wear it. I won't judge.

3. Don't let people see you for who you aren't. Stick by yourself and never let anyone get you down.

4. If something causes you to get angry or upset, take a deep breath and try to move past it. When something bad happens, you can only move up from it.

5. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't be what you want to be.

6. Always smile, never hide it.

7. It's okay to laugh at yourself, never be afraid to let yourself.

8. Don't care what people think. There are so many people in the world, and a lot who may judge you for whatever reason, but don't let them. Your life shouldn't affect theirs in any way, unless intentional.

I know I post these a lot, and a lot of the time I don't follow them. There have been days where I've wanted to scream, or go back to bed and sleep the rest of the day away. There have been days where I've knocked my pen on the floor and got so frustrated I've wanted to just leave and go somewhere else, forget about what I am doing.

I need to follow my own advice, as well as advice others give me. It's something I am working on anyway.

Never let people stop you from living the life you created.

Never be silenced.

Never be someone you're not.

Smile forever.  

Strange, Strange, Society

Hey guys,

Okay so this is something that I've been thinking about for a few weeks now, and I'm hoping that a lot of you see it like I do.

I've been watching people for about three weeks now (I don't mean it in a creepy way) and looking at the type of person they are, how they look, act and dress. I've looked at the way that people are.

Now, the other day, I spoke to someone for the first time, I've seen them around various times, but have never spoken to them. I've never needed to speak to them, and because of the awkward person I am, I won't just start a conversation with someone just out of the blue. This changed the course of the day, as I could've just sat on my own for a while, maybe listened to my music or a podcast, I could've read on my kindle... Or I could've spoken to an actual person.

Now this is something strange to me, how people can affect someone's entire day and change an event (either for good or for bad) astounds me. We live in this world, in different towns. We walk past a million different people and barely look at them, maybe give them a smile, or even just glance at them to acknowledge their existence in this world. This person could be just like you. They could love the same music as you, or have the same sense of humor. They could be out looking for a friend or two, they could be out wanting to be alone, or maybe they're lonely.... And then they start to talk to you, and suddenly that view you had of them is different, you start to laugh, you be polite to them and they tell you about... I don't know, what their son does for a living, and with a lot of people you begin to find yourself intrigued my the story they are telling, you want to know more about it. It's strange, how people talk and tell people about the things that mean the world to them, and you barely ever see them again... isn't it?

There have been plenty of times, when I've been out, or with my friends, that I have spoken to someone and be genuinely interested in who they are and what they have to say, and once I've gotten a peek into someone else's life, a complete stranger, they are gone. There's a chance you won't see them again like you did there, or you do see them and they walk on by, because they didn't look at you, didn't see you, recognise you, or just purely didn't want to chat. 

Yet, we begin to meet people, and as we meet people, these people introduce us to more people. It's an endless loop in society, and yet we go out and we still sit alone on the buses, we still end up sitting in silence when there are other people around. We meet people, we socialise, and then we can forget... Or we don't. 

I find it quick how some people change, people become your own friend, or even your family if they are close enough. These people make you smile, make you cry, make you laugh, and make you live. When you get into a relationship with somebody you meet parts of their family, when your relationship gets serious, these people become part of your family, whether you choose to stay in the relationship or not, you still know these people and everything about them. 

In society today, we go about our business and walk past one hundred people, a million in a lifetime, maybe more if you go far enough, and I bet one of those people could make your dreams come true, become your best friend, your lover, your soul mate, your family. 

And you just walked straight past them. 

You looked at them, acknowledged they were there, maybe gave them a smile, and then they were gone. Does that not scare anyone else a bit?

"Elin, Give Me A Blog Topic..."

Good afternoon everybody!

One of the things I have learned from blogging often, is that finding topics to talk about isn't always the easiest of tasks, and depending on the topic picked, it isn't always easy to get the words down on the screen, let alone pick a topic. 

This is my tenth month of blogging now, and it hasn't always been the easiest. I'll have some days where I'm sort of looking at the words and they just don't make sense to me, and other days where I'll sort of think "Wow, did I really write that?" 

I find it strange to look back at some of my old blog posts, especially the first blog post I had ever done, which was "All About Me" on the 18th of January. But it feels weird, because blogging feels so normal for me now, it feels as if I've been doing it for years now. 

I remember first posting it and being so nervous about it, how excited I was when I looked and had 18 page views on it. That was strange to me, 18 people want to read my blog. 18 people want to read what I write!

It was all new and exciting, and now, although I check for updates virtually on a daily basis, it's a little bit strange to realise that it's been ten months and people are checking my blog now almost every day. Sure, it isn't all that many people, and I would love it to be more, but still people are finding the time to sit and read them. 

I've had a lot of encouragement since I started all the blogs, from family members, friends, even complete strangers I've never met before.

Before I began to blog, I wouldn't let people read my writing. There was no way you were going to, and if you happened to find one of my books, I would be very angry with you indeed. There were a few people I would allow to read, but not too many, because I would find it so embarrassing. 

What if they don't like it?
What if they hate it?
What if they lie to me and tell me it's good, when they don't?

I'm so glad I managed to get out of my shell and see what other's think of what I do, because honestly it has made my confidence a lot better, and as a person who used to have low confidence it has made a huge change to the person that I am now. 

I'm proud to be the little writer I am. Yes I may only have a few people who care enough to read my blog all the time and check for new ones daily, but I'm still proud. I shall continue to do what I like to do best, hopefully, it will be for the rest of my life. 

Until next time
- Steph :)

The Freedom To Create

Hey guys, I'm sorry it's been a while, I've been really ill recently and just lost all my energy, but I'm back now.

Something I want to talk about has been making me think a lot recently, and it's something that drives me insane.

The freedom to create.

Stereotypes, rules, 'normal' life prevents us from being as creative as we want to be.

Basically, stereotypes make me really angry. If you want to listen to metal music, you aren't a mosher or an emo, you're you. If you like wearing ugg boots, taking selfies and instagram, you aren't a hipster, you're you. IF YOU LIKE DOING WHAT YOU LIKE, YOU ARE YOU AND NEVER LET ANYBODY CHANGE THAT.

Personally I am sick to death of people telling others they can't be something because of a stereotype they've been labelled. At school I always listened to heavy metal, a few people told me that I couldn't like Olly Murs, and it's not right. I can be whoever I want to be. People who say, oh you can't be a drummer, you're too hipster, you can't like this band, they're too mainstream for someone like you.

IT ISN'T RIGHT AND NEEDS TO STOP.

When did we become a community where all we do is follow each others movements, likes and wants? When did people forget about their own dreams, their own interests, their own happiness. For goodness sake, never EVER give up your happiness to be accepted by someone else, it's one of the worst mistakes you will ever make.

When you begin to pretend to be someone you aren't, the real you fades out, you forget about it, then you become a fake shell of yourself.

Because the 'Normal' perspective of people, you have to behave in a certain way. You have to act just like them to be accepted. I hate that so much, because there shouldn't be a 'social norm', just be yourself.

If you have an idea, do it. Create something beautiful. If you want to make videos on youtube, go for it, do that and don't care what people think. If you want to write and be spontaneous then go for it. If you want to stand out of the crowd and be yourself then by all means do it. Never give away your happiness.

When you finally realise that, I'm sure you'll be happy. I believe we were born to create, all of us. Create love, create life, create art, create music, create fashion, create smiles, create happiness. Be happy. Smile forever. Live in the moment.