20,000 PAGEVIEWS!!!

"Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you can only spend it once." - Lillian Dickson

Happy Friday everyone!

In my opinion, every Friday should be a day of celebration. Actually, I do have a few friends who would always throw a party every Friday night. I have tried doing that before but after a month, I got so exhausted throwing parties every Friday and decided to just attend parties instead (haha!). But yes, the weekend is finally upon us and no matter how many million times I say this, I still get so excited for the weekends! 

Anyway, speaking of celebrations.

I guess I do have one thing to celebrate today. Well, here's a fun fact. Because I have been a little bit busy with my life lately and slacking on my blog, I just found out that my blog hit 20,000 pageviews at the end of August, which is totally amazing!

I don't normally have aims of how many pageviews I can/want to get (as you can tell because I'm just writing this post now haha). I just write what I want on here and share whatever I want (as you can tell from the structure of my blog and my writing form). I've always treated my blog as a little online diary of mine. But yes, it's totally amazing that you (all you lovely readers) would stick with me and read my posts. 

I'm honestly very happy and grateful for this. I think I hit 10,000 pageviews at end of April not long ago. 

I love every single one of you who reads my blog and leaving comments and sharing. Honestly, it means the absolute world to me to know that I'm not the only one having bad days or going through tough times. BIG HUGS! 

Since all of you have been so amazing, I've decided to share 5 current things about myself that you DO NOT know about. Trust me, it isn't as interesting as you might think but just thought I'd share them anyway.

1) I downloaded Pokemon Go on the 19th of September and have been obsessed ever since. I am currently at Level 15, if that interests you at all. Haha!

2) I do not have a SnapChat account. I know I know! I'm probably the last person on this planet who do not own one!

3) I love my 2 dogs so very much even though they give me headaches sometimes. I just love them to bits!

4) My circle of friends can be considered "small". I wouldn't say tiny or huge but I think small is the right term. I read a quote last year: "the less people you hang out with, the less bullsh*t you deal with" and I've been applying that to my everyday life ever since. And believe me, it's true and it works. 

5) I am in a long-distance relationship right now which pretty much sucks. I mean, no one on this planet likes to be in a long-distance relationship and no one deserves to be in one. But my boyfriend and I are OK. 

*Oh yes. It gets more and more personal once a milestone is achieved. Haha! Not that my personal life is that interesting but I just like my readers to know more about me :)* 

TGIF! Have a great Friday! X 

LIVE YOUR LIFE

OK. So this is my current view right now. Dark sky, grey clouds, the smell of freshly cut grass, the occasional breeze blowing through my hair. I wouldn't say it is too warm or too cold or too windy. In other words, I would describe this as the perfect temperature. Not exactly perfect weather as it is dark and dreary but perfect temperature. The ideal place for me to be right this very second.

Good evening my lovely readers


I have been slightly demotivated and uninspired lately (as you can tell by the lack of posts). Apologies. I don't exactly know the reason behind this. Some days, I have loads of fire burning in me, loads of things that catch my attention and inspires me; some days (lately), I just want to sit at home and do absolutely nothing. And I'm not going to lie, today feels like the perfect day to do nothing at all. Yet somehow, here I am - inspired and firing up a blog post :)


"I guess my hometown isn't as eventful as I imagined it to be." was what I thought to myself.


OI! SNAP OUT OF IT! *clicks fingers*

"Remember when I was daily-blogging last month before I left the UK? I made everyday fun just because I could! So why not do it here too? Just because it's my hometown doesn't mean I can't find fun things to do and make my days interesting!" was the answer I gave myself when I snapped out of it.


Now, I'm not promising any daily blogs or whatever but I've got a few exciting things up my sleeves. You'll see what I mean very soon :) *I mean, you guys are always the first to know anyway*

I've been reading quite a lot of books recently. I think reading has become one of my hobbies now. I mean, I've always loved reading anyway but I never really had the time to read with work and all that. But now that I can, I've been reading so so many books and I'm loving them.


So, I came across this question in a book.

"Where is the richest place on Earth?"

Now, I want all of you to think and come up with an answer before you continue on reading. Because after 10 guesses, I still didn't get the answer. But when I was finally given the answer, I could see why I never thought of that. So, I want you to think hard.

The answer is:

Graveyards 

Why?

Because graveyards are where all dreams and hopes die along with people who didn't do anything about their dreams and hopes.

Let me explain.

Imagine this.

You're on your death bed and on your final moments when you close your eyes, you see all the "ghosts" around you. Those "ghosts" are your dreams, your ideas, your hopes - and they are all saying to you "Look. You had this - you had all of us when you were alive! We are the ones that came to YOU. Yet you chose not to do anything about it and you know what? Now we're going to die with you." 



I mean, that is probably one of the deepest things I've ever read in my entire life. It is so so true! I don't want to lie on my death bed one day and face my "ghosts". And that is why I am totally inspired today.

YOU are in control of your life and only YOU alone are entitled to your happiness. No matter how you view your life, how you view yourself or other people, everything comes down to how you want to see the world.

I am slowly figuring things out - by things, I really just mean figuring out myself and what I want in life. Slowly taking baby steps because nobody achieves something big overnight. Same goes to happiness. No one achieves true happiness overnight. Everything takes time, hard work and patience. 



Everything starts from you :) 



X

34 MONTHS IN THE UK

Good morning my beautiful people

Today is the day! Today is the day I'm stepping on to a plane and flying over 17 hours back to my home country. Today is the day I say goodbye to Sunderland. Today is the day I say goodbye to the UK. It has been a 34-month roller coaster for me since September 2013 until today, June 2016.

I have decided to write one more post before signing off from the UK.

Today, I want to share 10 THINGS I'VE LEARNED WHILST BEING HERE FOR 34 MONTHS.


1) INDEPENDENT 

I used to think I was independent at the age of 18 - always doing things myself and all. Only to realize that was nothing compared to when you're in a different country without your family around you. It is a fresh yet terrifying feeling. Not going to lie, I've only had my first debit card when I was 21 years old. Oh yes, absolutely ridiculous!

But when you're in another country, no matter how attached you are to your parents, be it financially or non-financially, you learn to be more independent. You handle bills yourself, you cook for yourself, you fight your own battles. In my case, I learned to speak confidently in front of people and I got myself a job which increased my chances of speaking more to people. Bills are always the toughest things, in my opinion. Even until this day, I absolutely HATE handling bills (some kind of accountant I am). It's not that I can't count or do them, it's just that I hate them. But at the end of the day, you know you can only rely on yourself to learn new things.

2) MOVING IS TIRING

I finally know now when people say "I'm so tired. I haven't slept for 4 days since I moved house". Oh yes, I should know. In the 34 months, I've moved house 3 times. THREE TIMES! I used to think it's just one place to another. You move your things from here to there and get sorted within hours. Oh how very wrong was I!

It is a tiring and tedious situation. It takes out all your energy and effort. And to make it feel nice and cozy like a home takes up A LOT of your time. But it's totally worth it in the end.

3) LEARN TO HAVE FUN

I guess this comes as no surprise to most of you. It's the time when you're finally away from your parents and you can do whatever you want. Of course, you have to be wise enough to differentiate the good and the bad.

But the point I'm trying to make here is that you only get one life. If you don't make it fun and enjoyable, then that's completely your loss. I felt like I wasted my first 9 months here because all I did was work and study. Looking back now, I feel like I could have done so much more in those 9 months! So even though you're here to study, learn to relax and have some fun too.

4) MORE OPEN-MINDED

I'm already quite an open-minded person. But there's so much more for me to learn out there. I'm constantly learning new things. EVERY SINGLE DAY. From recipes to directions, from work to other countries. Just be as open-minded as you can and enjoy as you learn. Because you will never ever stop learning.

5) EXERCISING MAKES ME A HAPPY PERSON

The first few months living here was a nightmare. I could not sweat, I could not function properly because all I could think about was exercise. So, I decided to walk 30-45 minutes everyday. Then, I joined the Dance Squad of course. It was such an amazing journey. All the people I've danced with are just amazing. In fact, one of the proudest things I've ever done not just here, but in my entire life, was dancing in front of a crowd and competing in dance competitions.

But yes, exercising will always make me feel happy and relaxed - whether that's carrying heavy things or just walking from home to uni.

6) APPRECIATE YOUR PARENTS MORE

Why do I say this? Because now, whenever I spend my own money that I worked so hard for, my heart aches a little. Sometimes, a lot when I go on a massive shopping spree but let's not get into that. When I first arrived here, I had no intention of getting a job because of the spoiled little brat I am. I spent my parents' money like nobody's business. And one day, when I was about to go broke, I told myself "enough is enough. no more doing stupid shit".

And when you actually get a job and work, you learn the hardships yourself. Therefore, I have been financially stable since 2014. Not sure about the next couple of weeks though since I am now jobless yet again. Haha!

7) APPRECIATE THE LITTLEST THINGS IN LIFE

I would never in a million years thought I would be one to say this because I'm just so caught up with everything. But appreciating the littlest things in life CAN actually make you happy. I learned that here one day when I was taking a nice walk in the park on a cold winter's morning. There's beauty everywhere. The birds chirping, the wind blowing, the squirrels that pop out of no where. These things are small yet beautiful. Learn to appreciate just the tiniest thing that makes you happy :D

8) GOOD FRIENDS ARE HARD TO FIND

It is not often that people want to waste their time to understand your situation or ever try to understand you. Hence, the saying "friends come and go". I've known this since I was growing up. But I really can't compare my teenage situation to my adulthood situation. You learn about lies, betrayal and all those things that make you unhappy and changes you.

But there are good people around that are in the same boat or want to be friends with you. Once you've found the people you can connect with, never ever let them go. Invest your time in good people and good friends and good surroundings.

9) STRUGGLING IS NORMAL

Oh it is so normal to struggle. Just remember, nobody has a perfect life. It's how you cope with your problems and what you decide to do about the situation are what matters. Sometimes, I look around me and see myself struggling more than the people around me. What do I do? Cry?

NO!

Get back up, keep working hard and don't give up.

10) APPRECIATE THE "FAMILY" YOU HAVE HERE

I mean, I've just written a whole post about them last night. It's always important to socialize but once you feel comfortable with the people around you, you know you've found the right people.

I have "brothers" and "sisters" who support the heck out of me. It's nice to know if things ever go wrong, you can always count on them.



These are all the things I've learned in the past 34 months. It has been a long journey, hasn't it? I've really enjoyed my time here but it's time for a little break :)


I will check in with you guys once I have access to Wi-Fi :D


I hope everyone is having a nice week so far and I love you all very much.


Thank you so much for reading.


X

10,000 pageviews!!!

"Because you are alive, everything is possible"

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for reading my blog and I'm proud to say that my blog has finally reached 10,000 pageviews yesterday. Hoorayyyy! Honestly, I'm really grateful to have such amazing readers and I can only apologize if it's not interesting enough. I will try my very best to keep it interesting and as updated as possible. I do hope you'll stick around because I love writing and the fact that even one person on this planet reads my blog means a hell lot to me. And I love you :)

Little "Thank you" speech out of the way.

Now, back to the little quote in the beginning.

I don't know if any of you out there ever do/did this. But I really like to look back at old pictures on my phone and go back to that exact moment in time to re-live it - everything I was feeling and everything I was thinking at that very second.

I've chosen these pictures from my phone because they constantly remind me that "the sky's the limit" whenever I look at them.

When I was a teenager, I used to sit outside my gazebo on rainy days and appreciate the sound of rain and the sense of peace that comes with it. And I loved the smell of grass after a good rain (I still do now but please don't think I'm weird. Haha).

I would always think of how my life would play out in the future. I would always look at the clouds, think of what could have been, what is, and what would be. It's just something I started doing at a very young age.


Fast forward 10 years - PAUSE!

I still love looking at the sky and the endless possibilities it brings and also how it brings some sort of peace and calm within me. But this time, I just think about how far I've come in life and how much I've achieved and how much more I want to accomplish.

I mean, I've reached 10,000 pageviews since relaunching my blog last December! I still can't believe it!

So I say this to myself and to every single one of you out there, as long as you are on this planet, anything is possible and you have no where else to go but up :)





Thank you for reading X