Mindfulness

Hello my fellow friends of the internet, I am here today to speak about something that I hold rather close to my heart and although I've recently just ventured into it, believe that it's beneficial to everybody! So without further ado, let's get crackin'!

Some of you may be asking "Libby, why is the title of this blog post mindfulness?" Well my dearest friend, that is because mindfulness is a very important tool in my day to day life. Mindfulness is "The intentional accepting and non-judgmental focus of one's attention on the emotions, thoughts and sensations." And I find it to be very helpful in calming me down when I'm perhaps feeling anxious or need to take some time to step back and re-evaluate a situation.

I discovered the uses of mindfulness after having many discussions with Hannah's mum Mandy, who is rather good with dealing with issues of the mind. Whilst talking to her, she'd often say phrases or give advise that make total sense but I'd just never thought about before and I often leave her company feeling more open minded towards problems that I'm facing.

The way I use mindfulness is usually through an app called Smiling Mind, so if I'm feeling particularly anxious I'll go somewhere quiet, whip this out on my phone and take a few minutes to myself. Other than that I tend to force myself to become aware of whatever situation I'm in. For example, if I was stressing over not understanding a piece of homework I'd ask myself "What don't you understand? What could you do to figure out? If you go to see your teacher ASAP they can't really be angry at you for not understanding,can they?" etc just so things seem far more clearer and far less problematic.

Overall, being mindful is a key part of day to day life that is often forgotten in the 21st century. With the use of phones, laptops, iPods and whatnot, it's very easy to stop enjoying the little things. When you're out walking whilst texting your mates, you could be missing out on so much that's going on. I don't know about you but I know that I've spent far too much time just being alive and going through the motions of day-to-day life as opposed to actually LIVING through those days and paying attention to what the world has to offer.

That's it from me fellow friends of the internet, I shall leave you with my song of the post: Heart of The Matter by The Libertines

Till next time,

-L

25 Question Series: The Finale

Hey everybody!

So, this is my first "proper post" since my return, so I figured I may as well start off with tying up a loose end! I've got nothing witty to say so I may as well just hop straight in!

76) What do you label yourself as? A human. I strongly dislike labels.

77) Who would you really like to punch in the face? Katie Hopkins springs to mind?

78) If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they do? Amy would be my slave, mainly because it's about time she changes the film we watch on Netflix instead of me. She'd just do little things like pass me my cup of tea.

79) What was your last dream about? Ha. I (somehow) managed to get Harrison Koisser's number and rang him because I was angry that I'd ran out of maple syrup.

80) What's the colour of your socks? They're black with white stars on them and a red spiky bubble thing saying "BOOM!" on it. They're my favourite socks.

81) If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create? Don't platypus' already defy the laws of nature? Or are they just weird? I don't know, I'd probably try to make some sort of mythical creature, maybe a lion and an eagle to try and make a sphinx? Bit dangerous.

82) Can you do any other accents other than your own? Well I think so, but my Welsh friend doesn't seem to think my Welsh accent is very good. What's important is that I try, can't ask for more than that really.

83) What was the last thing that frustrated you? Just reading this question reignited my anger. I cannot for the life of me play an F chord on Frederick (my guitar.) I am determined to play that bloody chord.

84) What is your favourite Disney movie? Either Saving Mr Banks, Mulan or The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

85) Do you think children should be sheltered from unhappiness? Although not permanent, unhappiness is inevitable. You can attempt to shelter a child from unhappiness, but that's near enough impossible. I think it's important to let children explore the world and there are different risks in doing that. Your child may be unhappy if you make them brush their teeth before bed, that doesn't mean you're going to just let them off with not brushing their teeth.

86) Do you have a dream journal? No, I don't. I used to keep one when I was obsessed with Twilight in whatever year it was, but that didn't last very long. I tend to just talk to my friends now if I have an odd dream (like last night's.)

87) What does your name mean? Oh...I'll have to Google this. Apparently it means "Pledged to God" which seems fairly underwhelming, I was expecting something like "The almighty".

88) Are you usually late, early or right on time? Well, I usually have every intention of being early, but I tend to be right on time or on the odd occasion late.

89) Name three things in nature your find the most beautiful: Sunsets/rises, I would say the sea but I'll just say water anyway (because I quite like it when it rains) and lightning, because as much as it freaks me out it's rather mesmerising.

90) What would you happily do again? Go to Boardmasters! I went with two friends this year and we're already planning on going again next year!

91) Do you like to shop? Quite recently, yes. I think it's because I have more of a solid idea of what I like and what suits me (clothes wise) so I sort of look forward to shopping for clothes now. As far as food shopping goes, it's not really the most entertaining of activities, is it?

92) What's the first thing you do in the morning? Check my phone. I have a habit of falling asleep half way through conversations. Oops.

93) Do you think people are basically bad or basically good? Human nature comes with more than just "bad" and "good" and each person has a slightly different idea of what's "good" or "bad" so who knows, eh!

94) Have you ever been to Legoland? Yes and it was AWESOME.

95) What's the last thing you took a picture of? I took a photo of some polaroids I took at Boardmasters.

96) What's something you wear even in the shower? I have a ring my friend bought me quite a while ago from Sweden or Switzerland that I basically NEVER take off.

97) What's your favourite topic in history? I quite liked the Nazi Germany module. I'd like to learn about ancient Greece but I don't think it's part of the GCSE.

98) Have you ever burnt yourself? Yes, on hair straighteners when I was getting ready to perform with Olli. My finger blistered and it felt really weird.

99) What's the best thing you ever did for your parents? I used to write them poems illustrate them for their birthdays, fathers day and mothers day etc.

100) What's the most creative thing you've ever done? Well, I don't know to be perfectly honest. I have a habit of hearing/seeing/smelling something and then getting a really vivid image that I feel could be a part of a film. It's like my eyes are a really low-tech video camera and I'm just living for good angles, especially when it comes to car rides and stuff like that.


And that, my fellow friends of the interweb, concludes the 25 Question Series. I shall leave you with my favourite song this month Flame by Sundara Karma.

Until next time,

-L

We Meet Again

Hello fellow friends of the internet, I am back!

As you may have noticed, I've been M.I.A for over a month now and can I start with pointing out that this wasn't a planned or intentional absence. When I started this blog, I made a promise to myself that I would only post when and if I wanted too, as if I felt obliged to blog it would turn this hobby into a job and I didn't want that to happen. Of course, this can cause some problems (like 3 months worth of no posts) but in the long run, it's good to just go with the creative flow!

I do however have some actual reasons as to why I've not been blogging. The main reason is due to the "real life work load." This year has been busy! There have been interviews for senior student roles (head boy and girl, that sort of thing), trips to colleges for taster days, mocks (lots of revision-ew) and presentations to prepare among other things. So it's safe to say I've been a little bit loaded down with work to do (much like everyone my age.)

Since I last spoke to you it's been my birthday:

I've had quite a few barbecues, sleepovers and have gone on rather lovely walks:

And of course, spent quite a bit of time with my family:

But of course, this was all done over the period of 3 months or so! It's quite relieving when you're busy/stressed in a schooling/working situation to take some time out on weekends, or for an hour or so in the evening to have sometime to yourself or with your family- otherwise you end up with headaches and all sorts of horrible stress related issues.

That's it for my "hello I'm back" post, I hope you all have had wonderful lives whilst I've been away and continue to have wonderful lives! I shall leave you with today's song of the post: Wraith by Peace

See you soon (hopefully)

-L

Live what you love.

Well hello!

I'm Ellen and frankly, I'm really nervous right now about introducing myself but hi! This is me and I'm going to pour my heart out to you lovely people about my love for life and how quickly it can be over (sounds cheery, I know!)

Well, on the wall by my bed is a picture with a quote that I bought from a shop saying "Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful" to me this is such an important thing to remember. My life is full of gorgeous, darling people (such as Libby) who just make days so much better.

Although only recently properly speaking to Libby, she has already made me feel lovely and has already made me laugh too much! Last night we came across the subject of bucket lists and how quickly life can be over. I said to Libby "I find it silly when people think they have so much time to do something when in reality anything could happen in the space of five minutes" and also to "have no regrets and so whatever you want to, as long as it makes you happy."

Everyday I live by this rule. Now, I promised myself that I wouldn't get too deep into this as I will make a fool of myself. However, just think about how much time you waste everyday worrying and arguing over small things. Here's some food for thought:

You could die within five minutes, would you have done everything that you wanted to when an opportunity presented itself?

Probably not!

So whenever you come across a tricky bridge or something you would normally be too scared to do, think about the other side of the bridge. Cross the bridge when you get to it and do it knowing that you've done something great, something that will allow you to grow old with no regrets. Do something everyday that makes your heart beat fast, do something that you will be proud to say you did after you've done it.

Do it knowing that anything could change by tomorrow and make the most of the moment and the time before you.

I got too into it! I apologise!

I shall leave you with todays song of the blog: Cocoon by Catfish and The Bottlemen.

Goodbye my honeys, Ellen x

Versatile Blogger Award

Hello my fellow friends of the interweb! Today I am here with another award I have recieved! I was nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award by the lovely Sally from And All That Fairy Dust! I'd like to say a ginormous thank you to you, Sally for the nomination. To all of my fellow interweb friends, I'd advise you to have a look at Sally's blog, I hadn't been reading much blog wise until I found Sally's!

The rules for this award are as follows:

1) Thank the nominator.
2) Select 15 blogs/bloggers to nominate.
3) List 7 facts about yourself.
4) Let the nominee's know they've been nominated.

Facts about me:

1) I was born on the same day as Celine Dion and Vincent Van Gogh.

2) I spent a whole day watching Rom-Com's on Netflix and now there's a special place in my heart for Hilary Duff films.

3) I'm fairly sure that Alex Turner may actually be a God.

4) I've kept all of my Christmas cards up because they make me smile (but I may swap them for my birthday cards after my birthday.)

5) For my work experience placement I'm going to a preschool which should be fun!

6) I've just recently got into Horror films, which again is my friend (Amy's) fault. If you've got any suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know!

7) I keep having realisations. Like, 100 years ago for example, they thought most of what they knew was correct and it turned out to be a load of rubbish so, what if in 100 years into the future, some of the things we think are true actually transpire to be a load of rubbish?

My Nominees:

Holly Kenyon

Stormydoos

Eithne On The Moon

Cat Print Paws

Eclectic Feel

U For Urika

Sammie Photography

Ashbam

The Bookish Universe

Growing To Independence

Classically Becca

Bras And Visa Cards

Sopha Parks

Olivia Curls

Everyword-MelJWills

Again I'd like to thank Sally for Nominating me! I hope you all have a very lovely day. I shall leave you with today's song of the post: Agony from Into The Woods (film)

Now I'm off to an early birthday meal so until next time!

-L

25 Question series 0.3

Hello fellow friends of the internet! I apologise for my unscheduled absence, however do not fret for I am back! I'm planning on writing a few blog posts today and posting them later on in the week (just in case I get a bit busy and don't actually have time to post anything) AND it's my birthday in 8 days, so expect a post that has something to do with that! Now without further ado, on with the questions!

51) What is your heritage? I like this question! My great grandfather was Scottish, my great grandmother was Greek, at some point a family member was Irish...But mainly I'm English.

52) What's a song that always makes you happy when you hear it? Currently Vertigo by Mini Mansions ft. Alex Turner I find it rather calming and that makes me happy I do suppose!

53) Can insanity bring on more creativity? I like to think that, I myself, am a bit insane! So yes, I think a little insanity can bring on creativity.

54) What is your current desktop picture? This embarrasses me but since I've been away for so long I think I deserve public embarrassment. I'm a massive fangirl as I've mentioned previously and I thought it would be a good idea to get a collection of photos from things I like and create some sort of collage. It would be cool if I did it well and used some sort of snazzy editing software probably, but I used Paint. Here it is:

Please try to remember that I was young(er) when I made this and I need to make a new one soon!

55) Have you ever thrown up in the car? Yes I have, oddly enough the only thing I remember from a specific experience is being irritated at myself for throwing up all over my then favourite pair of jeans.

56) Have you ever met any celebrities? I've met Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell from Eastenders) but most people from my area seem to have met him. I've met many the celebrity in Libby Land though (if that counts, which it does.)

57) Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? No, that sounds like it takes a lot of energy that I'd quite frankly rather conserve for something more important like taking over the world.

58) Who would you like to see in concert? Arctic Monkeys without a doubt.

59) Ever had a weird deja-vu moment? Yes, I often even have deja-vu inception moments where I'm having deja-vu of deja-vu.

60) What did you want to be when you were younger? Well: A fashion designer, a singer, an actress, a doctor, an author and once an Olympic athlete. Which is HILARIOUS to anyone who knows me well because I refuse to run.

61) Do you find Christmas stressful? Well, not really directly stressful because to be honest, I don't do much but everybody else stressing about it tends to give me secondary stress.

62) Do you think musicals are cheesy? Some can be I suppose, but I love musicals!

63) Do you dance in the car? I remember coming up with dance routines with my brothers in the car but they were strictly waist up dance moves.

64) Are you afraid of heights? I don't actually think I'm afraid of heights per say, I mean if I'm on something high my first reaction isn't "It's so high I'm scared" it's more of a "If I make one wrong move I will fall. And die." so I'd say I'm afraid of falling.

65) How many languages can you speak? Well, A very limited amount of Spanish, French and German! When I say very limited I mean VERY limited.

66) When you were younger what did you dress up for at Halloween? I do believe it tended to be a witch. I've never been trick-or-treating though and Halloween is my least favourite time of the year.

67) Are you lazy? It depends on the task and my mind set at the time!

68) When was the last time you wrote a letter to somebody on paper? Sometime last week for my English mock I think!

69) What films could you watch over and over again and still watch? The Lord of The Rings/The Hobbit trilogy, both Bridget Jones films and maybe a few Disney films like The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

70) What's your favourite food? Melon or ice cream. So much so, I've requested that I get both of these things for my birthday.

71) Where would you bury treasure if you had some? I don't know...In the Louvre? Thinking back to The Divinci Code.

72) What's your least favourite movie? I'm not sure I can think of one. I was a bit dissapointed with Transcendence. Sometimes I've just got to rewatch films to make sure I'm actually paying attention though.

73) Do you still watch cartoons? Yes, Cartoon Network is an important part of my world.

74) How do you feel about surprises? Well, I dislike not knowing things, however I also think surprises are a nice thing to look forward too if they're a gift etc.

75) What makes you laugh the most? Well, my inside jokes with my close friends (specifically Amy) and as of late, this:

Yes, this is my screensaver.

That's all for now my fellow friends of the internet! I shall leave you with todays song of the post: When The Sun Goes Down by Arctic Monkeys

Until next time!

-L

25 Question Series 0.2

Hello again fellow friends of the internet! I'm here with part two of my 25 question series! I'm not going to blab on about insignificant things like....I dunno, unicorns on envelopes or friends singing whilst you're Skyping them and trying to concentrate on writing (you know who you are.) I ended up babbling anyway so I'm gonna hop right into the questions!

26) Ever had a poem or song written about you? I don't think so...Ideally yes!

27) Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose? Before I answer I'd like to say that I have two younger brothers and they heavily influence my actions. Yes, I have, yanno when you stick things like straws or bread sticks up your nose? Yep...

28) What's your religion? I am agnostic? I think that's the correct term? Either agnostic or atheist. To be honest, personally it's not a priority to me and I don't spend much time thinking about it so I'm not 100% sure.

29) Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? Well, it depends on the situation. I'm taking Drama as a GCSE and sometimes that means being recorded whilst performing which I don't mind. I equally don't mind recording things. However, if it was for something like a Youtube channel I'd feel totally out of my comfort zone!

30) Simple but extremely complex, favourite band? Well, judging by my most played songs, I'd have to say Arctic Monkeys.

31) What was the last lie I told? The answer to this question.

32) Do you believe in karma? Ummm...Much like the religion question, I'm not that sure because I've not put much thought into it!

33) What does your URL mean? I wanted my URL to be "Is it just me" but was unable to, so I thought to have the title of my blog be "Is it just me" and then have the URL as "or do we all" so it sort of acts like an inside joke and a continuation of the title.

34) What's your greatest weakness and your greatest strength? I wish I had a clearer idea so I could properly answer this question but I'm very over crytical of myself so I tend to think I have more weakness' than strengths. I think my greatest weakness is my inability to say no to opportunities. If someone offers me an assembly slot or a job to do I'll probably say yes just because I can't say no. As far as greatest strength goes, I think I'm very determined. If there's something I 100% want to do or if I make a promise to help someone with something, chances are I'll do it!

35) Do you prefer talking to people on the phone or on Skype?  Well, I tend to have bad signal on my phone so I'd say I  probably prefer Skype.

36) Are you happy with the person you've become? Ohh, a deep and meaningful question! Well, in a certain sense yes. I think that I've grown to understand certain things and I've experienced a lot more.

37) What's your biggest "What if?" Probably something like "what if I'm shopping and I start getting bombed?" Terrorism is a very real thing and it honestly scares me.

38) Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens? Um, I've heard stories from family members about ghost encounters and I think that the universe is too big to just have one tiny planet full of humans on it.

39) Smell the air. What do you smell? I can smell my vanilla frosting Yankee candle. I adore the smell of vanilla.

40) What's the worst place you've ever been to? I have a love hate relationship with London. I love to go there there but it's so packed and there are so many people.

41) To you, what is the meaning of life? There is no meaning. You can't put a stamp on something like life. Life in it's entirety means so many different things depending on the person.

42) Define art. Not a question per say but art is a creative outlet, I do suppose. Art is indefinable.

43) Do you believe in luck? No, I don't think so. The universe is rarely that lazy. (Whoever knows where that quote's from gets a cake.)

44) What time is it? It is currently 4:42pm.

45) What was the last book you read? Well technically the last book I read was Of Mice and Men but that was for English. Otherwise it may have been Bear Grylls' autobiography or Miranda Hart's "Is It Just Me?"

46) What's the worse injury you've ever had?  I don't do anything so it's difficult for me to get hurt. I over extended my finger playing netball once and had my lower leg in a cast for a few weeks, so one of those two probably!

47) Have you ever caught a butterfly? Yes I do believe so! Or it may have been a moth...Not sure but I caught something with wings.

48) Do you have any obsessions right now? I'm currently obsessed with Top Gear specials and Bridget Jones Diary (Hence the Richard Hammond thing.)

49) Ever had a rumor spread about you? Probably! But I don't pay the faintest bit of attention to them!

50) Do you believe in magic? I have to say yes to please my inner child.

That's all for now my fellow friends of the internet! I shall leave you with my song of the post: Don't You Want Me by The Human League

-L