New Life

A Beautiful Day

I thought that my heart couldn't get any bigger, 

I have a big heart so I never thought it would expand even more,

But then something amazing happened to me.

On April 1st I became a big sister to a beautiful little girl.

When I held her in my arms for the first time I couldn't keep a huge grin off of my face,

I literally felt like my heart ballooned as I looked down at her sleeping face.

Getting to have your family grow is one of the best feelings in the world,

it's important to realize how lucky we are to have family.

They are always there for you,

you are connected to them in a way you will never be with your friends,

at the end of the day they are who you rely on.

I now have one more person who I can cherish and look after.

Words cannot describe the joy that gives me.

Getting a new family member also reminds me of how much I love all of my family.

Without them I would not be where I am today.

Rejection

Get back up again

A fear that many humans share is the fear of rejection.

In all realms of our life we can get rejected. From our friends to our work it can be safe to say that almost everyone has been rejected before. 

The real challenge isn't the rejection itself but how you react to the rejection.

Letting rejection ruin your life isn't really an option, considering that in reality you will get rejected over and over again. Everyone needs to learn to deal with rejection in their own way that works for them.

Personally I find going for walks or runs very therapeutic. I plug in my headphones, stuff my hands in my pocket, put my head down and walk. I think about what I've been rejected from, let myself dwell in the sadness and pain for a while. But then I look up, I think about the bigger picture. One rejection, or even a string of rejections (as bad things always seem to happen on the same day) does not define me or my life.
I remind myself of all the things I have accomplished, however minimal or insignificant they seem. I think of all the things that I can still accomplish in my life.
I have a whole future ahead of me, even when it seems bleak.
Sometimes we don't get what we want. That's the way of life.
I like to think that perhaps we get rejected because it is a sign that we were heading down the wrong path.

 A rejection could just be a redirection.

So next time you get rejected, remember that the possibilities out there are endless.

As on of my favorite figures once said:

Always Ask

If you never ask, you never know

Yesterday I attended an event hosted by Levo Leauge about negotiation. It was a great event and I was fortunate enough to meet a number of talented women.

One point that was made about the art of negotiation that really stuck with me, perhaps because it is also a personal philosophy of mine, is that you should always ask.

You will never be able to get what you want unless you ask for it.

Just having the courage to ask a simple question can get you a long way.

Asking questions can open up your ability to negotiate. Starting a dialogue gets a conversation flowing, which allows you get your opinions and views across to the other person. It helps you understand someone else better and allows them to understand you better.  

I learnt a lot at the event and would encourage all of you to go to Levo.com and check it out!

Remember, next time you wonder if you should ask a question, just go and ask it! 

If you never ask, the answer is always no.

On that note always feel free to ask me questions! 

Going Hungry

Lent

Lent, as many of you know, is a Christian holiday where you give up something you cherish for 40 days, the number of days Jesus spent fasting and fighting off temptation in the desert. 

Lent officially starts on Ash Wednesday which falls on 5th March this year.

Lent has in some ways spread beyond religion as people who are not religious also sometimes give up something they love during Lent.

This morning I came across an article in The Guardian by Keith Hebden, an Anglican parish priest, 

"This Lent I will not eat food, to highlight all the hunger around us"

Keith Hebden will not eat food during lent, limiting his diet to fruit juice in the morning and vegetable stock in the evening. He has decided to do this to showcase the hunger that is occurring across Britain.

According to the website EndHungerFast , founded by Keith Hedben, 5,500 people were admitted to hospital for malnutrition last year.

Malnutrition does not normally get associated with developed countries such as Britain. The fact that there are people being deprived of food is distressing, especially when we take in to account that many people in Britain overeat. 

I am not brining about this story in order to convince anyone to fast for Lent. 

I am bringing it up as it is an important issue facing Britain today and we should be aware of it.

One small way in which we could help is by joining National Day of Fasting, which is happening on 4th April. This campaign is being done in order to raise awareness to the British Government that people do care about people going hungry in our country.

As for Lent if you choose to give something up Good Luck!

Even if you are not religious maybe you just want to give yourself a 40 day challenge.

Or 22 day challenge like I did earlier this month.

Either way I wish you all the best of luck! 

Judgement

Who am I to judge?

In general I try not to be a judgmental person however recently I feel like I have been slipping up a bit.

I do not purposely want to judge people but when looking in retrospect at certain conversations I have been a bit too judgmental for my liking.

Therefore I wanted to reaffirm my reasons for not judging people and hopefully help you realize or reaffirm why we shouldn't judge people.

When we judge another person, it really just reflects more on our own character. Do you really want to be the person who judges everyone they meet? or who judges their friends?

We don't know what everyone has been through that has made them who they are.

Some people are insecure so constantly seek affirmation 

Some people are cold and closed off because they could have suffered in the past from having their trust betrayed

Some people are closed off because they might not be able to open up easily

Everyone has gone through something else in the past so who are we to judge them?

I don't want to be judge for the way I dress or how I look, so I should not judge others for the exact same things.

Even if you are not religious I believe the Bible does have some valuable quotes for life:

"Do to others as you would have them do to you"

Luke 6:31 

So next time you are about to pass judgement on someone stop and think before you do.

The World in the Future

  Where do you want to live?

Recently I came across an article/video which showcased a vision of how the world should be by Jacque Fresco. The Venus Project redesigns the world in hopes of a better one for our future. His ideas are interesting albeit a little unrealistic at this moment in time.

Although it could just be me being pessimistic about whether a world like his design would actually work.

The Venus Project via BBC and Youtube

I have often imagined a world that is different from the one we live in. Many books, movies and TV shows often challenge and provide ideas about how the world could be, whether it be worse, better or simply different.
In my ideal world we would live on a beach half the year sipping cocktails and spend the other half gliding down crisp slopes on skis. (Maybe just a little fantasy world, not a very practical one).

The ideas that are floating around right now really do beg the question what world do you really want to live in?
Just to let you all ponder those thoughts.

Be aware of your volume

Crank up your favorite song... actually hold on a second 

Walking down the street or sitting in the tube you can see many people zoning out jamming to the music blasting through their headphones. 

I like many others have a commute to class so I am one of those people listening to my tunes and on occasion even singing them out loud (usually when no one else is around). 

My eclectic music taste means I could be blasting anything from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Ariana Grande. 

As many others do I also listen to the music in the charts which sometimes includes music with many explicit words. Some of these songs are extremely catchy and can often get stuck in peoples head, which can lead to a person humming or singing the song without being completely conscious of where and when they sing the song. 

Normally I wouldn't see a massive problem with this, however recently I saw the video below via Upworthy

Via Upworthy

I was shocked when I saw such young kids singing these lyrics. I am sure that many of these children don't completely understand what they are saying, which makes the video even more worrying.

It worries me because it is scary to think we could be encouraging young kids to use such crude and demeaning language without thinking about it twice.

Therefore I urge everyone to think twice before turning up their music or singing such songs while out and about. 

We all need to be more aware of how we are influencing the children of today for they are our future.