Saturday 15 September 2012

We are powerful ...

I thought in this post I'd share with you all one of my favourite quotations, by Marianne Williamson...
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

I refer to this quotation when I talk about religion. On my blog, I do not advocate a specific religion, but what I will say is I think that it is very important. As the human of being, we are powerful .... and this terrifies us! Therefore we all need a belief in an unearthly source of power, perhaps an extraterrestrial force  that controls our decisions, and has some hand over what we do in our life. Its the way we are programmed! People like to say that they like to be in control, but really, when it comes down to it, we all like to have someone above us, who - we believe - will guide us and protect us. 
Ok so, that rant was not really the purpose of this post, however if you do disagree with me or want to talk/debate with me about the topic of religion feel free!

"It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us" ~ I interpret this to mean that we are quite obviously scared of the dark parts of life, however what scares us more are the clear and obvious "light" things in our lives. It shows us that we have the capacity to be beacons of light for one another, however this can be scary as we all possess the insecurities that would prevent us from fulfilling our capacity, but here we should take Shakespeare's advice: "be not afraid of greatness" and embrace your light and let it shine!

Again this line ties into what was previous said ... "Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people wont feel insecure around you.... 
We are all meant to shine"
I feel that this gives me the opportunity to let my light shine, on something I feel passionate about. I entitled this blog post "We are powerful" because we are! and we have the potential to enforce change.
If you have been reading my past blog posts, you will know that I am a strong advocate of women's rights and it is something I feel strongly about. 
"Because I am a girl"  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrCNKX0rFRg&feature=player_embedded

11th October 2012 is the first ever UN recognised day of the girl and it is Plan's chance to show the UN that girls MUST be a priority. But to get the UN to listen, they need your power! Support the cause!
This is a link that will bring you to a facebook page, where you can click to "raise your hand!"
http://www.facebook.com/becauseiamagirl.au?sk=app_318685631559881

And finally "As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others"

Love 
Vicky x


Raise your hand for education for girls

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Dear 16 year old me ...

Today, again on facebook, I came across this video.
It's entitled "Dear 16 year old me". Now the title of the video may be misleading, but this video targets a sensitive issue in a very emotional and heartfelt way.


Watch this... 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4jgUcxMezM
Its made by the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund.
 If you want more information on the fund check out the website   http://dcmf.ca/
"Melanoma is a young person's disease"

Watching this short video really brought a tear to my eye, something as simple as sunbathing - when you're young and careless - can impact you greatly later in life.
This video actually provoked me to go and book a doctor's appointment! If you're anything like me, you may have been sunburned many times in your childhood. I don't do it on purpose... I simply have the complexion of a ginger (no offence intended) despite my brunette hair!
The girls in India can vouch for me here, that every day I applied factor 50 to my skin, yet still I got some sunburn.

Melanoma is a rising concern in our healthcare, and it is blamed mostly on the sunbed craze and the desire to be tanned like our idols from California, however our skin here in the UK and especially Northern Ireland is not adapted for intense UV rays, as we mostly get rain!

So watch this video and really think about it! What would you tell your younger self? 
The one line I loved from this video is "Spend as much time with your friends and family as possible" 
If you do want more information, check out the link to the David Cornfield website, it have some information on David's story, looking for moles and the impact of melanoma. Oh and remember to share the video on facebook and twitter!

On a lighter note, a friend of mine told me looked pregnant today! How nice ...
Love
Vicky x

Sunday 9 September 2012

No Man is an Island

You may or may not know that tomorrow is tomorrow is Suicide awareness day, so I want to devote this post to the topic of suicide. 
Today, whilst mindlessly scrolling down through my facebook, past all the random nonsense and babble, I came across a post which one of my friends had shared, and now I want to share 
it ...

"Thinking of suicide ?
You’re sitting in your room ~ door locked ~ with a pen in your hand and a blank piece of paper in front of you. Your hand is shaking, and the tears begin again - for the third time in the past hour. ‘To my family’ you write at the top of the page, but decide it’s a bad way to begin your lett

er ~ your suicide letter. You try again, start over ~ again and again, but you don’t know where to begin. No one understands you; no one knows what you’re going through, you’re alone or at least that’s what you think. Nobody would care if you’re alive or not, you mean nothing to nobody.

It’s night, and you slip into bed. ’Goodbye’ you whisper into the darkness. And with that, you take your last breathe and end it all.

Nobody cares, right? Well you thought wrong. It’s a Tuesday the following morning, and when it’s 7:21, your mother comes and knocks on your door. She doesn’t know you can’t hear her, she doesn’t know you’re gone. She knocks a few more times, calling your name to open up. When there is no reply from your side of the door, she opens it and screams. She collapses on the ground while your dad rushes to your room. Your siblings have already left for school. Your very weak mother collects all the energy she’s got which is close to nothing to walk over to your bed. She leans over your dead body, crying, squeezing your hand, screaming. Your dad is trying to stay strong, but the tears escape his eyes; calling 911 with his left hand while his other one is on your mother’s back. Your mother blames herself. All those times she had said ‘no’ to you, all those times she had screamed at you, and sent you to your room over something stupid. Your father will blame himself for not being there for you when you asked for help, for being away from home at work for long. Nobody cares, right?

8:34. There’s a knock on your classroom door it’s the school principle. She looks more worried than ever. She calls the teacher to the side; all the students worried: what’s going on? The principle then later announces about your suicide. The popular girl that always called you fat and ugly is now blaming herself. The kid that would always copy your homework but treat you like crap ~ he’s blaming himself. The boy that sits behind you ~ the one that always threw things at you during class ~ he’s blaming himself too. The teacher is blaming herself - for all those times she’d scream at you for forgetting your homework, or not listening in class. People are crying, screaming, shocked, in regret of what they did. They’ll all be devastated - even the kids you’ve never talked to before. Still nobody cares about you, right?

Your siblings get home. Your mother has to tell them that you’re gone; forever. Your little sister ~ no matter how many times she’s screamed at you, told you she hated you and stole your stuff ~ always loved you, and saw you as her hero; her role model. She now starts to blame herself; why didn’t I do what she told me to do when she told me to? Why did I take her stuff even when she asked me not to? This is all my fault. Your brother gets home ~ the boy that never cries. He’s now in his room; mad at himself ~ he caused your death. All those times he’d played pranks on you. He’s punching holes in his wall, turning over things; he doesn’t know how to deal with the fact that you’re gone. Forever. Nobody cares about you, right? Right?

It has been over a month. The door to your room has been closed all this time. Everything is different now. Your brother has to be sent to anger management classes, your little sister cries everyday still waiting for you to come back. Everyday she waits for you to come back home. The popular girls have now turned anorexic. They don’t know how to deal with the pain that they’re feeling. Your father has depression; your mother hasn’t slept for nights it’s all her fault. She’s been crying and screaming every night wishing for you to come back. The boy who would always bother you dropped out of school. The boy that copied your homework now cuts. But nobody cares about you, aren’t I right?

Your mother finally decides to go clean out your room. But she can’t do it. She’s locked herself in your room for two days to try to clean up your clothes, your things. But she can’t she can’t say goodbye to you, not yet, not now. Never.

It’s your funeral. It’s a big one ~ everybody comes. No one knows what to say. The beautiful girl with the big smile is gone; you’re somewhere else. No one knows what to say, they’re all still shocked. Everyone cries, everyone misses you. They all wish you’d come back but you don’t, and you won’t.

Still think nobody cares about you? Think again. Even if people don’t show it, they care about you, they love you. If you kill yourself today or any other day you won’t know just how much you meant to people. If you kill yourself today, it stops your pain, but it pains all the ones who know you for the rest of their life. Suicide is the easy way out - but it’s the wrong choice. Life is beautiful. Yes, it does have its ups and downs everyone has their bad days. Sometimes people go through tough times in their lives like you’re probably going through now but bad times come and go. You might not see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s there. No matter how hard life gets, never give up on yourself, or on your life.

Take a minute now, and think. If you killed yourself ~ how would the people that love you feel/go through? Can’t think of anything? Well I’ll tell you: tears, tears, and more tears. Devastation. Guilt. Pain. Broken. Regret. Miserable.

If after reading this you still feel suicidal, there are people that can help you. I’m here for you whenever you need me, and I’ll be more than happy to listen to you and try to help you feel better. There are teachers, parents, grandparents, neighbors, adults, councilors ~ they’re all there for you whenever you need them.

I hope this changed someone's life. anyones. pass it on!♥"




Reading this brought a tear to my eye. I hope that no one reading this has been in the place where they have considered suicide, but if you have or even are please think about the consequences! You are loved by so many people, and even when the outlook on life is so bleak, and you are so down that you dont think you can go on, please just think of a happy time, a happy person ... think of all the people who love you! 
I chose the title of this blog to be the saying "No man is an island" because I think it is so relevant here! Human beings do not thrive when isolated from others ... so when you are feeling low, don't cut yourself off from friends and family, they are all there to support you, and hold you up ... Look to them as your own little support system... they are the safety mat catches you when you fall off the balance beam that is life. 
Everyone remember, tell each person you love them as much as possible and show them that you love them and are there for them, because even the strongest person can be insecure. And even the happiest people can feel down, because the funny thing about a smile is that it can hide so many emotions ... its easier to smile and say 'I'm fine' than to cry and explain whats going on.

So remember "No man is an Island", tell your loved ones how much they mean to you!
Everything is going to be ok!

Love 
Vicky x

Thursday 6 September 2012

Quick post...

Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days, being back to school has filled my schedule,  along with fitting in my afternoon naps... which are a necessity!

Anyway, due to lack of time this post is gonna be a short one ... But its something we should never forget ....

"Smile! Life's too short to be anything but happy!" 

Remember these words, and anytime you feel down, just think of all the good things in your life and the fact that there's always more good to come 

Love 
Vicky x

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Rules rule us?!

Today, the infamous day .... Back to school! 
Really its a day we love to hate, most say that they hate school, but the thrill of getting back into your "horrid" uniform, seeing everyone again and getting updated on the gossip of the summer is undeniable. Anyway, whether you agree with my previous statement or not is unimportant. This post is devoted to rules, and what better place to find rules?! In school!

This morning, as I sat in form class, listening to the school rules being rhymed off by our form teacher, as the rest of the class rolls their eyes at what they think to be stupidity, I had a thought... We love rules! 
Now, before you stop reading, and think I have gone insane, just think about it ... we love being told what to do, given direction. I have come up with 2 suggestions why we like this authority...

1. Its the human of being to love to complain! We all do it.. ask any of my friends and they will assure you that I'm a pro when it comes to complaining. However when it comes to an authoritive figure, we enjoy the fact that we can complain about them to each other, its a somewhat bonding exercise ... Have you ever noticed that it is easy to make friends with someone by having a mutual "hatred" of one person ... complaining about something like the rules they have forced upon you, or the decisions they have made for you.

2. We love being given direction ... face it, without rules and boundaries in our lives, we would be unstable. We wouldn't know how far we could push authority, and this "not knowing" terrifies us! We love to know where our limits and boundaries lie because the fear of the unknown in our lives has mentally degrading side effects. Take for example, if the school suddenly eradicated all rules on uniform ... at the start we would all be wary, not knowing whether we would get in trouble or not for breaking the "Non existent" rules. Then it would only take one 'rebellious' student to start loosing their top button or not wearing their tie, and then the whole school would spiral into a start of madness where people end up coming to school  wearing nothing .... Ok so it probably would not go to those extreme lengths. However after a while we would be bored with having no rules, and get agitated by the fact that we can do what we want as far as uniform is concerned. This is where the protests for rules to be reinforced may come (ok well not exactly protests) but people may start speaking out. Making me consider that we all have this 'rebellious'  streak inside us. We possibly may like rules because they are boundaries that are set in stone, and we enjoy pushing them... it adds a little excitement to our lives! 

So whether you agree with me or not, rules are a part of our lives and are more than likely here to stay! 
Therefore... have fun pushing the boundaries (Don't tell teachers I said that)
Love 
Vicky x

Sunday 2 September 2012

Lightening Up

I called this post "Lightening up" because I got some feedback from dear friends that some of my posts were too heavy... so here is a random light post about my recent family holiday to Scotland!

So last week I was on holidays, and we were in this cute seaside village, it was just absolutely adorable!  We visited a shop, right beside the harbour, and all the little trinkets it sold were themed around the seaside. I bought this little postcard, and I framed it today and now it sits proudly on my desk. On the postcard it says "the world is your oyster", which is absolutely true! I decided to buy it to always remind me of this motto especially when I am having a rough day.
My lovely framed postcard sitting proudly on  my desk 
After our shopping excursion, we decided to go to the seafood restaurant that overlooked the harbor for dinner. The meal was delicious! All the seafood was freshly caught, and it was food that really made you smile! And feel healthy!My sister and I both love crab so we decided to order a starter of crab. however we didn't actually look at how it was cooked, or even read anything about it, so when it arrived we were shocked to discover that it was soft shell crab! Slightly off putting when you can eat the whole crab, shell and everything! 
Our deep fried crab!
Another one of the days we decided to embrace the Scottish way of life and attended the Highland games! This was definitely an experience! I was comparing it to the olympics, but it was more of a combination of school sports day and the 12th of July. Overall I really enjoyed myself, however I have still not warmed to men in kilts, or as my little cousin calls them "Man Skirts"
Caber throwing at the Highland games
We also visited the place where Bram Stokers Dracula was set and had fun running through the castle, pretending we were in the actual movie!

Love Family Holidays!
Well tonight marks the end of my summer as I return to school tomorrow, and I have to say ... Its been a good one! 
Hope you have all had a great summer too 
Love 
Vicky x 

Saturday 1 September 2012

The importance of .... emoticons?!

Random observation alert!! Consider the use of emoticons in our society...
Those little faces we send to lighten the mood of a text, convey ultimate sadness or anger ... those semi colons with the bracket ( ;) ) that signifies a flirty tone to the message or the colon and the p ( :P) that puts across a joking nature to the message. It has become  ingrained in our minds that these are the persons reactions, and the absence of them would really disturb us! How strange!


Think about when you are sending a text, I'm sure that you have thought to yourself "I'll put a tongue face in so he knows I'm joking" or "I'll use a smiley face here to lighten the mood". 
Now consider when it is the other way round, and you get a text/tweet/facebook message that has no smiley face ... You would instinctively ask the person "What's wrong". Or say someone actually used correct punctuation and put a full stop at the end of their message, we would automatically assume that the person is peeved at us "I'm fine." for example. 
These are things we all do instinctively, but actually, when sitting back and considering what we are doing - it all seems very strange and abstract! ... but again I would like to emphasize that this is the Human of Being ... we are a weird, wonderful yet terribly complex race and I think we really don't even know it!
Just a random thought, but something that now you think about, you may become as baffled by it as I! 

Anyway, on a slightly less analytic note, this is a brilliant video about texting called "Textually active", and although it doesn't completely relate to this post, I thought I would share it as you can probably relate it to yourself" Its by a guy called Adande Swoozie and he is got some amazing and hilarious videos on his youtube channel!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6s3d2wdXVg&feature=g-wl
And you can follow him on twitter, guaranteed to light up your twitter newsfeed!

@sWooZ1e


Love 
Vicky ;) x