Hello 2018

Bonjour 2018!

It’s that time of the year again, where we welcome in fresh starts and new beginnings. 2018 is officially underway and I hope you are all as excited about it as I am.

First of all, I want to apologise for my year long hiatus (no surprise there really), as it literally has been one year since I last posted with “Hello 2017”.

There’s just something so exciting about the New Year and it’s about time I make some positive changes in my life – for real this time.

December was a heck of a month, with a lot going on, but there were also times when I would just sit and do nothing all day infront of the television. I went home around mid-December and we spent our time attending family parties, dinners, a few meet ups and of course, watching a lot of movies with my family. Christmas and New Year’s time is time to be spent with family and since I don’t see my parents often throughout the year, I really value the time I spend with them.

For NYE, we had our annual celebration involving eating a large amount of delicious home-cooked food and celebrating until the strike of midnight. This year we had families over and it was a lovely night. The desserts table was filled with a variety of sweets, including cakes my Father made. The food my Father also cooked were divine and we all kept returning for seconds and thirds.

For the ‘younger’ people in the house (aka not the parents), we played games and had a mini dance party – it was rather fun indeed. Despite the age differences, playing games always brings people together and that’s why I love playing them. I even whipped out the good ol’ ‘Game of Life’ board game that we briefly played before welcoming in the New Year, but the highlight was probably the ‘Heads Up’ game that got me crackin’ with laughter. New Year’s day was spent relaxing together as a family and watching movies and having snacks.

I feel truly blessed to have been able to spend Christmas and New Year’s time with family and friends. As I sit on the train whilst typing away on my laptop, I think about how 2017 was a year full of experiences that I will for sure remember in my olden years. I can’t wait to see what great things 2018 will bring. Let’s all have a great year!

Hello 2017

Bonjour 2017!

One week into 2017 and despite not the most perfect starts to the new Year, I am still feeling rather positive. I hope everyone had a Happy New Year!

Last year went by so quick and I can still remember writing my 2016 New Year post. Now that it's 2017 it feels like a fresh start. People say that you can start any time and not just the New Year. I get it and I do agree with that statement, however, sometimes you just need a little kick to get things going and the beginning of the year is a good opportunity to. Reflecting back on 2016, it was a great year. I did my exams and made it into the next year of university. My family and I went to Brussels and I have spent some really fun times with great people. I have experienced a number of things, from winning first place in a category with my crew at a dance competition to the simple moments that I describe like when everything is in slow motion and you look around you and feel very blessed.

2017 is underway and I'm looking forward to the great things to come this year. I'm determined to work harder in the things I do and appreciate the blessings I have.

For NYE, my family and I celebrated the New Year with a table spread as tradition. I actually set up the simple spread myself. My Father cooked up pancit and delicious pork belly, as well as a large jamón serrano that resulted me in standing next to it a lot during the night and the following day. It might not seem like a lot, but I was very full after helping myself to a few portions! Of course, as with every NYE celebration, we had our 12 fruits placed centrally on the table and our 12 hard boiled eggs tradition.

We ate good food and waited for the New Year countdown.
Cheers to a fantastic year ahead~

Hello 2016

Well Hello there 2016!

I apologize that this is (just) over a week due, but I had things going on as well as my usual laziness. It is also the end of the first 'official' week of year 2016, so I suppose it is quite fitting.

Looking back at 2015, as typical as it sounds, it was filled with moments that I loved and also filled with times that I hated. Things were not always easy for me last year, but I was also blessed with beautiful memories and more chances. I reflect and think how interesting life can be. You really can't expect what will happen. I now take those 'negatives', put them in the the past and using them to shape a positive future for myself. With that element aside, 2015 was actually also one of my funnest years! I absolutely loved the fun times. Those moments when you feel like you're in a movie scene and everything is in slow motion and you just look around, look at the people around you and think how great life is. It makes me smile. From dancing in the dark with just lights illuminating our faces, to the sun shining and the wind blowing like crazy whilst being on the back of a pick-up truck, and laughing until our stomach ached and ended up almost choking on our food.

Yes, indeed, I am one of those people who set resolutions for themselves, but I don't see anything completely wrong with them. It's true that you don't stick to all of them, but you get something out of trying and some actually work, right? One on my list is to be more positive. I realized that I used to be a much more positive person, but I've become someone full of complaints and someone who looks at the negative side. That's not me - I know it's not. Complaints aside, I want to try and focus at the positive things in life. I want to see more of the 'happiness'. Another one is to balance my time better and know my priorities. It's going to be hard, but I know I can do it. I've set myself projects and tasks that I want to achieve this year and I'll do my best.

I look forward to 2016 as being an awesome year. I'm going to work even harder on a number of things and I know it will be worth it. I'm excited! More memories, more achievements, more happiness.

Gros bisous,

Nich

So for our New Year's celebration, we kept with our usual of celebrating at home with family and invited friends. NYE was more chilled and it was quite pleasant like that. I could actually focus on the food and ate (sort of) comfortable for once. 

Food, check. Family and friends, check. 12 fruits set out, check. Then we waited for the countdown.

"White rabbit!" Of course, on the strike of midnight, we jumped up and down (some will know what I'm on about), shouted "Happy New Year" like crazy, and had our boiled egg each.

Blessed that I spent my time with my family again. 

So once again, here's to a great 2016!

Don't Give Up

I repeat. Do NOT give up on yourself.

It’s been said so many times, but do we really even think about it?

Some? Perhaps. Often? Probably not. Yes, probably not as much, especially when we go through many things that sometimes you don’t feel like you’re worth it anymore. It’s about confidence, self-esteem and believing in yourself.

If you’re feeling a little bit of a ‘failure’ right now, don’t be because as a matter of fact, it’s those who choose to accept their failures as a thing of the past and use it to motivate them to turn things around, that become happier and build self-confidence. They are the ones who learn and do. A lot of things aren’t achieved easily and if you don’t have the confidence in yourself that you can do it, then that negative attitude only brings you down further. You can do this. Put in the effort, time and believe you can. Don’t give up on yourself.

If you’re feeling a bit unloved, then don’t be. Just because you may not be feeling the love by the people around you, it could mean that they are not the friends for you OR it’s you that hasn’t opened their eyes to see how others appreciate you. Reflect on the situation carefully. Stop blocking the people around you. Don’t be feeling down because you feel lonely in this world, because you know what? There are many other people that appreciate you, and those who will appreciate you. If you’re feeling like no one has ever expressed affection towards you, then don’t be disheartened, as someone will come in your life that will make you happy. Just remember, don’t give up on yourself.

These ‘challenges’ that we face are only obstacles in the road to a happier you.

Everything happens for a Reason

Sometimes, we ask ourselves WHY?

Be a Better YOU

I am sure quite a few of you have asked yourselves why everything seems to be going wrong in your life at some point. Yes we get the occasional slip-ups, the knock-downs, the mistakes - whatever you call them. However, for some people, they have experienced the time when problems were like a "Domino effect". When you felt like you were broken into pieces and you felt your world crumble. 

To those who have not experienced such things, it may seem like an exaggeration and I know there are different levels of what I'm talking about, but for someone in such a situation, it really is a difficult time. But do you remember getting back up? Do you remember bringing yourself out of that situation? Truth is that it hurts like crazy, but when you escape from your tunnel, one feels elated. Then one asks, why did it have to happen to me? Well the thing is, them experiences are what builds you. They are what makes up your character. Yes it is true that during certain situations, you find that you have a weak character and it may have fallen apart, but the steps after this period of time is to LEARN from that experience. Hence why I call this a time of character-building. You may ask what character actually is and I don't even know a correct response to that myself, but I suppose it's what make you, you. Think on the lines of your personality, your charisma, humour, the way you tackle problems and obstacles or perhaps how you encourage others as well as keeping yourself motivated. Everything happens for a reason, so the reason may be to learn more about yourself and work on self-improvement. Not what your friends, parents or society thinks you should be, but only you because that way, you can really connect to yourself. I know this all sounds 'malarkey', but just think about it. There must have been a reason as to why you went through those times and as I have already mentioned: to learn from them and 'fix' something for the future. It may have been your attitude, your lack of responsibility, or perhaps your work ethic that needed fixing. It's all about making changes and amendments, like as if there is a warning sign on your path, telling you to stop your ways regarding certain things.

"learn from that experience"

There may even be some of you going through difficult times right now. Each situation is personal, whether it be relationships or even studies, we sometimes just hit that stage, you know? Don't worry. Don't panic. I'm not going to lie that you're Ok, because the truth is that you aren't - you're going through the obstacles. It's tough. What I do say is that once you realise yourself what is happening to you, then you can start working on what to do next. When one is in such situations, you feel as if no one understands you, they aren't feeling what you're feeling right now and that words won't do anything, but actually support is very important. People don't want to see you suffer or be depressed, they want you to be happy again. They want to see you smile and spend time with you to carry on living life. As I mentioned before, the reason for difficult times can vary, but taking the two examples I stated earlier on, there are certain points to note. 

In terms of relationships, it depends on what kind of situation you're involved in. Problems regarding your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever, you should think: what will make you happy? I know not everything is solved as simple as some people may say, but you should think about yourself. Families may be involved, so you may need to think about them. So when you ask yourself about your happiness, will making just yourself content actually make you happy or does others' happiness affect you too? In some situations, there may be a need of letting go, whereas in other situations it's about working together to work on the problem. The reason you and your other person may be going through some hardship, may be because you both need to work on something. TALK to each other and let each other know what's wrong. Sometimes there may be a need of self-reflecting. 

"what will make you happy?"

In terms of studies for students, hardships you're going through may be about getting low grades. Well then, you should think about what you're doing wrong and how you could change things. It's difficult when you think you're putting in so much effort, yet you don't get the results you expect - even more when you thought you gave it your all. Then there's the other aspect of things, when you're not getting good grades that are personal to you, because you didn't even try - what did you expect? But for those who really are putting in effort, you need to self-reflect. What am I doing wrong? Remember, studies are not all plain-sailing for a lot of people, so don't compare yourself to others who aren't going through what you're going through right now. Success isn't just achieved in an instant, it's worked upon. The reason for you going through this time may be to really drill you into something even greater. Someone with better work ethic or more motivation. Think about how gold is made. It needs to be sorted, smashed, and heated just to be refined. The process is a lot, but in the end it's worth it, thus refine yourself.
Reflect, study and work even harder to reach your Dreams. 

"...refine yourself"

Is it right thing?

This may involve being in a certain place, due to a made decision or uncontrollable circumstances. You ask yourself, am I really supposed to be here? A big example of this would be for those who study abroad or away, or perhaps even at home. You ask yourself whether you made a good decision because at the moment, you're not really feeling things right now. Every decision we make comes a consequence, they may be bad or they may be good. But how are we really supposed to know if we made the right choice? Yes, it does involve how you feel, but in another perspective we don't quite fully know if we have or not, until time goes by. I personally believe God knows our future. 

" "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"

Jeremiah 29:11 

The people you meet, the places you see, everything happens for a reason. Maybe the reason you're where you are, is to meet these certain people? You may build new friendships or even meet your future boyfriend/girlfriend. Sometimes being in a certain place, can make you realise who you actually want be be around with and who you don't. Going away may be to have different experiences that you'll remember for the rest of your life. However, sometimes the situation might be a little bit different, as it may be that you are not where you're supposed to be. Situations will crop up and will make you think, thus you realise that there was a reason for those situations.

So just take things step-by-step and don't over-think every situation. We don't know what great things our future has for us, we don't know where we'll be and who we'll be with, but we've just got to trust God and appreciate the present.

Have a blessed day everyone.

Beautiful Day, Beautiful BBQ

Here where I am, the weather is pretty unpredictable. In one day we can get sunshine, then rain and there has been times when there's even been hail stone. I know right? Weird...BUT, we have had some good weather actually! Yay.

What do you do when you have good weather? Have a barbecue of course! We had a small BBQ at our back garden which was also a small celebration thing. We invited a small number of people, because sometimes you just feel like having small number of guests as a more chilled kinda thing. It was a sunny day and we were continuing with prep that began the night before. From the beginning of the day, I started 'Snapchatting' random pictures and videos. Good tunes were playing LOUD on the speakers and all that jazz. Ya'know, you just need them cool summer jams to feel them summer vibes. Different types really, some loud, upbeat and makes you dance, whereas some of chilled. If y'all are interested in some summer tunes I like to play, I may write a post on them (obviously, I'll probably separate KPop)

The BBQ tasted awesome! This time we opted out for pork and kept with chicken and fish. My Father made some desserts, as well as the must-have Halo Halo, which I helped prepped the ice for. Boy, let me tell y'all, it's not that easy of a job, it actually requires patience when you don't have an automated machine. 

There was also salad, but salad isn't really my thing. It looked pretty and all, however, I don't really eat salad, HaHa.

I LOVE days like these, just sitting and eating (says much about me and my love for food, HaHa), however, I really don't like the tidying up afterwards. Such a pain. 

So there's one Summer To-Do's done! I'd like more BBQs but ya, there's one done on the list. ;)

Dream

To Dream is to be alive.

Yes the present is important and it is something that we all need to focus on, but having a dream does not just mean thinking and pondering about the future. No, having a dream means having aspirations, goals, something we work hard towards therefore dreams are in a way 'healthy' because we use that inspiration to bring us through our present. 

For those who are also working towards something in their life.

I know I haven't been posting in here for a long time. I wanted to post regularly, but 'life' during these past months have had me occupied physically and mentally. Actually,  I have drafts that I wrote months ago, but just haven't really finished them off and part of me can't be bothered, but then I don't want to post something uncompleted...I'll have to see. I will be pretty busy for the next two months, but then afterwards, I'll be ready to post the ideas I've had in mind for a while plus anything else that may come up.

Dream-a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.

"I fulfilled a childhood dream when I became champion"

synonyms: ambition, aspiration, hope

To have that ambition is important. If someone had no dream, then what would be the point of doing work and going through education, jobs, etc. when you don't think anything will happen afterwards? Thus with dreams, we can use that to fuel ourselves when rough times emotionally drain us. I'm pretty sure a lot of you have experienced that. Times when you've felt like your efforts are not making any progress, moments when you've felt utterly useless and sometimes situations where people have lost their faith in you. It's difficult, yes. Extremely difficult when others doubt you and your abilities. As with my previous post regarding Success, it's a similar thing, as it is about pushing through the hard times because you know it will be worth it. Having that drive is what makes achievements taste sweeter. People may push you away, bring you down, laugh at your dream, but as long as you know and realise the effort you need to put in and the sacrifices you may need to make, it doesn't matter what they think. Of course, one needs to think realistically because dreaming about becoming an astronaut when you don't bother to study and spend most of your time relaxing and chilling with friends, will obviously most likely not work out. But if you know yourself what you are capable of and open to learn, then that dear people is what we call "no impossibilities". I could go on longer and perhaps not make sense to a lot of you on my thoughts, but I think I should leave it here. The video is beautifully pieced together: the images and the music helps create atmosphere too. ;)

I shared the above video about two months ago on a social networking site. Note, this video is not made by me. No copyright infringement intended. All for the purpose of sharing the wonderful message it gives. I was looking at past videos that helped pumped me up when I was younger and I came across this one. I had already seen it beforehand, ages ago, but watching it again, just made me...just made me think again, you know? Sometimes, we need them little boosts and lift-me-ups that help us get through situations. This video for me is rather intense, because it really strikes a cord and resonates with my life. I am sharing this video because I think that others may hopefully also appreciate it and use to put one's self back to the 'A-game'. A lot of students of a wide age range, will be doing exams this month and the next few months, and so basically this is a reminder of our dreams. A reminder of the reason behind the hard work we have been and will be putting in!

Hello 2014

Hello everyone...Although I'm not sure how many or if any reads my posts at the moment, but hey-ho.
Bienvenue 2014! 
I know that this post is perhaps a little delayed by more than a week, but I didn't have the time to start making this properly.

Christmas 2013 for me was fantastic, I spent Christmas Eve having fun with my family and friends. Christmas Day with my family after going to Church, then having our Christmas dinner/'lunch'.

The traditional Christmas Turkey.

NYE Celebration Cake.

Simple yet delicious.
For New Year, we have a tradition whereby we host a small celebration, you know, with food and stuff. ^ ^

 It's also tradition to have 12 fruits feng shui on New Year's. Something for good luck. =) 

 One of our guests brought tacos. 

 Vegetarian?

Gotta have some Ice Tea. ;)

We wrote our wishes on a lantern and when it was the New Year, we set it off. However, it took a while for the lantern to get going. =') It just wouldn't light, then the lantern wouldn't fill (with CO2, if I may add *feeling sciencey*) which we realised that there were like two small wholes and a massive big one. -_- Eventually we managed to get it going-phew!
The light thing freakin' fell on the ground. =/

(Apologies for the really blurry photo.)

Then of course as what everyone else does, we turned on the television for the New Year's Countdown. 

As per usual for NYE celebrations, I didn't even sleep until very late-or should I say, early?

My previous post on success and looking towards improving yourself for the better was I guess fitting for something to reflect on, ready for 2014. If you haven't checked it out yet, check it out: 'Just Keep Swimming.'
(I got tired of watermarking all the photos -_-)

Outfit for the night. 

I've had so many things go wrong for me in 2013, as well as so many fun and absolutely awesomely-blessed moments. Thinking on the things I did wrong...Man, I need to change. My actions will have a lot more of effects this year. I'm sure some of you can relate.
We're ready for good changes. Let's do this thang. > <

Let's all have a great 2014!

Just keep swimming

“Success is the sum of small efforts day in and day out”  

–Robert Collier

For students or anyone who is going through similar things.

 We all know that if we don't put in hard work and effort, we don't succeed or at least do better than we hoped for.

(credit: lavishlotus.com)

Many students, young or mature, face plentiful of 'setbacks'. Those that make us feel horrible (I had the urge to say crap, oh, I just said it), as if we're not good enough, or we're not as good as we thought we were. You see other students putting less effort than you, yet why is it that we're not getting results? Or even, why is it I can't work properly? C'mon, I'm pretty sure some of you-wait, I mean a lot of you must've felt like that or that thought like that before. You cry or get depressed over your 'failures' *shivers at the word* and then set targets and goals to 'fix' things in your life, and then basically falling back to square one again...That sucks. I've spoken people who felt as if their future was over and thought that there was no point in trying anymore because they will just fail *shivers* again. It makes me sad when I think about it. Yes it's true that their work ethic probably wasn't great, but the fact that they're giving up on themselves just makes me sad. Ok, I probably just ruined the sentimental feeling in that sentence, but I couldn't think of a different word other than sad. Think of it as like a circle that you're stuck in. We all need to GET OUT. Break from your constant returning to nothing.

"Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was"  

-Richard L. Evans

So what should you do?

Face the reality. You need to face the fact that you've probably messed up, perhaps a little bit or big time. Nothing in life is easy, but then we gotta keep going no matter what. *imagines Dory singing "just keep swimming, swimming..."* You haven't put in the effort or haven't put in enough effort to obtain results that pleases YOU. Remember, it's not about what people think you should do, it's about what YOU want to do and then beyond. The beyond part is pretty important. I'd say it is about improving one's self, looking for ways to not reach perfection but to catch excellence. So with that in mind, you gotta pay for your past. Things come with a consequence! One does not do badly in a test and then expect to just work the same or less and expect to get higher results the next time-NO! Reflect on your wrongs guys...Once you've realised your faults, it's time to move on.

(Credit: blogs.disney.com)

Moving on. The thing most people are scared of is failure. You may have already noticed that I don't like that word...It's just so negative! There's no point in being pessimistic, although I admit that I've thought about the negatives before, because by doing so you'll just attract the negative things. I know it sounds like a whole load of 'baloney' (I don't even know or care how to spell it), but think about it first. If you think positive then your outlook in life will be positive and bright. You'll tackle new things and challenges with a clearer mind because you're thinking "Hey, I can do this!". However, if you think negative all the time, your thinking will only be clouded with doubts, anxiety and fear. We don't want that do we?

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty"  

-Winston Churchill

Sometimes it is difficult to think positive all the time since in certain situations, the things that we can 'see' the most are the problems and worries. I can't remember the name from the top of my head, but I remember someone telling me about a book which describes a similar thing to what I've just mentioned. Oh! I remember now: The Book of Secrets. I think? HaHa. Ok, back to where I was...Ah, oui. The thing preventing people from moving on from their 'past' is being scared of falling back again. I don't think I need to repeat what many people say about that "it's not about the amount of falls you have, but the amount of times you get back up". I agree with that, but you can't keep 'falling' back down and then expecting to get back up. It's the circle thing all over again. What we all need to think about is that this time, when you get up, you're geared to keep going and expect to achieve things this time.

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one"   

-Elbert Hubbard

Set things straight. Now it's about time to finally start getting a move on. It sounds rather 'cheesey'...but whatever. Make a list of your targets. I know this may not suit to everyone's taste, but for those wanting to give it a go, try it. =) Get a piece of paper or a notebook and list down things that you want to change. Like New Year's resolutions, they can be like: "Going to sleep at an earlier time"; "Make sure I don't get distracted online": "Stop procrastinating" *ew, that word*; "Study more"; and so on. Now keep that list safe because that will be something that you should check once in a while to see if you're following it well. YES, I know many people's 'resolutions' don't go to plan-like all the time. I thought this time would be different, eh? So ya, make them do-able. =') To motivate yourself, keep a diary or an academic diary and write in a few quotes by others or even anything that helps you keep going.

Action. Words words words...They're nothing, in this situation, until you do something about it. Actually follow your action plan. We want results from the exams! This all sounds a bit military, but if you're aiming for a profession such as a Doctor, Dentist, Barrister, etc. I'm sure you already know that hard work lies ahead of you and so you need not put in 100% effort but double that! Je ne me donnerais pas à 100%, mais plus encore. > < Keep yourself up to date with things and remember, trust in God!


I hope this post will somewhat encourage at least some of you.
If any of y'all decide that "I need change!", let me know. ;)