Aloha Bloggers and Blog readers!
Today I thought I'd write a reflective post about all the things that I learnt in 2014. I think that for me 2014 was the year in which I grew the most (not in height, I'm still tiny), and I am really grateful for all the lessons that life taught me last year. Some of these are slightly more silly to lighten the mood, but they are all important!
1. 9/10 times you think people are staring at you and judging, they're not.
It's taken a long, anxiety ridden year for me to finally come to this conclusion. I was so focused on what other people thought of me that I forgot to care about how I saw myself, and at some point during the last year everything just sort of clicked into place. When you look at someone as they walk in the room, do you judge them? No (well, most of us don't). And if you wouldn't judge, then why do you assume that everyone else would?
2. Bleach is not always the best idea for your hair.
My hair is brunette, and dip dying the ends of my hair with bleach multiple times to get a blonde 'ombre' effect seriously ruined it. My hair became dry and damaged, easily breaking off and resulting in having to get around six inches of my hair cut off, which was terribly upsetting, as I loved having long hair. I didn't use much heat on it during the time I had the bleach, and I tried many hair masks and oils to whip my hair up into some kind of refreshed state. The bottom line is, bleach takes the colour out of your hair, along with the hydration and shine that people with unbleached hair take for granted so often.
3. Eat the pizza. Just do it.
As teenagers, and children, and adults, we sit at home reading magazines with beautiful people on the covers, and watching stick thin role models on our televisions. I could tell you about photoshop, but by now we all know about that, and it doesn't seem to be making any difference to how we view ourselves after we see these stunning (and unrealistic) body figures plastered all over the media. But the thing is, in the 1950s it was seen as better to be curvy, and now, its seen as better to be skinny. Long story short? It doesn't matter. Eat whatever you want (within reason, as health is obviously important) because life doesn't last forever, and we spend too much time as a society worrying about the next new diet pill, instead of worrying about things that matter, like not getting to try all the limited edition kit kat chunkies before they stop being sold.
4. The one time you venture outside in crocs, someone will see you.
I don't really have an explanation for this, its just a life lesson I learned through an embarrassing experience in which I wandered outside in Minnie Mouse pyjamas and bright green crocs, and then made eye contact with an attractive human.
5. You don't have to be six years old to wear ribbons in your hair.
I will readily admit this - I have a bit of an obsession with ribbons and hair bows. There's just something about them that draws me in, and I can't help myself from adding a ribbon to an outfit to spruce it up a bit. I used to think that made me childish in a negative way, but I'm now realising that taking a little bit of your childhood with you isn't necessarily a bad thing.
6. Don't let fear hold you back.
This one's ominous, I'll give you that, and somewhat vague. It's just a lesson that I've learnt in the last few months, as more and more often I'm doing things that I'm afraid of, and they're turning out to not be so bad after all. The other day, I gave a class presentation, something I would have avoided in the past. And you know what? It wasn't even that bad. A couple of months ago I went on a date, which you may think is a bit too personal for me to share, but I can't tell you how scared I was of that - and the point is, I actually enjoyed myself! Be fearless once in a while, the results are amazing.
7. Barbecue sauce is seriously underrated.
Up until 2014, I hadn't even tried barbecue sauce. Now, its changed my life. I eat it with EVERYTHING, including a cheese sandwich and as a dip for my doritos. There's just something about it that I cant seem to get enough of, and if you've been deprived of barbecue sauce up until this moment? Go try it. (and then come back here and tell me how it was!)
8. Being vulnerable doesn't necessarily make you a weak person.
I'm an over thinker, which is probably why I started this blog in the first place, to put my jumble of thoughts down onto a page. As an over thinker, I constantly worry about my actions, and what they reflect about me as a person. I had this big thing, where I couldn't get it out of my head that if I for one second became vulnerable, or wore my heart on my sleeve, then I would automatically become an easy target, a weakling. And I know I'm not the only one out there who thinks this, as I've seen approximately 10000 posts on Tumblr that essentially express the exact same worry. In the last couple of years I've become quite a guarded person, for fear of getting let down and getting hurt when I open up. It's only recently, when I've started to open up a bit more, that I'm seeing the benefits of making yourself vulnerable. Ever hear the saying "you get back what you give out?" Yeah, me too. Try opening up to someone, or letting your heart guide the way for once, instead of being a cynical old bean. It may surprise you how people react, and how your relationships may develop further than you thought they could.
9. School work won't do itself.
I learnt this one the hard way, after a few weeks of slacking off from college work. I hate to disappoint people, and I hate to disappoint myself, so getting a couple of below par results was all I needed to get myself into gear, thankfully. We are so lucky to get an education, and even though its important to not allow it to rule your life, its also important to secure a good future and give it your best shot (just read this back and realised I sounded like a patronising teacher - don't get me wrong, there are still a lot of days when I get home from school and sit in front of the TV all night!)
10. An organised bookshelf is the route to a happy existence.
My books, are quite simply, my pride and joy. Each time I reorganise my bookshelf (every few weeks) I instantly get a shot of happiness that not much else can give to me. I know this sounds weird, but the next time you feel down, reorganise some stuff in your room. I promise, it helps to feel in control of at least a tiny part of your life.
11. Eyeliner in the morning will make you miss the train.
I've pretty much given up on wearing eye make up for college. Every time I dare to wear it, I am two seconds late for the train and end up having to wait ten minutes in the rain for the next one. This lesson isn't really very inspirational or useful and for that I apologise, but its still a lesson I learnt, so I had to put it in!
12. Going make up free sometimes can actually feel good.
I know I know, I fall into the category of the hypocrites. How can I write a blog about beauty and then tell people its okay not to use beauty products? Because beauty should be a choice and not a necessity, that's why. I love make up, I love feeling dressed up and I like to experiment with lipstick. That doesn't mean I think people don't look beautiful without it, because I don't think that AT ALL. Beauty comes with confidence and spirit, not what you wear on your face. I sometimes struggle with this myself, on days when my skin is being annoying and all I want to do is hide under my duvet and cover myself with foundation. Lately though, I've been leaving the make up behind more often, just to experiment. And maybe its my newfound security, but its not that bad after all. The way I see it, if my friends and family are prepared to ditch me after seeing a few spots, then do I really need them at all?
13. It's okay not to feel okay.
Cheesy Jessie J lyric right here. It's completely true though, some days are just bad. You don't know why, and everything seems to be going alright, but you just don't feel good in yourself. The good news is, it wont last forever. Take a day off and watch some movies, drink hot chocolate, and tell the people you love that you need a good hug. But prepare yourself to get back up and dust yourself off. (If you don't feel better after a few days, tell someone how you feel. A problem shared is a problem halved! You could always come to my blog and talk to me, I would try to help in any way that I can!)
14. YOU should be your main priority.
And finally, the last lesson I learnt is entirely selfish. Basically, never let yourself get swept away whilst caring for others. Your heart is important, your mental health is important, your feelings are important. You are just as special as everyone else, never EVER forget that.
I hope some of these will help you like they helped me in 2014! What did you learn in the past year?
Stay Beautiful!
Emily xoxo
