What a year!

Hi all,

I'd like to start by apologising for my absence. This year has been so busy in terms of uni, family time and health issues, so I have been M.I.A for a long time.  However, I'm back!
Also, thank you SO MUCH to everyone checking in on this page. The amount of page views per day almost knocks me off my chair!

I say this time and time again, but life teaches us the most when we least expect it. It's not until something comes to an end, and you get a few moments to reflect, that you realise. This year I've learnt so much - good and bad - so here I go.

Making New Friends (and that's OK!)
I came to realise this last year when the friends I had made at uni started to mean more to me than those I thought I had a friendship with throughout my school years. I've learnt that you will always be meeting new people and your social circle will be growing constantly. It doesn't mean that old friendships were faux friendships! They still had a purpose, to lead you to where you are today. I've learnt that the friends I have now are ones that will stick with me, through good times and bad. They're in it for the long haul. They're genuine.

I've learnt that going to social events can only enhance your outlook on life, and that you should never decline an invite purely because of insecurities. At the end of the day, they invited you because they wanted to, not because they had to.


Taking Life for Granted (that's not OK!)
This year has proven to be one of the most challenging in terms of health for not only myself, but my closest, most beloved family members.  The Big C (Cancer) tried to knock us down but my Nonno fought back (and won!). It's not until something as life-changing as this happens, that the phrase "Live each day as if it's your last" really hits home. You can't just sit around and wait for things to happen because if you do that, they never will. So grab each minute of every day with both hands and don't let go. Fulfil your dreams, do something different every day! It doesn't have to be drastic, but do something.

Cancer doesn't care about you as a person. It doesn't care that you have family and friends who love you and never want to see anything bad happen to you. It doesn't care if you're a baby or an old man. It doesn't care if you're fit or not, if you're male or female, if you're rich or poor. But It still touches every single one of our lives, in ways we never wanted to imagine. In ways we never thought possible.
 So don't hold back and hope nothing bad happens to you. When it does, it could be too late. So go on, get outside. Soak up the beauty that surrounds you and make memories that will stick with you for the rest of your life.

That's it for today! Hopefully it won't be too long before my next post, but this will have to tie you over for now.

This quote seems appropriate and we all know I can't help but only post quotes by Melina Marchetta so here it is:
 “I'm beginning to realise that things don't turn out the way you want them to. And sometimes, when they don't they can turn out just a little bit better.” - Melina Marchetta, Looking For Alibrandi.

Tweet Me!

Hi All!
I figured given the messages I've had to reply to you may like the fact that I'm on
Twitter:  @lozc10 and also on Facebook:  typewritersandall   Which is much easier to communicate with you all and will be quicker turnarounds in responses (I don't check this very often! Mainly because every time I do I have to change my password because I've forgotten it!).

I look forward to the tweets and FB messages and thanks for the love  :)

-thegirlinpink xx

5 Seconds of Respect

Today I stopped traffic to give way to an elderly lady in a wheelchair, her elderly husband (a former war veteran) and their carer.  I didn't care that I caused a back up of traffic. They had been standing there for over a minute just waiting.

I did care, however, when I received an ignorant horn beep as I was giving way to these poor people.  It took 5 seconds off someone's travel time to do a good deed for the day. It took 5 secs to show respect for the elderly man and his wife with a disability. It took 5 seconds to be kind, and it took 5 secs to receive a 'wave of thanks' from the elderly lady to make me feel so great about today and tomorrow and the rest of my life.

Today everyone goes by living a fast and forced life. It's all go-go-go and no one knows how to slow down. It's hard to take a breather and regroup but it's always worth it.  

That's what today taught me - to be kind to one and receive gratefulness in return.

"Valentine-less-itis" -Haven't heard of it? That's because I just made it up.

"Valentine-less-itis": a sudden realisation that you're alone on Valentine's Day.

Don't worry, I suffered from it to (and as it turns out, it's not so bad after all!).

I don't know about you but I never thought much of this particular day until this year. It was of no importance to me - being independent and all. It wasn't until I woke up this morning that I truly felt lost. My friends were 'loved-up' and had plans and I had nothing but a pile of Uni notes staring at me as if to say "We both know what you'll be doing tonight.". So it was no surprise to my them (my friends, I mean - not the notes) when I rocked up to Uni all sad and depressed and feeling sorry for myself more than ever before.

But then something happened. 

I realised that even I can only take so much self pity. 

That there does come a point where you say enough is enough.

For me, it took my friend to look me in the face and say "It's just another ordinary day" and she was right. Today is Febuary 14th. 

So if you're single and don't want to mingle mid-week, put the icecream back in the freezer (I did), wipe the mascara tears off your pretty face (I didn't cry!), turn off your 'Songs For Lonely Valentines' playlist on Spotify and take a moment to reflect on what you have that others may not. 

Do a little self-evaluation of all the great things you have going for you! Do whatever makes you happy.

Whatever it is just remember - today was just another day and you got through it (as you will tomorrow... And the next day... And the day after that too!).

And who knows, this may be the last time you ever suffer from "Valentine-less-itis" and I wish you all the best!

thegirlinpink...

xx