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.