New Year, New Me?.....Doesn't everyone say that??

I should start off by saying that i truly do appreciate my life as it stands, I took 2014 with the highs and the lows and have come out the other side happier than i have been in a long time and I can credit this to some of the most amazing people i have in my life, friends and family that I wouldn't trade for the world!! I started this blog as a challenge to myself this time last year and while unfortunately I didn't get to complete my 100 tasks (I did 54), I still made some amazing friends and had some great adventures along the way!! And for that alone I am truly grateful... so looking forward I think a new list may be in order?? Something not as ambitious as i'm in my final term of college...EVER, but something to spur me on? I've been lucky enough to have both loved and made some amazing new friends throughout this year and because of my own personal goals I experienced things I would have otherwise never pushed myself to do! I have grown independent - yet I know when to ask for help, I have learned to enjoy everyday occurrences because who am I to say when they wont occur again?

I have one term left in college until I become a fully fledged adult...scary yet exciting! The world as it stands in 2015 is my oyster and its up to me how I spend each day and whether or not i use my full potential! I have faith in my ability....I can do this!! 

SLÁINTE,

XXXXXX

Blast from the past!

Today I had the incredible pleasure of meeting up with an old friend and ex boyfriend! A man who came into my life 10 years ago and who, although we had our ups and downs, taught me more about myself than he will ever realise! Which got me thinking....we move through our lives on a daily basis and never realise as individuals just how much we change. Maybe it takes an outsider to make us open up, or to hold a mirror up so we can see ourselves through objective eyes! Its a strange feeling being classed as an adult, and i've written that before, but i think when you can look back on all you've been through and be able to smile about how it made you tougher and molded who you are as a person then I guess you're winning at life.  

I'm not saying I have no regrets, because everyone does, but I am saying that I wouldn't change a thing. Ever single action of mine and decision I made, brought me to where I am today and led to meet new people and experience wonderful things that may otherwise never have happened. I feel extremely lucky to be able to share my thoughts and experiences with other people and to know and feel that I am truly loved by people in my life - something that should never be taken for granted! 

In the run up to Christmas, although i'm not a religious person, I do feel that we should go that extra mile for loved ones in our lives. I don't mean expensive gifts or over the top displays of affection, but little things to make a difference in peoples lives and let them know they're loved. Unfortunately we are not infinite and our days are as always numbered, so make every day count! Spend it with loved ones and travel the world, fall in love - many many times, and then do it all over again! Its almost teh end of another chapter....make the next one jam packed!

Peace Out
xxxxxxx

Happy Birthday To Me...and my mid twenties crisis....

There's something quite sad about birthdays...am i right? The expectation, the excitement, the aging....The now being a quarter of a century old! That being said I think i'm having my mid - twenties crisis - Trust me my friends sister assured me that this is a real thing!! Its where i'm trapped in the stage where my friends are all either settling down or getting hammered....and i'm bang in the middle - too alone to be settled and too poor to be hammered! Feeling more mature than the drunks but left behind by the married....so one begins to think what do I do for me?

The Serious Bit:

I am one of those people who loves with a whole heart - something not always appreciated by the opposite sex but nonetheless, it seems that currently i'm faced with a big decision in my life....look ahead and plan a future i've always wanted but that only considers myself or look around me and appreciate what I have knowing that I can work my butt off and get what I want in one way or another?? I'm conflicted....Not many people know what an utterly shite year I had last year and how much i struggled to regain my happiness following that, though I have made reference to that before, but i can honestly say from turning 24 - 25 it has been a good year....naturally i've shed some tears and well c'est la vie but i've also made some great friends had some great experiences and laughed so much along the way. Its hard not to be sad about certain things that happen in life but i'm trying to be strong enough to use that as fuel to succeed or sometimes even simply get through the day!

Which brings me to here....

WHEN IN THE NAME OF GOD DID 25 BECOME OLD/YOUNG!! To my parents i'm now old and an adult and need to start planning for life,  but when something doesn't work out its ok because i'm young and i have all the time in the world!! People I literally cannot handle the mixed signal y'all are sending my way!! Its no wonder i'm ahving a mid-twenties crisis because I have no idea what I am anymore.....too young for marriage too old for sleepovers - can i get a manual or something please!!

AND ANOTHER THING......"I was married with 2 kids at your age" - did you see that thing whizzing past your ear?? That's just one of my many flying fucks....get a grip  people got married at 12 way back when and I didn't really go for that custom either. Come on people I think i can gauge my own milestones in life.....after all i managed to walk and talk somewhat competently i think maybe I have a good grip on my own reality (Crosses fingers)....So dear society/parents/lecturers/priests/bishops/general elderfolk; Yes I am 25 years old, yes im technically an adult and yes im still going to drink wine then ring my dad to collect me (albeit the hangover recovery process may not be the same) - but isn't that what life is about? Nobody wants their kids to grow up too fast so why cant we enjoy the responsibilities along with the fun.....

Something my mother said to me literally 5 minutes ago really resonates with me...every once in a while someone truly amazing and inspiring comes along and they impact and influence a generation...but we can be our own hero too and we can influence our own life and impact upon others without even knowing it by the example we set. I may be 25 and stuck in limbo but i know what means something to me and i know well enough to appreciate that and to also fight for what I want because sometimes you have to rely on yourself.....and that is how you discover at 25 whether or not you are infact an adult!!

Peace Out 

xxxxxxx

Dear Non-Tattooed People!!

As I'm sure you can tell by the title of this post you may have to Prepare for my rant of the day!! 

Dear Non-Tattooed People,

I AM NOT A THREAT TO SOCIETY!! Can you please stop judging me? No, I'm not an ex-con or a future convict for that matter! and no you don't need to hide your wives or hide your children!! No I'm not part of a biker gang and NO i don't worry about how my tattoos will look when I'm older!! I'm 24 years old!! Older is a looooonnnggg way away, and i don't do regrets, everything happens for a reason! 

I should point out that I am not covered from head to toe in tattoos, not that i judge those who are, i have a few strategically placed tattoo that I chose to get and that were entirely my decision! I got my first tattoo at 18 which was the agreement i had with my parents, and from then it has been a yearly tradition to get a tattoo or piercing done! The majority of my piercings and tattoos can be easily hidden with clothing, but there's two that are constantly getting on peoples nerves! My small tattoo behind my ear and also my neck piercing! The issue I have with this is that it appears that before i had these done I apparently appeared to the world to be a normal run of the mill country girl whereas now I'm a rebel without a cause? Am I the only one who doesn't see the link?

Now if you look back over the list of things that i wanted to get done this year, getting both another tattoo and piercing was on that list. So far I have gotten the tattoo and again its small and tasteful and easily hidden (cas i can hear my mother in my ear, you're gonna be a teacher Caroline) and I'm glad that i did. BUT i cant get rid of the constant niggle that keeps coming up when people mention tattoos or piercings as it if automatically makes you a horrible person and wait for it.......breaking news I'm the exact same as every other person! I don't suddenly have an urge to stab people or rob a bank because i got a tattoo! And while I'm on the subject what gives people the right to comment on my appearance just because I have tattoos? I don't comment about people who don't have them! There is no need to be rude people!!!! NO NEED!!

That is all!

Peace Out

xxx