As many of you are my beloved friends, it would be no surprise to you to know that my birthday is just upon the horizon. I tend to have this tradition to prepare people by simply counting down day by day and acting like an annoying alarm clock you want to throw out the window. Since I will be 19, I thought it would be interesting to do a 'fun fact' kind of blog consisting of 19 things I would consider fascinating about myself, without sounding too boastful.
1. What is the best adventure you've had during your 19 year life span?
- One of the best adventures I have had was when I volunteered in Kenya. I was 16 and to me it felt like my first taste of independence, a whole month away from all my luxuries, families, friends and pet pooch. The first week consisted of climbing Mount Kenya, and let me be the first to say that this was not easy. Walking through heavy rain and mud in an increasing minimal oxygen environment was no picnic. The higher we got up, the more frequent the inner Beyonce would come out. 'Are we there yet?' 'Why are not there yet?' 'Who stole my Kit Kat?' - many infamous quotations. The food was disgusting, never in my life have I ever eaten pink porridge but there is always room for a first! Only, 8 of us, including myself, actually made it to the summit due to many people feeling extremely nauseous. I would definitely consider this a massive achievement as it proved I have a strong mental motivation and despite not being the greatest athlete, my body was clearly capable of overcoming obstacles. Remember kids, anything is possible! ;) After living in rat infested shacks, we went back to our camp and we went on a 5am safari to see the Big 5 and many other animals you wouldn't find in their natural habitat around the world. It was as if stepping into a postcard.
- The second week consisted of wildlife project conservations, where we had to make elephant dung paper which would be provided to the local communities for educational purposes. We also had the opportunity to lay the foundations of a classroom in the local area which was extremely rewarding. All the children wanted to help and fetched us water and other raw materials so we could make the mortar and lay the bricks. It was incredibly inspiring to see how ambitious and happy the children were and how this was a labour of love. My scrapbook is filled completely with me and the kids having our thumbs up and me racing them around in the wheelbarrows.
- The third week involved the group participating in local housing projects, we created a concrete floor for one of the houses to prevent parasites infecting the residents as well as this, plastering the walls of another house in order to ensure that its longevity and strength is increased. The community welcomed us with open arms and all the school kids held our hands and starting singing Waka Waka. One of the sweetest memories involved me giving my shoes and science textbook to one of the children I made friends with and my friend had to piggyback me across the entire village back to the campsite. And on top of that, the child actually wrote my name in his science textbook and promised he would never forget me. It is really startling to think how people can be so grateful for what we would normally consider the little things in life and things we take for absolute granted.
- There are plenty more stories and crazy antics that occurred in Kenya but this is just a brief overview of some of the amazing memories I had in this beautiful country.
- Morocco would also be an extremely memorable holiday. Sleeping the Sahara desert, riding camels at 5 in the morning to see the sunrise, it was as if I stepped into the Disney world of Aladdin.
- Travel the world, hitting all 7 continents. 5 so far...so who knows?
- Continue to do things outside of my comfort zone i.e. skydive, bungee jump
- Meet Madonna, my absolute favourite icon.
- Potentially become a celebrity - I don't know how, why or when - that is a work in progress ;)
- Be able to make a difference to someone's life - continue doing more volunteering projects, maybe set up my own organisations
- Learn more new languages - I can speak Romanian, English, partially Spanish and a bit of Japanese.
- Learn to play more musical instruments- maybe go back to playing piano or learning to play the guitar.
- Have kids and potentially be married - who knows when?
- Get a rewarding job - not necessarily in monetary value. My passion is to travel so I would love to travel and help people, without caring too much about how much money I receive.
- To get a really good university degree and have a high standard work ethic.
- Overcoming my insecurities and helping others to as well.
- Have a healthy lifestyle - exercise regularly and potentially get the body I've always desired to have.
- To write a book/s - I have a creative imagination, so who knows? Or maybe a sassy autobiography
- To leave my mark in the world - no clue how yet.
- To save someone's life
- To go into space - technology is advancing so who knows?
- Contribute to the solution of world problems - extinction, war, global warming
- To continue making friends and taking every opportunity life throws at me - similar to Yes Man
- Be who I am and feel like I've lived a fulfilling life, at the end of the day, you only have one.
3. 19 words to describe you?
- Sassy, stubborn, confident, extrovert, immature, childish, crazy, flippant, fun, smart, adventurous, ambitious, hard working, disciplined, loving, imaginative, funny, unique and above all PERFECT obviously ;) !
- Pasta, Pizza, Steak, Fried Chicken.
- 3 - anything divisible by it also. All of my family's birthdays have some aspect of it that is divisible by 3 including my own.
- Madonna, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Lana Del Rey, Sia, Katy Perry, Michael Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Adele, Abba, Bruno Mars, Kylie Minogue, Cher, Jennifer Lopez, David Guetta, Avicii. As you can tell, I have the iPod playlist of an 11 year old girl!
- Thursday - it is said, the day you like the most, is the day you were born on. I was born on a Thursday so I am willing to believe that...
- Pisces
- Without question, Pippa, my adorable miniature sausage dog. All of my social media is covered in adorable photos of her, some people seem to think I have a weird religious connection to my dog. I am starting to think that too nowadays, particularly being at university it is so hard not seeing her face everyday. Some weird fun facts about her include: she has her very own winter coat that I make her wear on walks, whenever I played piano, she would always sing/howl with the melody, she likes to eat carrots and strawberries and has small dog syndrome.
- Olaf from Frozen - Friendly, ditzy and always there for you whenever you need him.
- Ross from Friends - according to Buzzfeed and many of my friends.
- Falling from extreme heights, creepy crawlies and not living life to the fullest. Basically, me and a tarantula in the same room, you can bet that one of us won't make it out alive. My money's on me!
- No regrets, move on with your life, learn from your mistakes.
- I have been part of many competitive and demanding swimming clubs.
- I used to do gymnastics but unfortunately, when things were going well, at an unrelated dodge ball event, someone broke my finger leading me to not do any gymnastics for a few months.
- I used to be part of a rowing team however, I could honestly say I was better on water than on land. Having said that, I did capsize once into the water and got stuck in a tree for 15 minutes. Navigating has never been my strong point.
- Skiing - I am hoping to do this on a more regular event however, my wallet appears to disagree significantly. Honestly, on a student budget, I wouldn't be able to even rent some snow boots! One of my favourite moments skiing was when I skiied straight into a plastic mesh fence and it flipped over it, causing one of my skiis to come off. Another time, I somehow managed to skii twist my skiis and I ended up skiing backwards, causing them to get twisted. I had to get 3 people to get me back on my feet, including two Austrian tourists! Finally, the creme de la disaster would be the time when I went up a blue hill and instead of going down the hill in an S shape, I gained full velocity and I went down in an arrow like fashion. Thank god I didn't kill anyone or hurt myself. I narrowly avoided this as I skiied onto a 10 year olds skiis, which caused me to fall. Had I been 2 cm to the left I would've crashed into the poor child! Anyways, practice makes perfect... so they say, clearly they don't know me!
- Eat, sleep, rave, repeat - to summarise, the life of a uni student. Sometimes, the best nights involve just me, myself and I with my laptop playing a movie or playing some music that chills me.
- It gets better - the bullying eventually stops, although there will be people that you meet that will not like you.
- Be happy, appreciate everything you have.
- Watch out who your true friends are and keep them close to you.
- Do not pretend to be someone you are not because it inevitably will make you more unhappy.
- Work hard because it really pays off.
- My family - encourage me to not make mistakes, to be a respectable citizen, to help others, to work hard and achieve my goals.
- My friends - inspire me to become a more social person, to make more well rounded and aware of the world around me. One good example would be, one of my two best mates from secondary school have taken a gap year to Australia on their own. That honestly takes balls and my Facebook lights up with so many fantastic pictures and memories that they created. They have seized life by their horns and that is exactly what I want to do. Inevitably, friends make you want to live your life to their fullest. People that make a difference inspire me basically...
- Musicians - have inspired me to imagine, to think outside the box and simply enter a world that I can relate to. Whether its to feel empowered, to get out of this world or to simply have a good time, music inspires my personality as much as physical things do.
- Teachers - they aren't given enough credit for what they do. Without them, your possibility of a future career is almost bleak. Be grateful they spend endless hours your benefit.
Shake It Off - Taylor Swift
18. How do you feel about becoming 19?
- I honestly feel terrified - I feel like I almost out of my teenage era and ready to become a full functioning adult. For everyone that knows me, it is fair to say, one year will definitely not transition me. At the same time, I'm not in my deathbed, I'm still young, healthy and can do what I want with my life. Life is an experience with lessons along the way that will get checked off. Live your life, check off your list and enjoy it!
- Dinner with my amazing flatmates, day out with my dad and my mum will be coming up so we can see Ellie Goulding in concert. Overall, a very exciting week to look forward to, however, tonnes of work to get done.
