Day 26: What's your favourite food?
Ooh, tricky one. I used to always say that it was pasta. And I also went through a phase of telling people (if they asked, of course) that it was beans on toast. But what's my favourite food at the moment? I think it depends on my mood, as well as my situation. As this is clearly a very serious and complex matter, let's break it down:
Meal out: Indian
Snack: Tea and biscuits
Homemade dinner: Fajitas (Jamie Oliver)
Breakfast: Overnight oats- oats, natural yoghurt, honey, blueberries and milk
Cake: Banana and chocolate chunks (Mum's recipe)
Pudding: Apple crumble with ice cream or custard
Ice cream: Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup
Sweets: Haribo Kiddies' Super Mix
Chocolate: Dairy Milk
Fruit: Mango
Vegetable: Peas
Sandwich: Chicken, mayo and lettuce
Please note: Responses are subject to change
Harriet x
Day 18: Where are you happiest?
I see happiness as a state of mind.
I wouldn't say that where I am determines my happiness. Obviously being in a beautiful/ familiar/ comforting/ exciting place doesn't hurt, but I think that if I know I'm only feeling happy because of my surroundings, then it's just not genuine.
This sounds a bit depressing, but let me give you an example. Last summer, I went on holiday to Kefalonia with my family and some family friends. One evening we decided to go down to the nearby beach and swim in the dark. I'll always remember swimming in that warm, inky-black water and looking up to see the sky full of millions and millions of twinkling stars as being one of the most amazing things I've ever done. It was the kind of stargazing you just can't do in a city: where the more you look, the more stars seem to appear, getting smaller and smaller as you find yourself looking further and further away into the darkness.
I remember thinking I should be truly happy in that moment. Yes, I appreciated the beauty and I was more than grateful for the privilege, yet the happiness I felt was almost fleeting. I was painfully aware that it couldn't last, and instead of savouring it, I couldn't help but worry about what I felt was wrong with my life. Being in a beautiful place and still thinking about how much I was dreading my future only seemed to highlight my underlying anxieties.
Maybe that example makes me sound spoilt and ungrateful, but I'm not sure how else I could have explained what I mean. I guess that I need to be truly happy within myself before I can be happy anywhere, regardless of how beautiful or amazing the place is. I can also be surrounded by everyone I love and still feel just as isolated and unhappy as when I'm sitting alone in my room; perhaps even more so.
I think if I'm really happy, then it doesn't matter where I am. My happiness is connected to me and, if it's genuine, it doesn't just break off in an oppressive location or a difficult situation.
What do you think about happiness? Is where you are important?
Harriet x
I wouldn't say that where I am determines my happiness. Obviously being in a beautiful/ familiar/ comforting/ exciting place doesn't hurt, but I think that if I know I'm only feeling happy because of my surroundings, then it's just not genuine.
This sounds a bit depressing, but let me give you an example. Last summer, I went on holiday to Kefalonia with my family and some family friends. One evening we decided to go down to the nearby beach and swim in the dark. I'll always remember swimming in that warm, inky-black water and looking up to see the sky full of millions and millions of twinkling stars as being one of the most amazing things I've ever done. It was the kind of stargazing you just can't do in a city: where the more you look, the more stars seem to appear, getting smaller and smaller as you find yourself looking further and further away into the darkness.
I remember thinking I should be truly happy in that moment. Yes, I appreciated the beauty and I was more than grateful for the privilege, yet the happiness I felt was almost fleeting. I was painfully aware that it couldn't last, and instead of savouring it, I couldn't help but worry about what I felt was wrong with my life. Being in a beautiful place and still thinking about how much I was dreading my future only seemed to highlight my underlying anxieties.
Maybe that example makes me sound spoilt and ungrateful, but I'm not sure how else I could have explained what I mean. I guess that I need to be truly happy within myself before I can be happy anywhere, regardless of how beautiful or amazing the place is. I can also be surrounded by everyone I love and still feel just as isolated and unhappy as when I'm sitting alone in my room; perhaps even more so.
I think if I'm really happy, then it doesn't matter where I am. My happiness is connected to me and, if it's genuine, it doesn't just break off in an oppressive location or a difficult situation.
What do you think about happiness? Is where you are important?
Harriet x
Day 15: List 10 things that make you awesome
I think most people would probably hesitate before using the word 'awesome' in a description of me, but never mind, let's just go with it!
One- I've baked a few pretty tasty cakes in my time.
Two- Both of my duvet sets are from the kids section in M&S (yes, obviously this makes me awesome)
Three- I've still got a penguin-shaped rubber in a box from when I was at primary school. I was obsessed with it so I kept it even though it broke in half.
Four- I'm finding this really hard (as I'm sure you can tell), which I guess probably makes me the opposite of awesome.
Five- I dip-dyed my hair really blonde yesterday? It looks pretty awesome....
Six- I've performed with a choir and orchestra in Notre-Dame, Disney Land Paris and some other cool places, which is awesome, but doesn't really make me awesome:(
Seven- I came 52nd out of about 300 in the English Schools Cross Country Championships 2013 (now I'm just showing off)
Eight- I've got a mind-map on my cork-board entitled 'Things to do in the evening'. (Don't ask)
Nine- I'm a pro at making tea
Ten- In writing this I've established that I'm well and truly un-awesome. But what is awesome, is that I don't care!
Harriet x
Day 9: What's on your bucket list?
I've never really thought about my bucket list before, but while I was on my lunch-break at work today I came up with a few things that would definitely be on it. There are probably more, but this is all I can think of for now:
Climb all the Wainwright mountains in the Lake District (I've made a bit of a start on this at least!)
Read everything on the BBC Top 100 Books list (hopefully this will happen in the next year, but I'm STILL on Moby-Dick...I never have liked whales...)
Go to Paris on the Eurostar (I've come back on it, but that doesn't count)
Run a marathon (preferably in a decent-ish time and preferably the London or Paris marathon)
Visit Tuscany
Eat an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, like they do in films (if it's Peanut Butter Cup or Chocolate Fudge Brownie then that will just make my life)
Go on some sort of mission project in Africa or Asia
Do the Three Peaks challenge (climbing Snowdon, Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike within 24 hours)
Eat breakfast on the beach
Harriet x
Day 8: Biggest Pet Hate
If only I could say that 'Tolerant' is my middle name, but unfortunately I can't; there are too many things that get on my nerves.
My biggest pet hate has got to be people eating in a disgusting way- no one needs to hear/see the contents of your mouth.
That is all.
Harriet x
Day 5: Favourite film you never get tired of watching
Phew, this one's easy!
She's The Man and Wild Child
My best girlfriends and I have religiously watched these two films at almost every sleepover or get-together we've had since the age of about twelve. This also means that their quotes featured heavily in my time at secondary school, particularly in year 8 and 9, when I thought it was really cool to be able to reel-off funny one-liners in as many situations as possible. (These days I save the hilarity for very close family and friends).
I know they're girly and cheesy and frankly pretty terrible, but that's also why they're UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING.
Why I love She's The Man: It's laugh-out-loud funny; the acting is pretty good for a chick-flick/rom-com (not really sure which it is?); Channing Tatum is amazing; it's based (albeit loosely) on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night so that's quite cool; the soundtrack is really good and I can't listen to any songs in it without wanting to watch it!
Why I love Wild Child: Emma Roberts is my girl-crush; it's absolutely full of stereotypes and I love it; it made me want to go to a boarding school in the countryside; most of the actors are British; it's really really funny and has some legendary one-liners; Alex Pettyfer's acting is hilariously bad; it's one of the only chick-flick's my brother will watch with me; it's full of awesome songs.
I'd love to know which film you never get tired of watching- It's probably something a lot more high-brow than mine!
Harriet x
Day 4: Best childhood memory
I don't want to boast, but my childhood was pretty awesome, so I'm struggling to label just one memory as 'the best'. I think I'm just going to have to go with a list of some of the things I remember from my family camping holidays in France, which were literally the BEST SUMMERS EVER.
Going to this park en route to a campsite- it was absolutely boiling and there was one of those big round swings for us to play on. But what made it memorable was the fact that there was music playing out of speakers hidden among the plants, which I remember thinking was the coolest thing ever. (I found out years later that we'd stopped because our car had broken down, so my parents were pretty stressed....My brother and I were completely oblivious and had a great time!)
Staying at pretty French B&Bs overnight to split up the journey to a campsite. One I can particularly remember was run by an English couple who had been living in France for years and had brought their children up there. They could all speak fluent French, which I remember being very jealous about. One evening, my brother and I got our bikes and cycled through the French countryside with the children. We ended up next to a field full of hay-bales, which we climbed and sat on. We also went into a woods and climbed a few trees. I remember wishing that I lived in France.
At another B&B I had the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted.
Wandering around French markets and buying hot chicken, potatoes and bread for lunch. One time, it was pouring with rain so we sat in the car with our food, all cosy and dry.
Going to 'Fish Suppers' and 'Hog Roasts'. Everyone sat on long benches together and just enjoyed fresh fish (or hog). I had my first tuna steak at one of these suppers. Then there were crepes for dessert. In my memory, all the other people were locals, but there may have been some tourists there too!
Cycling to the little campsite shop and asking for "deux baguettes, s'il vous plait" or "deux pain au chocolat et deux croissants, merci". Then I'd cycle back to the tent with the baguettes sticking out of my rucksack.
Staying up late in the tent playing Rummikub and using squares of Milka chocolate instead of money.
Endless hours playing on the beach and in the sea. Feeling very windswept and outdoorsy.
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| Brittany 2003- Playing on the beach |
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| 2005- Making a friend on the beach |
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| 2006- Looking very tanned and pensive on the beach, wearing a home-made tie-dyed top and Mini Boden shorts |
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| 2007- Just bought a baguette! Wearing my favourite knee-length shorts and a Mini Boden jumper |
I hope that one day I'll be able to take my children on such amazing holidays so that they can make memories like these!
Harriet x
Day 1: Self-portrait and 5 random facts about yourself
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1) I was born on 29th June 1995: I'm a summer baby and go purple/orange/blue in the cold
2) I speak to my cat on a regular basis and will never, ever get over her cuteness
3) I am addicted to tea and simply CANNOT comprehend how some people don't drink it. An ambition of mine is to start liking coffee
4) I have Restless Leg Syndrome (don't tell me it's not a thing; it's a thing)
5) If I go on a run and get back home a few minutes earlier than planned, I run up and down my road until the time is up
Ta-da! (Let me just highlight the word 'random' in the title!!)
Harriet x
