Tea Stains and Daisy Chains: lbloggers

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I went to a fireworks display earlier this month, during which the man with the loud-speaker told us to "look up". As we all turned our heads to the sky in anticipation, he added that he's found this a pretty good motto to live by. For some reason, this lighthearted comment has really stuck with me, so much so that I decided to include it in this blog post!

Don't worry, I'm not going to go all philosophical on you and start analysing the meaning of life or anything. No, instead I'm just going to share a bit about what's going on in my world at the moment. (This is definitely totally relevant and related because things are looking up, okay?). I get that this might not be particularly interesting for you as a reader, but I do like to include a variety of posts on my blog, with some offering practical tips and others being a bit more diary-like.

Two weeks ago, it was the first time in probably about two years that I was out every single night of the week. For lots of people my age (and any other age, come to think of it), doing something other than watching TV every evening is no big deal. But considering that pretty much all of my friends are at uni and I've spent most of this 'second' gap year sitting at home with the parents, this was a fairly momentous event.

I started the week by going along to the fifth or sixth session of the Alpha Course. For those of you who aren't sure whether this is a new language or some sort of fitness regime (when I told someone the other week, they replied by letting me know that their friend was doing Tough Mudder...), the Alpha Course is basically a series of talks and discussions about the fundamentals of the Christian faith . You may have seen posters outside churches asking 'What's the point?'; these would have been advertising the course. It's essentially a place where anyone, regardless of their beliefs (or lack of), can find out more and ask questions in a safe environment about God and the church. Having grown up in a Christian family, I've found it really useful being around non-Christians who are staring from square one, as well as those who have a really solid faith. It's been encouraging to hear other people raising the same questions and doubts that I've always had floating around in the back of my mind. Plus, it's free and we get food, so everyone's happy.

During the week, I had training for my new job at a bar in the centre of town. I'm not entirely sure what possessed me to choose an insanely popular and busy bar for my pint-pulling debut, but I'm telling myself that we need a challenge every now and then. I witnessed the throng of 21+'s a couple of Fridays ago, as I had my first weekend shift behind the bar. Beforehand, I was absolutely terrified and was shaking as though I was about to sit an oral language exam (my worst nightmare: why I thought I wanted to do French at uni I'll never know). But when I actually arrived and got going, it was no way near as bad as I'd imagined. Having to remember all the cocktails and being able to serve the different drinks at about one thousand miles per hour has definitely forced me onto a very steep learning curb, but I'm hoping that things will start to be a bit more enjoyable once I feel like I sort of know what I'm doing!

Now that I've got two jobs (and one of them involves ridiculous hours!), I've decided that I want to spend some of my money on getting myself insured on my mum's little KA. For me, being able to drive is literally the best thing ever, so I'm a very happy bunny. It's also great to feel as though I'm a bit more independent and don't have to cycle to the gym in the pouring rain or rely on my parents to come and collect me from work at 2am!

So that's pretty much my life at the moment. Although things seem to have suddenly picked up a bit, I'm still trying to fit in reading, art and writing into my week (not always successfully). But I'm not complaining, because about half a year ago I was doing literally nothing and definitely wasn't happy about it!

Life's good when it's full.

Harriet x

advice

Making Time for Art

17:42

blog

Blogging tips: What to do...

19:40

You know those days when you just can't be bothered? When you'd much rather be doing something else, like lying down or eating Ben & Jerry's out of the tub? They suck. I should know, because I'm having one of those days today (which makes this a struggle and also fairly hypocritical, but who says you have to actually listen to your own advice anyway?).

It's not that you haven't got any ideas. In fact, what makes things even worse is that you have got lots of ideas, but you just don't feel like it. If you're anything like me, then on those days there's this irritating voice inside your head telling you you must write that blog post/ article/ comment NOW, otherwise bad things will happen. If you don't do it today then that's it, everyone will think you've lost interest in your 'passion' and have given up on this writing lark.

I'm sure there are loads of blog posts out there that would give you (and me) some really useful tips on how to boost the motivation levels. If you really need to get that piece done (maybe there's a deadline or you're a pro blogger or something), then perhaps you do need something inspirational to help you get your head down. But if not, and you just blog or contribute to online magazines for fun, then the 'fun''s kind of gone if you're having to force it.

Even though I only have 2 followers on Blogger and not many more on Bloglovin' (hint hint), I still find myself feeling under pressure to keep my blog regularly updated. But when I start feeling stressed about it, I remind myself that I'm doing this because I enjoy it, so if one day I don't feel like blogging, that's fine. And although it's important to be committed, if I'm not in the mood for writing an article, then it's not the end of the world if I give this one a miss.

So, you've decided to give yourself a day off. What now? Do you sit around feeling guilty and wishing you were as motivated and inspired as so-and-so? Possibly, but don't. Do something else you enjoy. Or, if you still want to keep things blog-related, take photos or plan future posts. But, if you just want to completely forget about it for a while, then go for it; you'll probably find that when you come back to it you feel totally re-energised.

If all else fails, then I suppose you could just write a blog post about what to do when you're not in the mood for writing...

Harriet x

cake

Sunday Teatime

22:30

art

Happy Thursday!

17:39

31 day blog challenge

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 24

20:50

Day 24: Describe your most embarrassing moment

Seeing as my time at secondary school was pretty much just one long embarrassing moment, it took me a little while to sift through everything and find one in particular. It probably wasn't actually the most humiliating thing that's ever happened to me, but I think it was on the biggest scale.

My life outside of school was also fairly embarrassing, seeing as my Dad is one of those people who takes it upon themselves to enforce the law amongst the general public. For example, one time we were driving past our church and noticed that a couple of lads were skateboarding in the car-park. Of course, he felt the need to drive right up and tell them all about trespassing on private land etc etc, whilst I cowered in the passenger seat.

I know I have SO many other stories like that, it's just that I seem to have selectively forgotten most of them, probably in order to reduce the damage.

So anyway, this particular embarrassing moment happened when I was in Year 7, during my school's annual public speaking competition. The first round involved presenting your speech to just your class, which was already pretty much my worst nightmare. Because I was super keen and ridiculously studious, I spent ages preparing my PowerPoint and rehearsing my speech about footballers getting paid too much. I remember being quite pleased with it, but still being terrified about standing up in front of my class.

Well my keenness must have paid off, as I was chosen to go through to the final, which involved presenting to the entire year in the assembly hall. To be honest, I probably wasn't as nervous then as I would be if I had to do the same thing tomorrow. I guess that was just my childish naivety coming into play!

While I was presenting, I would be standing at a lectern facing out towards my audience. I would control my PowerPoint with a little hand-held clicker, which meant that I wouldn't have to keep turning around to change the slides.

All I remember is standing up there delivering my speech and wondering why on earth people kept on laughing. I knew I wasn't one of the 'popular' ones and that half the year probably didn't even know my name, but I hadn't thought that they would laugh! I must have grown redder and redder by the second and could not wait to finish and scurry back to my seat in shame.

When I finally sat back down, probably nearly on the brink of tears, I found out that they hadn't in fact been laughing at my face/hair/skirt or anything like that. Instead, my friend told me that my PowerPoint presentation had been one slide behind throughout my entire speech, which was apparently hilarious.

That may not sound particularly embarrassing to anyone else, but I was pretty traumatised by the whole thing, so when I was picked again the next year, I refused and made the teacher choose someone else instead!

What's your most embarrassing moment?

Harriet x

31 day blog challenge

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 21

12:09

31 day blog challenge

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 18

17:04

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

31 day blog challenge

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 17

18:05

Day 17: Why and when did you start blogging?

Hold on one second while I just go and check the date of my first blog post....

Okay, so I published my first blog post on 4th May 2014- not that long ago really. If you haven't already read it, this post had the rather catchy (not) title of "Stop the conveyor belt! Or better still, get off the conveyor belt. Actually, just turn around and run in the opposite direction". Bit of a mouthful I know, but cut the newbie some slack.

Three months on and it still remains my most viewed and commented on post. I guess this is because it was the first time I'd opened up to a lot of my family and friends about what had happened to me over the last year. Of course, many of them knew I'd left university, but most didn't really know why.

Before I wrote the post, I don't think I'd ever managed to put into words (even in my head) exactly why things went wrong. So I guess I started blogging as a sort of therapy. If that had been the only reason, then I could have just written a private diary. But (I'm sorry if this is selfish), I suppose it gives more purpose to my writing when I know that a few people may be reading it. Also, I wanted to share my story to help others in similar situations. As it turned out, I was very surprised by the number of people who got in touch with me about how they felt about it all. I hadn't quite realised that my experience of sixth-form wasn't all that unusual!

When I first made this blog, it was called 'Unfollow the Crowd', which was appropriate for my first post, but I soon found it difficult to think of things to write about! Then I changed it to 'The random ramblings of a girl called Harriet', which doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. By this point, I'd worked out that I wanted to have more of a general/lifestyle blog, rather than one specifically about a certain thing. I do also have a Student Survival Kit, which I started two days after this blog. (Visit it here for some tips about sixth-form and university application.) So I decided to keep this original blog as a more personal and reflective thing, and the other for offering my advice about being a student at school.

I soon grew tired of my long blog name, especially when I was trying to come up with a logo! Miraculously, the phrase 'Tea Stains and Daisy Chains' popped into my head, which is not too shabby, in my humble opinion anyway.

Another reason for starting this blog was because I became interested in journalism and writing as a career. I spoke to a few people about it, and the majority told me that a blog is a great way to have a go at putting your views and writing out there, as well as being an enjoyable hobby. I began with great enthusiasm, armed with a huge list of post ideas. Unsurprisingly I soon calmed down a little, realising that I wouldn't be able to come up with some controversial or thought-provoking piece everyday (if ever!).

But other than slowing down slightly, I'm pleased to say that I haven't lost interest and that I'm hoping to reach out to more readers. I'd also love to find more blogs to read regularly, so feel free to leave a comment below and I'll definitely take a sneaky peek (and hopefully more!). Bloglovin' seems like a really good way to get to know more blogs and bloggers, so please do follow my blog on there too and let me know how I can find you!

Harriet x

P.S. I'm going away again for a few days, so I'm taking another break from this '31 Day Blog Challenge'. I know I'm totally cheating, but oh well!

31 day blog challenge

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 11

09:32

31 day blog challenge

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 10

18:22

31 day blog challenge

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 7

14:41

Day 7: What's your dream job?

When I got back from my run this morning, (please take a moment to gaze in awe at my beautiful trainers on the left) I was all energised and pumped up with endorphins. It probably would have been a good idea at this point to get my head down and write this post. Instead I was distracted by the thought of a cold shower and also a chicken wrap. So now that I've actually come to sit down in front of my laptop, I'm feeling a little sleepy (yes, I know it's 2.30 in the afternoon).

So I'll try my best to make this an interesting one, but I can't promise anything!

Right, what's my dream job? During the last six months or so, I think I've come to the conclusion that I want to be a journalist. And failing that, someone who writes things and gets paid for it.

Ideally (and fairly predictably) I'd love to work for one of the big names, like the BBC, the Telegraph, the Guardian etc. But obviously people who end up there have laboriously worked their up through the ranks, starting with university or local newspapers; something which I'm more than prepared to do.

Alternatively, I could be a freelance journalist. Or maybe I could have a column in a newspaper. Basically, I just want to write.

But before I start thinking about career-type jobs, I'm going to do an English Literature degree, so that I can improve my writing and skills. Also, if I did a Journalism degree and then changed my mind, I might find it harder to change path. Another reason I want to do English is because I love reading and I really enjoyed English A-Level!

At the moment (and hopefully for the next year while I'm working at home) I'm getting a bit of work experience by writing articles for Kettle Mag, Eat More Cake and MyStudentStyle (see 'What else do I write?'). Doing this has made me even more determined to be a professional journalist one day!

If you have any advice or tips about breaking into the field, then I'd be so happy to hear from you!

Harriet x

31 day blog challenge

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 6

17:00

It's been a while

Look Up

Making Time for Art

Blogging tips: What to do...

Sunday Teatime

Happy Thursday!

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 24

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 21

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 18

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 17

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 11

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 10

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 7

31 Day Blog Challenge- Day 6

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