Perhaps one of the greatest fictional characters of our generation, Blair Waldorf (from Gossip Girl, just in case you've been under a rock since the dawn of time) is woman who knows what she wants. Yet, her great outfits (not Serena great, but still great) and perfect hair have nothing on the little pearls of wisdom she imparted on us all during the six series that changed life as we know it. They're words to live by from the biggest, baddest bitch around, and if they we're good enough for Blair, they're good enough for me.
'Destiny is for losers. It's just a lame excuse for letting things happen to you instead of making them happen.' - Blair Waldorf
Look me in the eye and tell me that isn't some real talk right there.
So kids, I've pulled a Blair and about a month ago I fobbed off destiny because destiny. Is. For. Losers.
It was a calm Monday morning, the week before I had interviewed for two internships in London and had heard nothing back, having been told I would have heard before the weekend. 'Never mind', I thought to myself, 'I have other plans'. As you all know, I have been saving for my South American adventure since I moved home in June, and thinking that I hadn't got the internship of my dreams, I decided enough was enough. What was supposed to be a follow up planning meeting at the STA Travel in Covent Garden, turned into me spending my savings and booking my flights.
I'm going to south America. On my own. For four months.
Metal? Yes.
Scary? Certainly.
Brave? We'll find out.
Because, and here's the thing, I was always going to find a reason to stay. From a guy, to my dream to career, to my incapability to save money- if I hadn't have just booked it, I'd still be sat here erm-ing and ahh-ing.
London - Rio - Buenos Aires - Santiago - La Paz - Lima - Quito - San José - LA - London.
Naturally, there will be a blog, because I know you'll all be keen to keep up to date on my where abouts and making sure I'm still alive. I'm a weird mixture of excited and petrified but I sort of can't wait to make this dream a reality. I figure you're only 21 and completely free once, wasting this opportunity to travel the world would be criminal. I'm 99.9% sure it'll be the making of me, so long as I can stand the hostels!
Instantly my mind went into money saving mode, planning how I could pick up extra hours and be the best waitress ever (I'm a horrible waitress, it's a good thing I can chat to people if I'm being honest) so I could save every single penny possible. It was gonna be great, I was going to save like a demon and have the most amazing four months ever...
24 hours after booking my flights, I get a phone call to say I'm being offered the position of social media intern for one of the UK's biggest charities. Unpaid.
But how could I say no? TELL ME HOW?!
I said yes. I haven't had a day off in four weeks, I'm constantly exhausted, I rush from the centre of London back to Bucks two nights a week to make it to Friday's for a 7pm start, and I work all day Saturday and Sunday; but I love it.
I'm happy, I'm focused, I'm making my dream come true and I'm investing in my future.
It's living proof that Blair was right. You don't need destiny. You just need to get off your arse and make life happen.
-xo
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Monday, 24 November 2014
Wednesday, 27 August 2014
The Year of the Viral Nomination
It seems to me that the craze of 2014 has been that of the online nomination. From necknominates (where the only real objective was to see who could down the filthiest looking pint), to the No Make Up Selfie's for Cancer awareness and most recently the ALS/MND Ice Bucket Challenge, people have been quick to get their #donation on.
Anthony Carbajal is 26 and had been diagnosed with ALS. His grandma had it and his mum has it. The disease quite literally deteriorates lives. His video is funny, sad and undeniably eye opening.
Yes, the Ice Bucket Challenge is absolutely ridiculous. In a world where 783 million people do not have access to clean water and 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation it is obscene that so many of us (myself included) can justify simply wasting more than we usually do. But it serves a purpose, in that very first split second when the icey water hits your body, you are paralised. It is a minuscule glimpse into what day to day life feels like when your brain tells your muscles to do something they simply can't.
This time last year, the MNDA had raised barely a fraction of the money raised since the Ice Bucket Challenge took over our lives, which is pretty impressive. It's good to bring light on illness that need money and more extensive research, because who get's to pick which one is more profitable? (After all, and without meaning to sound like an absolute cynic, the pharmaceutical industry is a multi-billion dollar one).
It's 2014, if it doesn't have a cure yet, we should be looking into it. In the same way that no man, woman, girl or boy should have to walk 6 miles to collect water that could kill them, and people should not still be dying of starvation.
Not all of us can cure fatal illness or end world hunger, I appreciate that. The greatest talent I can offer the world (besides drinking a bottle of Pinot in 30 seconds and touching my nose with my tongue) is my ability to write (and even then, without spell-check it's questionable as whether this is a 'talent'). So I write this to help try and convince those who are still skeptical, and I text to donate because some things are best left to the experts... No one would benefit from me stepping into a laboratory!
ICED55 ( plus the amount you would like to donate) to 70070 to donate to MNDA.
WATER to donate £3 to 70007 to donate to WaterAid.
Anthony Carabajal's video is here.
-xo
Of course, doing something silly to raise money for charity is nothing new. It's the foundations on which large scale charitable organistions like Comic Relief are built upon. It doesn't make you a hero, and when the Ice Bucket Challenges first began appearing all over my social media feeds, I was skeptical and prayed no one would drag me into it.
Then I watched a video made by an actual ALS sufferer and my mind started to change.
Then I watched a video made by an actual ALS sufferer and my mind started to change.
Anthony Carbajal is 26 and had been diagnosed with ALS. His grandma had it and his mum has it. The disease quite literally deteriorates lives. His video is funny, sad and undeniably eye opening.
Yes, the Ice Bucket Challenge is absolutely ridiculous. In a world where 783 million people do not have access to clean water and 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation it is obscene that so many of us (myself included) can justify simply wasting more than we usually do. But it serves a purpose, in that very first split second when the icey water hits your body, you are paralised. It is a minuscule glimpse into what day to day life feels like when your brain tells your muscles to do something they simply can't.
This time last year, the MNDA had raised barely a fraction of the money raised since the Ice Bucket Challenge took over our lives, which is pretty impressive. It's good to bring light on illness that need money and more extensive research, because who get's to pick which one is more profitable? (After all, and without meaning to sound like an absolute cynic, the pharmaceutical industry is a multi-billion dollar one).
It's 2014, if it doesn't have a cure yet, we should be looking into it. In the same way that no man, woman, girl or boy should have to walk 6 miles to collect water that could kill them, and people should not still be dying of starvation.
Not all of us can cure fatal illness or end world hunger, I appreciate that. The greatest talent I can offer the world (besides drinking a bottle of Pinot in 30 seconds and touching my nose with my tongue) is my ability to write (and even then, without spell-check it's questionable as whether this is a 'talent'). So I write this to help try and convince those who are still skeptical, and I text to donate because some things are best left to the experts... No one would benefit from me stepping into a laboratory!
ICED55 ( plus the amount you would like to donate) to 70070 to donate to MNDA.
WATER to donate £3 to 70007 to donate to WaterAid.
Anthony Carabajal's video is here.
-xo
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