Life's Little Lessons: Just Smile

Dearest Devotees,

Pain, disappointment, hurt. These are things that no one can avoid in this life, no matter how charmed their existence may seem to an outsider. Sadness and difficulties are all parts of the path that we must tread. I imagine there is no one who is successful, happy and fulfilled who has not had to face some sort of hardship to get where they are, because it is how we face whatever difficulty that is put in our way that makes us great.

January is the month of New Year's Resolutions, goal setting and ambitious planning. For many, the start of a new year brings a sense of revival, a feeling that the slate has been swept clean and a renewed sense of purpose. We believe that we can do anything that we set our minds to and that the sky is within our grasp, and we continue to feel this way until we encounter our first hurdle. A lot of the times, this first hurdle is the most difficult because it breaks the illusion that we are infallible and forces us to realise that just because we've started to work towards our goals doesn't mean that everything will come easily from now on. It is during these trials that we have to remember that nothing good ever comes easy. If it did, there wouldn't be so many clichéd sayings about the need to "pay your dues" and how "quitters never prosper" :) .

During these trying times, these quotes don't necessarily help me but what usually does help is remembering to smile constantly. I can not count the number of times I've felt better after laughing off an unfortunate mistake in my design or shrugging off a painful jab at my work by ignoring the jabber and spending quality time goofing off with a close friend. At first it may seem fake but after a while the fake smile fades away and a real one with real good feelings takes it place. Trust me, taking some time away from your path to nurse the wound caused by your first fall, will stop you from falling into the dreaded cycle of negativity and doubt and will ensure that you can come back stronger and more assured of your ability to persevere until you succeed. So the next time you encounter a perilous bump in your path to self-fulfillment, step away from the melancholic music, cancel the pity party and smile through the pain. You'll feel better for it.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. Have you ever tried smiling to cheer yourself up when you feel like things aren't going your way? How did it work and what other methods do you use to pick yourself up when you're down? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Life's Little Lessons: Just believe

'Promises mean everything when you're little and the world is so big'

Everclear's Wonderful

The world is huge, experiences range from microscopically tiny to undeniably life-changing. Life is like a stormy sea with alternating periods of deceptive calm and back-breaking turmoil, and in this sea that is life, each person is one ridiculously small and powerless boat. In order to ride out the storm, we need to have an anchor, something to hold onto and to keep us from sinking in times of great trial. Sir Thomas More said,

'I'm anchored, to my principles'

-A Man For All Seaons

In times of great turmoil, our beliefs are whaxt should keep us grounded. I am not even saying solely religious beliefs either. I just feel strongly that we should believe in something good outside of ourselves. A boat does not have a brake, something within itself to help it face the strength of the sea- it has an anchor, something outside of itself that is rooted and strong enough to support the ship until calm is restored. Even in times of calm, the presence of the anchor gives the captain reassurance. Having a belief in something powerful and beautiful reassures you in times of calm and gives you something to fall back on in hard times.

I believe in God, love and hope. I am not blindly optimistic; I do not think that everything is perfect or that bad things do not and will not happen. I do believe though that somehow, in the end things will be okay, and that all I need is the strength to see the situation through. Rarely do people go looking for hardship, but it exists any way so the best thing you can do is face it. I am a strong believer of the whole '' what doesn't kill you makes you stronger approach" and this, combined with the hope of a better day, keeps me going each day.

So if you don't already, I really suggest believing in something. Let it be something larger and more powerful than yourself. Let it be something than is immortal and is unlikely to be hurt by the currents of change. But most importantly, let it be something that resonates with you.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. What is your anchor and what are your beliefs? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Life's Little Lessons: Put it into perspective

Dearest Devotees,

Studying all hours of the night, constantly chewing caffeine gums so as not to crash, being so frazzled that you don't even realize that your hair looks like it hasn't seen a comb in days (or weeks!), forgetting all your appointments because you thought it was Friday when it was really Wednesday, honestly my darlings if this sounds anything like you, you need to stop.

Just stop.

"But how is everything you need to get done going to get done?" you may ask.

Look at it this way.

Let's say you go ahead and pull not 1, not 2 but 5 consecutive all nighters and on the day of the exam you somehow managed to remain conscious enough to write your name on the paper. There is a very high chance that a few minutes into the exam, the graveyard silence of the room will be lull you from your already dream-like state into total unconsciousness. By the time you wake up you find that you have 10 minutes left to do 5 essay questions. You may remember the answers, (unlikely, considering your current state of panic) but there is no way that you would be able to finish any of the 5 questions sufficiently in that time. So you do what you can and dejectedly turn in your nowhere-near complete paper.

The above situation might seem a bit extreme, but trust me it really can happen. I really do know what I'm talking about too because unfortunately I'm speaking from experience. No I didn't fall asleep for a majority of my exam time but I have been so exhausted that I could have sworn things were moving of their own volition during my exam. I have also been so overcome with fatigue that I had a nervous breakdown in the exact midpoint of my exam and forgot everything. I got everything up until that and ended up with half of the total grade.

Last week, after coming late for another study session because I slept through my alarms again, I decided that it just wasn't worth it. I made a conscious decision to start making as much use of almost every minute of my waking time so that I would never have to cut into my sleeping time again. A friend of mine had fallen really ill because she was so susceptible to any illness that came her way due to exhaustion. Ignoring my physical and emotional needs for sleep, for exercise, for self-expression through my art, and for solitude was not doing me any favors. During that exam, I felt like I was losing it and that it was not worth it for me to lose my mind to get the grade I wanted. I never want to feel like I'm actually going crazy again.

I know I said in Never Alone that artistic spirits need to enjoy solitude every once in awhile in order to access inspiration, but more important than that, everyone needs a little bit of solitude so that they can have the time to put everything back into perspective. If you are always doing and not stopping to see the effects of what you've done or taking stock of what's really important, life can become empty really quickly. You could begin to feel like a hamster in a wheel, always running but without getting anywhere. If you look at it this way, taking some time for yourself to put everything in perspective will let your body and mind recuperate, give you a chance to re-evaluate your life and renew your will to carry on by letting you see your progress and reminding you of what is important. Taking some time to put everything in perspective is worth it.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. Are you constantly on the move? How do you feel when you/ what do you learn about yourself when you actually have a chance to put everything in perspective. Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

All images from We Heart it.

Life's Little Lessons: Learn to Laugh at Yourself

From: We Heart It

Dearest Devotees,

As some of you may know I went to a boarding secondary school for my junior high and high school experiences. What you don't know is that I can hardly remember my first 3 years at the school because they were some of the worst years in my life. I can remember feeling really awkward, and experiencing bouts of depression, because some people were mean to me and by my last year I had developed some serious self-confidence issues. However, after having one of the best summers in my life, and being able to take some time away from school to rediscover myself, I was able to come away from the experience with quite a few lessons about myself and life. One of the most important lessons I'd learnt was to laugh at myself every once in a while.

It's incredible how much this lesson changed me. Slowly my feelings of self hatred and over- awareness began to leave. I became more outgoing, more willing to take risks and learn from and laugh at my mistakes. I stopped beating myself up over every little thing and started to care less and less about what other people thought about me. Years later, I barely recognise the girl I used to be. Oh I am definitely still awkward sometimes but I will be the first person to laugh it off and let it go. I am much more confident in my abilities and most importantly I am beginning to believe and have faith in myself.

So I'm going to close this out with two youtube vlog posts by Natalie Tran of Community Channel. She helps me remember that being able to laugh at yourself and the random situations you find yourself in enables to grow in self love and general happiness.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. Do you know how to laugh off awkward situations you find yourself in? Do you judge yourself too harshly? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

P.P.S Nat doesn't do only songs. I just think these are amazing!

Life's Little Lessons: Life Doesn't always turn out the way you planned

Photo From: Leasare

The Tale of Two Magical Nights:

I met him at orientation. That night, under the dimmed lights of the student union underground café, a friend of mine introduced me to him and I just knew I was gone. I tried to fight it anyway, tried to deny my feelings for him, because I knew it was way too soon. But I couldn't.

It started with strong physical attraction and mild interest because we both lived in Europe and in places that bordered each other and both spoke French. We started off talking in our group of friends about a bunch of random, socially incorrect topics, but once while he was talking, I made the gross mistake of looking him straight in the eyes . Those eyes, so stunningly green that the funky lighting in the room only emphasized their emerald-like beauty. They will probably remain forever etched in my mind that way. But I digress.

After talking for quite some time, we all decided to go for an hour long walk that took us to the loveliest park in Boston. Once at the park, he and I got to talking about what felt like everything under the sun. We sort of separated ourselves from the group and under the dark orange night sky, we compared life experiences and discovered our backgrounds were very much alike. Almost everything in our past from the size of our families and position in the family, to random grade school experiences, were shockingly similar. I was enthralled and we were so involved in our conversation that we didn't notice everyone giving us space until later. We caught up with them, and as we continued our walk around the romantically lit lake, it started to drizzle, and soon escalated to full blown shower. We continued walking together though and with the aid my female friends umbrella (which he held :) ) we got back to campus relatively unscathed.

I didn't see him for a week afterwards until we all met up for dinner. We talked some more and exchanged numbers then.

Then, one night we went for a walk by the Charles River along the Esplanade...

It was light cardigan weather and the sun had just set when I met him at the staircase leading to the path. He was standing at the top of staircase when I first saw his outline against the sky. We exchanged nervous smiles and started walking. Words cannot describe how beautiful a night it was. The stars were actually visible in the sky because of how clear the day had been. There was a light breeze blowing that rustled the leaves of the trees and caused ripples on the river, but that only added to the atmosphere. Our path was lit mostly by infrequent antique light poles and the odd bike rider. As it got colder we walked arm in arm down the path, past bikers and joggers, and couples too. After spending a lot of time talking about nothing in particular, we eventually stopped talking and instead proceeded in companionable silence. At some point, we discovered a stretch of land that protruded unusually far into the river and somehow created a small pond within the expanse of the river. After pondering the existence of such an otherworldly place in an actual city like Boston, while sitting together on a cute park bench facing the river and the city of Cambridge we decided to head back to my dorm.

As we approached my dorm, I noticed he seemed tense about something and I guessed what it was. I know I'd hoped that all our shared experiences meant that we had potential but that wasn't the case. I had been right, everything had happened too soon. But I also knew I couldn't have and wouldn't have done anything differently. After that, he started to pull away and I let him, because I had to. I trust that there is something better out there for me and if nothing else I got to experience a truly magical and enchanted night. I strongly believe that if things were meant to be, they will be, and that every cloud has a silver lining. Sometimes you can see the silver lining immediately, sometimes you can't, but I believe it's always there. And if you have faith that it's there, you can trust that even when life doesn't work out how you've planned, it will work out, usually much better than you could have ever foreseen.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining? Are there any situations in which a door shut but another opened for you? What made you wait to find the silver lining? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Seeking Inspiration: According to me (and you!!!)

Photo from : The Art of Jordan

Dearest Devotees,


Why is it that when it comes to the people we love, we can't bear to let anything less than stellar happen to them, but when it comes to ourselves we tolerate all sorts of imperfections and negative criticisms?


This week I've been in love with Orianthi's song According to You because it made me realise how I tend to put other's opinion of me over my own. I let myself get hurt by what others say about me and base my self perception on their opinions. But this wrong because no one in this world really knows you better than you do. You are the only one that knows everything that goes on in your life and how it really affects you. You are the only one who knows your whole story and are therefore the best judge of yourself. Being aware of this is important, not only in evaluating your work but also in evaluating your life in general. If something happens that makes you second-guess yourself step out of the situation and look at the whole picture. Ask what caused the event and give solid reasons e.g I didn't do well because I didn't study when I should have as opposed to I didn't do well because I'm just not as smart as everyone else.



For example, last semester I was not getting the grades I aspired to in my classes and started wondering if I was good enough to be at my new school. It was really upsetting me and making me lose faith in my abilities, but one day I sat down on my bed and tried to figure out what was happening to cause the poor performance. I soon realised that something similar had happened at the beginning of freshman year at my old school, and that it was as a result of transitioning and adapting to a new way of life. I decided to realign my goals to reflect this change and to give myself time to adapt. By stepping back from a situation and looking at the big picture you are able to judge yourself in a healthy way that encourages growth and improvement. Remember that your opinion matters most. Treat yourself well and make sure you get the best because you deserve it.



Inspirational links:



College Fashion's How to Establish Your Style Trademark is such a great read!



I desire to be indie! It sounds like such a fun life!



I must see the Bright Star movie! Such imagination! Such beauty!



My current love for Criminal Minds must have stemmed from my love for Sherlock Holmes, and that was before I knew he had such style!

Here is this week's exercise:

Thanks for the memories... by aury4eva featuring Forever21 tote bags

My translation:

It burns from within.

Like a fire it consumes everything in its path.

Within reason, I know not where it came from

Had I foreseen it in my mind's eye,

Maybe then I would not be so full of disdain.

For it has turned my free will to ashes;

My choice to nothing but scraps in its flames and,

Looking back on it now, I know that it may some day come again .

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. What does the image make you think of? How does it make you feel? How would you translate those feelings into art work? And have you seen either of the movies featured? What did you think of them? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Life's Little Lessons: Don't undermine the power of change

Photo from: paida70

Dearest Devotees,

This week has been hella crazy for me (and I'm sure quite a few out there can relate). You see, I had to pack to go back to Boston on Sunday and ended up staying up all night packing the night before I travelled. Usually, this would not seem like such a bad idea to many people because you would think that, it being a 6 hour and a 2 hour flight and all, I could just catch up on my sleep on the plane, and this is what I planned to do. This was a bad idea because:

1. I was naturally physically exhausted because of the whole packing all night thing.



2. I had (conveniently) forgotten how tiring travelling is in itself.



3. I had also forgotten that I would be jetlagged by virtue of travelling through not 1, not 2 but 6 time zones!

Needless to say that when I got to the luggage carel and found out that one of my bags was missing I was not pleased. It was only when I that I found that I was close to tears because of my missing luggage that I realised how bad it was. That night, for the first time in years I went to sleep at 9pm! The perpetual night owl in me (i.e. the crazy girl that sleeps at 3-4 am regardless of circumstances) has been conquered. And not a moment too soon because what with all the art classes (My intro costume production class, figure drawing, costume design 1, acting) and my other equally lovely but more mentally challenging than physically challenging classes- like intermediate microeconomics and reading shakespeare- that I'm taking this semester I'm going to need all the rest I can get.

Lesson of the tale: Change is good but usually a lot of hard work. Routines are comfortable but people are dynamic and so is life. I didn't put off packing until the last minute because I did not want my holidays routine to change. But not preparing for change did not stop it from happening and now that it has happened it has improved the person I am. Remember that you can't stay stuck in the same place forever. Therefore, realise the importance of change, embrace it and accept that it tends to involve effort on your part in order to be fully realised. Be aware of that and keep the goal in sight so it can lead you to a better place.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know think. What experiences have you undergone recently that involved a change in routine? Where you excited about the change? Did it give you instant fufillment or is it more of a long term goal? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Life's Little Lessons: Plan for the New Year before New Year's

Dearest Devotees,

So every year, I get totally caught up (always a little late) in the loveable chaos that is the Christmas season and in the midst of preparing and enjoying Christmas and the days after I soon forget that the next holiday signifies the start of a new year in my life. I mean I know its New Year's Day but somehow I forget its significance and therefore forget to prepare myself appropriately by making my New Year's resolution ahead of time. What usually happens then is that on New Year's Day, just after midnight I realise this and think up something to do quickly, something that is usually completely forgotten by mid-February. But now I say ``Never again!" . As of this minute, I am proud to say I have made my New Year's resolution (or resolutions) and even begun to plan and prepare for it. And I encourage you to do the same. I honestly believe that if you put a lot of thought and preparation into your New Year's resolution that it you will be able to actually stick to it (or at least come close to doing so.)

Here are my resolutions:

• Make a demo of 10 of my songs complete with accompanying music and song sheets.



• Make at least 2 music videos for my songs and 3 for other songs that I love.



• Be able to carry out a 5 minute conversation in French



• Blog at least twice a week every week without fail



• Gather all my poems written to date and work towards an anthology



• Finish one of my novels in pre-edited format



• Choreograph 2 dances.



• Significantly improve my fashion design skills



• Grow in hope and love of life



• Become more organised



• Perform in front of strangers

And here are the preparations I've undergone:

• I've signed up for voice and piano classes for next semester, to fine tune my abilities.



• I just got my first video camera today! Expect me on youtube soon people lol. I have a tripod I just got and also plan on getting a Mac soon for the editing program.



• Got my french books, signing up for conversational classes; don't worry I am Not new to this language.



• I'm practicing by blogging during my finals week! 'nuff said.



• Have the story web all planned already, and introduction has been done too.



• I have been engaging in random and spontaneous dancing almost everyday this past week.



• I have got some drawing and sketchbooks, and I have costuming classes next semester.



• I am Christian and am doing this by becoming stronger in my faith.



• I'm learning to use Excel to make a schedule that I will put on Evernote and take everywhere with me.



• My roommate and I have already made plans to check out this bar/café that the Berklee students play at.

How am I going to do all this? By intense planning, scheduling and use of deadlines, but most of all determination. If you are really determined you can get anywhere in life. And this is the core of this lesson.

(Picture from: bubblewrap)

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. Have you picked a New Year's Resoloution yet? What is it? How did your last one work out? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Life's Little Lessons No. 1: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Dearest Devotees,

Now, I realise that I am but a child in the big courtyard of life, but I strongly believe that anyone, absolutely anyone, can teach you something new, or reveal something to you in a totally different light. I, for one continue to learn new things every day and sometimes in extremely odd and unexpected places too. And who better to share these little insights with than you, my devotees? So it is with this in mind that I introduce my Life's little lessons piece, in the hope that you too may join me in this path of discovery and learn a little more along the way.

After going through another situation in which I (incorrectly) analysed a guy's words without taking his actions into serious account, and being hurt by the outcome, I feel that it is about time that I incorporated the saying that 'actions speak louder than words', into my life. I mean, people can (and often do) say things without meaning them, and we, the receivers of these untruths choose to believe them simply because we want to, even when the person's actions do not reflect what they have told you. In fact, some of us, men and women alike, try to make it seem that these contradictory actions are in fact the exact sort of behaviours one should expect in these situations. This was brought home to me in a big way when a day after the aforementioned guy situation, I rewatched the movie He's just not that into you with a friend of mine. I felt like Gigi and was completely enlightened when Alex gave this piece of world shifting advice : If a guy acts like he doesn't give a shit about you, he sincerely doesn't give a shit.

The fact that Alex was very much a cynic when he told her this (who later became a romantic when he fell in love with Gigi) does not take away from the truth in this statement. Most people in this world are not good actors and can not go for long periods of time pretending they feel a certain way when they don't. If an acquaintance of yours, claims to be your friend and tends to not mysteriously unavailable whenever you need them, don't try to make excuses for the person. If a boyfriend or girlfriend proclaims their undying love for you but frequently tears you down, or has 'wandering eyes', do not think that it is simply a phase they are passing through. If you really care about the person confront them head on, otherwise you would do well to distance yourself them. Harsh as it may seem sometimes, we would all be better off in in long run if we could accept that words only mean something when they are tied to actions. Look at it this way, if you truly love someone would you only say so, or would you try to show your love for them more each day?

(Picture from trbpix )

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S So tell me what you think. What are your experiences with this lesson? Is it something you have tried to incorporate into your life? If so, how do you remember it when you need to ?

Feel free to let me know in the comments below.