I need a holiday

This has been such a long year and so incredibly busy, all I really want to do is go on holiday to a quiet place where there are waterfalls and the sound of birds can be heard all around.

I feel physically and mentally exhausted and a few days aways from all this madness can only be good. So I am searching for the perfect location and I have come across a few namely "the round house" in Gaansbaai, Dolphin holiday resort, the famous Goudini Spa and much more.

So I am mentally preparing myself and my pocket for the holiday which I will be going on very soon.

Friendship poem by Angela Lee Hillsley

This is a such a beautiful friendship poem...

You are friendly, kind and caring
Sensitive, loyal and understanding
Humorous, fun, secure and true
Always there... yes that's you.

Special, accepting, exciting and wise
Truthful and helpful, with honest blue eyes
Confiding, forgiving, cheerful and bright
Yes that's you... not one bit of spite.

You're one of a kind, different from others
Generous, charming, but not one that smothers
Optimistic, thoughtful, happy and game
But not just another... in the long chain.

Appreciative, warm and precious like gold
Our friendship won't tarnish or ever grow old
You'll always be there, I know that is true
I'll always be here... always for you.

- Written and owned by Angela Lee Hillsley -

Sadness and Depression

I am sure that all of us can agree, that we all feel sad at some point and it is a normal emotion that can make life more interesting. Sadness almost always accompanies a lose of some sort. Sadness helps us to appreciate happiness and when our mood changes from sadness to happiness, the sense of contrast adds to the enjoyment of the mood.

There is a big difference between sadness and depression - these are the signs to look out for.

Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood
Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyed, including sex
Decreased energy, fatigue, being "slowed down"
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
Insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
Appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain
Thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts
Restlessness, irritability
Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain.

If you are experiencing a few of these symptoms at the same time, it would be wise to visit your family doctor.

Why you should never lose hope

Do you have a dream. I do and no matter how hard things seem to become I hold on to that in which my heart desires to do.

Hope is a goal setter
Hope sets the goal for some future event to come to pass. Whether you realise it or not, you have the power to hope for something better.

Hope makes you feel better
It can be seen as medicine for the soul, if you are stuck in a terrible situation - starting hoping for things to change.

Hope is a templete for faith
Hope sets the goal and the templete for you to believe.

Hope builds the optimism for the future
Hope is having faith and knowing that at some point you will experience your future dream.

Watch this space

A star is Born
A successful business women
and....A change maker

The last lecture

I cannot believe that our BTech year is almost year and in the past two weeks we have had many "last lectures" and although it is sad to say goodbye, it is time to go out into the real world.

I have learned so much on my journey and met so many interesting people but everything has to come to an end at some point. Just as one door closes, another will be opened and the learning begins again.

I have enjoyed everything about this year and now we have come to not only the last lecture but the very last media studies blog.

Farewell everyone...

My favourite Cat in the Hat book is...

The Cat in the Hat: The Fish tale, I think it is so cute and amusing at the same time. The story tells the tale of a fussy, rule obeying fish who is the classic comic foil to the unrestrained Cat.

In the story the fish explains his experiences and day with the Cat in the Hat. I really enjoyed this story and they way in which it was conveyed - you could allow your imagination to run wild and the possibilities would be endless.

Why I have conversations?

I have conversations because I love talking, talking and more talking. I enjoy listening to other people as well because we have such diverse people in this world. I have conversations with my friends when I miss them, am troubled or simply just an exchange of interesting facts.

I have conversatiosn with my parents because they are wise and knowledgable about a great deal of topics and issues.

I think we would not be able to function without some form of conversation wheather it is via email, facebook, twitter, face to face or over the telephone.

Write you bucket list/ 100 things to do before you die?

1. Sing at the Baxter Theatre
2. Walk on the moon
3. Get married
4. Have children
5. Skydiving
6. Visit Thailand
7. Visit the Great Wall of China
8. Pyramids of Egypt
9. Go Shark cage diving
10. Shop at Milan
11. Own a flat
12. Purchase a Ferrari
13. Bungee Jumping
14. Travel through Europe
15. Own my own Events Company
16. Own shares in a few large corporations
17. Be Wealthy
18. Go to the Carnival at Rio de Janeiro
19. Climb the Eiffel tower
20. Swim with penguins
21. Travel all around the world
22. Learn a new language
23. Go snowboarding
24. Water rafting
25. Snorkelling in the Sea
26. Learn horseback riding
27. Pursue my passion
28. Make a difference in someone’s life
29. Write a book
30. Fly in a hot air balloon sipping on Champagne
31. Experience a Sunrise and Sunset in Mauritius
32. Donate money to children who are starving
33. Witness solar eclipse
34. Buy my boyfriend a guitar
35. Dye my hair purple
36. Go Champagne tasting in France
37. Learn to play the drums
38. Take up dance classes
39. Take up an art class
40. Go on a road trip
41. Be featured in the Cape Times or Cape Argus for a good deed
42. Bake a cake for someone special
43. Take up cooking classes
44. Do something good for at least 5 strangers
45. Camp out in the wild
46. Visit a waterfall
47. Walk in a valley
48. See snow and make angels with my body
49. Volunteer at an NGO
50. Be a vegetarian for 30 days
51. Watch cherry blossoms in Japan
52. Visit South Korea
53. Be an audience member at the Oprah Winfrey show
54. Live in an Igloo for a week
55. Taste snails
56. Taste Oysters
57. Be the Head of a Department at a Tertiary institution
58. Give someone a car that really needs it
59. Create global change
60. Do something completely crazy and out of character
61. Camp outside my house
62. Visit a Spa
63. Go on the MSC Ship
64. Experience an out of body experience
65. Forgive everyone who has hurt me and caused great unhappiness
66. Fly business class
67. Visit a volcano
68. Have dinner with a well known actor
69. Learn sign language
70. See the Mona Lisa in Paris
71. Go to a costume party and dress up as an Alice in Wonderland character
72. Own a Labrador
73. Go on a romantic getaway
74. Do a somersault
75. Visit a castle in England
76. Ride a roller coaster at Disney World
77. Invent something
78. Publish a magazine
79. Star in an American movie
80. Visit Hollywood
81. Book in at the Vineyard Hotel, Cape Town
82. Wear red lipstick in public
83. Design my very own bag
84. Learn to ski
85. Karate
86. Compose a song
87. Drive a sports car
88. Ride the world’s largest Ferris wheel
89. Watch a rocket launch
90. The Dome of Rock, Israel
91. Learn to juggle
92. Make a list of 100 books I would like to read
93. Watch 10 of my favourite movies in one day
94. Learn to say no without feeling guilty
95. Get a Masters
96. Donate blood
97. Publish a poetry book
98. Shop at Harrods
99. Create a website
100. Become a billionaire

One week to go

I really can’t believe that in just one week my Tech career will be over, it’s actually scary and exciting at the same time. I can’t believe how quickly 4 years has gone by, how I have matured and the learning that I have encountered. Now I stand at the cross over from student life to employee life and my learning begins once again. Closing one chapter and opening another to great opportunities and adventures. Here’s to 4 years of learning and a lifetime of working...laughs

My big fat BIG Dream

To be a successful business women and own an events company

To travel abroad and meet people of diverse cultures

To live a fulfilled life and help others whenever I am able to do so

Use my voice and create change in a world that is so corrupt

To believe in myself and continue to impart knowledge from others and experiences

To set goals and achieve them no matter how long it may take...

But most importantly to never stop dreaming big and thinking big because that is how dream are achieved.

Conventional is a good fallback position isn’t it?

I totally disagree, as conventional is a safe approach to situations and life, knowing exactly what is going to happen and when. I think this prevents us from growing as human beings and exceeding things beyond our expectations.

Change is very scary and many of us may feel like being in our comfort zones is the best option.

But what would life be like if we did not take risks and take that giant leap of faith. It is important to be the best person that you can be in life and use every opportunity in life to grow and gain as much knowledge as possible.

You cannot chase two rabbits at the same time

I think that everything in life takes time and chasing two rabbits at the same time could be really exhausting. Personally I would concentrate on one goal, give it all my energy and successfully achieve it.

At the end of the day it also depends on what your rabbits are – if something simple than yes it can be done at the same time like boiling rice and watching your favourite television programme.

At the end of the day it depends on the person and how much they really want to achieve something. To some chasing two rabbits at the same time is possible while others prefer to chase one rabbit at a time.

“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when you only have one idea”

So I guess you think you have the best idea when you can develop something within minutes and rush off to present it. This could at times cause more harm than good as ideas need thinking and brainstorming.

As human beings we are so quick to move forward with an idea that it might be incomplete or not perfect.

You first idea might not always be the best idea but from this great ideas can be developed by bouncing ideas off others and asking advice. It is always important to be prepared and have a plan B.
Always remember to develop more than one idea –

Benefits of laughing

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.


Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

Trust

I am sure that many of us can agree that trust is a vital aspect in our lives, it can be defined as being both an emotional and logical act. Emotionally it is where you expose your vulnerabilities to people, where as logically you have assessed the probabilities of gain and loss and predicted that the person in question will behave in a predictable manner.

But what happens when someone breaks that trust? Can trust be restored? Well personally I would not trust someone again who has broken my trust because many people do not realise how precious it is and your relationship can never be the same again. Almost 80% of the time the person who has been betrayed never completely trust another person again which is a real shame.

So value trust in all your relationships as it is increasingly hard to restore.

Self Belief

Self belief is very similar to self confidence and it moves between two extremes.

"At the low end, where you feel depressed, worthless; everything is difficult or too much trouble; the world looks as if it's closing in on you and is full of people who ignore, abuse or bully you - and you are powerless to do anything about it".

"At the high end, you feel elated; life is full of pleasure and opportunity; people respond positively to you; you have that power to make a difference and you feel really good about yourself"

Generally as we move through life we thrive towards the high end until something happens that completely upsets our equilibrium like we lose our job, fall ill, end a relationship or lose someone close - these things can drag us to the low end and completely deplete our self worth.

Remember when your self belief takes a knock and that inner voice wants you to concentrate on the negative just mentally say thanks but I'm going to look at things in a more positive light. Your brain is so powerful and what you believe, you are able to conceive.

Have you figured out the second head fake?

Randy Pausch is truly an inspirational man who saw the positive against all odds and expressed his ideas and philosophies on life.

Did you figure out the head fake? "It's not about how to achieve your dreams. It's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way ... the dreams will come to you.

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough".

Sometimes we wonder why we have to go through difficult situations and why things have to change as we are comfortable in our current situation. Things happen to get us moving and allow us to push our own boundaries. We also need to realise that sometimes situations become difficult so that we can leave it behind and move forward. I believe that everything happens for a reason in life.

How hard is it to follow instructions

Well instructions can be given in many different contexts, it can be a direction which is a message describing how something is to be done or it could be education which are the activities that impart knowledge or skill.

Instructions can be extremely hard to follow if we do not follow it in the correct manner or listen carefully to what the instructions entail. Instuctions are meant to make life easier and tell you exactly how to join A-B and B-C but sometimes we do not agree with certain instructions or simply want to do things in the manner that we see fit - this is when instructions could become a nightmare as they have been tested before and there are reasons for them on products and appliances.

Sometimes we do not agree with our parents or employers when they instruct us to do certain things or not to do them. Remember instructions are there for a reasons, so that you may follow them.

Andy Warhol said "In future everybody will be famous for 15 min." Why would you be famous?

I am sure that everyone has the burning desire to be famous even if it only lasts for 15 minutes. We are all human and being famous makes us feel important and possibly special because we are being recognised on a huge scale. Most of us wonder what it would be like when we see well known personalities on television and if it is really as glamorous as it seems.

Well if I was given 15 minutes, I would be world famous for empowering people and encouraging them to rise up and become great world leaders. There are to many people in this world that walk around without purpose and this results in crime being committed and people wasting their lives. I would like to tell people, there is hope and a way out of their situation no matter how hard it may seem.

I would be world famous for changing the mind sets of individuals and helping them to lead a better life.

What makes you smile?

I think the smallest things are the ones that I appreciate the most in life. Waking up in the morning and seeing a beautiful day makes me smile, hearing the birds chirp gives me reason to get out of bed in the mornings and be positive about the day ahead. If birds can be so happy...What are you depressed about?

Having family and friends who care about me, gives me the greatest joy because their are so many people who are without loved ones. Seeing my dog jump up and down with joy when she sees me makes me smile as it is amazing to me how ones presence can make a dog so overjoyed.

I smile simply because I am alive, I am healthy and I am on a journey to accomplishing all my goals. I smile because I am happy and I am looking forward to a great future.