The Year That Was 2013

"Look back, and smile on perils past" - Walter Scott

I was thinking of doing a monthly thing of what happened this year, but unfortunately I don't have that much time at hand. Therefore I'll do a quick rant on what happened to my life and the world around me.

In the beginning of 2013, my life wasn't that interesting, im just a normal teenager, always tired, hisses at sunlight and too lazy to do anything. I began my year by doing a family tradition of playing video games until new year,  we were so focused on our game that it took us 10minutes to realise it was new year.

Did you know in February this year, there was an adulteration meat scandal in Iceland where 30% of the meat pie dont contain meat?  In  Australia, where I live,  that is illegal.  Meat pie is like our national food along with sausages on sandwich bread (snags) - I just felt like sharing that.  I thought that maybe some of you will find that interesting.

In April this year,  I met tom who inspired me to write a blog, and thats where I began the idea of blogging.

My mental downfall began in around June and by early July my life was a mess, I was under alot of stress that I just began to give up on myself. Everyday I look at myself in the mirror and smile,  and told myself if you smile long enough you will believe it. But I met one special person that made me laugh, really laugh, and made every day worth living and helped me get hold of my life.

In September, I travelled to Europe on a tour, to Paris, London, Florence, Venice and Vienna.  It was the highlight of my year, travelling, shopping, looking at wonderful art and hospitality. 

November was my stressful month, I had exams. I dont like exams. Full stop.

Now that its December, another year has past. Alot of things had change, but one thing hasn't,  my eagerness for adventure.  And this year has been an adventure,  a roller coaster that has its up and down. And yes, I do look back and smile and say I am happy that has happened to me.

Finishing my second last year of school

"Challenge yourself with something you know you could never do, and what you’ll find is that you can overcome anything."- Anonymous

I have just finished my second last year of highschool, I don't know if I should be happy or disappointed about this. The thing, is I've learnt to love school,  its where I see my crazy friends, achieve something, and be spontaneous.  In my school, you never know what could happen that day, you could meet minor celebrities (I met Buz Luhrmann once at school, hes the director of Romeo and Juliette, Strictly Ballroom and recently,  The Great Gatsby) to doing absolutely nothing and just watch movies in every class.

This week, I've been doing my subject orientation for next year and it scares me a bit. I still haven't got the fact through my head that its my last year of highschool next year and the fact that I'll be 18years old next year ( it worries a lot of people), I'll be legal to drink and drive (but not at the same time, that's dangerous and illegal, kids). My subjects next year is pretty balance and I absolutely love it, even though I might not love it as much next year with all the assignments and exams but I have alot of people who will support me throughout the tough times, my friends,family and my favourite person, John. For now, I'll stop thinking about the future and focus on today.  Im going to be on holiday soon, it's time to release all stress and relax.

So, whether you have just finished school or have months to go, just remember to relax every now and then, it will help a lot.

Operation Europe

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing" - Hellen Keller

I just got back from my adventures in Europe a few weeks ago more or less. Im just going break down my adventures into 5 and categorise it to the 5 cities I went to Paris, London, Florence,Venice and Vienna as well as show you some pictures I took.

Paris:
Paris was my first destination, the city of love, unfortunately I couldn't share it with the one I love. It was beautiful, seeing the Arc de Triomphe and being able to see the city from the top of the Arc (after  climbing up a lot of stairs, and not just any stairs, REALLY STEEP stairs) the view was incredible and just our luck it was raining
During the next few days in Paris, we visited Versaille Palace with its wonderful architecture and breath amazing lying beautiful garden, the Sacre Coeur (after getting lost, for about an hour), La Feyette which made me cry after seeing the most gorgeous and most expensive make up and handbags, and of course the Eiffel Tower, the most iconic place, the view from the top was amazing! I also visited museums like the Louvre and Orangerie(which i thought was an orange factory which turns out to be a museum).
We also visited Le Cordon Bleu which is where Julia Childs was learnt to cooked when she lived in France. Shes one of my idols.

London:

From  Paris, we caught the train across the channel, then had a small tour of the city on our coach before going to the hotel. London was my favourite place, if could live in any european city, id live in London. While in London we visited the National Gallery, Tate Modern Gallery, Saint Pauls Cathedral, and West Minister Abbey, where Kate and Will got married, but also where some of the past monarchs were buried. We also went down the Thames river, passing by iconic places like where Daniel Radcliff (Harry Potter) went to school. My favourite place was the Tower of London, where the crown jewels are stored and where some powerful people people were executed, the other is the Globe Theatre, I didn't get to see a play unfortunately but i did see the theatre itself and it was stunning.

Florence:
From London, we flew to Florence. I was surprised when my luggage was less than 20kg on the way to Florence as I bought a hell of a lot of stuff. Florence was small and historic, with narrow roads and buildings that are incredibly venerable. While in Florence we visited more museums and galleries and shopped some more the markets.

Venice:
We caught another train to Venice, and went straight to our accommodation which is an old nunnery, which made me uncomfortable and scared me so much. Other than that, Venice was beautiful. passing by the canal everyday on our way to our destinations was just breath taking. We saw the statue David, and more galleries.  We also learnt to cook traditional Italian pasta, which isn't as fun as some people think, but it was worth it.

Vienna:
From Florence to Vienna was interesting, try fitting 6 girls into a small train cabin with huge lugges, no internet or wifi so no one could call their family or in my case, my boyfriend John (the only one who I contacted that whole trip every day. My parents did not even miss me).
After arriving in Vienna, we went to the Spanish riding school to watch pure white stalions prance around. Vienna was amazing, its similar to Melbourne in so many way and yet so different.  I love Vienna.

That was my whole trip more or less...

And the adventure begins!

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” - Marcel Proust

In the beginging of my blog I mentioned Im going to Europe and it is happening, my flight is tomorrow from Melbourne Tullamarine Airport to Paris with stop over in Dubai. Another amazing thing is that its my birthday tomorrow! what a good way to celebrate your birthday by flying half way around the world for an amazing adventure, after a few days in Paris, I will get the train and cross the channel to London, home of my favourite things and people in the world, such as Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, Harrods, Jack and Finn Harries, Dan Howell (danisnotonfire) and Phil Lester (amazingphil). Of course I will be visiting the traditional places such as the Buckingham Palace, London Eye, and the museums. The adventure doesnt stop there, I will fly to Florence for a few days then Venice, riding down the river on a gondola, then I will go and visit Vienna in Austria, visiting a cholocate factory. All this within two and a half weeks.

 Its a great and wonderful adventure, that id love to share with everyone. Ill be writting my adventures along the way when I can, So stay tuned these next few weeks!

Back on track and reaching for the stars

If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. –Vincent Van Gogh

Guess who's back? ME! 

I have spent my few weeks of not blogging getting better, going back to my normal self and just trying to move on and be happy, I'd love to one day write how I'm managing my depression with positive thinking because I believe it will help a lot of people out there but today is not the day. 

Today my goal is to write something really encouraging, something to make people want to reach out and just go for the things they want to do and not be afraid to just go for it. At school, we are currently having a prefect elections and i have lost the first cut of a liaison prefect but its not the end i still have my first choice which is a social service  prefect i doubt id win, but i need to think positive about everything and anything i do. LikeVincent Van Goh said, if theres a voice in your head saying you can't paint, then paint and silent that voice in your head. Go ahead, reach out for your dreams, and if you fail don't be afraid to get back up and keep going.

Issues

As you can see, I haven't put any popular or inspirational quote, its because I cant find a good one that expresses the way I feel.

These few weeks I have been searching something positive to write about but nothing has come up, everything I think of turns into a negative thought. Nothing seems right these days and bad things happen one on top of the other. And early this month,  I was diagnosed with depression.  My boyfriend and I broke up, for many reasons, then there's the stress from school and pressure from my parents.
I want to live and achieve my dreams happily but I have to solve my problems first one by one.

I promise I will not do anything stupid such as take illicit drugs, become an alcoholic or do self harm.

Anyway guys, when things get back on track with my future, I shall start blogging again. Meanwhile I'll go solve some hard problems of my own.

Feel free to read my previous blog entries, not all if them are as sad as this one.

Mid Term Exams and School Formals

"Time does not pass, it continues" - Marty Rubin

Its all done! My exams are done! I feel as though an elephant and a hippopotamus has been lifted off me. I know your wondering, ' what the hell! Its only midterms exams!' But you see I want to try my best in everything even if its as stressful as exams.

You should know, I didn't really completely study as hard as I could. I studied, yes but while re- watching doctor who episodes. It helped me to learn how to focus on two things at once, although I wouldn't recommend that to your final exams. Everything went smoothly though at some points I wish I could have more time.

Straight after exams, I had formals. You could imagine the panic in some girls with what am I going to wear and what shoes? Should I keep my hair down or up? Curled or straight? I wore a cream/ Champagne coloured dress with frills and spaghetti straps and ankle length boots.

It was amazing, we had dinner and heaps of dancing as well as professional photographers taking our pictures. 

Holiday is close, one more week! Anyways, that is what I have been up to this past month!

My subjects....

" If Facebook and Tumblr were school subjects, my parents would love me" - Unknown

If only that quote was true! The reason I'm writing a blog about subjects is because I do not want to do my French homework. True story...
The subjects I do at school are fun and relaxed, most of the time. To be honest I have no idea why I'm doing these subjects when I'm not exactly that interested. The subjects I'm doing are:

Further Maths: which in normal english means easy maths, no parabolas, or quadric equations, and all those other hard things with the axis. Maths isn't my best subject, I hate maths with deep fiery passion, but further maths made it bare-able for me to handle. It's not only the topics we learn in the subject itself , but my maths teacher, she's the best! She tells the most hilarious stories about her children and often ask us advice before she starts teaching.

Theatre Studies (drama): To be honest I didn't want this subject in the first place but the previous subject I chose (studio art) didn't fit in my class schedule, so I had to pick between business management, law and finance, theatre studies or literature. Since most of them  involved a lot of thinking, theatre studies it is! I am glad I pick it though, because I actually enjoy it. In a few weeks time we will be putting on a play, which is open to the public at my school, I will blog about how that went!

French: I don't mind french, it makes me feel special because I can speak a language no one in my family can understand, except my aunt who lives in France. French is really hard, and I'm falling behind at the moment. I guess its a bad time to be procrastinating right now... Oh well!

Hospitality: It's a good subject, only because I get a lot of spare because that subject! In my school , hospitality is a VET subject which means that we are getting actual qualification certificates as well going to TAFE (a school for careers that are more hands on jobs, like hospitality and trade work). Unfortunately for me, they give quite a fair amount of homework.

History: I could just hear you all groaning through the screen! But really, I love history, learning about the past and what went wrong. There is also a historical TV show i love to watch, its called Horrible History in BBC, yes in Australia we have some BBC shows. Actually, i'll tell you all a funny historical fact during the World War II. Germany built a silent killer submarine, It had the latest technology and able to sneak up on ships and other submarine and release a bomb so quite that you wouldn't know there was a bomb coming until it explodes. The only problem with this submarine was that it was too advance, as they were sneaking up the coast of Scotland, a German soldier went to toilet and when he flushed the toilet, he pressed the wrong button and caused the toilet to regurgitate it's storage. The German submarine had no choice but to resurface at the coast of Scotland and get captured. See, not all history is boring!

The only subject missing is English, but English is a subject I must do, it is a requirement for everyone to do English.  As you can see, I don't do any sciences, but I will be doing Psychology next year. All my subjects are pretty chilled, but exams are coming and I must prepare for battle!

My stress levels

"The time to relax is when you don't have time for you it at all" - Jim Goodwin

I'm sorry, I'm sorry if you think I have abandoned this blog, it just that I have been super busy.

So far my stress levels are above the roof, I have all this assignment due one after the other that I don't even have time to relax let alone blog about my recent life adventures, but then again this is another challenge before reaching for my dreams. What am I doing now? I'm at work on my break which I only have about 5 minutes left so I might have to edit this before bed. I work at a casual restaurant near my house, so u could imagine the amount of things I have to do on the plus side I get paid quite a bit!

So far I have little time, little sleep and a lot of things to do, my weekends..... hold on what weekends? I'm working all Saturday and Sunday. Oh don't even start with my social life! That is strictly Facebook and school only.

So this weeks goal is to calm down and stop stressing so much, which is hard, but how to stop stressing?
1. Take deep breaths
2. Do some exercises! (For you yes...but me not a chance)
3. Take naps (I like naps, don't you? I feel like high school should have nap time instead of prep kids)
4. Take it slow and focus.
5. Always have fun!
You see I can't learn when I'm having fun, if your a teacher reading this, take my advice: make your class fun and kids will love it more!

Until next blog when my time eases up a bit!

Loving Life

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” - Dr.Seuss

You know that moment where someone asks you " Tell us about yourself?" and you have that panic attack because you don't know what to say? Well, I haven't exactly given much details about my past and how I got the epiphany of wanting my life to be an adventure. This entry will be about my life, the past present and of course future. 

My past was a tough one, I was born in Manila, Philippines (South- east Asia), and studied there for a few years before moving to Hong Kong with my parents. By this time I was 7 years old, small and chubby with short hair, and when I arrived in Hong Kong, I studied in a local public school. It was probably the hardest transition for me, everyday we got homework and most were due the next day and I had really bad problems with maths, which  my father and I spent hours arguing and learning the equations. To be honest that wasn't the worst part, in my first few years, I wasn't liked very much. I had a few friends I suppose, but I never felt as if I belong. Over the years, I developed a mild depression, which is something nobody would like to experience specially for an eight years old. I spent half my life not living to the fullest which I guess one of the reasons why I want to have a life of adventure, fun and live as if it were my last day. You think people would notice that there was something wrong, but the thing is, I'm a good actress and learnt to surpress my emotions. All day, I pretend like there was nothing wrong, I smiled and laughed at jokes as if I am fine. By night, when my parents are asleep or just minding their own business out in the living room, I cried myself to sleep, thinking what is wrong with me? why don't people like me? Half way through year 6 I moved to an Australian private school in Hong Kong, a little late, but it was worth it. That last year of primary school, I met new people and actually made friends who invited me for sleepovers and movies together, which made life more bearable, by then I have also grown a bit (I am still pretty short) but more skinnier with long hair.

To create my present where I am, from primary school in theAustralian private school (Which I should tell you isn't the actual name, but it is a literal school for students who want to learn in an Australian school environment), I moved to Melbourne after year 6 and still stayed in contacts with most of my friends through social networking. I spent a year in a public school in Melbourne, which was a very interesting experience. I made enemies, friends,and  frienemies that year. Then the next year I moved to the school I am in now, A private all girls school. In short, I moved to four school in four years.

So where am I now? Well, I am in the study writing this blog. To answer that question without being a smart ass, from that little chubby girl in the first paragraph, I  have grown and changed quite a lot. There's a some special people in my life who taught me to just be me, and not change who I am, but there is only one special person who changed my perspective, he taught me to be a rebel every now and then, to have fun and enjoy life as it is, he also gave me the idea for this topic. 

As for the future, i don't know where I'll go or where it will take me, but one thing I'm certain of is that whatever challenges comes my way, I will have people who will love and support me through those difficult times. 

Dreams vs Reality

"Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be" - Jack Welsh

You know that feeling after watching a movie or a reading a book and wishing you could do those things? Or wish that it was real? Well, I get those feelings all the time that if I could have any power, it would be to able to be a character in a book or movie and experience their journey for my self.

There are so many things that I wish were true, like Hogwarts in Harry Potter or Camp Half- blood in Percy Jackson series and as much as I love the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, I wouldn't wish that was real as there was too much dictatorship and conflict. The other things I wish were true are:

* unicorns and pegasus - a unicorn is a horse with a horn and a pegasus is a horse with wings. There are imaginary creatures that consists of both which I would like more than anything else in the world!

* Chocolate factory- Exactly the same one that Willy Wonka has in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Wouldn't that be amazing? The chocolate fall, the cute squirrels and Oompa Loompas. As you have noticed I'm a massive chocolate lover, if I could marry it I would!

* Hogwarts and Camp Half-blood - I'm a big fan if those series, if those exist and I'm eligible for both that would be so amazing! I can go to Hogwarts for the year and during summer and breaks I can go to camp, that would be a dream come true!

* Sherlock - where can you find a character that can solve mysteries amazingly? My only answer to that would be Sherlock! I prefer the UK version with Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, Elementary (the American version) is good but the character Sherlock seems arrogant in a violent way unlike the arrogant smart- ass way Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Sherlock.

*Tardis - Who wouldn't want to have a giant phone box that can travel through time?

I know some of those may not be your cup of tea, but those are just some of the things I wish were true.

Back in reality, we don't have magic, powers, tardis or a highly functioning sociopath but that doesn't mean we can't achieve the impossible. If you look at your idol, whoever it may be, or your heroes, whether they're real or not, they achieve the impossible by believing in them selves that they can achieve anything.

I can be anything, so I'm training my self to have a higher memory data by having a mind palace(mnemonic loci method), its possible- look it up.

Bac 2 skool kidzz :)

"Change your thoughts and you change your world" - Norman Vincent

I have completely forgotten what a school day is like. I don't exactly miss anything about school except the fun times I get to spend with the most insane yet loveable people, my friends. Insanity to my friends and I are kind of a compliment and true. The things we got up to can be quite childish but it feels like we are defying the impossible, for example we used to play sardines (like hide and seek, but a bit claustrophobic) all lunch time, or how many blazers can one person wear until the buttons cannot be buttoned anymore (about 7), or how about back when planking was cool and a friend and I planked at the teacher's table while she wasn't there. Those are examples of our lunch times and free times for the past 5 years.

What I dislike about school is the long hour lecture on a really boring topic, it made me want to just close my eyes and sleep for the next hour. To be honest some of the subjects aren't too bad, they were interesting and informative, but I guess it all depends on the individual's interests and preferences. If any subjects makes you want to sleep, here's a suggestion (WARNING: suggestion may be completely idiotic)

* Drink a lot coffee before class - I have tried it, but it causes quite a bit of side effects. After drinking coffee, I was so energetic and couldn't sit still for 5 minutes, then I was unable to stop shaking/ tremor in my hand (good excuse not being able to write though).

The most important thing we should all remember is that no matter how much we hate school we should be very thankful for being able to receive such great education. After all, knowledge is power and it is also the one thing no one can ever take away from you. Another thing I want to say is  that, give teachers a break, they work as hard that we do and also don't forget to thank them for teaching you.

The Writer

"Good things happen to those who wait, but greater things happen to those who get off their ass and do anything to make it happen" -  unknown

Today I had the writer's block, I just didn't know what to write, so I asked for help from my three close (and amazing) friends to help me come up with the next topic and we decided that this one is going to be about me - the writer.

My name is Angela but people call me Ange or Angie and I live in Australia. One day, I met an inspiring guy on the internet named Tom, he told me about his blog (mudsweatpunctures.blogspot.com) and it made want to write one as well, something useful and relatable to people around my age.

Before starting, I thought of the pros and cons about starting a blog. In the end my main reason for starting a blog is that knowing somewhere in the world someone is reading my blog and if I'm going to write about my goals, my life, and my dreams I know that I can't give up and let people down for giving up so easily. So in a way, I may or may not be helping you, but you - the reader, is helping me out as well. For that, I should thank you. Thank you for helping me reach my goals in the future and maybe letting me inspiring you as well. While I'm saying thank you, I might as well thank the important people in my life.

Thanks to my friends, you know who are, for supporting me in anything I do and for accepting my craziness.
Thanks to my parents, I know its not easy raising me, I'm sorry, but thanks for everything.
Thanks to tom, who inspired me and hope we will continue to be friends.

So here I am finally stopped waiting for something to happen and started reaching for my dreams, doing anything and everything I can to reach it. I hope that my blog has or will inspire you to reach for the stars as well.

5 Years From Now

"You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own and you know what you know and your the one who'll decide where to go" - Dr. Seuss

A few years ago I was given a book for Christmas called 'Where will you be five years from today', its one of those books where as you read along as you fill the blanks and list your ideas. This book was given to me by one of my mum's best friend and her family, who who we don't see often as they live in another continent. As the title of the book suggest, the book is about setting goals and asking yourself where do you want to be five years from now? To be honest, after it was given to me, I just had flick through it and put it on my shelf and never had the chance to fill it in.

Tonight which is about two or three years later, I have decided to give it a shot. As I was reading through it, I was thinking of what I want to be when I finish school, honestly, I don't know. I had a lot of dreams I put down as I realised it not for me but none were impossible. Whenever the book asks me, what is your aim or goal? I wrote down 'to have a fulfilling life of adventure'.

Almost half way through the book, it says "why not now?" And on the next page, it described people, including me who dreaded Mondays. Did you know that over the next 5 years we will receive the gift of 260 different Mondays? And each will be different because of the possibility of what might happen that Monday, you'll never know. Starting next Monday, kids in some places would go back to school after an Easter holiday and I will too, but in a different perspective, on Mondays instead of dreading the day, I will make the most of it and be more enthusiastic about Mondays and I challenge YOU to do the same and feel the difference.

So, I suggest you make use of your day to reach for your dreams and never say you don't have time because you have the same amount of time as Einstein, Mother Teresa, Dr. Seuss, and all those inspiring people, its what you do in your time that defines the difference.

Pilot

"I don't regret the things I've done, I regret the things I didn't do when I had the chance." - unknown

This blog will be about my journey, the good and the bad, from high school to university and my dream to see the world. It has always been a dream of mine to experience other culture and try new things, specially the food and hospitality.

Before completing my big and expensive dream, I have to finish high school, then maybe university? Or gap year? I don't know yet, but that is what this blog is about, the choices.

I have about a year and a half before I graduate, and I want to share it with anyone wanting to experience it through my perspective, specially those who are worried about this stage in life.

Please feel free to post POSITIVE comments.