The milestone of every year that represents us getting one year older than we were. 

Today was mine.

Now I must admit, now that I am older I don't quite get excited about it like I did when I was a kid. I find that other people are more excited about it than I am personally, but I wouldn't be able to tell you why that is. Maybe the thought of growing up just frightens me, and I wish that I could be like Peter Pan and the lost boys, and never grow up.

That's not to say that I am truly appreciative of the people who made my day better and filled it with the extra sunshine that one deserves on their special day.

To my family for cheering me up all day and singing happy birthday to me on the phone multiple times.

To my roommate who went out of her way to make me and ice cream cake, of which she is the first person (Outside of my family) to ever make me a cake.

To the girls I work with back home for sending me pictures of the dogs from work with their messages, it cheered me up and made me feel a little bit homesick.

And to everyone who went out of their way to say Happy Birthday, I'm not sure I deserve it from some of you, but thank you anyway.

I hope you all had a wonderful Monday, and that someone puts that little bit of sunshine into your day, like you all deserve.

xx Kat 

My soundtrack to happiness.

Last month I wrote a blog post about happiness, Your own happiness, in which I stated that I would be starting a series based around the things that make me personally happy.

So today I thought I would start out with the songs that make me personally feel happy.

We'll Be the Star by Sabrina Carpenter

Our Own House by MisterWives

Ready or Not by Bridgit Mendler

Really Don't Care by Demi Lovato

March Into the Sun by Echosmith

Land of Opportunity by A Great Big World

Love Is On the Radio by McFly (or alternatively the Hopeful Live Mix)

Ready To Go (Get Me Out Of My Mind) by Panic! At the Disco

New Shoes by Paolo Nutini

Ain't It Fun by Paramore

Wonderland by Taylor Swift

New Romantic by Taylor Swift

Girls Do What They Want by The Maine

No Matter Where You Are by Us

I've Got a Dream from the Tangled Soundtrack

Those are some of the songs that make me happy, what are some of yours?

xx Kat

A letter to my 16 year old self.

With my official turning of 22 having happened I thought today I would write a letter to my 16 year old self. 

So here goes.

Dear 16 year old Kat,

Right now you are probably sitting in one of your 11th grade classes, daydreaming about getting out of the classroom and having grand adventure in the great big world, something that you still do to this day.

Hold onto that dream, it will lead you to trying new things and even making the biggest decision of your life so far, which is moving away from home to study at University, something you never thought you would do. 

There are so many things I wish I could tell you, things that you keep you safe and protected for some of the oncoming tough times that you are yet to experience. I wish I could tell you about the people who will eventually let you down and those who you no longer trust at all, even if you wouldn't believe me. Sometimes even I don't believe what some of things are, and they have already happened to me.

But let me tell you this is does get better, no matter how silly that sounds, it does.

Eventually we make the right choices, ones that are good for ourselves, even if it takes that one final push, we make some hard decisions, but they are the right ones.

Firstly don't let people push you around and tell you what to do, or how to act. Also don't let people tell you what to like/what not to like. These people aren't important in the long run and are not good for you. 

Eventually you do find the right people to hang out with, a certain few who you really get along with and that you feel completely comfortable around, even though it took you a bit longer than most, you have an amazing group of new and old friends now that you find comfort in.

Secondly don't give up on any of your dreams, you will and have found a way to further some of your dreams and thats the best thing that you could have possibly done. 

Finally, everything turns out pretty okay, whilst I can't speak for what the future will hold, for now everything is pretty good and you are finally doing something that makes you feel happy and is leading you towards on of your big dreams.

If I could meet you face to face now and tell you all this I would. Some of these things I wish I knew back then, being able to know that some of the worries I held back then are not important anymore would have been a big help.

Just hold on for a little longer

Love 22 year old you.

What are some things that you would tell you younger self?

xx Kat

21 things I learnt in my 21st year.

So today is the official last day of being 21. Tomorrow I grow yet another year older.

So for the first day of May Madness I thought I would list 21 things I learnt over this past year. These things have changed me. And I though I would share them with you.

1. Pulling an all nighter before a performance day is a horrible idea and is something that should never be done.

2. Essay are not as scary as I thought they were in high school, especially if you have a week or so to write them, with your own notes.

3. Living out of home for the first time teaches you many useful skills.

4. When food shopping, don't spend it all on snacks.

5. Also don't spend all your money on items that aren't food.

6. Organisation is the key to getting things done on time.

7. To-do lists are a life saver.

8. Whenever possible wear comfortable shoes/clothes.

9. Try not to get drunk for fun very often. This usually leads to injury and sadness.

10. Don't over highlight notes.

11. Craft is a good form of procrastination. So go crazy and paint the life out of, or into, as many things as possible.

12. Being sick sucks when there is work that needs to be done.

13. Take less 'sick' days, you are more productive when this doesn't happen.

14. Those people in your life that suck at being nice/a friend/ helpful, are not important enough to worry about. 

15. Worrying less is better for you.

16. But worrying seems to be a big thing these days, as well as stressing about everything.

17. Surrounding yourself with people who make you smile is the best thing ever.

18. Never let anyone question what makes you happy.

19. Find people that make you soul shine, they are the people who should be your friends.

20. Living with people you get along with is so much better than living with people you don't get along with.

21. Find the things that make you happy and use them when you are feeling sad or down.

What are some important lessons you learnt over the past year?

xx Kat

Your own happiness

I have talked about happiness multiple times on this blog because I feel that it is an important topic. It's something that I struggle with frequently and it's something that I feel is important to talk about.

Over the past couple of days I have been questioning my happiness. Over thinking every small inch of my life and wondering if I have made the right choices. It has been keeping me up at night and has stopped me from enjoying things of recent. 

It's when these types of questions are swimming around in my brain that I lose hope and passion. And this eats me up inside, causing doubt and stress. Even the things that make me happy can't cheer me up.

But I want you all to know is that there is always hope, there is always a silver lining. There is always a second side to that coin. Always remember that.

Never lose hope.

I have decided that from this month I will be doing a monthly happiness blog post. Whether that's sharing happy moments, giving you ideas on cheering up, sharing with you my personal cheering up methods (which there are a lot of) and just being here to let you know that there is always hope. I hope to always be here for you.

I will most likely write these posts when I am having a bad day, as a way to cheer myself up.

What are some of the things that cheer you up? 

xx Kat