February 6, 2010
“We only have 86,400 seconds in a day to turn it all around, or to throw it all away.” Kris Allen, the latest winner of American Idol, knows what life’s all about. It is people with this mindset that I admire. I would love to be the kind of person who doesn’t worry about a thing, and who just lets insecurities and worries pass over them, although I must admit that I do have a wonderful view on life. It’s too short to worry about the small, insignificant things – something that seems like a big deal now probably won’t even matter in two months time!
A few people in my life have passed away, though I am fortunate enough not to have lost any of my close friends or family. I feel incredibly blessed with my life and that I have a healthy body and lovely friends. I have clothes on my back and food on the table every night – whether it’s a peanut butter sandwich or a feast. No matter how bad something in my life may seem, someone else always has it a little worse. I live my life by the quote “be nicer than necessary, because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.” When I meet a stranger, I try to compliment them on their beautiful eyes or hair or the clothes they’re wearing. Something so small and simple like this can make someone’s dreary day so much brighter.
Life is full of ups and downs, and each day should be lived as if it were your last. Take advantage of every opportunity offered to you, and never regret anything you do – regret is such a wasted emotion. No matter what you do, you can’t take back something that has already happened. Let it go, apologise and change for the better. Move on to the next chapter in life – it’s the only way you can grow and flourish as an individual and a person.
Next time something gets you down, just smile and laugh. Life is something that shouldn’t be taken seriously, no one gets out alive anyway.
Chelsea (: x
February 6, 2010
I’m Chelsea. I’m 16 years old and I think its a pretty average age to be honest, you’re too young to do R18 things and too old to do things for kids. I’m a chronic nail biter, and worrier, but that’s just me. I’m a happy, bubbly person who wants to make the most of life and do it my way! Sometimes I’m insecure but that’s just the way life goes. I’m all about forgiveness and letting go, although I don’t always forget. I have the best friends in the whole wide world and I wouldn’t change them for anything, they all come from different walks of life and have different beliefs and values but they are all perfect in my eyes. My friends come from all different groups so I’m basically friends with my whole year, which is great. In maths class last year, I sat next to the most amazing girl Stef, who inspired me and got me through 2009. Without her, I don’t know where I’d be now. I’m overly gushy, cause all I want is for people to like me. I try to make everyone around me happy, and spend way too much money and time on trying to impress my friends. I have the most amazing job in the whole wide world, the people I work with are so amazingly incredible and talented and I love them all. When I’m older I’m going to live in New York City, despite what you think about it. I’m going to be a journalist, and report stories from all over the world. Writing is my passion in life, I can’t imagine life without it. I have always taken comfort in the fact that a pen and paper are just around the corner, and have always been able to write down my worries in my own special way. If just one person learns something from my writing then my whole life has been worthwhile. I love to have a great time, but to be honest I’m a total nana at heart. I’d rather sit at home with a dvd and some friends than go out to a nightclub. I’d rather laze around with family than go and get wasted with people I don’t know. I know that’s weird, but hey that’s me. And aren’t we all different? I have a few slight obsessions apart from writing, the main one being Gossip Girl. I also love Adam Sandler movies, clothes and books. My life in a nutshell? I’m a nerd. A big old nerd who loves getting lost in books and writing and who rambles on and on about how beautiful the world is. If you want to know me, great. If you don’t.. Let’s work on it.
Chelsea (: x
January 11, 2010
Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind.
I spotted this quote written neatly in black ink across the top of the bulletin board of my father’s workplace. These simple words from Rudyard Kipling, a 19th Century English author and poet, really got me thinking. The quote is so insightful, strong and beautiful – and so unbelievably true. Words have the power to do anything you want them to. They can make or break a relationship. They can pick people up when they’re down, or force them right back into the ground again. Words truly are a drug, as they alter the way the mind perceives certain things and ideas, and can make people act in crazy ways.
Words are strong, and I have been in love with them since the day I knew what they were. I learned to read when I was three years old, and haven’t looked back since. Words can be manipulated to do anything you want them to – some people’s passion and flair for writing can move mountains and persuade millions, while others flounder unuccessfully in the attempt to write a small paragraph. Everyone has the potential to be great at writing, they just need passion and dedication.
Words work in ways you could never imagine, they open doors into unknown realms of mankind and transport people to wonderful places where their dreams can come true. Books and stories give people hope, and teach them understanding, sympathy and kindness. They help people escape their everyday lives, and lead them in the direction to help other people. Words are God’s greatest gift to mankind, and I am eternally grateful to Him for making the English language so vastly incredible and manipulative. Everyone has their own unique and fabulous writing style just itching to be uncovered. Grab a pen and paper, and see what you can come up with. You’ll be surprised.
Chelsea (: x
December 22, 2009
Today, I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about – I just knew that I wanted to write. I looked in the mirror and picked out all the many things that are wrong with me, cried a bit, and thought deeply about them.
Everyone has faults. Mine? I am a chronic worrier and nail-biter. I am insecure, jealous and a little bit hypo. I am tall, my fingers are crooked, my hair never goes the way I want it to and I’m slightly addicted to Facebook.
But are these really faults, or are they merits? Who is the mighty man who was granted the power to distinguish between negatives and positives? Who draws the magic line between a fault and a virtue?
Faults are only considered so because of the way the human mind works. People on television and in the media are considered perfect – and when we return to reality everything that doesn’t live up to this expectation is considered ugly. Bad. Negative. A fault.
To me there are many faults in the human race, though I believe that all humans are beautiful and special. Faults should be understood, while good traits should be praised and aprpeciated. People are not basically good or basically evil, they are a mixture of both. It is this fact that makes humans so special – and we can never really understand a person until we step into his skin and walk around in it.
Our “faults” are what makes us so unique. A perfect world would be dull and uninteresting. We would see perfection at every turn and would become bored, imperfections keep things fresh. So next time you pick out a negative in someone, think about it. Is it really that bad? Or is it beautiful?
Chelsea (: x
December 13, 2009
Since I was a young chlid, I have watched the meaning of “Christmas” change and develop. Over the years Christmas has become more and more commercialised and less about Jesus and family. I have watched The Warehouse bring out their Christmas cards and decorations earlier each year; this year it was in October.
Where has Christmas gone? It used to be about spending time with family, appreciating what you have and sharing a lovely meal. Nowadays everyone is worried that if they don’t get someone a Christmas present they will be in trouble – but why should they? Is it their birthday? No, it’s Jesus’.
I still love the Christmas traditions in our family – every year we have spent it with my Grandmother,we all cook turkey and lots of seafood and we share stories and crackers at the table. Four years ago she moved to the outskirts of Nelson, in the South Island. We now all meet at her home and spend the special day in the beautiful countryside – shooting targets and having a glass of fine champagne in the sunshine. Present opening happens after the fun and quality time, the way it should be.
Let’s try to bring back the true Christmas and take the stress out of the season. For gifts, why not make something special for your friends? This way it shows that you appreciate them enough to take the time and effort to create something for them, rather than just going out and spending your hard-earned money. Christmas cheer, spirit and presents can still be enjoyed in abundance – just let’s remember the true meaning of Christmas. Time with family is the most precious gift in the world.
Chelsea (: x
December 9, 2009
I can clearly recall my younger days when I would sit outside under the sun in my beautiful backyard, and ponder on the beauties of the world.
I would lie back in the freshly cut grass and think of how lucky I was to live in such a beautiful world. I would think about the lush green forests, amazing beaches, gorgeous contryside and lovely people. The world is full of miracles, you being one of them. Shutting my eyes, the sounds of the native birds would transport me to another world. One where I lived in the forest amongst the wildlife. I had no house, no television and no technology - only a small hut which housed a bed. No-one could do bad, everything was perfect. My special place.
Nature truly is a beautiful thing. The amazing planet we have been blessed with is something we can spend our lives being grateful for – it is incredible that we wake up to a beautiful orange sunrise every morning and can sit on a hill with our lover to watch the sun go down.
Chelsea (: x
December 2, 2009
I can’t seem to get over the fact that i’m not really a “unique” person. After thinking about it, all I am is little pieces of everyone else in my life, fused into one.
I received all my physical traits from my parents. My parents gave me my brown eyes, brown hair and height. My character, however, has developed through the people I have met and the challenges I have faced throughout my life. I learned to be funny and not to take life seriously from my father – he is truly the funniest person I know. My mother has taught me how to be an awesome housewife and mother – she has taught me to clean and cook, and to be a good friend.
I have learned various other lessons from different people in my life – friends, family, celebrities, book characters and strangers. I can’t shake the feeling that I am just a mix of all these people – a piece of my mother, a piece of my father and tiny pieces of all my friends. But after deep thought I have realised that even though I am made up of bits of others, it is the pieces themselves that make me so unique. The lessons I choose to absorb at every stage of my life make me the person I am today.
I am more unique than I will ever know, as no-one has been fused quite like me. No-one learns life’s lessons in the order or combination I have. The most important thing to remember is that everyone is amazingly special and beautiful. As Albus Dumbledore once said, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, rather than our abilities.”
Chelsea (: x
November 30, 2009
The whole world is beautiful because it reflects you; it is a mirror.
I’d like to start this post by saying you are the most beautiful thing in this whole wide world.
But what is beauty? Beauty is individually defined, it is subjective. To me, if someone is kind, caring, sympathetic and understanding, they are beautiful. My definition of beauty is wholly reflected in my wonderful friend Casia. She is gorgeous, inside and out. Her looks are something to rave about, but her personality – that is something amazingly special. Always there to help her friends, she is kind, caring and graceful. Not to metion talented to boot – an amazing scholar as well as dancer. This is beauty.
To some, beauty is being stick thin and wearing an unnecessary amount of makeup. It is common for people to obsess over their looks – plastic surgery businesses are booming, and the cosmetic industry is one that can’t be beaten.
In a crazy media-driven world, the vision of “beauty” is distorted. People need to sort their priorities out – everything has beauty. Those annoying moths and tiny ants are as beautiful and important as you are. They are God’s creations, and they each hold an impressive position in the world. That old man that you pass every morning who shouts hello to you in a cheery voice, he is beautiful too. In his own way he knows the secrets of the world – perhaps you should befriend him, you could learn a thing or two.
But most importantly, you are beautiful. Don’t you forget it.
Chelsea (: x
November 16, 2009
In my opinion, whoever invented exams was an evil old man who didn’t like children. The same goes for uniforms, homework and bedtimes.
Can’t someone invent a magic machine that pulls all the knowledge out of student’s heads? Exams are a stressful time. All that revising and lack of sleep all for one three-hour exam. Then as soon as we walk out of the exam room.. poof. All that information leaves us. What’s the point in learning it?
Some of us do not perform our best in exam conditions – the deadly silence, the mounting pressure as the clock ticks and the exam supervisor yawning and tapping their foot. All you can hear is ballpoint pens scratching away at bleached white paper, and confusingly crafted questions lay in front of us in dark black ink. How do exams show teachers that we know stuff? They don’t, they just show how much we can remember in a short period of time.
School needs to be made more interesting – who really wants to learn how to draw a parabola, or learn about limits, functions, derivatives, integrals and infinite series. When are we really going to need it in real life? Never.. unless, like Mikayla, your ambition is to become a mathematician. If school was more interesting and fun, exams wouldn’t be so daunting.
And all this “credits” business is ridiculously confusing. Come back from the dark ages please, School C?
I have finished one exam, thank goodness, and only have four to go now. Next is English, which is tomorrow. I hope I pass. Wish me luck.
Chelsea (: x
November 13, 2009
I have been doing some short revision for my Level 2 NCEA History exam – and I feel quite sad.
Learning about Adolf Hitler and his evil ways has made me question the goodness of people. How can one person be so mean that he wishes to destroy an entire race? It doesn’t make sense that a single man should be born with so much pure evil inside of them, it’s simply unfair.
People and their thoughts and actions have always been a fascination of mine – although I oddly dislike the subject of history with a passion. I find it highly interesting that some people are born with all the motivation an ambition in the world – such as Hellen Keller, Jane Goodall, Sir Edmund Hillary… and that there’s others that waste their amazing lives and have no dreams in life – Murderers. Rapists. Abusers. Drug pushers. Our world is so opportune, so beautiful and so vastly incredulous.. yet these people ruin it for the rest of us.
There’s a world of opportunities out there and it is unbelievable that so many people don’t take advantage of them. One of my many dreams is to move to New York and work for a magazine or newspaper there, spending my days and nights doing what I love -writing. I know this dream is near impossible to achieve – I mean, how many of us want to move to New York? The space there is limited, and the writing industry is a hard one to get into, even though there’s writing all around us. However, if I did not have this dream, where would I be? What would I have to work toward? I would be a directionless hobby writer with no ambition – I would probably end up at a 9 to 5 office job hating every minute of it. But because I have this dream, this wish, this ambition.. I have something to achieve. And I know I will get there. I was born with the same mindset as a tiny bird trying to fly from it’s nest – we both jump, taking a risk and trusting in ourselves to reach our goals. We may fall in the process and get a few knocks and bumps, but we both eventually make it to our destination.
Follow your dreams, and never let anyone throw you off your path. You are beautiful.
Chelsea (: x
