ROMANTICISATION

"Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me. 

'Cause we were just kids when we 
fell in love, not knowing what it was..." 

- Ed Sheeren (Perfect)

I love the unusual, the different, the unorthodox but it is a strange dichotomy that I am also a secret die hard romantic for the corny, cheesy stuff. Love is so commercialised these days that often young lovers break hearts in the search for something of silver screen dreams. When the infatuation dies off, you go off searching for a new high thinking something is wrong with what you had. But honey, nothing was wrong with what you had, what was wrong was you.

ATTENTION

“Trust and attention - these are the scarce

items in a post-scarcity world.” 

- Seth Godin

Really think about it. We live in a world where abundance is the norm. Abundance in food, in people, in opportunities... yet trust and attention are two rare things in this modern world. And for most of you, the first thing you think of is the trust and attention you receive from your (potential) boyfriends or girlfriends... of how difficult it is to form relationships where you are given an abundance of trust and attention, and it's true. But Seth Godin didn't say this in the context of only love. Dive deeper.

GLASS CEILINGS

"Teach your daughters to worry less about

fitting into glass slippers and more about

shattering glass ceilings."

Pretty photos draw you in, but the real value is in the words and its message.

If you want to make a difference you have to be bold. Do not suppress your opinions. Sure you might rub some people the wrong way but follow your instincts, if you are a good person at heart your opinion will be respected by the majority (because I would like to believe the majority are good).

CONQUER

[Rihanna:] 

I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive

 I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise 

To fly To fly 

Sorry for the hiatus, friends! It has been a busy few months with a focus that strayed away from blogging. When I started this journey, I told myself I would give it 3 years and see where it goes, thinking I'd probably stop after I graduate law. But the 3 month long hiatus left me itching to express myself in some form or another. And thus I have (temporarily) returned.

In hopes of saving money for a bigger trip at the end of the year (Europe here we come!!) I decided let's do a nice Winter road trip up the coast of Western Australia. It's my tradition to always leave the city every holidays and I was not going to break that tradition being stuck in Perth just because I need to be money-wise for my big end-of-year trip. 

COLD WATER

"One of the hardest things you will ever have to do,

 my dear, is to grieve the loss of a person who is still alive."

This one is for you, N. 

A poem-esque piece I wrote once upon a dark time:

How does it feel like to miss someone you love...but may never be with again? It's like holding your breath underwater waiting for the moment that you can rise up and breathe again. You stay there, suffocating in the misery of yearning for the one that got away, with the small naive hope that they will return to you. You're suffocating and slowly you are dying. The only thing providing you with life is that small glimmer of hope, that same glimmer you see as the sun reflects off the surface of the water as you struggle in the dark deep water below. But there is that part of you that wonders, will I ever get that moment to breathe again? What if they never come back?

THE MAVERICK

ˈmav(ə)rɪk/ noun:
an unorthodox or independent-minded person.

I talked to N yesterday and it made me realise something I've subconsciously learnt over the past two years. People teach you to play hard to get because that's how you keep the guy, that's how you keep them interested. But I remember something my brother told me a year ago: "When you're in a relationship, there's no need to play games. You're both in the relationship because you obviously like each other." And it made sense, yet didn't really fully make sense... Because we all know when we start replying quicker, sound a little too eager, a tad clingy, the guy for some stupid magical-unicorn reason, stops reciprocating and becomes cold, or just less attentive. Steve Harvey wrote a best-selling book for women teaching them how play the game: "Act like a lady, think like a man." Part three is called the 'Playbook: How to Win the Game' which pretty much sums up how this self-help book almost ruined me.

AUTUMN GOODBYE

"I never promised you a happy ending,

You never said you wouldn't make me cry,

but summer love will keep us warm long after

our autumn goodbye,

 autumn goodbye, autumn goodbye"

 - Britney Spears 

In the past, all my relationships have started in Winter. Summer comes and it's 'Summer Love', but none until now, with this one, have made it into Autumn. So no this isn't, as Ms Spears dubbed it, Autumn Goodbye. This one is here to stay.

They say "anyone that encourages intellectual, emotional, artistic or spiritual growth is worth keeping. Don't let them go." But they forget that some people who encourage intellectual growth may do so in the worst way, in the most demeaning way. And those who encourage emotional growth may do so in the most heartless way... So no, be with someone who is kind to you, who is patient and understanding towards you. "If you find yourself thinking 'Wait. Can't say that. He'll think I'm weird and f*cked up.' Ditch them and find someone who responds with something twice as weird and three times as f*cked up." 

When you blurt out something that's completely bizarre because you no longer filter yourself, then you stare at him and he stares back in a moment of silence... But then he bursts out laughing at your idiocy. That's when you know you've found someone of the same wavelength. He doesn't judge your weirdness but fall for it time and time again, and you on the other hand are fulfilled by the fact that you can make him laugh.

MISS INDEPENDENT

"Define success on your own terms, 
achieve it by your own rules, 
and build a life you're proud to live."

- Anne Sweeney

It's so easy when being surrounded by high-achievers to feel so lost, to become completely persuaded by majority's definition of success. L confided in us about her cousin, how she was a dentist, dating a dentist, about to get married, and moving into the house they bought together. But as my friend Q says, "Define your own success!".

THE WHITE KNIGHT

"A good half of the art of living is resilience." 

- Alain de Botton

How could someone with such a soft heart for cartoon characters and animals be so heartless and act so merciless towards someone they once cared about, who is now crying and begging right in front of them? It is such a weird question but it reminds me that Hitler was an animal lover yet he killed millions of Jews. It is a reminder that a love and compassion for one thing is not a love and compassion for all. I guess I always thought there was a strong correlation, that one thing means a bigger picture and often I am left devastated. Extrapolating one small thing and correlating it to mean something bigger, grander, better... Know this, you should not put people in boxes, and when you learn that they are not who you thought they were, do not try to change them. You cannot change people. You can only offer your help and keep your doors open for them. Only we are the heroes of our own lives. We are our own white knights.

BANGKOK BRUNCHING

"People who love to eat

are always the best people." 

- Julia Child

We had no plans to do brunch in Thailand, thinking of diving into the most raw and dingy hidden places for amazing food. But I was glad we had the chance to see a different light of Thailand. Located at Sukhumvit 49, tucked away from the busy streets of Sukhumvit is this bright and bubbly cafe serving a delicious range of Western food. To think Thailand doesn't know how to do brunch, Rocket Coffee Bar sure does! Bringing ingredients and influences from all around the world into their coffee (from places such as South America and local Thailand), I truly felt like Rocket Coffee Bar was a plane ticket experience for the world's coffee. And for someone who loves to travel, their menu gave me ecstatic feelings.

RUN AWAY WITH ME

"This is the part, you've got to say all that you're feeling, feeling

Packing a bag, we're leaving tonight when everyone's sleeping, sleeping

Let's run away, I'll run away with you

Hold on to me, I'll never want to let you go

(Run away with me, run away with me)

Over the weekend, we can turn the world to gold…"

- Carly Rae Jepson

We are young, and we are golden.

As much as I would like to say I don't have any expectations for 2017, I honestly don't think it is hard to beat 2016. Already it has kicked off to be a whole better year in comparison, in merely two months in. Only two months in and I've already ticked off another bucket list moment: to travel with my SO.

I've been to Thailand before, but only as a one night stopover. So I've had a brief taste of what its country was like. But nothing, nothing prepared me for the full experience of this amazing country, with its capital city dipped in spiritual gold. Fragrant in culture and spices, it was a beloved experience. An experience that was eagerly welcomed in its difference to my last adventure, strenuously road tripping down the East Coast of Australia. This trip was simply wandering endlessly and endlessly eating! Simple pleasures lead to happy lives.

IF I DIE YOUNG

"If I die young bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song"
- The Band Perry

Sorry James Dean but your quote "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today" is a stupid quote. Because if I were to die today, I'd rob a bank and spend that money on crazy things. But I must admit, coming to terms with the fact that one day we will be dead, really puts things into perspective. One day a lot of things won't matter anymore, so why should it matter so much today? We could be dead tomorrow (no exaggeration). 

URBAN DECAY

"Our intellect has achieved the most

 tremendous things, but in the meantime

 our spiritual dwelling has fallen into disrepair."

 - Carl Jung

Yeah, if you know your cosmetics, this is a play on word on that one very amazing cosmetic brand. Google it if you're confused. That aside, let's hit straight into more interesting things that more people will be keen in reading... 'Urban Decay' - the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude due to neglect or age. And yes, this is another relationship article, they always seem to get the most attention. I guess we're all just dying to find out the magic to achieving eternal belonging. Replace the word 'city' with the word 'relationship' and you have this fortnight's topic: a previously functioning relationship falls into disrepair and decrepitude due to neglect... 

THE OCEAN

You can be my safety zone, 

Somewhere I can go when I feel alone

That's all I need, all I want, Is to stay a little longer now

Arms around me like a border, 

Like an endless stream

You take me in, To a place that I've never been

Now I'm Giving in to your touch

I will never get enough

Diving deep into the ocean

- Mike Perry (The Ocean)

Three girls on the road, three wild hearts, young and free. Wind in our hair, crystallised salt on our bronzed skin. Age is but a number, but our body will never be younger than we are in this moment. "The oceans is everything I want to be. Beautiful, mysterious, wild and free."