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Friday 26 August 2016

The Way I See It... Steptember

Hey guys! This week has been pretty eventful, somebody in my extended family has been diagnosed with cancer and somebody else in my extended family might have a chronic illness to do with the brain (they can still think and communicate as clearly and abstractly as before thankfully). To make matters worse I ran into somebody two days ago and feel on the floor while playing multi-sports and I got winded. The next morning I couldn't move my neck and I went to the chiropractor twice in one day. Turns out I had a mild concussion and an extremely tight neck. I'm going to today and if things aren't a lot better, I'll be getting x-rays. I'm feeling a lot better today though. Sorry for my little ramble, I'll be getting on to the post now, haha. Today I'm going to be talking about Steptember.

A few days ago, I found out about something called Steptember, I heard the cause behind it and I was very interested. Steptember, as you may have guessed is about taking steps in September for charity. From the !st to the 28th of September, I will be taking 10,000 steps a day and raising money for people living with Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is basically a brain injury occurring at or before birth that affects a person's ability use their muscles and body, sometimes the person will have seizures and other disabilities. The funds of Steptember can give people living with Cerebral Palsy their first steps, a physiotherapy session or even a modified bike to make playing with their friends possible. Your fundraising can also pay for research into how we can cure Cerebral Palsy! I highly recommend finding out more about Steptember on their website.

I'm going to be doing Steptember because I want to be healthier and raise money for people with Cerebral Palsy, I'm going to be doing a lot of fundraising for the event. So far I have talked to my principal about selling home-made awareness ribbons (green for Cerebral Palsy) and he loves the idea, I have some friends helping me sell those, I still need to come up with advertising around my school but I'll be making those ribbons tonight. I might go to a Saturday Market and sell some baking and ribbons. I think I might do a raffle for lollies (sweets/candy) and chocolate depending on the sales of the ribbons and baking. I will also be asking my family and friends to sponsor me.

If you would like to get involved with Steptember, go to their website, you could directly donate there or do Steptember yourself. Feel very welcome to donate to me through my online fundraising page! Any of the above will help greatly, but obviously, it's not a necessity to give money to the cause, I just think it will make you feel really great to know that you are helping someone in need. Steptember starts in 5 days and 6 hours, I am ready for this!

I hope you have enjoyed finding out a little bit more about Steptember and good luck in whatever you want to do to help those living with Cerebral Palsy. I will update you regularly on my Steptember journey! How are you going to get involved in Steptember? Do you know somebody living with Cerebral Palsy? Tell me in the comments. I hope you have a wonderful day! Byeeeeee!

xxx

Catherine

Friday 19 August 2016

The Way I See It... Caring


Hey guys! Thank you so much for the positive reaction the posts I have written previously in this series, it is great to know that you care about what I'm writing. Today I'm going to be talking about the definition of caring. This is one of the most important traits for a friend to have and I try to be a caring person. Even though this word is pretty commonly used, it means a lot to me.

According to the dictionary, caring means "displaying kindness and concern for others." This is a pretty good round up of what the word means, but I think that only really covers the surface of the word. It doesn't show the grateful smiles and the real, warm hugs.

Caring, in my opinion, is being concerned for the people you love. It's making sure they're happy as often as possible. It's sitting down with them and just listening to all of their problems. It's taking them seriously  It's giving your best friend a present that relates to an inside joke. It's making sure not to call their step-dad their dad just because they mentioned that it annoys them. It's all the things that people outside of those close relationships would miss. They don't have to be big things but they sure make you feel thought-about. It's the things that make you feel like you're not alone, the things that make you feel like somebody's there for you.

I am lucky to have a lot of people that care about me in my life, but you might not feel that lucky, they are always people to care for you but you just need to open up to them. If you feel alone and you are scared to trust somebody, why not start with somebody who you have never met in your life? An internet friend! You are all very welcome to send me an email telling me your problems or just having a good chat.

I hope you enjoyed this post, thank you so much for reading! Is being a caring friend something you think about often? What do you do to be a caring friend? Tell me in the comments. Until next Friday, byeee.

xxx

Catherine

Friday 12 August 2016

The Way I See It... Choosing a Positive Attitude

Hey guys! I'm back with another post for my "The Way I See It" series. I'm really enjoying this series so far, I'm back on track and that feels pretty good! Today I'm going to be talking about having a positive attitude and the choice I made to be this way. Let's get into it!

When I was younger, I was not a positive person. I complained all the time, I took things personally and I was just generally not very happy. I guess I just wasn't conscious of how my mind worked and how I could actually choose to be positive. Everybody around me had some degree of negativity (everybody does) but all of it changed thanks to two contestants on MKR called Carly and Tresne who labelled themselves on MKR as "best friends" but are actually married. They didn't tell the public when they were on the show as they wanted to be judged on their cooking instead of their sexuality, no doubt it would have been hard anyway as same-sex marriage is illegal in Australia. Anyway back to the point. They were so positive and I felt so good when I saw them on TV and I really wanted to have that outlook on life. I found out that if I looked at things positively, I felt good and the right people liked being around me. As I mentioned in my last post, psychologists have found that it takes around three months for an action to become a habit, so every time I thought something negative, I stopped myself and turned that thought around and now I'm a generally positive person.

The point of the story is, you don't come right out of your mother going "well that hurt, but I'm so glad I'm out in the world now!" Not quite, haha! You don't have to be positive from the start, you can start right now. For me personally, the internet, specifically the blogging community is filled with positive people who have helped me on my journey, below will be the links of two of the most positive people on the internet you can visit to boost your positivity and generally make you feel happy.

Rainbow-Rose Blossom's blog and YouTube channel! She has been through some very difficult things but she has come out of them with a smile on her face, rainbow hair and a beautiful new name. She radiates positivity and is honestly like a personal life coach!

Marianne's website! This girl is amazing! She posts about mental well-being, physical health and inspirational quotes mainly. She has an enormous heart and is so kind and positive. If I'm feeling unmotivated in any part of my life, I visit her blog and immediately feel better. Keep in mind that she has just launched her new website a couple of weeks ago (congrats again Marianne!) but if you want to check out her previous blog, you won't be disappointed!

Thank you very much for reading this post! Are you a positive person? What do you do to boost you positivity? Tell me in the comments. Thank you again and I'll see you shortly!

xxx

Catherine

Sunday 7 August 2016

The Way I See It... Man In The Mirror

Hey guys! I'm really sorry that I haven't been able to post for a month. I have been super busy with school work as well as dealing with my mental health, it's fair to say I have had WAY too many breakdowns over the month. I did manage to tell a handful of friends about my mental health issues, they have been so lovely and supportive, they are the main reason for me finding a scrap of energy and getting my blog on track again. I think I might write a post about my mental state because I know how supportive and motivating you guys are, it means a lot to me. I would just like to add that my normal posting schedule for The Way I See It will remain the same, Friday at 5:30pm New Zealand Standard Time but I just couldn't wait until Friday.

I suppose I should get onto what the post is actually about now, haha! Today I'm going to be talking about making the world a better place by starting with yourself. I was inspired to write about this by Michael Jackson's song Man in The Mirror and Gandhi's quote "Be the change you wish to see in the world". Let's get into it!

I thought about the song and the quote and realised that it is very easy to get caught up in complaining about things you see other people do when you do them as well, I know I do this! This is unfair and, let's face it, it isn't very nice being called a hypocrite, no matter how true it may be!

Because of my realisation, I decided that I would make another golden rule. That rule is that before I open my mouth to complain, I will check if I do that thing (so basically check yourself before you wreck yourself, haha). I encourage you to join me on having this golden rule, psychologists say that it takes about three months for an action to become a habit so I will be reminding myself to remember my rule.

I hope you have enjoyed this post as much I have enjoyed writing it! Will you be joining me on being less of a hypocrite over the next three months? What are some of your golden rules for life? Tell me in the comments! Thank you again for reading, I will see you on Friday!

xxx

Catherine