oh, mother!

Hello all you readers' out there! 

I want to dedicate this post to a very special person in my life and seeing as today (despite me not actually being there) is Mother's Day in the UK, it seemed like the perfect time to do so. Now I know what some of you may be thinking..."oh but the date of Mother's day is different depending on what country you're from" bla bla bla but this, in my opinion, does not have any less of an effect on the purpose of this post this afternoon - it's not hard to appreciate the love and respect many people have for their mother who after all, is one of the most important people in our lives.

Mother's are important for countless reasons, they not only lay the foundations for us to build upon throughout our lives, but they prepare us to fly from the nest and explore the joy of what life truly has to offer.

It's often said that "when the mother starts to shatter, then everything just comes undone" and if you ask me, this is nothing less than true. Although many of us don't think of it like this (and it's something i'm only just beginning to realise), but every minute, of every hour, of every day, our mother's are worrying about us and are constantly trying to keep themselves 'together' to enable us to continue thinking of them as a force to be reckoned with in which nothing can prove too much for them to handle. Mum, you have always been there for me - be it with advice, a shoulder to cry on, someone to keep me company or just to listen to some of those insignificant rants and moans - which let's be honest, with me is more often than not!

We've done okay you and me (and dad, bless him being outnumbered by us! I think he deserves some sort of medal!) over the past twenty years haven't we? Yes, I'd say we've been bobbing along quite nicely. Of course, like anything else, we've had our ups and downs, our good days and bad days and those fall outs in which we spend the day not speaking in a huffy state of silence - granted they were mostly down to me - but all in all I think we're doing just fine and dandy. 

You are, without question, one of the funniest people I know. You're hilarious, you have such an incredible spirit, sense of humour and personality. Oh, and don't even get me started on that laugh of yours - so damn infectious! I can't wait to have you out here with me for the long weekend in April, if it's anything like normal, it will be laughter 24-7! I honestly can't wait. 

I don't think i've ever known a person to be as selfless as you, mum. You put others before yourself in a way I just didn't think was possible, you've been there to help me through some of the toughest decision making processes in my life as well as prove an absolute rock through stressful and uneasy times. 

I wouldn't be the person I am now if it wasn't for you, mum. You taught me to be kind and loving, you showed me how to be strong and take pride in myself. You told me to stand up for what I believe in and that I shouldn't be ashamed of who I am - if I love boys, girls, both or in-between and perhaps most importantly, you are still teaching me how to be the best person I can possibly be. You're a firm believer in not letting anyone take advantage of you, and are always on the hunt to make sure that no one does the same to your 'little boy', I love that about you. When I was younger (and much, much more stupid) I used to scream "I HATE YOU" when you weren't letting me act on my stupidity, I never meant any of that of course, but now I can't even imagine saying those words to you. It genuinely hurts to imagine myself saying such things. You're my best friend, mum. If I didn't have you in my life I'd seriously be missing half of myself - that's a pretty scary thought if you ask me. 

You've supported every choice I've ever made (well that's not entirely true - you didn't support my horrific emo/punk rocker/gothic-style phase back in the day did you?) even if you're scared. I love that you trust me to do the right thing if I know within myself that it's best for me, and that i'll always make a place in my heart for coming home, no matter how far apart oceans and time finds us. When I left for Stockholm it was far from easy saying goodbye to you at the airport, and I know that it wasn't easy for you either, but I just want to say thank you for trusting me to make the move and I hope you're now seeing all the benefits it seems to be bringing! 

Thank you mum for believing in me, every step I take towards 'growing up' you're there cheering me on as well as helping to keep me on the pathway to success through the good old fashioned 'work hard, play hard' mentality! Without your support I wouldn't be able to do half the things I've done. I hope you know that I'll always be there to support you as well. There honestly isn't a thing in this whole world that I don't think you could do twice as well as anyone else - why do you think I have a 'keep calm, mum knows best' poster in my room at home?! You're an absolute rockstar in my eyes, mum!  

If I had to take away one thing from your countless words of wisdom I think it would be this - you've always taught me that it's okay to make mistakes and that they're, as you would say 'par for the course'. Because of you i've realised that you have to go out and get what you want from life because no one's gonna give it to you. If things work in my favour and I achieve what I want, be gracious, stretch back a hand and help those who helped you get to where you want to be and when things don't work out for me, or things don't go to plan as I hoped, well, I guess you've taught me that I just need to fight harder next time! 

I love you mum no matter what we go through because at the end of the day, I know you'll ALWAYS be there. You'll always be there, and so will I. 

Mum, I love you so much. 

This is for you.

L xo

all you need is sex?

Good morning my spring chickens!

...

 I feel I can officially say such things now that spring definitely appears to have arrived, don't you just love it? The longer days, brighter mornings, warmer weather and more to the point, generally happier people! The start of spring truly does put a smile on everyone's face. Arghh, I just love it! 

For those of you who don't share the same levels of excitement and are wondering as to why i'm making such a big deal of longer days and brighter mornings, try spending a winter in Sweden - where sunlight is a thing that basically doesn't exist from October till February - it will change your mind in an instant and thus, answer all those questioning thoughts about my levels of excitement. Go figure. 

Nevertheless, back to my latest post for you all this Sunday afternoon. I know what many of you are thinking, two entries in the space of a week, who do I think I am, right? Well hey, at least you guys can say i'm dedicated! More to the point, there is a clear reason for my entry today - even if it is just thoughts in my own little head. Let's see how it goes and where this post takes us - fasten those seat belts my darlings! 

So this weekend saw me going to the opening/premiere (or whatever you want to call it) of a new gay club in Stockholm called Wonk..I know right, the name is seriously questionable and, if i'm honest a lot of things about the club itself were too - now by this i'm not referring to the place itself, I actually had a great night, i'm referring to what seemed like a bunch of sex and image-obsessed people who clearly had one thing, and one thing only on their minds..

Now lets not kid ourselves, for the majority of us students these days, sex seems to be the hot topic in at least one of our daily conversations, it's totally normal - all those raging hormones and other shenanigans make it impossible not to at least touch upon the subject once or twice, whether it's friends talking about exactly what 'went down' with that ridiculously hot guy last night, or be it people just wallowing about the lack of sex in their lives whilst eating an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's...awkward. Anyhow, yes, if you ask me it seems that today it really is all about sex - I mean come on, at least give some people a glimmer of hope - for those out there who have yet to actually pop their cherry, it must feel like their virginity is constantly slapping them in the face! (figuratively, of course), because it literally is all we talk about!

Anyway, back to Friday night, after a hectic 'getting ready' process and heading into town around 2.30am to Wonk for what was certainly an unplanned evening, two main things struck me upon entering this place. Firstly, everyone had clearly spent far too long perfecting their appearance. Despite my all-too drunken state (story of my life), I can remember feeling so intimidated by far too many of the inhabitants in this place - I mean i'm all for looking your best and making an effort, but there comes a point where it's exhausting. So yeah, like I was saying, it's safe to say I felt a tad shitty with regards to my appearance on Friday, however, upon reflection, it seems that the more I think about these people that apparently increased my insecurity levels, I start to see them more as nothing less than walking insecurity beacons, slaves to the perceived judgment of others, trapped within a self-perpetuating circle of crushing status anxiety. I'd still secretly like to be and look like them, of course, I mean who wouldn't? (anyone that says they wouldn't is lying to the universe and themselves), but at least these days I can temporarily erect a veneer of defensive, sneering superiority. I've progressed that far.

The second thing that struck me was frightening - almost every single person I came across in this club were photographing themselves. In fact, that's all they seemed to be doing - standing around in expensive clothes, snapping away with phones and cameras,  one pose after another, as though they needed to prove their own existence, right there, in the moment. Crucially, this seemed to be the reason they were there in the first place - there was actually very little dancing for many, just some good old pouting and flashbulbs! Now come on, surely this is a new development - clubs have always been full of spontaneity, fun, excitement and that 'in the moment' feeling of sheer lusciousness! I can't remember even a few months back clubbers documenting their every moment the way they seem to do now - at least not to this demanded extent (I blame it all on Instagram!) Now I can't exactly sit here and preach, I do it too. Like it or not, we all do. It's clearly not enough to appreciate that we're having fun in a club anymore - we've now got to document every moment of this 'fun' onto our Instagram, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, or whatever it may be accounts'. Nights out have turned into an unending exhibition in which a million insecure, try-too-hard individuals attempt to out-cool each other and look the best they possibly can.

Now, back to my point. All of this effort, all of this obsessive behaviour combined with constant preening and perfecting was for one thing, and one thing only. We all know what it is, the individuals themselves knew what it was, and, needless to say, they were out with the absolute desire to achieve it. Sex.

"Go for it Lyle, he's looking at you", my friends kept saying to me on Friday. "Don't you wanna get laid tonight? Are you not just like, really in the mood?" I kept hearing - if this is the only way you can find a partner these days then it's safe to say that i've lost all hope in the world we live in - jigging about like a desperate animal in the hope that someone will notice you across a dance floor and instantly want to jump into your pants..the romance is killing me..

Can't I just go out and have fun with my friends, get drunk and forget about my day to day worries and stresses? Apparently not...

Just to clarify one thing here by the way, i'm in no way saying i'm against one night stands and that they shouldn't happen - since coming to Stockholm, i've had my fair share of them myself and yeah, they've been fun. My point is that surely this isn't the only way forward nowadays? Surely there must come a point where you simply can't be bothered with them anymore, right? Well, honestly? I think i'm most definitely at that point.

I'm starting to ask myself the same question over and over when I see 'one nighters' take place - isn't it a lot of hard work for very little reward? I mean let's break this down, seven hours of hopping around in a hellish, uncomfortable outfit, sweating like a pig in a butchers shop in exchange for what? - sharing some interesting pelvic thrusts and grinds with someone, mixed in with a bit of good old tongue-tennis in the middle of a dance floor, which inevitably leads to so much more once into full swing. The result? This person will be the one who'll snore and dribble onto your pillow till around 11 o'clock the next morning, before waking up beside you with their hair in a mess, blinking like a dizzy cat, reeking of alcohol combined with that morning-after McDonald's breath. 

Really? I mean like, really?

...

As much as these things are hilarious to talk about the morning after and create those all-time legendary memories that go down in history between friends, the reality is, if you ask me, actually quite sad. Call me old-fashioned, but what happened to sex with a meaning, sex with a purpose, sex that consists of two people madly in love wanting to share such an experience together? Like I said, i'm in the fortunate position to be sexually experienced enough for my liking, not a virgin and admittedly, like the majority of us, had those 'one night' situations a good few times that like I say, were for sure fun at the time. I think it's for this reason I feel comfortable enough to one, raise such a subject and two, pick out the flaws that are rapidly developing within the so called world of sex.

It seems, however, that what people thrive on today, especially amongst the younger generations, is sex, or should I say, meaningless sex. We see more and more that it's relationships, meaning and any sort of emotion that are being pushed to one side and replaced by a sheer ruthless, competitive and almost animalistic side within the world of sex. Intercourse is becoming an achievement, an art, something that people feel they have 'mastered', dictated by numbers or lists of people in which they have 'been with' over a given time.

If you ask me, I don't fully know how I feel about it. Do any of you? 

Needless to say, I do know one thing, for me anyway, the time has come for more. Whether this 'more' will become the reality will tell over time. 

So, is it all you need is love? Or more a case of all you need is sex in today's market? I'll leave you with that question.  

Spread the love and stay safe guys! 

Speak soon. 

L xo

#thebestfriend tag.

*So wake me up when it's all over! When i'm wiser and i'm......* 

...

Oh, sorry, didn't see you guys there - me and my singing huh? Why you may ask? I guess you could say it's because i'm still on a complete high from the INCREDIBLE show Avicii put on here in Stockholm last night! Avicii my darling, what a pleasure, I salut you dear child, I really, really do. You know those type of concerts, gigs or performances that you go to and the entire day afterwards you just have the artist or show's songs on repeat? Yeah, well today ladies and gents, that is me! 

How are you all, by the way? I hope that the beginning of the, can you believe it, THIRD month of 2014 is treating you swell and that, as you know you should, are making every minute count in this thing we call our lives. This is that time again - what have you done today to make yourself happy? Nothing? Well now's your chance - go do it! I'll meet you back here. 

So when I was thinking about what I could write in today's post for you all it didn't actually prove that hard to reach a conclusion, in fact, it came to me very quickly. This morning combined with yesterday afternoon, after speaking to the bestie about her night out on Friday and my Saturday night spent at Avicii combined with our ever-hilarious chat that takes place over iMessage and FaceTime, it hit me...THE BEST FRIEND TAG! This is actually a post I've wanted to do for some time now but has always been pushed to the back of mind for 'oh yeah, another time', well my little cherubs, that time is now! Get excited! You excited? Good, me too! 

Oh, and on another note, during my besties' night out on Friday in the big city, some cheeky buggar stole her iPhone 5 - of what is literally the extension of her right hand! I'm not even joking. In the words of my girl, "babe, I literally feel naked!!!" 

If you ask me, this post has came at the perfect time, so here goes!

Maddie, Mads, Mad-eye. My darling. My babe. My Mary (hehehe!). I hope this cheers you up, makes you smile, brings a tear to your eye and, well, makes you feel less naked?..

1.) How and when did you meet?

Honestly? God knows! No but for real, we actually met a house party for finishing our first proper set of high school exams, which as i'm sure many of you will remember, at the time seemed like the most terrifying thing to ever grace the planet! Talk about over analysing?.. I can remember I was wearing these pink, almost rosé coloured trousers with a black shirt (don't ask what I was thinking, I was 15 okay? I wasn't!) and somehow I stumbled across a drunken blonde haired chick who i'm now joined to the hip with five years later! Five years babe? Can you believe it? Where has the time gone?

2.) What's your favourite memory together? 

This question is honestly just too hard - but I think if I could explain it, I would say that with us, it's more a case of utterly ridiculous moments that actually are not funny to anyone else in the 'outside world' but are simply too hilarious to put a price on for both of us! *insert the 'WELL DONE BABE' moment coming off the bus here* wink wink! This can be anything from something we've both said when we've been drunk, something that has happened and yeah, just generally ridiculous things that would only happen when you put me and this girl in the same room! Once again, i'm sure many of you can relate. It's utterly priceless.

3.) Describe your best friend in one word.

Mad-eye, I think you know what this word is gonna be....timeless! (oh, FYI, this is one of those moments that I don't expect any of you readers to understand, just putting that out there). 

4.) What's your best friends dream job?

This is an easy one, a teacher, or should I say more specifically, a primary school one at that! There is honestly no person that I see better suited to a job than you to this one Mads - your mature, professional, approachable, tentative and hardworking nature makes you a dream candidate to kickstart the educational career of the future minds of the world! As I remember you saying to me, "a primary school teacher can be one of the biggest impactors upon a child's life", and I have no doubt that you will come to be that impactor. You're gonna rock that degree of yours and then rock that job afterwards Mrs! Who's gonna be there cheering your name? Moi! You go girl! #gomaddieitsyourbirthday

5.) What is your best friends' favourite makeup brand?

This one is again, super easy. Mads, being the incredibly typical female woman that she is and loving her makeup, has a few favourite brands with regards to the makeup world. Last time I checked they where the following - MAC, Bobbi Brown and Chanel. 

6.) What is something that annoys you about your best friend? 

Mads and I always pride ourselves on how honest our relationship is with each other and actually, is something I can say i'm very proud of. I, and I know Mads does too, really value honesty, whether it be about an opinion, something that's happened or if something is on your mind - mads and I are always there to listen to each other. With this in mind then, it automatically makes this question very, if I can use the word, 'unawkward' to answer. Mads knows as well as I do that one thing that annoys me about her is her level of indecisiveness - albeit getting better with age! Mads is never good at fast decision making or taking the reins on a situation if we're together, it's me ninety nine per cent of the time. Nevertheless, I secretly love it! Wink wink. 

7.) If you could go anywhere in the world together, where would it be and why?

We always speak about travelling together after uni, and have a 'list in our heads' of cities and general destinations that we always say 'oh babe I would love to go there with you!!' to. So I guess you could say just an amazing road trip or backpacking adventure after graduation - hitting the likes of Australia, the USA, Thailand and some European capitals! Sounds legit right? I've definitely got a bad case of the travel bug. 

8.) Favourite inside joke? 

I never laugh with someone more than with Maddie - but what is the funniest thing about our friendship is like i've previously mentioned - It makes absolutely NO sense to anyone else apart from us. We have numerous voices (yes, voices) and personalities that we switch-up between with each other and just ways of doing things that to us, are simply comical. It's really hard to explain...but yeah. Mads babe, I need a boost! Hehehe.

9.) Who takes longer to get ready in the morning?

Honestly? Me! Oh the irony - this question would probably be Maddie's response to question six. Whenever we have to leave to go somewhere or if we're going out together etc i'm always running at the cows tail (don't know the expression? Look it up!), be it fixing my hair, using the bathroom, plucking the 'last little bit to finish on my eyebrows' or packing something into a bag, i'm always the last one out the door between us! I don't even know how it happens. Being gay is hard work okay? God guys, just let me be...

10.) Favourite season?

For my girl, undoubtedly winter! Mads is forever saying to me that she "has more clothes that are nice for winter than for summer", and how she feels she "can just generally dress nicer in the winter" than for summer - oh and not to mention how, like me, she loves wearing big scarves, boots and jackets. If i'm honest i'm probably the same. As much as I like to pretend to myself that summer is my favourite season (although wearing moccasins with no socks is brill), it secretly is winter - I love my scarves way too much to put them away! 

11.) Favourite song? 

Anything about a heart-wrenching love story, corny break-up or teenage angst, me and my sassy chick are all over it! Favourite songs would be anything Beyoncé, Taylor Swift or Katy Perry (seen her twice together) related! Too mainstream for y'all? Well there's the door! 

12.) Comedy, horror or chick-flick?

Chick-flick, ALWAYS. Mean Girls, enough said. 

13.) Favourite movie?

Pretty much the same as above but more specific - Mads and I's favourite film to watch together is without doubt The Holiday, especially at Christmas! It is our yearly tradition and ritual that has yet to be broken - If any of you haven't seen it then I highly recommend you watch it ASAP. It's fantastically heartwarming, gut-wrenchinlgy romantic and downright bloody festive! What's not to love? Oh, and it has a great cast by the way. Always a plus, right?

14.) Do you guys have anything matching? 

One of the funniest aspects of my relationship with Maddie is that people think it's just that, a relationship! We are FAR too matching in many ways. Whenever we walk down the street arm in arm, there is truly nothing more convincing than the possibilities of us being married. We've come to accept that it's never really going to change and, to be honest, we love it. Oh, we also have Matching Barbour jackets that never fail to add to that good old 'Mr and Mrs' impression we apparently radiate. 

15.) What is something weird that you eat? 

With us it's not as much 'weird' things that we eat, but more just obsessions with particular things we like to eat, varying depending on the time of year and occasion we find ourselves in. Needless to say that when the cards are on the table, Mads and I can work our way through numerous cups of tea, accompanied by a pack of Digestive Caramel biscuits to dip in it - how British of us! Jolly good show Governor! 

There you go folks, just a few questions and answers to give you an insight into the simply amazing friendship I have with this girl! I hope it brought you as much pleasure and enjoyment reading it as did to me writing. 

Mads, I love you. I miss you every day and honestly don't know where i'd be if you were not a part of my life. You bring so many brilliant things to our friendship and we've shared so many amazing moments together. The thought of you not being a part of my life is quite frankly, a terrifying thought. I think it's safe to say we're joined at the hip. 

What I love about us most is that despite the distance we've been faced with over the past year, nothing changes. When we're reunited (be it via FaceTime, Skype, phone-call or in real-life), absolutely NOTHING has changed. If you ask me, that's damn pretty special. 

I'll leave you with a few quotes that I know you'll just love, seeing as i'm the one to thank for your now equally obsessed quote addiction level! Just like me. Mwahaha. 

P.s - the quote with the two finger men about falling? Made me die! What an absolute LOL. 

Sending you much love, hugs and kisses as always you sexy mofo! 

Mwah! Love you long time guuuuuuurl.

Peace out until next time kiddy-winkles! 

L xo

it's a tricky business this 'love' malarkey.

Love birds, married couples, 'open relationshippers', single beings.

HAPPY VALENTINES!!

On the eve of yet another Valentines day, as well as in the absolute midst of an all still-single life, it has dawned on me - I absolutely bloody love being single! Call me crazy? I dare you. 

It's now just under an hour till the clock strikes twelve and the big event gets officially underway. Right about now romantic flower arrangements are sitting in flower stores across the world just waiting to be delivered to that 'special someone', and god knows how many love heart balloons are bobbing away in living rooms of people's homes waiting to surprise someone after a night filled with steamy, passionate *cough cough*. 

Many of you may be wondering why i've had such a sudden realisation about loving single life - to be honest there's not really any one reason - what I will say, however, is that being single in this day and age really does have its advantages...hashtag love it! No but seriously, for once in my life i'm actually starting to become very happy and comfortable with the fact that i'm single. There's no shame in it, it's not an illness, it's perfectly normal and well, yeah...I guess that's it! I mean, when you're single you can do what you want, when you want, right?. You don't have to justify yourself to anyone, you can develop your own timescale of life and plan YOUR day around YOU, not anyone else. Oh, and those disgusting, weird, annoying and generally bizarre habits that you secretly love about yourself but no one else ever will?...well in single life such things can take place at anytime, any day, anywhere...how fabulous! 

In the weeks running up to valentines day it's safe to say we're just a tad bombard with love related items. High street stores and shopping centres are simply overtaken and turned upside down with love heart shaped cushions, teddy bears, cookies and chocolates and not to mention albums of '100 classic love songs' rocketing to number 1 on the iTunes downloaded list as well as those good old romantic comedies flying off the shelves for that romantic 'movie and dinner' couples have planned. Supermarkets are even getting involved in the love-frenzy - can you believe it? Love-heart shaped boxes are apparently the best way to hold fruit throughout the month of February. This was my discovery of the day, by the way. Fruit being sold in the shape of a heart. How adorable! 

...

There's so much pressure to not be single in this day and age and in my opinion, is something that's incredibly unfair and downright unjust. Relationships, commitment, reliability and making time for someone of importance is incredibly hard work. I feel people heavily underestimate the world of love and relationships - love is HARD work and anyone that says otherwise should definitely give me their number because I want your habits! But yeah, as I was saying, love ain't no walk in the park my friends! 

What ever happened to loving yourself first? Enjoying the time you have of being yourself with no one else to account for? Where did those days go? Single life is heavily underrated - it's great! Rock it, own it, strut your stuff baby! 

I’ve always wondered why love has to be so full of confusion and sheer abstractness. Why can’t love be simple? Why can’t it just be as pure as two people who realize that they can’t live as well, or as happily, apart as they can together? Does Valentine's day help reinforce this? Is that what it's ultimately trying to do? Keep the old 'love spark' alive? I don't know. Lauren Kate's book, Torment (great read, by the way) puts forward a quote that I feel perfectly relates to the world of love, relationships and emotions at the present time...

“They could steam up windows with their kisses, but as soon as they started using their mouths for other things - like talking - everything got so complicated.” 

Is this true? Is this the modern interpretation of what we define to be complicated? Is this the modern interpretation of 'love'? Is the purpose of Valentine's day nowadays to rather perhaps try and depart from such a depressing thought? 

It's true what they say isn't it? Love is hard and downright complicated. A tricky old business! 

Valentine's Day, while certainly more legitimate than the American Greeting's faux holiday "Sweetest Day," is still a commercialised day that has become more about pressuring people into spending money on gifts and not being single than anything else. Maybe I shouldn't say that so bluntly but come on, it's the absolute freaking truth. Women call it the 'day of love' while for all those men out there, it's more a case of the 'day of extortion'. 

If you ask me this is how it is, or rather how it should be - if you are in a happy, committed, trusting and honest relationship with someone you love and who loves you back, then EVERY day should be treated like Valentine's Day. I'm not kidding. Every day should have some form of love and romance, makes sense right? I mean at the end of the day you are choosing to spend every day of your life waking up with this person (for many with a ring on your finger as symbol of this 'love'), so why not make it as damn special as you possibly can? For the single community, it's no different, have no fear! - every date night for all you 'single and ready to mingle' cats out there can and also SHOULD be treated like Valentine's Day, that is to say if you both shut out the rest of the world (turn off your bloody phones and focus on each other!) Give it a go.

With now thirty three minutes to go at present until cupid arrives and shoots his arrows, I'm taking to bed. 

For all you couples I wish you a splendid day filled with love, sex, romance and much passion. For all you singles - GO WILD! The young, wild and free mentality, right?

Oh, I almost forgot about those people in an 'open relationship'....yeah. Have a great day.

Awkward.

Much love my darlings, see you on the other side - where i'll still be single! (unless anyone's got any offers?)

Over and out, (until next time, of course).

L xo

a good dosage of reality.

People of the world. Hello, hello, hello!

We are reunited once again on this amazing thing we call the internet, don't you just love it? How are you all? Doing well? Feeling fabulous? Loving life? Good! If you ask me, however, the beginning of a new year never fails to bring around some much awaited stress. I always describe and think about this in my mind as a sort of cloud that you can almost see in the distance towards the end of December and as soon as January hits…BOOM! There it is to wake you up in the morning. Back to life, back to reality, right? 

Since i've been back in Stockholm i've been snowed under (there is snow here if anyone's also interested) with what seems like a never ending pile of laundry, one of the besties visiting from home, countless lectures to attend as well as too many articles, books and journals to read for uni and well, generally, just a million and one things to do that lets be honest, was not going to get done by itself. 

In my opinion, January is always one of those weird months - it goes terrifyingly quickly but at the same time seems never ending. Know the feeling? I'm sure you do. January always seems to bring with it a good dosage of reality and if you live in Sweden, you also have the joy of experiencing daily weather that is cold enough to make your toes feel like they're about to snap off…even with two pairs of woollen socks on! While i'm on the topic of reality, it's probably a good point to mention that reality may just be the topic that's going to be written about this afternoon my darlings! Oh, by the way, when I say may just be, that means it is. Just thought i'd clear that up. Go figure.

Now obviously reality is a huge topic, so I felt it was important to at least start by narrowing it down. In order to do so, I thought to myself - what is one of the biggest aspects in my life to which there is a sad reality but I also love it? The answer ladies and gents? University. 

University is one of the biggest commitments one can make in their life, and in my opinion, is also extremely over-looked in terms of how stressful and challenging this chapter in your life can be. As much as i'm having the best years of my life to date being at university, there are also times when I question my sanity and why I decided to take on such a huge burden of stress. 

Oh and for the record, those of you are thinking to yourselves  "oh, but being on exchange is an easier year"…THIS IS LIES I TELL YOU, LIES! 

One thing that really annoys me is when people say "oh yeah, you know like, I feel I really need to go to uni these days." I'm sorry, but no. This is, to be quite frank, bullshit. Don't follow what everyone else is doing, do what is the RIGHT and BEST option for YOU. There's no doubt that university is a serious commitment and as much as we all like to think of student life as endless partying, waking up whenever we want and submitting the odd essay and assignment every now and again, this is unfortunately, FAR from being the case. 

When I think back to the start of my first year *que Freshers' week 2012 flashbacks*, the thought of four years studying a Batchelor's degree could not have seemed better. Life was truly sweet. Parties every night, far too much alcohol, hilarious moments that were simply too priceless to value and god knows what else. However, come mid October when the work load was piling up and the 24/7 party period went from all to nothing (literally, so depressing) and I had an essay to write in which I had done no reading for and barely understood the question, reality hit me straight in the face! It wasn't great. 

As I sit here at my desk doing anything to avoid actually facing the amount of work I already have to do for my new modules this semester (I know right? Such a good student!), it's safe to say this is definitely a case of good old reality kicking in once again. LOVES IT! Like it or not my cherubs, uni is hard work. You can put off the reading, essays, note taking and assignments for as long as you want but at the end of the day, that all-important deadline will be still be looming in the all-too near future (just the same as it was last week, and the week before that…and oh wait, the week before that one too). I know, it sucks. My point? If you're not prepared to work and keep up with the pace then UNIVERSITY IS NOT FOR YOU. 

Go out and have a good time, get wasted, make an embarrassment of yourself, spend all your student loan on clothes and leave yourself with no money for the rest of the month (at least you'll look good, right?…I mean who really needs food?!) but PLEASE, do not underestimate the amount of work that lies ahead of you. A university career should not be taken on lightly! University is meant to be hard work.

A balance of 'work hard, play hard' at university is truly essential which i'm sure any current student would agree with. We all have times where we get this balance a tad wrong and do too much of the one thing (in my case, it's unfortunately the play hard) but there comes a point where you need to remind yourself that working hard is also important. Word. 

On the topic of hard work, deadlines to meet and a never-ending reading list in front of me that makes me want to vomit, I should probably get cracking on some of this myself…nothing like practice what you preach right? 

I will leave you all with some wise words from this old chap.

"It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane." - Philip K. Dick

As always cyber world, it has been a pleasure. 

I'm off to go insane - don't worry, i'll be fine…I hope. 

Until next time. 

L xo 

write a good one.

Bonsoir tout le monde! 

How are we are all doing on this cold, Friday evening? 

Well, what can I say?…it's now the 10th of January 2014. The festive season is over, the new year is most definitely underway and over the last 10 days Christmas decorations have been coming down, new calendars have been going up (if you're anything like my household, there's always a new calendar in the kitchen) and the good old phrase "back to life, back to reality" has most definitely been coming into play!

The start of a new year can always be a stressful, reminiscent, thought-provoking, nerve-wracking and tedious time - not to mention the amount of, as I like to call it, "holiday weight" that suddenly becomes all-too obvious on those hips isn't exactly great is it? Anyway, as I arrived back in Stockholm in what can only be described as a stressed, travel sick, sweaty, worn out mess who's luggage had got lost along the way (got it back though guys, all is good!!) it's safe to say my 'banging tunes' (no joke, I have a playlist called 'banging tunes') playlist wasn't exactly the first choice that came to mind for the iPod! It appears though, that being quickly reunited with my crazy swedish bunch made all the difference. I quickly realised that at times like the above, it's ultimately up to me how good or bad I choose to make the year that lies ahead of me. 

There's no denying that i'm a BIG fan of quotes (I know right, who would have thought?), and well, not long after I had written my post to you all on the 1st, I came across yet another beauty which I guess you could say forms the basis of my post to you all tonight. Here goes. 

"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one." - Brad Paisley 

Wherever you may be in the world out there, make it your priority to write the best book you possibly can in 365 (355 if we're being exact) days time. Make New Year's goals guys, dig within and challenge yourself to be the best person you can possibly be. Don't be afraid to give yourself a high standard to achieve. It's GOOD to be motivated.  I've concluded that I don't set myself nearly enough goals from year to year and is something that I must start doing. 

Goals, in my opinion, are a fantastic thing. They give us direction. They put a powerful force into play on a universal, conscious, and subconscious level that acts as the ultimate form of motivation. Goals ultimately give our lives a sense of direction in every possible way. If you ask me, there's nothing quite like looking back and seeing the achievement of a goal once set to be completed actually being classed as complete - no matter if it takes a day, a week, a month or a full 365 days and then some. 

What would you like to have happen in your life this year guys? That's the question I ask you all tonight. What would you like to do? What would you like to accomplish? What good would you like to attract into your life? What particular areas of growth would you like to have happen to you? What blocks, or character defects, would you like to remove? What would you like to attain? Where would you like to visit? What would you like to have happen with regards to your friendships and love life? What would you like to have happen in your family life? What problems would you like to see solved? What decisions would you like to make? What would you like to have happen in your career? 

Too many questions to think about? Well, write your answers down. Take a piece of paper and a few hours (minutes if you can't spare that long) of your time, and write it all down - think of it as a statement that resembles you, your life, and your ability to choose what you want to happen in your 'book' of 2014. I challenge you all to do this. 

You won't regret it. 

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, just waiting to be written. It's an exciting time. I encourage you all to look beyond the often mellow associations the month of January can bring around. If we really want to, we can be the ones to help write an amazing 'book' this year by setting goals for ourselves and motivating each other to achieve each and every one of them. Works for me!

I'll leave you with that everyone - truly something to think about, right? 

Much love and write a good one.

Speak soon.

L xo 

time flies when you're having fun.

My darlings, cyber-peeps, internet world, all you readers out there, the young, the old and the in-between…

It's 2014!!! Happy New Year one and all! 

I hope the month of December saw each and everyone of you having nothing less than a fantastic Christmas with santa being very good to you all, as well as ringing in those Hogmanay bells in true style yesterday evening! Can you believe it? It's 2014! Here we are yet again at the beginning of a new year, a new chapter, a fresh start, a new leaf...you get my drift. But yes, as I was saying, here we truly are, the year of 'unlucky for some 2013' at the back of us and a whole new twelve months of 2014 sitting on our doorstep.

I must first of all start by apologising yet again for my severe lack of blogging and general updates to 'ching ching, darlings!' over the past month, I'm sure you can all imagine that my time at home (still here by the way, just FYI) has been nothing less than go, go, go! Anyway, seeing as today is the first day of the new year, I was most certainly able to find some down-time to write a spiffing new entry for you all on this wonderful Wednesday evening. Have you missed me? I've missed all of you! 

If any of you are like me, the first day of a new year is always a quiet, calm, relaxing and most of all thought-provoking day. The first day of the new year is always a time I find to have incredibly mixed emotions attached to it, from thinking about absent family and friends to moments in the past year you wish you could relive, contemplating what lies ahead in the coming months, along with that all-pressured feeling to make the new year as good as it possibly can be, because after all, we never know when it's gonna be our last one, right? 

As I sit here in the comfort of my living room, having had one too many gin and tonics (oh and can I just say, Hendricks gin is simply a pleasure, seriously, I take my hat off to you Hendricks darling! Top notch gin right there!) Anyhow, yes, as I sit here absolutely stuffed to the brim after a good old New Year's Day steak pie with my dear family and friends around me, I can certainly say that for right now, I'm satisfied.  

It's now a mere 5 days until I return to the magic of the Swedish capital (get the champagne at the ready folks...wink wink!) and if you ask me, my time at home has gone far too fast, however, when I look back on my time spent in the UK, it has certainly went fast for a reason…and I don't think that reason is a bad one! I've had nothing but sheer hilarity, joy, priceless and fun-filled moments since I've graced the homeland with my presence once again. There really is never a truer saying, time flies when you're having fun. 

There's no doubt that the month of December and the general festive period is a stressful and action-packed time. It's often hard to stop ourselves from getting caught up in all those details that, let's be honest, are stressed over and worried about far too much when really, they are of much insignificance. Family, friends, good people, festive cheer and appreciativeness towards what we are lucky enough to already have is what truly matters. I hope that all of you out there, wherever you may be in the world, have had at least a period of time, be it small or large, to just sit back, de-stress and enjoy some well earned time off from the daily stresses that the realities of life impose. 

As I look to the new year I can't help but have extremely positive vibes for what lies ahead…it also can't hurt that the first five months will be spent in Stockholm too, right?! 

Nevertheless, home is where the heart is, and seeing as that's where I am at this precise moment, that's completely where my thoughts and energy will go towards and remain. As I try to make the most of the little time I have left on UK soil, it's safe to say some emotional moments will be had throughout my last few days here. I find that it's often not until you return to a place that you realise how special that place and the people within it are - and my own bed, oh my god my own bed.

With 2014 now officially upon us, I wish each and everyone of you a healthy, fruitful, proactive, productive, positive and love-filled year filled with nothing less than an abundance of laughter! 

Oh, for the record, laughter is the best kind of medicine if you ask me…just sayin'. You can't have enough laughter. 

As the image at the top suggests guys, if we try to make 2014 a year in which we simplify, be inspired, be original, work hard and above all, ENJOY, then I don't think we'll have much to regret come New Years Eve this year. 

I'll leave you all with a few snaps of my wonderful time spent at home so far, because of course who wouldn't want to see these, right?

Welcome to 2014 guys! Lets start as we mean to continue! 

Until next time.

L xo