Hey, let's talk about....following your dreams

It's that time of week again..

This week I decided to get some people involved with it.

I originally tweeted asking for peoples opinions on the subject but nobody actually replied..awkward, nevermind though! The last time I checked the world was still going round. So I then decided to ask four girls, two who are very good friends of mine & another two who are also bloggers & I absolutely love their blogs.

 

Since it's my blog I will go first on what I think about dreams & following them. We all probably have a dream right now, it might change from time to time. When you were little your dream might of been to meet prince charming, fall in love, get married, live in a castle & live happily ever after...now back to reality & the grown up world. Maybe some people might still have that dream good luck to you on finding him. But as you grow older you soon realise actually there is more to life than the fairy tale ending. You might realise actually you know what I don't need the fairy tale ending to be my dream & to make me happy.

You might find that your dream actually only involves you. Your dreams might change from time to time & that's absolutely fine. I think it's a brilliant idea for us all to have dreams. Dreams are what are focuses are in life. I dream to live a happy life, have good health, be able to support myself & be able to do a job that I absolutely love (possibly even work for myself). Dreams are what give us something to look forward to, no matter how hard times get you can always stop & think about your dream.. Everything might just become worthwhile again. Remember though that dreams don't come true over night but with a lot of hard work & effort your dreams can become reality. That's my piece over & done with, WOW it looks massive sorry about that..So on to a little image I think is very positive & can maybe even make your dreams come true if you follow the three simple steps..

 

Image found on weheartit

I've decided to just post the girls comments in order they got sent to me so here is what the girls had to say..

- Marie -
My dreams and ambitions in life have always been to go to uni, get a degree, a masters degree after that, a job, house, family...and change the world a little bit by making a difference somehow. Things in life have made this difficult to achieve, but never impossible. It doesn't matter how many times I fail a module at uni, or have to leave a course from being ill, or even how many times I change what my dreams are, making mistakes is how I will learn to succeed. One of my favourite quotes is 'nothing worth doing is ever easy' and I think that's how you follow your dreams; you realise it's hard, but you never stop trying because it will be worth it in the end.

- Ally -
A dream to me doesn't have to be one big thing. It can be lots of little things. It can be as simple as 'getting better' or as outrageous as 'living in the Caribbean'. Whether realistic or highly unlikely, dreams are what get us through each day. I've soon learnt that dreams change over time. When I was younger, I dreamt of being successful and making lots of money, two very materialistic goals. Now I'm older, I just dream of being happy and comfortable. At the moment my biggest dream is to become permanent in my temporary job, move out and have my own little place. I don't dream of the stereotypical things others may do at my age, such as marriage and children, my dreams are 'selfish' in the sense that I just want to live for me.

- Rachael -
I was never the type of person to have one dream when I was younger. I didn't know what I wanted to do when I grew up and change my mind often about what I want out of life. However one thought that has resonated with me whether I've been dreaming of travelling, being a show jumper or a successful writer is that I want to build a happy life. That is the dream I chase, it's not always easy in fact quite frankly at my lowest point it seemed impossible, during my darkest hours when it seems that there is no hope I remember that dream and tell myself not to give up.

- Debi -
When I was younger I had big dreams of having a career and making plenty of money to buy nice things and go on beautiful holidays. I wanted to have a chance to travel (although I hate flying) and see the world.  I had ambitions of being a career woman until the age of 25 when I would take a small break to have children. The thing is life doesn't often work out as simply as you would like, often you change your mind about what you want. As I have grown up I have changed a lot and so have my dreams. Of course, I'd still love money for glorious holidays in the sun; I live in Scotland, it's not like we get a lot of sunshine here! Nowadays my dreams all centre around getting married and having a family. I've always been more of a family girl, anyway, so it isn't surprising that this is what I want now. It's still a way off but it's good to have something to work towards. Your dreams don't have to be the same things as everyone else. It's ok to want something different from the norm. When things get tough and it seems like you'll never achieve what you want remember no dream is unreachable and, with a little hard work and planning, you will can make them a reality.

I'd like to thank the girls once again for taking part in this post.
Marie, Rachael & Debi all have blogs & I shall link them below.

Marie - Me, Myself and Cookie
Rachael - Rachael Victoria
Debi - Dib-Dab-Debs

What are your opinions on dreams & following your dreams?
What is your dream in life?
Feel free to leave a comment below & let me know, I'd love to hear of them.

Thanks for reading.
- Anna ♥

My Driving Journey - Lesson 17 & 18

I genuinely can't believe how many lessons I've had, I know I've said it before & if your still reading it your probably thinking yeah, yeah Anna we know..

But you know what, I am amazed with myself. I think truly I'm the only one who might ever understand my excitement & amazement of the whole experience.

 

Let's get cracking on with the update on my journey,

beeeeppp beeeeppp! Coming through....

 

 

Tuesday 20th August

Today I knew full well we would be going on a drive around kind of lesson since on my last lesson I got introduced to a new manoeuvre. So we went around the next town, the one with my highest anxiety levels & the one where the tests happen to take place. I drove through some of the villages I had never been through before, I had heard of the names but not once actually been in them. So it was like a little adventure, not really an awful lot to share really..Other than I may of slightly just accidently stalled on a roundabout, I suppose we have to make mistakes to learn from them. But other than that it was a pretty good lesson.

 

Thursday 22nd August

This lesson I got to practice parallel parking some more, can I get a woop woop? We are on to practicing manoeuvre number 3, yipeeeee! We went to the same street where I was introduced to the manoeuvre last week & got to practice a couple of times before heading off onto a different area. In the next area I got to practice with a van, well that's an experience, actually I think it was more of a stressful experience because there was a vehicle wanting to get past from either way. Nevermind, they just had to wait but I panicked a little & tried to do it quicker, didn't really help. So after that I practiced once more with a car & then headed home. I'm yet to actually experience any manoeuvre on a flat even road, but I suppose it's defiantly practice.

 

If you follow me on twitter you will know what happened..

I managed both of these lessons without any safety behaviour (mints, chewing gum or ginger)...that is four lessons all together...WOWZA!

 

Have you learnt to drive while struggling with an illness?

How did that work out for you?

Anything you'd like to share about your experiences with driving feel free to share them in the comments below, I love hearing from you guys!

 

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

Hey, let's talk about....being positive

It's that time of week again for another "Hey, let's talk about" session. I've had some positive feedback from some of you lovely readers so I'm happily continuing.

I decided to create this since I absolutely love the section called "Hey, it's ok" in Glamour Magazine. So I thought why not create my own little creation for my little blog. Every time I pick up a copy of Glamour that is the first page I turn to. I always have a random selection of topics spinning through my head & I just pick one at random & away we go....

This weeks is about being positive. I think in life it is really important to try & be positive as much as we can. I know obviously sometimes it is a lot easier said than done. Are you a positive person? A glass half empty or a glass half full kind of person? Can you never seem to look on the bright side of life? We are all completely different & some will find it a lot harder than others to be positive. Especially when you might be going through a really rough time in life. Nobody is fully positive all the time at all, no matter what it may seem like on the outside. Everyone falls apart a little at times, we are all human after all. I'm going to share my top two tips of what I do to be positive.

- Always look on the bright side of life -

 Pretty cheesy but that is exactly what I do. Remember the terrible times will pass, it might not seem it at the time but you will look back & realise you made it & were stronger than you believed you were. I like the quote, everybody wants happiness, nobody wants pain but you can't have a rainbow without a little rain.

-  Remember there is always someone worse off than you -

This is one that I always go by. No matter how bad my life gets I always think, you know what I'm sure there is someone worse of than me. Some people don't have a roof over their heads, a bed to sleep in, clean water to wash with, food to eat & water to drink.

Here's a little image for you..

Image found on weheartit

I always find this quote quite interesting & pretty honest too.

If you aren't very positive I think you should try that little bit harder, give it a go..

You never know you might just really enjoy it..I know for one I enjoy life a lot more when I'm thinking positive & not beating myself up about stuff.

Do you have any tips to share on how you stay positive?

Please leave them in the comments below, I'd love to read them.

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

My Driving Journey - Lesson 15 & 16

I'm pretty sure I've said this before but I will say it again..I can't believe that I'm actually managing to do driving lessons & I haven't cancelled any yet, wooohooo! For someone who struggles to leave the house some days. Driving lessons are something that I have mixed emotions towards, some days I can't wait for it & other days I'm dreading it & don't want to bother. But do I let that voice inside my head saying that I can't do this stop me? No, I don't!

 

So on to the run down of the lessons....

 

Tuesday 13th August

Today I was pretty looking forward to learning a new manoeuvre because we seem to kind of do one lesson introducing a new manoeuvre, then the next lesson having a drive about & the next one practising the manoeuvre a little bit more. So I was quite surprised when we just did another drive around lesson in the next town. Now I think about it I wonder whether she chose to go back there since on Thursday before I said I was dreading going back to the same town, who knows. But anyway I got to drive around a lot so that was all that was important. I've decided that once people see the L plate on the car they automatically panic then feel the need to overtake to get out of the way. I was going at the same speed other road users were & this one man decided to overtake me, not too sure why because he still ended up in front of me in the queue at the traffic lights so he didn't exactly get very far.

 

Thursday 15th August

So this lesson introduced a new manoeuvre....parallel parking. I drove onto an housing estate on the other side of my local town & on the way there we came across a lot more traffic with the traffic lights being against us..well so it seemed, so I had to do a lot more gear control. Once we got to the estate my instructor talked me through the manoeuvre using her folder full of diagrams. I love the little diagrams, the cars always look like they have little eyes ha ha..it makes me laugh! I am easily amused. Anyway I got to practice the manoeuvre three times before heading back home.

 

One little thing that I'm very proud of, well actually it's a pretty big thing for me..I managed both of these lessons without mints, chewing gum or gingers.

Those are kind of classed as my safety behaviour, my fellow mental health sufferers will be familiar with them.

 

 

Are you learning to drive? I'd love the hear your progress.

Have you passed your test? Do you remember how many lessons it took to pass? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

Hey, let's talk about....true friends

They say the best things in life are free such as family, friends, love, laughter, hugs, kisses, sleep & good memories. I'm pretty sure we have all experienced all of these. I think your really blessed to have true friends. Some of you may be sat waiting to figure out who your true friends are or may even be sat waiting to meet them. Have faith that they are on this planet somewhere, you just need to be patient.

 

 Most of us when we leave school & go in to the big wide world will then realise who are true friends are. In school you might be friends with people just because you all have the same thing in common, you spend most of your day & week at school. But trust me once you leave, you'll find that's when you find out who your true friends really are. Don't worry it's a good thing.

 

You realise who was just with you for that part of your life. Then there is the other people who will continue with you through your journey of life. Unfortunately you will sometimes probably not take anyone with you but you know what, that's fine. You will soon realise to just focus on you & then you will build friendships with people without fully realising how much of a friendship you have built.

 

I can safely say that since experiencing trouble with my mental health I have built some fantastic friendships along the way. Yes, we all have the same thing that links us all together, mental health. But I don't see any of them as an illness or a problem, like some people might do. I see them as a lovely bunch of people, not crazy..okay, maybe a little bit..hehe..but who actually is normal? Is there even such a thing as normal? Who knows? Who cares?

 

Our topic of conversation isn't just around mental health. Yeah, we openly speak about it & if we are experiencing trouble then without a doubt we talk about it because you know what, it's okay to talk about mental health. But really we just have conversations like every other person on this planet.

 

So basically what I'm saying is if your lucky to have true friends around you, okay..maybe sometimes not literally around you. But we do have ways to communicate letters, phones, emails, Skype, twitter..whatever you like to use! Just remember to keep hold of them & treat them just as you would want to be treated.

 

I'm so grateful for the friendships I have made over the last year or so & I plan to keep these friendships going, you all know who you are..I love you guys! Don't ever change, you are who you are!

 

Image found on weheartit

 

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

It's Time to Talk..Time to Change

Mental health is something I feel quite passionate about to be honest. Mental health is a tough thing to explain really because you can't see the illness as such. You could look fine on the outside, but be broken a little on the inside. Not enough people are educated on the subject, it should be taught about in schools, universities & workplaces to educate people incase they ever suffer & don't know where to turn to. Unless you are suffering from a mental illness then you probably don't have a clue what one is. If someone you know is suffering they might be too scared to open up to you about it. But the truth is mental illnesses can affect anyone, any age & any walk of life. You could be the richest person in the world or the happiest person in the world, you could have absolutely everything you want in life & still be struck by a mental illness. That's unfortunately the reality of it.

 

But nobody has to deal with it alone. Even if your family members or friends don't understand you can always become part of an online community. Such as the one I have recently become a part of Minds Like Ours. I have blogged about it various times & can't praise it enough. Click here to check out my first post about them.

 

If you don't really know much about mental health, then why not educate yourself today?

I recently blogged about the subject & the post includes some links to the charities involved with offering help & raising awareness.

 That post can be found by clicking here.

 

The whole idea of this post was to just share my new blogging badge that I downloaded from Time to Change, one of the charities mentioned in the mental health post. Myself & my blog are going to show off this badge with pride because like the badge says mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of & neither is talking about it. Will you be joining me in proudly displaying this badge on your blog, your twitter or your facebook? Head on over to the Time to Change website to download your own by clicking here. 

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

My Driving Journey - Lesson 13 & 14

14 lessons down the line & I'm still showing anxiety who is boss!
If any of you who are reading this & would love to learn to drive but don't know if you can.. Believe in yourself & feel the fear & do it anyway. I did a blog post about it called learning to drive..while experiencing mental health difficulties.

Tuesday 6th August
Today the lesson was an early one, I tend to vary the times a little so I experience different traffic situations. So today we stayed pretty local by just heading towards the town (my nearest one), we went onto an housing estate & I got to practice reversing around a corner. I got to practice twice on two of the corners which were both different. One was wide & the other one was very sharp. After completing those I did one more on the same estate & then drove off to the next little village. I drove through the town, pulling out at a crossroads onto a main road wasn't actually all too bad. I ended up practicing quite a few stops & starts at traffic lights through town. In the next village I basically just got to practice another corner & then I drove back home. During the lesson I got to do the major roundabout in our town twice & also had to experience pulling out onto a main road out of a junction that was set back a little bit. I feel that I'm doing pretty well & I'm really enjoying it.

Thursday 8th August
Today my lesson was in the afternoon. I wasn't actually dreading it too much today up until like twenty minutes before, which is usually the case. Today I drove to the next town (one with my highest level of anxiety) whilst I was driving there on the main road I was starting to dread it even more because the last time I went there driving (last Thursday) we had to stop the car in a lay by so I could have a ginger for my sickness feeling. Since when it happens sometimes its pretty strong & I can't concentrate. I said to my instructor that I was dreading it because of the last time, it's like your mind just remembers things & it triggers your thoughts once you approach it again. My instructor fully understood what I meant luckily, maybe she doesn't think I'm crazy..haha! She said well when we go past it today we can wave it goodbye, like see  you later..we're leaving you behind! This is the exact reason I'm so glad I have the instructor I do, she not only understands but she's funny too. So as we were going past the lay by she was waving at it going bye! The rest of the lesson was basically just a drive around one. We just drove around the town, it's amazing what roads you don't realise exist until you start driving. So all in all the lesson went well.

Wow...there is quite an essay going on in this post, nevermind!
If you kept reading thank you very much!
As you can tell I'm still loving it & always come back in such a good mood. It is such a confidence booster too.
Are you in a similar situation?
Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

My Driving Journey - Lesson 11 & 12

Tuesday 30th July

Today our first stop was onto an estate a little closer to my house that was quieter & had a wide road with very little traffic. I got to practice doing 3 point turns again, I practiced it three times again. I think that's just the basic fact of it takes three times to be facing the way you want to go again. So this time I managed to do it alot better, still hitting the kerb once...this time when I was driving forward. Maybe next time I won't hit the kerb at all..fingers crossed!

After completing that manoeuvre we moved on to the next village, I really enjoy driving around now. So what's the next part? It was reversing into a side road. I only got to practice it once due to timing after going through it with diagrams & conversation. I still think it went pretty well. Learning techniques how to master it too.

 

Thursday 1st August

So today I'd like to start with it was super hot..my anxiety & heat don't mix very well together. My lesson was in the afternoon today so probably one of the hottest parts of the day, oh lovely! So today we wasn't focusing on any manoeuvres we just focused on driving around a little. We went to the next town & on the way there I thought I was going to throw up, usually that thought/feeling would make me be like "I need to go home now" instead though I just asked if I could pull up & have a ginger (I have ginger chews to help with sickness). Of course my very understanding instructor said that was absolutely fine so we stopped & luckily after that I was a little better but I managed to complete the lesson. I was very proud of myself, improvement there. So we continued & just drove around a little really, introducing myself to some of the streets where I might go for the test route.

 

What's next for my driving journey? I don't know..

I shall find out next week.

 

If your debating starting lessons, give it a go..

What have you got to loose?

You never know, you might really love it!

 

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥