Do What You Love

Possibly the best advice I've ever been given and have since given to so many other people is 'do what you love'. 

A lot of younger people ask me what subjects to take for A-level or GCSE and I always tell them to do what they enjoy because I honestly think that is the most important thing in life. To enjoy it. Life is short so we have to make the most of it and can't let time go by doing things that make us unhappy. I also think that if you love something you're going to work harder and strive for success more. 

Unfortunately I think a lot of people stop doing things they love or do things they don't enjoy because of pressure. Whether it's from school, society, parents or friends there is a pressure which manipulates your behaviour and activities. I think the best example of this is ballet. Almost every girl I know did ballet when they were 4 or 5. 90% of these girls quit when their friends began to quit or when they thought they weren't good enough. Of this 90%, 99% (sorry lots of numbers I know!) of them regret quitting and always seem to wish that they'd continued. The same goes for other hobbies such as playing instruments or a doing sport.

When I was choosing my subjects I was lucky that my parents weren't pushy and let me do what I wanted to do but I know of other people whose parents set a standard they had to meet by doing 7 A-levels and 20 GCSEs (I'm over exaggerating but you know what I mean).  And I really feel sorry for these people because I can't imagine not being able to do what I enjoy and having to do what other people want you to. 

I got the inspiration for this post from going horse riding yesterday. I used to have my own horse and I rode all the time but I had to stop because I just didn't have time. But it made me so happy to just sit with the horses and take silly selfies and talk to them without being on my phone constantly. Horses are such chilled animals and you (or me definitely) always feel like they're listening to you. I'm not crazy I promise! 

How could horse selfies not make anyone happy?

So, what I'm trying to say is while it is important to do what you love in a wider sense like your job, subjects etc. I really think it's important to do something you love on an daily basis. For example, listen to your favourite song or see your favourite people or doing a hobby. It's so important to enjoy your life and make the most of everything. Obviously I know that everyone has down days when they feel really crappy but doing something you enjoy can really cheer you up. For me it's rowing/working out and lots of loud music I can sing and dance to! 

The other side of this quote I feel I need to broach briefly is that you shouldn't let the pressures of society or school or friends stop you from pursuing what you love. If you love it, go for it and forget what other people might say or what they would rather you do. It's your life so live it how YOU want it! 

Thanks for reading chums! 

Charlotte 

XO

May Favourites

Favourites posts are some of my most read and I love reading them too so I thought I'd share with you all my favourites from May... (side note....HOW IS IT JUNE TOMORROW?!)

Spotify has been my go to this month to help my survive revision. I've created the best playlist full of old songs like 'C'est La vie' by Bewitched and 'Keep on Movin' by F!ve. It's so cool that you can access almost unlimited music for free. Ive got the app on my phone but because I don't have premium I can only skip 6 songs at one time which, for a serial skipper like me, is a bit of a negative but forces me to listen to music I wouldn't normally and sometimes I find little treasures such as 'Be Okay' by Oh Honey. 

Specific music favourites this month include Seafret, a band I discovered when i went to see James Bay live a few weeks ago. Their music is very guitar-y and calming, perfect for revision. On the path of guitar-music I'm in love with the new Mumford and Sons song 'Believe' it's a very relaxing song and the video is a timelapse video through London and it makes me quite nostalgic!

Another app I'm loving is Afterlight. With it being last year few days in school we've had a lot of pictures and Afterlight is the perfect app to edit on! I don't tend to use the filters I just adjust the brightness, saturation, contrast, highlights/shadows etc. 

Since finishing Pretty Little Liars which was undoubtedly my favourite Netflix series EVER I was recommended Gogglebox on Channel 4. All I can say is I don't know how I haven't watched it sooner. It is honestly one of the most hilarious shows I've watched in a loooong time. For those of you how don't know what it is, different families across Britain are filmed whilst watching TV and they make comments on what they think as if the cameras weren't there. Who said British TV was cheap? 

Without Pretty Little Liars I've managed to get a little bit of reading done and I'm loving Carrie Hope Fletcher's 'All I Know Now'. Simply put it is a book about the struggles and difficulties most teens face when growing up and tips on how to survive the teenage years. I haven't finished it yet but it is such a good book! 

As I'm writing this the sun is shining down and the sky is clear blue and cloudless which means the summer is here!! It also means getting my legs out which requires silky-smoothness and I've found that with the Vaseline essential moisture Cocoa Radiant lotion. It's a really thick, creamy moisturiser but isn't greasy at all and it dries quickly and the smell of the cocoa is to die for. 

If only you could smell it!

As always, I have food favourites. Slightly strangely, Wheetabix is one of them! I've had it a lot for breakfast recently with strawberries, raspberries and bananas on top and it's the perfect breakfast. It fills me up but it is light and quite healthy too! As it's revision season I've been treating myself a little bit, I've made my red velvet cake a lot (with the help of the lovely Betty Crocker) and it's gone down a treat every time. But  now I'm trying to eat healthily again because I'm really trying to trim up my stomach 

An old beauty favourite is cropping back up this month the L'Oreal Brow Artiste eyebrow pencil. I've discovered a new combination of this and my collection eyebrow powder works quite well it sorting out my eyebrows. However, I STILL CANT MAKE THEM EVEN! 

After reading Niomi's review I purchased another L'Oreal product, the Superstar Mascara with two ends, one white end to lengthen and volumise lashes and the black end to give a dramatic finish. I wasn't too sure about it to begin with but I now really love it for thickening my lashes but it doesn't seem to lengthen them once I've applied the black colour. I've just bought the new Wake Me Up mascara from Rimmel in the bright green bottle and so far I'm liking it for the length but I need to use it for a bit longer to give you all a full review! 

Wand 1 

Wand 2

I've been quite lazy with hair washing because I've been a bit of a social recluse due to revision so I've used a lot of Batiste Dry Shampoo and my current favourite scent is the classic tropical coconut and exotic. I find the scent so refreshing and dry shampoo works so well.

Despite having so much revision, I've managed to keep watching my favourite youtubers and this month Lily Pebbles has been my ultimate favourite. I loved her 'Everyday May' vlogs and I also follow her on snapchat and she seems so lovely! I also still love Hannah, Stef and Gracie as well as the Saccone-Joly's! 

From all the watched signs you can tell I'm a bit addicted!

  

The Michalaks! 

Hello Friends.....

Hope you've enjoyed my favourites from this month.  What have you guys been liking this month???

Thanks for reading 

Charlotte 

XO

Life of a Rower Part 2

So, Life of a Rower is my most read post, probably because to most people rowing is weird (actually it is a bit weird to me too). It's not like football or rugby and is on TV every day, it's a distant sport which is little known about in the 'normal world'. 

For me personally I literally cannot remember a life without rowing and what it felt like NOT to be a rower or to be known as 'the rower'. But I definitely would not have it any other way. Rowing is who I am and is what I do, without it I would definitely be the most boring person ever (I'd also be so fat because I love food too much).

We like to eat 

Now I am coming to the end of my school rowing career I'm so sad. The past two years of rowing especially have been the best years of my life so far. I've met the best people, made friends with people I'd never even meet (Amy) if it wasn't for the power of the internet and the rowing community and I've learnt more about myself every day (wow that was a bit deep sorry!). Don't get me wrong, university is going to be amazing (hopefully) and I'm going to meet even more new people and my rowing will be able to improve so much because I'll be training more and more. But I'm so content in this little bubble of school rowing with the best coaches and crew members that I'm really not ready for this bubble to pop yet.

Admittedly, we're not quite at the end of the season yet, Women's Henley is yet to come as well as other regattas and (hopefully) Home Countries. But with the speed this year has flown by I'm certain the next few weeks will pass by instantly and it makes me so sad.

This season has been a mix of emotions, I won my first single race in September as well as another win in a pair with one of my best friends. Hampton Head was amazing and so surprising to come out with a win in our coxed four which we also won in at Monmouth Winter Head. .Then came Seville Training Camp in April which was amazing and so much fun but again time flew by. Not long after Seville I had a boat names after me. That's right.....AN ENTIRE BOAT. It was a huge honour and complete surprise to have a boat named after me and I'm so thankful for that. But there were also times, such as doing 6x500m on the ergo when my legs were burning, I was close to puking and blacking out when I wondered if it was all worth it. Or when we'd have bad outings in the 8 I'd wonder if some people wanted to win as badly as I did and do (emphasis on wonder, I know everyone was committed!) 

An actual boat named after me!!!

With my (not so)  baby brother

But then came National Schools. The event we'd been training for since September, the 6am wake up calls, blisters, burning legs, exhaustion and fatigue filled days all for two days of racing. I was entered into two events, Championship Girls 8s on Saturday and Championship Girls Coxless fours on Sunday. The time trial and semi final for the 8 both went well but in the final we just didn't deliver, the other boats moved ahead and we didn't go with them which meant we came in 5th. We'd placed 3rd in time trials, third in the semis but when it came to the final we just didn't perform but it did fuel me more for Sunday. My coach often says 'You're only as good as your last race and there was no way I was going to end on that race.

At least the weather was nice....

The next day our time trial didn't go brilliantly and I wasn't filled with a lot of confidence, we were messy and didn't get into the best rhythm but we still qualified and were even given a good lane for our semi final (we must've done something right as we placed 4th!). This then gave us much more confidence and we raced the semi well to get a good lane for the final. This was where the real fight began. We didn't get off to the best start but we stayed calm and didn't panic. This time we did get into a good rhythm and soon we were catching the other crews. For the middle 1km we were in third place and it felt good until the last 500m. The crew next to us pulled back and it was a race to the finish line and unfortunately it was not meant to be. We came 4th by 0.56 seconds. I can hardly put into words how disappointed and distraught we were. I cried and cried and cried (and I definitely should have worn waterproof mascara). The coaches were proud of us, and in hindsight I am too, but in that moment, with other crews cheering around us and showing off their medals the last thing I felt was proud. 

Racing in our time trial, we actually look better than it felt

As we carried the boat back to the trailer we got a lot of strange looks from parents and spectators as I continued to bawl my eyes out in public over what..... a rowing race (come on Charlotte get a grip). But I guess they just did not understand how much rowing means to me/us. When you put so much work into training, missing social events, being constantly tired, pushing yourself to such limits to not get anything to show for it is so unbelievably hard. 

I think this picture sums up my feelings at the finish line 

As we all began to calm down we looked back on the race and our training and in hindsight (oh what a wonderful thing it is) we had done pretty well. Firstly, until that day we'd never raced coxless before which is a big adjustment because coxed and coxless boats are actually very different (coxless boats are very sensitive to every movement you make). We'd also had very few outings coxless as we'd had so many in the 8, we hadn't even been in the four in Seville. To be placed fourth in the country really isn't too shabby. After refuelling with lots of pasta and cake we had some crew pictures and it struck me just how much love and appreciation I have for my crew members. I know each one gave 110% in that final race and I know how upset we all were because we worked so hard but felt we had nothing to show for it. 

The best crew out there

That final race has taught me a lot about myself, how far my body can go when I want something enough, how much rowing means to me, how much harder I'm willing to work to win, how much I love my friends and how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many amazing and lovely people. Racing experience is invaluable in itself and I've learnt a hell of a lot from the past weekend (including wearing sun cream even when it's not that sunny because my body seems to burn ridiculously easy and burnt lips are not what anyone needs in their life). 

I hope by September I am ready to head off to the big wide world of university rowing but until then I'm going to savour every single minute at the boathouse with my favourite people in the world (minus Harry Styles because unfortunately he will not be there).

I hope you enjoyed this post, if you have any questions about rowing please ask me and I'll answer as best as I can!

Thank you so much for reading!

Charlotte 

XO

A little quote from Hannah Maggs' and Stef Michalak's vlog which I really believe in

Questions, Questions, Questions!!

I really enjoy answering these questions so I thought I'd do some more that I found on Twitter. I don't know what it is about these posts that I like so much, perhaps it makes me think a bit more about myself? 

Selfie

From just before Christmas, my teeth look so white! 

Full name

Charlotte Rhianne Gill

Age

17 (less than a week till I'm 18 though!)

Birthday

23rd January 1997

Idols

Helen Glover, Malala Yousafzai, Beyonce, Katherine Grainger

Favourite movie

Grown Ups is my favourite comedy movie and (not being original in any way) The Notebook is possibly favourite rom-com. But overall my top top favourite is Perks of Being a Wallflower. 

Favourite TV Show

24 Hours in A&E, Celebrity Juice, Silent Witness or Russell Howard's Good News

Something you hate about yourself

My massive forehead and my voice

Something you love about yourself

My hair (when it cooperates) and I think I'm a kind, caring person

Best friend

I have close friends too but my best friends are probably Emma, Greenie and Sophie 

Someone you hate

I don't know if I actually hate anyone because hate is quite a strong word but I just really don't like rude people, whether I know them or not, I can't stand rudeness

Favourite song

Jubel by Klingande and Stockholm Syndrome & Little Things by One Direction 

Favourite band

I think it's obvious but One Direction

Say sexy you think of:

Confidence, muscles and a nice, friendly smile (height is quite important too!)

Relationship status

I couldn't be more single if I tried

Ever had bf/gf

Nope (cries whilst consuming copious amounts of chocolate)

My idea of a perfect date

Something simple like a nice dinner and then a movie or just chill out at their house! 

Where I want to be right now

Somewhere warm and sunny with blue sky and blue sea like Florida or the Caribbean

Girl crush

Kendall Jenner

I mean just look at her, it's not fair

Boy crush

Harry Styles and Nick Bateman

Need I say more?

Embarassing memory

There are so many I can't remember. I've probably suppressed them in the back of my memory!

Talents

I guess rowing, I'm a good listener and I hope I'm good at writing? 

Someone I miss

The girls from the Welsh team! 

Someone I love

My friends for always being there

Future goals

Row for GB (who knows if that's actually achievable?!) and to be successful

A confession

This is really tricky! Urm.... I really don't know. I don't really have a lot of secrets/confessions and the ones that I do have are VERY secret and will not be exposed any time soon!   

Something I'm addicted to

Music, it is the one thing (apart from human essentials e.g. Water, oxygen and food) that I can't live without

Fave animal

Dolphins and horses (I can't choose between the two!) 

Favourite TV couple

I had to think really hard about TV shows for this one! I think maybe Miranda and Gary from 'Miranda' because they are so well suited and they are together eventually even though they encounter some major hiccups! Also, Chuck and Blair from Gossip Girl, partly for the same reasons but also because their final relationship is so perfect and he treats her like a princess! 

Ships

Janya (Jim Chapman and Tanya Burr) They literally have my relationship goals!

Favourite quote

I'm a sucker for quotes but some of my favourites are 'You never know what's impossible until you try' or 'Winners never quit, quitters never win' or 'The body achieves what the mind believes' 

Lucky number 

I don't believe in lucky numbers so I don't have one!

Biggest wish

To be happy, loved and successful

Bad habits

Nail biting and procrastinating

Food you hate

MUSHROOMS. I think it's partly their awful squishy texture but they also taste so gross. 

Hair colour

Blonde

Eye colour

Blue

Favourite kind of ice cream

Pretty much anything from Ben and Jerry's or a simple Mint Choc Chip!

Any question you'd like: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Hopefully either still studying for a masters or working, hopefully in London!

I hope you enjoyed these questions! Feel free to do them yourself, let me know if you do! 

Much Love

Charlotte

XO

Keeping it Brief / 3

I really enjoy writing these simple little posts so I'm going to make them a regular thing. I'll post one every Wednesday! Enjoy! 

• Making A mess
• Cooking Cereal (if you can call that cooking) I don't have time or patience for anything else
• Drinking Tea and hot chocolate in abundance. It's winter I'm allowed ok!
• Reading Picking up the Pieces by Paul Britton. For anyone interested in criminology or forensic psychology I highly recommend it!
• Wanting To be noticed 
• Looking For Christmas presents
• Playing Chris Malinchak- Happiness ft MNEK. Possibly the most beautiful song I've heard in a long time
• Deciding Which bit of grueling homework I'm going to tackle first
• Wishing I wasn't so broke so that I could buy everyone the best Christmas presents
• Enjoying Training 
• Waiting For my birthday
• Liking My new red lipstick
• Wondering If Harry Styles is real
• Loving Cosying up in my oversized knit sweater watching Netflix
• Pondering On whether or not I've made the right university choices
• Considering Tidying my room
• Watching Gossip Girl... still 
• Hoping To have a happy Christmas
• Marvelling Over how you can get attached to someone you barely know (still)
• Needing More money
• Smelling Black Opium by YSL. The most heavenly scent ever
• Wearing Oversized jumpers and leggings 
• Following Lily Pebbles life in her vlogmas. My favourite Vlogmas this year!
• Noticing The cold weather is really drying out my skin
• Knowing It's never going to happen
• Thinking Too deeply
• Feeling Empty
• Admiring Beautiful, kind people
• Sorting My school work so I can revise. Lucky me!
• Buying Nothing, I'm out of money!
• Getting More confident
• Bookmarking Pages in my textbooks (again so I can revise)
• Disliking how lonely I feel
• Opening Christmas cards from distant family and friends
• Giggling Watching Fresh Meat

That's it for this week! What have you been loving, hating, watching, eating? 

Much Love

Charlotte

XO

The Future

The Future. It's unknown. It's scary. It's what you make it. It's a word I've heard a lot of recently. Perhaps too much. I'm at that stage of my education where UCAS applications and university choices fill your head and too much information is pumped into you by school. Already people I know have received one, if not more, offers from universities while I have't even decided my choices yet! I honestly struggle to decide to what to do day-to-day, how on earth can I make a decision on where I want to study, live and row for at least three years, that will then set me up for my future career. 

Yet while all this is going on I also have three A-levels and an AS to study for, plus rowing and trying to get in some sleep (if possible). Society always tells us to 'live in the moment' and not to wish away your life but I swear we're forever planning what to do in the future? The thing is, only a minority of people my age know exactly what they want to do! Yes, I know I want to help people. I want to live in London. I want to enjoy life. And overall I want to be happy. But I'm still unsure as to what it is I can do and what I will end up doing. No-one can predict the future but it would definitely be useful if they could. But then would that spoil the surprise and mystery of life? What if you didn't like how life turned out for you? 

I recently spent three days coaching at a J14 rowing training camp and I don't think I've ever enjoyed something so much. I had responsibility and became really good friends with all the girls. I even learnt things about myself and I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I also saw a different side to my coaches which was really nice and they treated me just as another coach and not just 'one of the rowers'. I could definitely see myself doing something like this in the future but then I don't believe that I have the right to coach people. Perhaps if (and I this is a major IF) I am to ever reach GB level and gain a GB vest then I might reconsider that statement. But at the moment I feel like I have so much to work on myself with my own rowing that I perhaps don't have the authority to tell others what to do. I also worry that I'm too bossy! 

Then the other side of me thinks back to my undying love for psychology and my interest in the brain, mental illness and how we behave as humans. But then I feel so uneducated on the subject I don't feel I can say yet what it is I want to do with psychology and where it will take me? 

I often think about how I could combine rowing and psychology... a sports psychologist perhaps? But then I think of my mentality when it comes to rowing and often I lack the self-belief that is essential at high-level competition. I always need people (specifically my coaches) to tell me I can do it and that I am good enough. The lack of self-belief then makes me wonder why I am Captain if I have such negative thoughts about myself and rowing? I should be setting an example and spreading positivity. Thinking about it I often give people advice that I really should take myself but somehow I never do. 

But my lack of self-belief and confidence is present in my non-rowing life too. I need constant reassurance that an outfit looks okay, or that my hair or makeup isn't a mess. I frequently avoid social situations for the fear of embarrassing myself  and when people first meet me I clam up and struggle to formulate words purely because I despise my voice.

Things like this shouldn't matter and I hate that I let them affect my life sometimes. 

I realise I have written a lot of questions that I don't think anyone really has an answer to, or at least the answers I want. I also realise that I have completely veered off the subject of 'the future' (sorry!) I guess this post was more of a ramble of what is currently festering in my brain. There is a lot more I have to say but I can't and won't due to the fact that some are secrets I will (probably) never tell and some that I won't simply because it's boring and won't interest anyone! 

I really do hope to blog more, I just need to better manage my time. Do you have any idea where life is taking you? Or are you just as lost as I am? Or more? 

Much Love

Charlotte

XO

Happiness is Rowing

I can't quite believe we are already in October! I've been at school now for over a month and despite not knowing what it feels like to not be tired I'm really enjoying it. I feel like I'm progressing in my subjects and I'm working so hard (that's why I haven't posted a lot recently, sorry!). Rowing is going so well too, training is tiring and difficult and I'm working harder than ever before and already I feel I'm seeing results which makes me so happy. I've also been helping to coach our new 'Freshers' which I'm enjoying so much, I may have found my possible career path!? I've been going out in the launch boat with one of my coaches and he's been giving me control of the megaphone and giving me little tips on what to tell the rowers which has been so helpful. Every time I leave the boathouse I have the biggest smile on my face and I drive home with the music blaring. It is 100% my favourite place on Earth. Being in the launch gives me a different perspective and watching people rowing, even amateurs, shows how beautiful this sport is. 

We had our first race this year, Monmouth Autumn Head and we were in all three divisions. The course was 2.3km on our home water and I was in a pair with my best friend, Emma, then a single before a mixed four. I was so excited for our pair race because we'd had two really good outings after not being in a pair since April! we had a strong, consistent race and I really felt the pushes and I heard the trickle along the boat, showing we had a good distance per stroke.

 Then, after a very short break it was time for my single which I was slightly more nervous about. I still didn't know the results of out pair race and I hadn't had the best outing the day before. However, my paddle to the start was very calm and I felt technically pretty good. Again, I had a solid race and I felt I raced harder than I had ever done before. I even heard the commentator say I was 'Sculling very nicely' as I crossed the finish line, despite not really being able to breathe! 

I love this because I can finally see muscle definition! 

Finally, came the four and I feel the less said about this race the better. We were a completely scratch mixed crew with some J16s who haven't had as much experience as the seniors. At stroke I was rushed up the slide and our balance wasn't the best. It kind of put a dampner on my day after having two amazing races and then finishing on a bad one. 

However, we went to check the results board to find out Emma and I had won the pair and I'd won my single! It was the first singles race I've ever won and I was so happy, I couldn't actually believe it at first. I had to get three people to check that I wasn't seeing things. As expected our four came last!

Unfortunately I'm on a fieldtrip when the rest of the club is attending Reading Small Boats Head and I'm so sad because I'm missing so much training in addition to missing such a lovely event and not being able to support the team! One of my coaches already said that they're sad I'm not going to be there and that made me feel even worse! :( 

I'm slightly concerned I'll lose some of my fitness or power but I'm going to go on daily runs, keep doing my core and maybe even throw in some squats, lunges etc. 


The rest of the year looks very promising, on the water, at the boathouse and in the classroom so I'm very excited. I just hope the next few months go as well as September has!

I hope your September has gone well! What are your hopes for the remainder of this year? 

Much Love

Charlotte

XO

Keeping It Brief

Being back at school has left me with little time for much else without depriving myself of sleep so this post is just a brief one to keep all my lovely readers interested! Enjoy! 

• Making: progress
• Cooking: healthier
• Drinking: lots of water
• Reading: textbooks
• Wanting: money and peace
• Looking: for a job and someone
• Playing: Fireproof- One Direction
• Deciding: on university choices
• Wishing: people didn't fight
• Enjoying: rowing and being with my friends
• Waiting: for autumn and Christmas!
• Liking: being back with all my friends
• Wondering: too many things
• Loving: my friends
• Pondering: over life and all its options
• Considering: gap year vs uni
• Watching: youtubers!
• Hoping: to do well this year
• Marvelling: Over the beauty of some lyrics 
• Needing: more clothes and make up
• Smelling: Black Opium by YSL 
• Wearing: Training kit and school uniform
• Following: the path ahead
• Noticing: I don't need to care what people think of me
• Knowing: I can do it 
• Thinking: about a lot
• Feeling: pretty darn happy 
• Admiring: beauty 
• Sorting: my life out
• Buying: nothing due to lack of money
• Getting: excited for what lies ahead
• Bookmarking: peoples blogs and furniture 
• Disliking: rude people and boasters 
• Opening: the most recent Rowing&Regatta magazine
• Giggling: with my friends
• Feeling:  excited but nervous for the future! 

Hope this wasn't too boring for you all! I'm loving blogging and i feel so guilty if I don't write anything for a long time! I have got a very exciting post planned which I hope to write this weekend! 

Thanks for reading!

Much Love

Charlotte

XO