Just To Let You Know...

Hiiiiiiiii everyone!

Just to let you know that I'm going to South Africa for 2 weeks today so it is unlikely I will be posting anything for that duration. But fear not, I will be back, better than ever, with more blogposts for you in August!!!! 

Much Love

Charlotte

XO

What's Your Dream?

I love dreaming (hence my Tumblr URL f0rever-ddreaming). I regularly daydream just like we all do. From a young age we all dream. As a kid we dream of being older and being allowed to do more 'cool things that adults do'. As adults we dream of being young again and having no responsibility at all. Amongst this we also dream of achieving our goals, meeting our favourite celebs and idols to one day having a family of our own or a successful business. For me my dream is relatively simple but quite difficult to achieve. I dream of rowing to the highest standard I can, being successful and having a big, loving family with kids of my own. 

I think dreaming is good. Without it we would probably all live relatively mundane lives with no drive or determination. Dreaming of an exciting future motivates us  to train and work harder to be able to achieve our dreams. 

However, I also believe low expectations are a good thing. If we don't expect anything much to come of what we do, we can't be too disappointed if it doesn't work out but if it does it's really great! Jenna Marbles, queen of all things comedy on YouTube made a video about this recently and I agree with it so much.  

Having low expectations it doesn't mean you can't dream. By all means dream bigger and better than ever just don't expect amazing things to come from it because then you will only be disappointed when it doesn't turn out how you planned (let's face it nothing ever goes to plan 100%). 

While I dream (everyday) of rowing for GB eventually I don't have any expectation of it happening at all because I know how disappointed and upset I'll be if it doesn't happen but also how incredibly happy and proud of myself I will be if I do make it. 

So dream and enjoy it but don't expect miracles to happen. Work hard to make those dreams become reality and you shouldn't be disappointed! 

Thanks for reading! 

Charlotte

XO

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