Throwback Thursday | Mt Stirling, 8th Oct '16

It's been close to a month since I last arrived back home. Now that life's beginning to settle down a lot better, I've been spending the past few days looking through my photos and reminiscing the times I spent in Melbourne. I've always wished I could be a skilled photographer, I'm sure I've mentioned before that photographs bring back so much more than just memories. A photograph brings back the feelings and emotions that you experienced and felt at that present moment. Which is why they are always so precious to me.

Today I'd like to share about the time my friends and I decided to hike up Mt Stirling. We'd been discussing going on an overnight/camping/road trip for the longest time (that being a year) but we kept on putting it off. Part of it had to do with the fact that we couldn't find an appropriate date that catered us all (especially when two out of the five were working adults), but really it's also because no one took any action until we finally set our minds to it.

And so after the graduation of one and her departure back to her mainland i.e. Malaysia, the remaining four of us finally decided it was enough of bumming around and time to make the necessary reservations.

We came to the decision to conquer Mt Stirling thanks to Derrick. He'd actually gone hiking up the mountain during winter that same year, but due to the weather was unable to enjoy and take as many pictures as he'd have liked from the summit. Also, Nam was no stranger to the mountain as she spent an entire year during high school up there. Don't ask, but her high school had this really cool one year programme where 15 year olds spend their time up in the mountains organising trails and the likes. Sounds nomadic, but her stories were so enjoyable to listen to. All it took was a photo of how the view looked like from the summit and I was sold.

Does this not entice you?!

We drove up to the base of the mountain courtesy of Dinithi our driver who was very willing to take us there. The entire journey to the base took about two hours or so. We took slightly longer than that because we had a few pitstops along the way.

Prior to the trip Derrick made a whole list of things for us to purchase. Namely items essential for hiking like boots, flashlights and etc. I didn't want to spend money unnecessarily so apart from food and disposable underwear I didn't purchase anything mentioned. Which may not have been a very good idea because the mountains were covered in snow thanks to the heavy rainfall the night before and I was geared up in my Dr Martens. Not exactly ideal for plummeting through the ice... I made it though since I ended up walking in my friends' footprints hahaha!

My trusty sherpa stick which I brought back home for safekeeping hahaha

I love hiking, and the one thing I will miss the most from Melbourne is the abundance of opportunities to enjoy mother nature at it's best. It was such a good workout, and although it was tiring it was a lot more enjoyable thanks to my friends. Come to think of it, I've no idea what we talked about throughout the entire hike. How we managed to pass time by is a wonder on hindsight.

We took close to four hours to reach the summit of the peak. This of course was inclusive of all the times I plopped down on the snow to cool myself down because the intensity of the sun's rays was burning into my soul. I'm pretty sure I lost 80% of my energy to the sun. But here's a hack, sitting with your ass in the snow really helps to cool your entire body down. I did this several times, much to the annoyance of Derrick :P

But boy oh boy when we did make it to the top... It was breathtaking. I'll let the pictures do the talking from here on :)

All these photos were taken by Derrick of course (it explains why he's missing in them), and he captured the mood and the moments so well. It expresses my exact feelings towards the experience, melancholic, romantic and wonderment.

I've always loved the outdoors because it reminds me of how tiny and vulnerable I am in comparison to the greatness of God's creations. I was happy to have had another opportunity to soak in the beauty of mother nature and life, and to be privileged enough to do so.

The journey back down to the base took slightly less than two hours since we took another route. We were accompanied by some very lovely deer on our drive down to the caravan park which we had made arrangements for. Spent a cosy night chit-chatting over instant noodles and drinks, talking about politics, love and life. Headed out the next morning to make our way back to the city.

In all, it was a short getaway that felt like a whole week. The memories stay fresh in my head, and I hope that in future I'll receive the opportunity to go on a similar trip with my friends (including dear Pei Yi who was already back in Malaysia) again.

Thank you for the memories wolf pack ♡

xx.

Photo credits: @derrickkoo_photo

Shinee - An Encore

So, it's officially the first Saturday since school ended. It's the annual week of leave for students to study at home before the examinations begin. I'd like to commemorate a post to what this semester has been and meant for me but I feel like I should be investing that time towards studying instead :P #procastinationatbest

Anyway, I felt like sharing a lil song that's been on replay for the past two days. I'm not sure how much people like K-pop, but as I always say, don't judge Kpop based on the plastic surgery, pretty boys and editing that goes into post-production. Also, Kpop isn't just Psy and Gangnam Style. 

I love listening to foreign songs when I study because I find it to be less distracting considering how I don't understand the language. It calms me down, and this song in particular has had very therapeutic effects on my soul. In what I thought was a period of stress and worry, this song has helped me calm down and think a lot more rationally. Basically my point is this: 

This song is amazing and everyone should listen to it. 

Needless to say it's sung by the very first Kpop group I fell in love with and grew up with. I can't believe it's been 7 years since I ventured into this world of Kpop. I don't regret it. It's brought me a lot of happiness over the years and I'm glad to see the artists that I support grow in the process too. 

I'm so in love with this particular performance too because Shinee was flawless. Such a beautiful song with beautiful voices and people. Much love :) 

Ah, I better get back to my statistics now. Till then, I'll see you guys real soon :) 

xx

How fast do you walk?

Source: Pinterest

As far as resolutions go, one that I have made in particular is with regards to the speed in which I walk. Instead of "resolution", I suppose it's safer to say that it's more of a reminder and a habit that I wish to change.

There are all sorts of speeds in this world. You have those who walk really slowly, those who speed away as if they're engaged in an urgent matter and those who walk at an average speed. 

Now I happen to fall in the second category, especially so when I'm alone. With company I find myself following their pace unless we're in a rush somewhere. That said though, I'm very often leading the group when we're walking... I wonder why. Maybe it's my pace. 

I've come to realise that the speed at which I walk when alone has influenced my life and ultimately my happiness. Firstly, I hardly have time to look at the things around me and consider their beauty given I'm so concentrated in getting to my destination as quickly as possible. Secondly, I most probably appear to be rather haphazard to others given how fast I walk. Walking fast increases your heart rate and though it may prove to be a rather good form of exercise whilst out but it doesn't necessarily portray you in a very good light. I basically found myself feeling awkward whenever I was out alone. 

Simply put, I felt as if my life was a rush and I felt highly unattractive each time I reached my destination. 

This year I told myself I wanted to stop walking so fast all the time. I wanted to change the pace in which I moved around from point to point. I needed to stop feeling so awkward about walking alone. 

Believe it or not, the impact it had on me was dramatic. I felt so much more at ease once I changed my pace. I was able to breathe calmly as opposed to the rapid heartbeats before and this altogether made me feel more relaxed as I walked along the streets. I felt less awkward, less of a haphazard but above all, I felt happy. I should mention now that my slower pace was coupled with a proper posture so this may have played a supporting role as well. 

Why am I sharing this otherwise boring and irrelevant post you ask? Well, because I feel that so many of us today are trapped in this cycle of rushing from place to place that we ignore the beauty of the things around us. Above all, apart from noticing the smaller things in life, the way we walk may inadvertently affect our own happiness. I'm so glad I detected my way of walking as a problem in itself, because I think it could have very well affected me altogether in the long run. 

I do occasionally fall back into my rushed pace and I find that I constantly need to remind myself to slow down and walk properly. I am definitely seeing this habit in a positive light and hope that in the days to come I no longer will need to remind myself anymore. 

Hope this post has enlightened you somehow, feel free to share your thoughts :)

xx

Good thoughts: Be a better you.

Image Credits: Pinterest

Up until a few years ago, I used to be someone filled with hate. It was a scary thing, and looking back I am only thankful that I have since learnt to overcome those feelings of hatred I have held against people. As a teen, I've constantly been told by friends that I have the face of a bitch and that I appear intimidating and am unapproachable. For many years I contested against that statement, arguing that it would take one time to understand and know me better to make a proper judgment on the person I truly am. However, I soon came to realise that first impressions matter and very often, what you see on the cover does to a certain extent reflect the individual's character. Essentially, there was no false claim behind my bitchy exterior. The truth was that I was indeed one.

I was a bitch.

Since I came to that realisation, I made a promise and an effort to change my ways. You see, I realised that the terrible thoughts in my head were reflected in my actions, and these thoughts motivated most of the things that I did. They were often selfish acts, and I would end up using people for personal gains.

But what exactly were these terrible thoughts that I would have? Here were some:

1. Jealousy. How on earth was someone with her personality able to get a boyfriend?
2. Hatred. Word of mouth reached me and I discovered that she hated me. So I wished for eternal vengeance against her. 
3. Someone irks me for reasons they can't control. I then behave like a nasty bitch towards her. The reason that person irks me could be for the simplest thing like an annoying laugh or for being too attention seeking.

These are only a few that I'm able to come up with at the moment. If you're able to relate to some then welcome to the group. My question to you is this. Why hate? Why waste so much energy hating on someone? All that time and effort can be used for other things. 

But here's the thing about hatred and thoughts. It can be managed. And this was how I achieved it. 

1. Before criticising someone, think about yourself. If you're about to critique someone for a terrible attitude, you doing the same thing puts you in the same spot. Besides, gossiping about another person just places within the bitchy zone. 
2. So someone has a bad habit that annoys you. Either a) Make an effort to spend less time around the person. or b) Learn to suck up that trait that annoys you if she's an important friend to you. Also always remember that you have traits of your own that are annoying too. And you have to take my word for this, act on your annoyance at another's trait and you'll find that you'll soon call that trait your own. 
3. Someone lashes out at you for no reason. You get upset and you get mad. Do you hate that person forever? No. Always remember that people are going through different things in life. That person may have been going through a hard time. Sure, you are too. And yes, it still doesn't give them the right to have acted the way they did. That doesn't mean you can't be the bigger person. Take time off to let the anger disappear and approach the person and hold an assertive conversation with him. Always remember to not confront out of anger, you usually say things you don't mean and will regret. 

It's hard to make a change. But the first step is to admit that you are indeed a bitch. After you do that, take a moment to think how truly happy you are. I know that since I've learnt to let go of hatred and bad thoughts, I've definitely felt a lot happier and I'm not just saying this for the sake of doing so. I say it because I've lived through it :)

And hey, it's not going to be an easy process. You can't change everything at once. It has taken me years to change each negative thought. I focus on one negative thing at a time and work on it first. After that then only do I proceed on to another negative thought. Slowly you'll learn to handle it and before you know it, you hardly feel angry all the time. 

Also a true fact: People are a lot friendlier towards me and I am a lot more approachable now than I used to be. It could be perspective, but even so I believe that it's the change in mindset that has helped.

You're going to fail sometimes and you will think bad thoughts. Times like these give yourself a break. You're allowed to feel that way, you are human after all. But it's important to not let it hold for too long. Go back to your routine of self-cleanse the next day. 

After all, 

Image Credits: Pinterest

So go and be a better you :) I know it's possible, and I will be with you till the very end. Don't give up, and don't lose hope. It's possible as long as you believe it to be.

Xx.

p.s. Sorry for the terribly wordy post. This is a new style I'm trying out. I've always wanted to do an advice sort of thing, something along the lines of AgabobAdvice. Let me know what you think? I'm open to comments and constructive critique! :)

My happy place :)

Often in life we focus on the bad things that happen to us. We allow it to take over our life and some of us fall into the trap of allowing it to take control of our decisions and the actions of people around us. Very often it's a game that the mind plays on you. The issues you have are always blown out of proportion and we fail to see that. 

I can honestly say right now that I don't think I've felt this happy in years. I've achieved a sense of zen not only with life but with myself. As someone who's grappled with self-esteem issues for the past two decades, I can genuinely say that I've learnt to love myself for who I am. I now no longer need to compare myself to others to measure my worth. We are all blessed with different aspects and strengths that make us who we are. Measuring and comparing yourself to others isn't only going to put you down but it's going to cause you to rate others as well and this may place a strain on your friendship.

I now know that I am not as terrible or ugly as a person as I once thought I was, I've learnt to be comfortable in my own skin and I'm no longer afraid to share my beliefs to others. It's who I am and it's not something that I can run away from. Running away from yourself is running away from the truth, and you're never going to be able to achieve inner peace if you're constantly doing that.

I hope that everyone out there eventually learns to achieve inner peace with themselves. It's not an easy thing to do, it takes practice (yes, practice) and confidence. But hey, if someone like me can do it, I believe everyone can :)

The first step though? Stop pointing and looking at the flaws and strengths of others. Focus on yourself instead. What is your strength? What do you think you possess that makes you uniquely you? What then are your flaws? Is it manageable? Or is it something that you want to be rid of. Give yourself space, we all have flaws but it's okay as long as we know it exists and learn to manage it when it crops up.

Have faith and love yourselves :) My only wish is that everyone would someday experience the inner peace I have learnt to achieve with myself.

Xx.