In March I’m going to WALK ALL OVER CANCER!

Hey guys! So this week I am very happy and proud to announce that starting from 1st March 2018, for the whole month that I am going to be doing a sponsored walk for Cancer Research. I am going to walk 10,000 steps a day, every day for a month. This is my first ever sponsored anything!

So here I am to talk about it (Of course I am, who do you take me for)…

Sadly, Cancer affects so many people, all over the world. I was going to add statistics but I didn’t actually realise how many people are affected by this dreadful disease. I mean, I did, but I didn’t, not really. Millions of people are affected.

It’s a horrible disease that causes heartache in families.

When I saw the advert for this sponsored walk, I signed myself up straight away and honestly, I’m really excited to do it. I know I can do it.

My goal, as I’m writing this (22/02/18) is to raise £100, I didn’t want to aim too high or too low so I’m sticking with £100. If I raise my goal then I will change it (I’ll keep you all updated, of course, I will).

When setting up my fundraising page it asked me 3 things:

My Motivation: I want to do something to help so I’m doing this! Let’s beat Cancer together!

My Story: Hi there, I don’t really have a story so here’s a little bit about me. My names Alison but everyone calls me Ally (Ally is better), I’m 19 years old and studying childcare at college. I own a blog (Which might be where you got this link from) where I write about bullying and different topics that are on my mind. I have a great support group of friends and family that are really happy and supportive of me doing this. I have known a few people who have had the terrible disease (also known as cancer), some have bravely fought it but sadly passed away and some have fought it off (Which is amazing!). I wish I could do more to help but until then this will have to do. In March I’m going to be walking all over cancer!

My Target: £100

The whole sponsored walk for a month is really clever because even though the goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day, if I don’t manage it on one day because of work or college or something, then I can catch up the next day or whenever. As long as I catch up by the end of March.

So here’s what I’m going to do, 10,000 steps a day or at least 310,000 steps within March. Wondering how I’m going to track my steps? I’m going to use my Fitbit watch which I was bought for my birthday! I’m very excited about all of this.

If anyone would like to donate towards what I am doing, I would really appreciate it. Even if it’s 10p! It’s 10p towards my goal!

The link to my fundraising page is here: 

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/allywalksallovercancer

Okay, so that’s it. If you do donate anything towards what I am doing – Thank you very much! I really appreciate it! Until next time… Much love – Ally xx

If you care, PLEASE sign this petition: Anti Bullying – WE NEED YOUR HELP! *TRIGGER WARNING*

Hey guys, so here’s a little side note from what I usually post. I was emailed a petition that spoke volumes to me so I just needed to share it as I know a lot of people will agree with this.

Link to the petition site HERE!

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Title: Ban apps like Sarahah where my daughter was told to “KILL HERSELF”

CONTENTS OF THE EMAIL I WAS SENT:

“I have been scared, broken and sick to my stomach ever since I read messages about my 13-year-old daughter including, “I hope SHE KILLS HERSELF. Seriously nobody will care”. No one, especially our youth, should have to read messages like this about them.

These messages were sent through an app called Sarahah, which can be downloaded for free on both the App Store and on Google Play. Sarahah is an app where people can make anonymous accounts and send anonymous messages to and about others.

Because of the anonymous nature of the app, Sarahah has become what users describe as “an app breeding suicides” and “a breeding ground for hate”.

My daughter and I have been shattered by this app, and tragically another teenager, in the UK, was found hanged early in 2017 after allegedly being bullied on a similar app called Sayat.Me, which was shut down in May.

Both the App Store and Google Play have policies against apps that facilitate bullying, harassment or self-harm. Why then is Sarahah still available on these platforms?

No parent can stomach this abuse of their children and I cannot even imagine losing my beautiful, sweet girl to suicide. This is why we need to protect our children.

I read an article on ‘Dolly’, a 14-year-old, who after so much bullying, took her life just after the New Year. Dolly felt that her only way out was suicide.

I do not want my daughter or any other to become the next Dolly.

App Store and Google Play – help us protect our most vulnerable and ban bullying apps like Sarahah now.”

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I wrote about the Sarahah app in July 2017, you can read that blog post HERE. But for those that don’t have time to read it or just don’t want to read it; it was basically about one of my friends getting sent hate on the Sarahah app. The hate was really bad, I was honestly shocked by it.

For those that don’t know (I doubt that people don’t know, but) Sarahah is an app like ASK.FM where people can post what they want about you, ask questions (etc) anonymously.

The people that create these apps might have a good reason behind it and might think that the way they want it to be used might actually happen, but more often than not, that is not the case.

I have been sent hate on ASK.FM, I have been sent hate on apps that don’t even make the person anonymous, I know a lot of people that have been sent hate through apps like ASK.FM and Sarahah, THE OUTCOME OF IT ISN’T NICE. That’s why after everything, I decided it would be a bad idea if I got involved with Sarahah, so I watched from a distance and added my input whenever someone had been sent hate and started to believe it.

I honestly do think that if  ASK.FM, Sarahah and other apps that are similar weren’t created that maybe, just maybe, the bullying wouldn’t be as bad. In my mind, I know that it probably still would have been, but maybe not anonymous. I don’t know, I just feel that if it wasn’t around to turn teenagers world’s (and mental health) upside down that maybe teenagers wouldn’t be as insecure or have as many trust issues as they do.

I know that once receiving anonymous messages I had a whole load of trust issues, wondering who wrote those horrible things, were the messages by friends? Who wrote them? It leaves people wondering and overthinking – causing a whole load of problems.

So here is why I’m sharing this with you, I have signed the petition and I BELIEVE that a lot of people should and might do after reading this. I just needed to share this so that this girls mum is heard loud and clear. Let me know your thoughts on this in the comments below, don’t forget to sign the petition (LINK IS AT THE TOP OF THE BLOG POST) if you agree. HELP BE THE REASON that another generation doesn’t have to go through the overthinking and wondering.

This means so much to me, as I think you can tell (Colours have changed, so has the boldness, etc, etc), it really is so important that this is signed so that lives are changed and quite frankly saved. Many thanks. Much love – Ally xx

“You shouldn’t have anything to do with her, she’s bad news”

Hey guys, so today is one of my best friends birthday’s! In honour of her birthday I’m writing this because I can never really thank her enough, nothing I do will ever be what she deserves – Quite frankly she deserves the world but since I can’t give her that she’s stuck with me going on about how great she is – Sorry Chloe (Not really that sorry!).

So the quote above is what my dad got told in primary school. Mothers usually end up having “mothers meetings” in the playground, discussing what’s going on around and in the school, other parents and children, who their kids are allowed to hang round with and who they aren’t (Kind of bitchy, I know). Judgemental mothers meetings.

I’m not saying all mums or parents are like this – Clearly they’re not, but when my dad used to drop me off and pick me up from primary school, he would get called over to talk to these mothers.

When they saw that I was talking to dear Chloe, they told my dad that I should stay away from her as she is “bad news”.

My dad being who he is, didn’t listen to them and I carried on talking to her.

A few months later she saved my brother’s life, I won’t go into detail with this as its personal, but that’s all I’m going to say. I will be forever grateful for what she done. I don’t know what I’d do without my brother or her.

After I found out what she done, she was put on the highest pedestal in my books, like she deserves to be.

We have now been the best of friends for over 10 years.

What I’m trying to say is, if my dad had of listened, I probably wouldn’t have a great friend. I wouldn’t have had the inspiration I needed growing up, I wouldn’t have had the experiences or made the friends that I have.

All those kids missed out because of their mothers judging a book by its cover – because of the rumours that they heard. They have missed out on a lot. I mean, they wouldn’t have had the experiences that I have had and that is a real shame (No sarcasm intended) – Everyone needs a friend like Chloe. Everyone.

They wouldn’t have had the confidence boosts or the support from her family, made the friends through introductions from her, they wouldn’t have had the inside jokes or the closeness that we have – I’m literally able to ask her anything and everything. They may have had these things – obviously – but not from the same person and therefore they missed out.

Talking about support, I’m going to write about something that she once told me and has carried on telling me ever since. I believe that everyone should hear what I’m about to quote at least once in their life. It might seem like a silly quote to some, I know it did at first with me, but everyone needs to hear it.

Okay so here goes, read the following and really think about it:

Think about your lowest point in your life. Something might have happened, something might have gone really wrong. It might even be something small that you think could lead to something disastrous. You message or call your best friend, telling them exactly what has happened, how scared you really are, how upset you are, how worried you are. You tell her about your worries – what you think it might lead to. You tell her about how you want to give up, about how you don’t see life going right anytime soon, about how if you quit now the blow might not be so bad. If you stick with what you’re doing then it might get worse…

And then you receive the following:

“There’s always light at the end of the tunnel…”

I know what you must be thinking right now, “Alison you have just described the worst possible thing, that sentence is not going to solve all your worries” – I get it, really I do. In your worst possible situation (And trust me I have had a few), it does not seem like something that helps but really it is.

Think about it, you’re in the tunnel, a problem has just hit you like a truck, you have two choices you can walk back out get out of the tunnel – but you will still have to walk through this tunnel to get through this situation, so really, if you want to get where you want to be in life you have to walk through this tunnel. The tunnel may seem like the

 longest thing ever, but its okay because eventually you will get out of this tunnel. You will eventually see the light at the end of this tunnel and realise that you are almost there. The tunnel may be the longest or shortest thing ever but its okay, you will get through this, I believe in you.

I went from thinking that it’s a really stupid thing to say, to thinking about how great it is, to repeating it to others in their time of need. The saying has now become my “go to” when thinking about my worries or helping other people with theirs.

So when something seems like the end of the world or is going badly for you or someone else, think about this quote or simply say it to someone else, they will understand eventually, trust me. I did and it really helps.

Another thing that kids have missed out on is hearing that quote, all because they judged a book by its cover.

So here’s my appreciation post for one of my closest best friends, your amazing Chloe and I know I have already said it but happy birthday! I hope your day is filled with joy and everything you want and deserve. Everyone needs a friend like you and I’m glad I met you. Love you lots xxx

Okay, so here’s the end of this very long post, it had to be long – I just have so much to say about this amazing lady, I truly am blessed for having her in my life. If you have met me and we have had a real conversation, you would have heard me at least once (If not more) saying “My friend Chloe…”, “I’m going to introduce you to my mate Chloe, you’ll like her, she’s great!” Considering it’s rare that I say that, you know its true.

I’m already planning my next two blog posts, they should be up within the next week! Have a great weekend, keep smiling and stay strong. Much love – Ally xx

“That’s unrealistic, try and think about what else you would want to do.”

Hey guys, so in this post, I want to talk about a little something. I feel like near enough everyone can relate to this and if you can’t relate to this then you’re very lucky. I wrote this post almost 2 years ago, it’s about time I finally share it.

When your growing up, you’re asked what you want to do with your life. What you want to do with the REST of your life. Sometimes we have an answer and sometimes we don’t. But if you’re like me then you have some sort of idea.

At the age of 10, I had finally decided what I wanted to do with the rest of my life – it wasn’t a clear vision but I had some sort of idea what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing. In secondary school, towards the end of your time there, they ask you again what you’re going to do after school. Sixth form? College? University after either of those two? Get a job? What are YOU going to spend the REST of your life doing? Tough question, no one really knows.

But if you’re like me and have a rough idea then you have a plan (maybe) and you may have some sort of clue on how you are going to get from A to B to C.

In year 11, I got asked what I wanted to do, I had a list of ideas. I want to do all sorts of things in my life, I don’t plan on being in the same place for the rest of my life – that’s for sure. When talking to a teacher about my plans, I got told it was unrealistic and I should think again about what I want to do with the rest of my life.

How is what I want to do unrealistic? We are told from a young age that if you want something you have to work for it and fight for what you want to get exactly what you want. Sometimes it may work and other times it might not.

I just didn’t understand because we’re told if you want the stars you have got to reach for them and if you can’t reach them then you have to build a bigger ladder until you CAN reach them. So why is it that if I want something and want to do something with my life I have to think smaller than what I want as it’s unrealistic.

Unrealistic is saying that you want to be an astronaut and want to go to the moon. But yet again, it isn’t unrealistic because if you want it you have to work for it. You have to work your way up the ladder to what you want and grasp it with both hands.

Whats the point in spending the rest of your life doing something that you don’t want to do in the first place? Due to it being unrealistic… Who wants to be stuck in a job they never liked in the first place?

I was told at least three times that what I want to do is a little bit unrealistic and that I should rethink what I want to do with my life. But then again, since having these things said to me I have proved a lot of people wrong with the way that I do things and what I have managed to do so far.

So why is what I want to do unrealistic if I’m proving people wrong when they say I can’t do something? The answer is it isn’t.

My point is, if you want something, go for it. Don’t let anything or anyone stand in your way. Work for what you want! It may take some time – depending on what you want to achieve, but if you want it that badly then it will be worth it. It may be hard work but think of the goal and the thing that you’ll achieve at the end. NEVER GIVE UP! EVER!

The only thing that is ever going to hold you back from your dreams is YOU – Don’t listen to anyone else!

Okay, so that’s it from me this week, I feel as though I’ve said my piece, short and sweet. Have a fantastic week! Have fun, work hard and achieve what you want. Keep smiling and stay strong. Much love – Ally xx

It’s more than okay to say “No”…

Hey guys, so this week I have finally decided to talk about something that I have never really had the guts to talk about out loud. I know this isn’t out loud, but this is as loud as it is going to get at the moment.

Mainly because I thought about the consequences of me talking, I thought about how stupid it may sound for me not saying “no”, but you know what? I’m in a good place in my life where I can finally talk about things like this. As I said last week, I no longer care.

So when I was younger (That makes me sound so old), in primary school, I had my hair cut by a boy in my class. I’m obviously going to explain what happened and not just leave it there…

Okay, so I was around 6 years old, (I was in Year 1) when this whole incident happened. But this boy who was sat behind me used to talk to me when the teacher went out to get things. I remember what happened really well, which is really odd for me as it was a long time ago. But anyways, one day we were doing an activity with scissors and as the teacher went out, he asked me if he could cut my hair. I said no the first time, but the second time he made me feel guilty, made me feel as if I was in the wrong. I didn’t say yes, I just didn’t say no a second time. As I remember it, he wanted to play “hairdresser” and so I was his experiment…

So at the end of the day, my hair was swept into my bag, a hat was put on so no one knew, and I didn’t say a word. When my dad came to pick me up from school, we got to the end of the playground before I burst into tears and showed him what was in my bag.

He obviously went to go and see why the teacher hadn’t done anything about things like this, why there weren’t things in place to prevent things like this from happening in the first place.

We then had to go to the hairdressers to get my hair sorted out…

This all could have been avoided if I was strong about saying the word “no”. It’s more than okay to say “no”. DON’T ever feel guilty for saying no, if you don’t want to do something or if you don’t want something to happen then say no, it is okay. The person you say “no” to might be a little mad, but whats that matter? If you don’t want to do something / don’t want something to happen, then stand up for yourself.

Another time I should have definitely said “no”, was when I used to get money taken off of me. So in Year 7, 8 and 9, I used to walk home with some friends, and on the way home, we would usually get followed by some kids that used to bully me. We would walk into the shop to buy a drink or some food, my dad would usually give me £10 for the week to buy things after school. However, a lot of the time, that money used to get stolen from me. They would either take it out of my hand just before I was about to pay or sometimes they would ask me to buy them a drink, with the whole “I’ll give you the money back tomorrow” comment. Tomorrow never really happened. It happened once or twice but that was it.

So for ages, I would have money taken from me because I couldn’t say “no”. I did say “no” once or twice, but I got the threat that they would beat me up. Now I know what your thinking, they probably wouldn’t have beat me up, but I have been beaten up before, just for being me…

So usually, I wouldn’t risk it. I would just give in, give them the money or buy them the drink they wanted. Let’s be honest, no one wants to beat up, especially when it could have been prevented by buying a drink or something small.

Another thing, where I failed to say “no”, was when people asked to borrow my phone or bus money, I could never say “no” and so I would have to walk home because of me not having bus money, and I would have to top up my phone with credit more than a normal person, because people had used it.

MY POINT:

I know that sometimes it is difficult to say no, but a lot of the time it is in your best interest to say “no”. Say “no” where you can to avoid being hurt, upset, or even humiliated. Trust me, I wish I said no. I wouldn’t have had my hair cut, my money would have lasted longer and so would have my credit. Saying “no” would have meant that I wasn’t an easy target, therefore making it harder for people to take advantage of me.

Most of the time I felt guilty, but I wish I knew it was okay to say “no” when I was younger, it would have saved me a whole load of problems.

Now I know that I should have told my dad about these things happening, as when I did, it stopped. I should have told a teacher or even a friend, because then maybe it would have stopped quicker.

Okay, so that’s it for me this week, I felt the need to write about this as I am finally learning to say “no”. I feel that I am so much stronger, defiantly stronger than I was this time last year. So here’s to thinking positively, to learning to say “no”, to thinking about whats best for YOU. Thank you for everyone’s support, your all great! Much love – Ally xx