A Little Update | I’ll be back soon…

Hey guys, it’s been 4 months and I still haven’t posted, sorry! I’ve been so busy. I’m working on it. I’ve been so busy with the course I’m doing and working, I can’t really say it’s going to get any better. Exams are coming up so I’m getting prepared for those. Just a little update though to say that I’m not dead and will try and write again soon.

A girl needs her mental health breaks, you know?

I’ve been writing down my ideas and planning as I go, I ain’t forgot about this blog and I promise I’ll be back soon! There’s a lot of content coming soon.

Anyways, until next time – I hope you are well and living your best life! And if you got exams coming up, I wish you the best of luck, you’ll smash it! Much love – Ally xx

Just a quick note to say… (Unicorn Fundraiser) x

Hey guys, so, unfortunately, I am having to post this to let everyone know that due to issues with street permits I have had to cancel my event and postpone it to a later date.

I have posted it everywhere else as well just to let people know that it is cancelled – But just in case this is the only thing you see, here it is on here too.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about the blog post below may explain that.

I will be planning to do this event another time. Hope everyone can understand.

Much love – Ally xx

I’m dressing up as a UNICORN and fundraising for CANCER RESEARCH UK!

Hey guys, I know it’s been a while since I last posted anything. I’m sorry about that, life has been hectic, exams are coming up, etc. I’ve written things, I just haven’t had time to finish and post them. I’m working on a few things at the moment which will come very soon – So stay tuned for that!

But for now, I’m here to promote what I’m getting up to this weekend!

When: Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th May 2018

 

Where: Outside the Cancer Research shop (75 Broad Street, Reading, RG1 2AF)

 

Why? In March I did a ‘10K steps a day’ challenge, I succeeded in doing all 31 days of March. If I hadn’t of succeeded I would have had to do this as a forfeit, but I’m doing it anyway. So, I’m dressing up as a unicorn and fundraising outside the Cancer Research UK charity shop!

Turns out there is a method to my madness. I’m really excited for this! Everything is falling into place. If you would like to donate but can’t make it, my just giving page that I used in March is still open. Okay, so that’s it until next time. I hope to see you there! All donations are welcome! – Ally xx

To all the boys that have ever asked me out on April Fools Day (I hope you achieved what you wanted to)

Hey guys, apologies for not posting for a while, everything has been so busy! Note to self: It’s really difficult to get a challenge done and dusted, complete coursework and attempt to write blog posts for a certain time and day. But my challenge is now over! I didn’t feel like this needed a separate blog post as I have already written about it enough and spammed all my social media for the whole of March (I would say sorry – but I’m not really sorry).

In March I had to do 10,000 steps a day, so for 31 days that would have been 310,000 steps, but I did 364,559 steps – considering people said they didn’t think I’d be able to do it and the fact that I did makes me extremely proud of myself. I had a goal to raise £100 and I raised £110 and £18.75 in Gift Aid. So thank you to everyone that donated, to everyone that supported me and told me I could do it. Thank you to everyone that went on walks with me to get the steps in (Mainly my dad and my brother, but the girls from college too (Your great)). I did it!!!

Okay, so here’s the real reason I’m writing a post today. Today is April Fools Day, possibly the worst day of the year (I hate it, I really do). But the other day, I wrote a (Sort of) poem and so I’m sharing it on here, because why not.

So here goes…

I don’t hate you, some might think I do,

But I pity you, I feel so sorry for you,

You had to make me look like a fool to make people like you,

You had to make a joke out of me, in front of everyone, to get people to like you,

I hated it, I hated you,

And for every April Fools Day after that, I no longer went to school,

I was “sick” every single year, no one caught on that the day was the reason why.

“Alison, I really like you, will you go out with me?”

I was always a little slow with catching on.

I was the joke.

April Fools Day is always the day for when jokes come out the most,

For when pranks were pulled.

I didn’t appreciate being your joke.

But as I said before and I’ll say it again,

I don’t hate you, people think I might do,

But you taught me something that I needed to learn.

Not everyone is going to be kind, not everyone is going to stick up for you.

You did have an impact though,

I’m now weary, probably more than I should be,

Compliments are hard to accept, as they might be a joke, right?

My phone ends up being turned off every April Fools Day,

If not turned off, only certain people get their messages opened.

It really shouldn’t be like that.

I lost a lot of friends because of this horrible day of the year,

They learnt that when they hang round with me, they get asked out too,

And why would anyone want to hang around with the girl who gets jokes turned onto you too? They wouldn’t, is the answer.

So this is for all the girls that have ever been asked out as a joke,

This is for all the girls whose hearts have broken, realising that they are the joke,

This is for all the girls that have been impacted by cruel boys who just want to be cool.

It happens more than people think.

It happened to me 3 times in a day once, in person,

It then happened when I got home over social media,

I didn’t go in for a few days after that, I just needed to escape,

It happens more than people think,

It happens in lessons, you can hear the whispers before you get asked and the giggles after,

And all you can do, once you realise it’s a joke is turn back around,

Just to get asked again.

It’s not a joke, I’m not a joke, and what you did wasn’t nice.

It was torture, an hour lesson of being poked in the back,

Just so you could get your answer?

Shy me told you to leave me alone, to just shut up,

Shy me said yes once, all because I was told by a “friend” that it wasn’t a joke,

Shy me had to sit and hide from those that I knew would ask,

Hours sat hiding away in the toilets,

Hours sat hiding away behind the book shelves in the library.

The person I am now?

The person I am now would tell you to pack it in,

To leave me and any other girl that you have asked alone.

The person I am now, would call you out,

Would tell you that you’re a joke,

Would tell you that you didn’t need to make me or any other girl the joke to be “cool”.

 

Did you achieve what you needed to? Probably not.

Are you cool now? Not in my eyes.

Did you make a big enough fool of yourself for everyone to remember for years to come? Yeah.

 

People say that over time, people do change and mature,

I really do hope that is the case and maybe one day, when you have a daughter,

You will understand how much hurt you caused,

I would not wish it on anyone, but it may happen,

Then when she comes home crying, telling you what happened,

Maybe, just maybe, you will start to understand the hurt you really inflicted upon others,

I wonder, will it still be a joke then?

 

Happy April Fools Day to all the boys that have ever asked girls out as a joke.

The real fool is you.

People change over time, they look different, they become different people,

In years to come you will realise that you missed your opportunity,

People remember things, I sure will and so will a lot of girls.

So next time you want to make a joke out of someone, think before you speak.

Making a joke out of someone does not make you cool,

Happy April Fools Day you fool.

Okay, so that’s it. I feel like I needed to write about this. It’s not really spoken about and I think it should be. I know full well that I am not the only girl who this has happened to. It is downright cruel. I’m pretty sure it still happens too. But it shouldn’t. No girl should have to think bad about themselves just because some jerk decided he wants to be cool. It shouldn’t happen and to some people, it really isn’t a joke. It can open up old wounds and start off a load of thoughts about themselves. It causes self-esteem problems. Often when people do speak about it, they get the casual answer of “it’s just a bit of banter”.

To those that read this and think that I didn’t need to write about this, I did and chances are, the reason you think that is probably because you may have done this to someone else. Most of the time, when I get comments or messages saying I didn’t need to write about something, it’s usually because they have done it in the past.

So that’s it for this week – Until next time. Keep smiling, stay strong and don’t be scared to speak up about things like this, it needs to be heard! Much love – Ally xx

10 things I have learnt in the short time of leaving sixth form…

Hey guys, so currently it has been 9 months since I left sixth form! (I’m not counting it, I came up with this idea and had to count it – for those that question what I’m doing with my life). But anyways – This idea was inspired the other day when I was thinking about how much everything has changed in a year.

This time last year I was revising like mad for my A-Level exams, completing coursework for the deadlines, applying to universities and colleges. I was putting in so much work that my dad was worried about me and so were my friends, I had just recovered (Kind of) from being seriously ill and was already stressing myself out – I was obsessed with doing the best for myself (I’m not saying its a bad thing but at the time it was).

I’ve gone from being quiet and shy (Kind of – depends who I was around) in sixth form, to be able to shout halfway across a campus or laugh out loud without caring who’s around and that means a lot of me. I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t like that from day one.

I can describe day one (of college) to anyone that wants to hear about it, I was really nervous and shy and didn’t really speak to anyone – I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know how to. So on my first day, I kept my head down, texted my best friend like CRAZY and at lunch, I disappeared and sat by a tree reading a book because I hadn’t been able to speak to anyone. For anyone that thinks that is “sad” – The book was great, thanks for asking! Day one wasn’t too bad either.

Since day one, I have met some amazing people, I’m a lot more confident than I was and I’m constantly being told about how different I am now compared to how shy I was. I met some loud people, but the reason I met these loud people was cause I shared a free period with someone in my class and we got talking. If your reading this, your great (!!!) and I appreciate you more than you probably think.

I would like to think that now (I’m told this a lot now too), I’m more confident than I was and that I’ve got a carefree attitude. There have been some times where something has happened and I just haven’t cared enough to let it bother me – This time last year it would have been a different story.

Quick edit – Shout out to the guy that made it his mission on day one to introduce me to as many people as possible – Your great! So glad I have had the privilege to know you so long B!! Also, shout out to one of my favourite people for showing me around when I got lost (Which was a lot), your great too L! xx

So here’s why I’m actually writing this…

Here are my 10 things I have learnt in the short time of leaving sixth form:

1. I am not going to get bullied everywhere I go – Going somewhere new where people don’t know me has proved this. I haven’t had anything happen to me since September and I am extremely happy about this!
2. You won’t stay in contact with everyone that you used to be friends with, people leave and once they don’t see you daily anymore they tend to lose interest – I’ve found that a lot.
3. Not everyone is going to let you down.
4. Not everyone is going to have a problem with you being who you are – being somewhere new has taught me this.
5. A clean slate is possibly the best way to change who you are and who you want to be.
6. Not everyone is going to judge you for what you look like or even what you love to do.
7. Going somewhere where the resources are great and the lecturers really care has caused me to do a lot better than I ever have.
8. Going somewhere where the environment is fantastic has made it so easy to be who I am and not care about who says what.
9. Being allowed to be yourself is not a crime.
10.  Things do get better – Trust me, I know! As of now, I am living proof of this.

Okay, so that’s it, posting on a Friday instead of a Thursday because why not. Hope everyone is well and doing great! Yesterday I reached my halfway point of my donations for the Cancer Research walking that I am doing on the daily – Just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone that has donated so far! Means a lot. Much love – Ally xx

**ANNOUNCEMENT** Do your worst! (This is going to be regretable)

Hey guys, so this week I wanted to write about a suggestion that I got. It’s not really a suggestion anymore, I’ve decided I’ll do it. This doesn’t really make sense, let me explain. So if you don’t already know, for March I signed myself up to do 10K steps a day for Cancer Research. So far I have done over 10K steps a day (It’s a week today that I started and so far I have managed it). So far I have had £15.00 in donations too, which I’m really pleased about, it’s only been a week and I’m 15% into my goal already (I didn’t think I would be).

Why am I writing this? What is the title about? What’s the big announcement I’m talking about?

On Saturday morning, I asked my mate if he would sponsor me for the 10K challenge, I told him so far I have done every day since starting, that I had proof on all my social media’s and that obviously, it was for a good cause. He said that he would sponsor me at the end of the month if I did every single day – Which is fair enough.

He also gave me an idea and as much as I wish that I had come up with the great idea myself, I didn’t, so he gets the credit for that. You know who you are, I would mention your name but I don’t know if you’d want me to or not.

So here’s what he suggested, he said that if I miss a day that I should do a forfeit.

However, I said that I read somewhere that if on one day I do 15K steps and then the next day I only do 5K steps, that it adds up and still counts.

He said that’s more like cheating, a way out, and the more I thought about it, the more I figured he was right.

So I asked him what the forfeit would be… He came up with dying my hair pink. And I

Credit to the owner of this picture.

came up with a few more ideas.

 

So here’s what I’m going to do, in a few days (I hope) after posting this, I am going to upload a poll somewhere (I don’t know where yet) and let people vote on what my forfeit should be. BUT HERE’S THE CATCH! You can only vote if you donate on my fundraising page, I mean you can vote if you don’t donate, your vote just won’t be counted.

Even if you donate 10p, your vote will count.

I’m open to suggestions on what my forfeit should be. Here are a few ideas that some mates and I have come up with so far:

1. Dye my hair pink
2. Walk around college/town in my bright pink unicorn onesie all day (Don’t judge me, it was a Christmas present and it is amazing!!)
3. Wear odd shoes
4. Don’t speak for a whole 24 hours
5. Eat sushi (I’ve never had it before)
6. Start a YouTube channel

(A lot of these ideas aren’t mine, I only had the unicorn onesie idea – Credit to those that have given me forfeits.)

So here’s what you’ve got to do if you want to vote on my forfeit, either donate and add your name with the forfeit you would want me to do, or you could donate, show me proof that you have (If you don’t want to add your name) and get your vote that way. (You can only vote for one thing, I really am open to suggestions. The more suggestions I have, the more I’ll add to the poll – Obviously, it will be depending on if they are reasonable).

The link to my fundraising page: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/allywalksallovercancer

It’s all for a good cause – That’s what I keep telling myself.

Okay, so that’s it. That’s what the big announcement is about. I think it’s quite big, I’m terrified of the outcome of this forfeit. Depending on the forfeit depends when I will carry it out (For example: If the unicorn forfeit is picked then I will have to wait until after half term to do this, obviously – OR when re-reading this to check for mistakes I had an idea, I could walk around town all day in a unicorn onesie, whatever you guys vote). I will be doing the forfeit at the end of March – unless I am unable to. I’m just going to wrap this up here, thank you so much for everyone’s support. It means a lot, keep smiling and don’t forget to donate if you want to get the chance to decide what you want me to do… I’m a little nervous for this, ha-ha… Much love – Ally xx

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