1.
Don’t rely on a guy to feel beautiful. You are
beautiful whether you have a guy (or girl) to tell you so, or not. At the end
of 2015, I met a guy and fell head over heels for him. For a couple of months,
I felt like everything was perfect. I felt truly beautiful and confident for
the first time in my life, but I pinned it all on him. So, when he left last
year, I fell apart. My self-confidence dropped lower than it ever had before.
Fortunately, I had amazing
friends around me to support me and help build my confidence back up. Later, I
met Tommy and he made everything completely perfect again but I know that even
if I had never met him, I would still be just as beautiful and confident as I
feel now. It’s good to feel this way when you love someone, but know that you
are always beautiful whether there is a man or woman to tell you so, or not.
2.
Sometimes you need to let people go. At the
time, you could be having the time of your life but if the friendship or
relationship is not making you happier and healthier – if they make you cry
more than smile – then they are not making a positive impact on your life and
they need to go before they make a negative one.
3.
Sometimes you need to hold people close. You
never know what could happen to the people you love. My mum got cancer and it
was the scariest thing my family’s ever gone through, but we held each other
close and loved each other and we got through it. Even if it’s not as big and
scary a thing as cancer, we all need people we love in our lives and when
things get hard, we all need someone to hug and talk to.
4.
Just because something ends, doesn’t mean it’s
the end. After my previously mentioned relationship fell apart, I met the man I
completely believe is the love of my life. Remember, whenever things hit rock
bottom, that’s the lowest they can get. Things can only get better from there,
and you will find your way out of the dark cave you’ve got lost in. It might
take some time or some effort, but I promise things will always, always get
better.
5.
Embrace the little miracles. Every day, think of
something you’re grateful for. For most of last year, I kept a ‘gratitude log’
in my bullet journal where I wrote down something I was grateful for every
night. By just remembering and taking the time to think about all the small
day-to-day things that make us happy will have a huge impact on your mental
health. Whenever I feel bad, all I have to do is look at my gratitude log and I
feel better.
6.
Embrace the big miracles. In April 2016, my
niece was born. Pandora Lily is the most clever, beautiful little girl I’ve
ever cuddled and I am so grateful for her. My family is the most important thing
to me and this new member of the family is everything. Every now and then,
these big moments happen in our lives and we need to soak up every moment of it
to remember for the rest of our lives.
7.
Do what you love, right now. At the start of
last year, I was in the middle of the first year of a university course I
hated. I chose TV Production because I was fascinated by the subject but once I
started doing it, I quickly discovered it wasn’t for me. What I really wanted
to do – and have always wanted to do my entire life – is write books. So, in
September, I changed my course to Creative Writing and it’s seriously the
perfect course for me. Writing is my life and now I get to write and learn
about writing every single day. Don’t sit around dreaming about what you want
to do for the rest of your life. Do it now. Get out there and follow your
dreams because we only have this one life and we need to fill it with
happiness.