That Girl with that Blog

Hi Earthbugs! I have returned to some sort of normality post Christmas and am back at university and all that fun stuff so I thought, what better time for a new blog post?  I've vowed to myself to push myself out of my comfort zone more, not so much as a new year's resolution but more a lifestyle change, and take opportunities when I can and that basically sets the scene for this post. I was scrolling through Facebook a few weeks ago and saw an advert for volunteers to collect money at a Young Voices event in Sheffield for Teenage Cancer Trust. I put myself out there and signed up, I love volunteering and helping others so I thought "what could go wrong?". I received all my confirmation emails, my t-shirt, where I had to be at what time and was excited.  Until the day came and then the crippling fear of "what if I do something wrong?" "what if people look at me and go why is she here?" "what if I'm not needed?" and a thousan...

Hi Earthbugs, Today isn't as much of a cheery post as I would usually write but it is an important post that I think is very relevant as October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. I have thought about posting this and then changed my mind and then considered it and here it is. A thing to remember is that domestic violence isn't just physical abuse, it comes in many forms of abuse including emotional abuse. That is what today's post is about, about a friend of mine who experienced emotional abuse at a young age. She was fifteen and in a relationship with a boy in her year at school, at fifteen it was nothing serious. At fifteen she was enjoying secondary school, with the laughs and jokes that summer bought and how teachers started being a bit more chill and lenient with work. A couple of months down the line, my friend was told that her boyfriend didn't like the idea of her having males as friends. So she distanced herself from her friends, she didn't want...

Hey Earthbugs! Last night I took part in a charity walk for Ashgate Hospice, a local hospice that provides excellent care to people when they most need it. It's been running a few years now and I have only ever marshalled it before back when I was a cadet, however this year I walked as part of a team with wonderful people. It's called the Sparkle Night Walk and kicks off at 10pm and you basically follow a 10k route and it's a big sea of pink, flashing lights and glitter - not forgetting the feathers that fell out the bunny ears.  I know of a few experiences with Ashgate Hospice from recently to back when I lost my Nan in 2015 and they have been outstanding on all occasions. I will never forget how helpful they were to my grandparents when my Nan was in her final days and made it easy for my Nan to remain with them. I imagine their jobs can be very challenging a lot of the time but they always deliver the best service. There doesn't seem to be many people who I'v...

A year ago today 14,200 people were having the time of their lives watching Ariana Grande perform at Manchester Arena, yet this show was targeted as a shrapnel-laden bomb was detonated just as people were leaving, killing 22 victims and injuring hundreds more. 🔼  Here are my thoughts... A year on, I would like to say that things like this don't happen. I would like to say that the world does not have any hate left. I would like to say no one gets unnecessarily killed anymore. I would like to say all of this and so much more...but it wouldn't be true and I would be living in a dream world. Since the Manchester Arena attacks there has been🔼 an attack on London Bridge where a white van was driven at high speed into groups of people and then crashed where the passengers then ran to the nearby Borough Market were they then stabbed people, 8 people died and there were at least 48 injured. There has been the Finsbury Park attack where a 47 year old British male drove a vehicle in...

Hello Earth bugs,  We left this month's My Earthquake post right until the very end, but hey it's snowing outside so you can cosy on up and have a cuppa. I do feel like the title sounds a bit like on I'm a Celebrity and telling them who is going to do the Bush Tucker trials, but I assure you I'm not. Let's just crack on, eh... Here we have February's My Earthquake post, you may not be familiar to this segment of my little internet space then it's basically me attempting to make a difference here and make someone happy there and this is only my second post. If you'd like to read my January post which is about the Chesterfield Shoebox Appeal then you can clickedy-click here and away we go. For February I'm not focusing on any individual or any group but it could be about you. Now this may seem a bit of a cop out but I decided that I'd like to do a post where I encourage people to help. Therefore, this post is dedicated to anyone who wants to...

Hey Earthlings!  Now before you get on the phone to your Aunt Brenda alarming her that you've seen the words "earthquake" and "Chesterfield" in the same sentence, chill, it is all okay and everything is in fact under control. But welcome, to the new tab on my blog called Earthquake, yes it is a bit of an odd name for a tab on a blog but I shall explain. If you go on Google and search "define earthquake" and click on the link to dictionary.com it will tell you that an earthquake is: a tremor of the surface of the earth, sometimes severe and devastating (then including some science-y stuff). This is where I come in, I have a passion for wanting to help people and try and change someone's world because even if I help one person, I have still helped. In this case, the tremor is me grabbing their little world (metaphorically) and shaking it to have a positive impact. Basically, I want to help other's by acknowledging the work they do and writing a...

Hello Earthlings, I don't know where to start with this but I have been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award, I never really consider that people read my blog (weird, right?) so when I saw that the lovely Becca at Missing in Sight had nominated me I was over the moon. This means a lot to me as it shows that not only has someone read my blog but they've also acknowledged my aim in spreading happiness and whatnot. So, yeah, mini victory over here!  I would like to thank Becca at Missing in Sight , her blog is absolutely amazing and she brings something so unique to the blogger community so I definitely recommend you clicking on the links and having a read. If you want to read her post about the Sunshine Blogger Award then clickedy-click here .  If you aren't aware of what the Sunshine Blogger award is, which I wasn't until I clicked on loads of them yesterday, it is given to a blogger who provides inspiration through their positivity and creativity in th...

Hey there Earthling cheesecakes, I sit here and I'm conscious that I have a mountain of uni stuff to read on this reading week and I'm also conscious that I didn't post on my blog last week and although I don't mind missing a week because I'm busy and didn't want to rush a post, I also hate missing a week because I feel like I'm letting myself down. So here I am before I get lost in a book that weights at least 4 stone, posting this weeks update and it's an important one.  Right now it's the 9th of November and I'm sat here in my room looking out the window to a grey and murky day. It's definitely time for the big coat to come out, and I now have to sit and wait a bit for my windscreen to clear. The festive menus have arrived in Starbucks and I can highly recommend the Fudge Hot Chocolate. The Christmas adverts are starting to come on TV and everywhere is starting to get a bit more magical as the build up to festivities begin.  Unfortuna...