Here I Go Again On My Own... Kinda

Good morning, afternoon, or evening. 

Wherever you are in the world, I greet you with open arms and a smile.

Tonight I made a huge decision. A decision that a lot of people will frown upon without hesitation. They will share comments of negativity and some will congratulate me and wish me luck. Some people might want to join me occasionally!

I've decided to visit cities and experience new things. All on my own.

This past week has been a bit of an eye opener for me. I've been feeling so much emotion, so much more than I can handle recently. Life is too short, and when I'm 10 years older, I'll look back and want to love the fact I traveled a little bit, tried new foods and learned about different cultures and ways of living.

I've watched people travel and concur their dreams. I know people who travel for work whether it's in a band, solo or business, I admire that. I love the fact they get that opportunity. The thing is, I want to make this opportunity mine, grasp it with both hands, and embrace it.

I constantly think about booking a flight and just doing it! Going away for a couple of days and why not?!

Someone told me yesterday, why put something off until tomorrow when you can just do it today? That's seriously made me think about what my year is going to look like in 2017. I see a lot of posts about 'New Year, New Me', I see the posts and they try for a couple of weeks and then revert to old ways. I've even caught myself doing exactly that. This year I put off and cancelled so many plans when I should have just went and did them anyway.
Never put off your plans!

Let me give you a sneak peek as to what I want my 2017 to look like:

- I'm releasing my first published book in January.

- I'm visiting Bordeaux, Rotterdam (hopefully), Amsterdam, and the beautiful city of New York.

- I'm hoping to release a second book around Autumn time.

- I want to pass my driving test. 

- I want to experience new foods and wine! Lots and lots of wine!

- I want to do touristy things, like a wine tasting tour and a beer factory!

- I want to visit the streets of 'Rue Ste Catherine' for a shopping experience.

- I want to go to Oktoberfest!

- I want to take so many photographs and share them with you all. 

So that's just a short list for 2017 but who said that you can't make that list and stick to it too?

I want you all to share your lists with me. Tell me what you want and can do for 2017.  Surprise yourself.

Have a pleasant week! 

Cat 

@shotgunkitten_

What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

Hi everyone,

It's a cold day in Glasgow and it's safe to say that winter is well and truly on it's way. As I travelled to work this morning, I saw many faces. Tired, happy, some sad. I saw pensioners going to the shops, teenagers going to school and adults heading to their place of work or study.

I noticed a group of teenage girls in particular, taking a 'bus selfie', laughing and gossiping. It got me thinking about when I was in high school and the dreams I had when I attended school. I over heard one girl saying she wanted to study medicine, one of her friends laughed and said, 'but you hate needles and blood, you couldn't work in Medicine or in a Doctors.'

Her statement hit home for me even though I wasn't part of the conversation. The girl didn't say anything and remained quiet until they got to their destination. I felt a little sad for her.

I remember being in school and teachers, friends and even some family members telling me I couldn't do certain things, or study at a certain level. I had people who encouraged me also, but the main thing that stuck in my mind was that I couldn't do it.

At 14, I wanted to be a Forensic Scientist. I always had an interest in Biology and how things worked with the body. I watched all the CSI programmes and read up on forensics. There were so many people, including teachers who told me it was a ridiculous idea. I even had one teacher tell me that she could see me working at a checkout in a supermarket and that would be all I could be.

That has always stuck with me what my teacher said and that girl on the bus this morning, I wanted to tell her to ignore her friends and just go for it. But I couldn't. 
If I had to go back and talk to my younger self, I would have told me to not listen to those people who didn't have faith in me, work hard and show them, instead of sitting in my bedroom looking at things that I knew I could do. I changed my mind so many times and made so many plans which I started and never completed.

I've started to make plans and I'm determined to stick to them for the next two years.

I guess my point this week is when someone tells you that you can't do something, smile and prove them wrong. Or when someone tells you that they want to do something, make something, then encourage them and help them get to that goal if you can, because somewhere there is someone at home, in the pub or even at school/college is telling them they can't and if they hear it often enough, they won't.

As frustrating as it can be to hear it or to not do well in certain areas, my Mum used to tell me that Rome wasn't built in a day! How right she is.

Take time, make plans, be patient and breathe.

Have a great week!

Cx

Reflection on Family

Hi everyone, 

I hope this week has been quick for you all!

As Bonfire season comes quickly to an end, we begin to welcome the festive with open arms. Well some of us do anyway. 

The festive season is a busy one and when it comes to contact with family or friends sometimes we can be careless. The reason I say careless isn't in a bad way or that you do not care, but that we get overwhelmed with the busy period, we don't keep in touch with the people that are close to us. We forget to make the call and sometimes we just don't make the call at all. 

Families are a nightmare. Families go through periods of annoying each other about who had taken the last biscuit and get so overwhelmed that they stop talking. It's times like these where we should put these petty differences aside and begin to rebuild the bridge we burned all that time ago. 

I spoken to a man in the street a few weeks ago. A man who was homeless, lost everything, his home, money, and family. His reasons to others would be selfish and unkind to us. But with less judgemental eyes and ears, we should listen and be thankful that we have the love of family and the warmth of a home during the festive period. 

The point in trying to make this week and every other week is pick up that phone and ring that number. Switch on that computer and find that person that you miss, make amends. As stubborn as I can be, I am forever grateful for my family and friends and I don't think I can be without them. 

Regardless of what had happened, reach out and make contact. There are people out there who long for a chat, even for five minutes. 

I hope everyone has a pleasant week. <3

Peace!

Cx 

Life is Precious

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween!

Well here we are, welcoming November. The mornings are darker and colder, the days are shorter and sometimes slower, our hats and scarfs are on and most are excited for fireworks and carnivals!

You can probably guess from this weeks title that we're going to be discussing life. I see a lot of posts about how precious life is and how we should life, with kindness in our smiles and love in our hearts. As much as we try to do this, we get side tracked with the things that cause us pain. Things that make us too busy to remember to put on matching socks!

The past few weeks haven't been the brightest for myself and I would like to share my outlook on life through my eyes.

I try to be optimistic and happy all the time, but sometimes life can be cruel, and take us down paths of disruption. Whether it involves health issues with ourselves or loved ones, losing a job, a home or a partner, these are all things that we take for granted.

I've been watching the news more often than usual. I've witnessed so may people appear on that channel... Not because they have did something amazing, but because they have been taken away from something truly amazing. I've seen people disappear and turn up dead, I've witnessed a big issue with homelessness and poverty and as much as the media can exaggerate the major issues, we don't tend to pay attention or have a think about ourselves and how we take each and every little thing for granted.

We try not too but we all take everything for granted everyday, from a glass of water to coming home to a cuddle from someone. From getting home safe after a days work, to actually having work. From spending time with friends, to spending time alone. All these little things that I complain about daily without realising, are worth more.

This week, I encourage you all to start learning to not take the little things for granted. Be thankful every day! Even on days that you feel like the world has ended and you need something to make you happy for more than ten minutes. Take a couple of minutes, by that I mean two, two minutes a day to be thankful. You don't have to parade up and down the street and yell about it, even just sitting on the train on the way home, walking the dog or just having a quite meal with your loved ones.

Life is a precious thing. Take the kindness you have and place it in your smile, take the compassion in your heart and share it, and also take the time to be thankful for the life you have. Just because you have a bad day, it doesn't mean you have a bad life. Take the time to help a stranger. Make them smile.

This November, take an opportunity to be thankful, even if it's for a pair of gloves.

Stay warm and safe always.

Cx