I am...?

“I am strong, independent and in control of my own emotions, reactions and happiness”. I say this to myself every morning when I wake up. This is because these are the things I wish most on myself and the things that I need to work on the most. I’m not a strong person, I am not that independent, I lose control of my emotions and I react badly to things. But you know what, despite of all these things I am trying to work on them and think positively. Some people I know sit all day and feel sorry for themselves and don’t want to help themselves. How is anyone going to help you if you cannot help yourself?

                                        http://www.myniceprofile.com/about-me-84047.html

Sometimes we wish we could be someone else, someone who is everything that we are not. We are only human and wanting to be beautiful and have all the money in the world would be amazing but we cannot always have what we want. That is why we need to embrace who we are. We are all special in our own kind of way and we need to be thankful every day for being alive and having the things that we do. If you do want to change then work at it. I personally do not think that anyone should change for anyone else but that is a personal opinion. Everyone is special in their own unique way and that is the way God made us. So embrace who you are and show everyone what you have to offer and contribute to our society.

http://toknowinfo.hubpages.com/hub/Psychologyisms-Self-Help-and-Perfection-Looking-for-Acceptance-from-Others

So have you figured out who you are?

“In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes”- Why would I be famous?

This took me a while to figure out why I would be famous. If you think about it, it’s actually quite vain to think about why you would be famous, but then I said to myself, what difference would I make in the world for me to make a positive impact on people and then it hit me. Helping animals. My passion in life is animals; I would do almost anything to help these amazing creatures. Animals don’t have voices and I want to be that voice for them. They cannot choose where they want to live and which people they go to (and you get some pretty disgusting people toward animals). I always say and I’m sure most of you will disagree with me, but people can help themselves, they have brains, animals can’t. All these beautiful animals want is love in their lives and someone to feed and play with them. That’s all. They don’t judge by how much money you have or how fat or skinny you are. On the other hand, some people could argue that if people can’t look after themselves how are they supposed to look after their animals? Fair enough but don’t get an animal in the first place. I could rant and rave over this for hours but do you get my point here?

             http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/premier-deserves-a-pat-for-new-law/story-fn6bn88w-       1226180343023

So yes, I would want my fifteen minutes of fame to be about animals and having that voice for them. In that way, I hope I would make a difference and people would take the time and actually listen to what I have to say and there would be a lot happier animals on this earth.

                http://www.zazzle.com/a_voice_speak_up_for_wildlife_poster-228764346526131125

A skill set called leadership

You get two different kinds of people – leaders and followers. I like to think of myself as a leader but that depends on what kind of a situation I am in. I think some people are natural born leaders and others, not so much. It is fine being a leader and it is an amazing quality to possess but some ‘leaders’ I have come across recently don’t really show themselves as being leaders but rather they are bossy and controlling which I think can put off a lot of people.

A leader is someone who is in control of situations, they are examples, they are caring, they motivate people and they take initiative in situations. Some people are just dominating and they like to rule the roost. I lose respect for these types of people as they are supposed to be examples of people who we can look up to, not for them to scare us and for us just do what we are told.

                     http://rianfil.com/2012/07/08/become-a-market-leader-business-101-part-one/

I think that anyone can be a leader, whether it be in your church, community, household or even in the lecture room. Always try to be the better person. You can help so many people by being a leader and sharing your knowledge and wisdom with people who seek it. Don’t be domineering and take the position to your advantage by thinking you better than everyone else. Be kind, be helpful and most importantly be an example.

                                                      http://www.lcaconference.com/

My top 200 achievements

http://mechanicalforex.com/2012/01/asirikuy-2011-achievements-and-new-year-goals-o.html

I have had a lot of achievements in my life, some more important than others, so I will list the ones that I am most proud of and try not to bore you J

1.       Received honours with distinction in the disciplines of tap and modern dancing in almost all grades

2.       Made first team netball

3.       I was made netball captain in matric                                                                                                  

4.       I was made Miss St. Benedict

5.       I got my driver’s license

6.       I finished my Diploma in Public Relations

7.       I achieved 13 distinctions in my diploma

8.       I am currently almost finished with my BTech in Public Relations

9.       I passed maths in school (This is a massive achievement as I cannot do maths)

10.   I baked the most perfect chocolate cake for the first time the other day

11.   I was able to give up smoking for 6 months (That has not lasted)

12.   I completed a learning and leadership course

13.   I came second in a modelling competition (alongside my sister who came first – tough competition)

14.   I won my first competition a year ago – expense paid for which I unfortunately could not attend

To be continued …

What motivates me?

I have one word – Love. Love is the most powerful feeling on this planet and it can move people to do great things. No matter what you are interested in doing such as helping animals, people, trying to get an assignment done and so on, love will motivate you to do what you want. If you have the feeling of being loved, I promise you, the greatest obstacles will seem possible.

http://www.google.co.za/imgres?q=love&num=10&hl=en&biw=1619&bih=741&tbm

Recently, I have been feeling very overwhelmed by varsity and just life in general. I have been in this slump, which I have not been able to get through. No matter what anyone said to me, I just could not get myself to think positive and to pick myself up and move on. Until one day my mom said to me that no matter what happens, now and in the future, she will be there for me no matter what and this is just another hurdle I have to get through and she would be there every step of the way. Do you know how much that meant to me? To know that she wouldn’t judge me on the marks I get or who I date and so on. That is love and I had this instant feeling to get up and show everyone that I am better than what I thought of myself. That is what motivates me. Not money or financial success but pure unconditional love.

So next time someone is feeling down or demotivated, show some love. I promise you the world would be a much happier place if love were shown every day.

                               http://amileadaybylige.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-love-is.html

The elephant in the room

I am so happy that this topic came up as I find religion a very difficult issue to discuss. Religion is without a doubt one of the most sensitive and controversial topics to talk to people about. I come from a very religious background and it is in our belief system to talk about religion openly but I have come across many people who get very offended by the topic of religion because if it is not their way it’s the highway.

                                    http://www.toonpool.com/collection?page=gallery&cid=115

Let’s face it, religion has become the number one reason for most of the world’s problems today and it is so important for us humans to openly discuss it without people getting offended or having a huge argument over it. I am a Jehovah’s Witness (not practicing) and in my religion it is natural for us to preach Gods name and for us to have free and open discussions about religion, not just our religion but all types of religions. I think that in any kind of religion or culture it all comes down to a mutual understanding and respect of one another for everyone to get along. I have two Muslim friends who are very dedicated to their religion and we always have open conversations about our beliefs and values and we have the most amazing friendship because of a common respect for one another.  I, personally, find it fascinating to learn about different religions and see how they come about to believe what they do for certain reasons. I just think that if we can all overcome this fear and ignorance of different religions the world would really become a better place. 

                         http://shimshonit.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/english-rant-19-respect/

Pearls of Wisdom (try a cliché)

I have been very lucky enough to have the most amazing grandmother. Her advice and guidance is what has gotten me to where I am today. If there is something that I need to know, advice or just plain telling me like it is, I can always turn to my gran.

I have always thought that the older people get the more stories they tell about how when they were my age they did this and they did that, and I want to cringe every time because it is boring and I have no time to listen. But the older I get, the more those stories make sense and almost every story old people tell, there is some moral to the story or some good advice. What people at our age don’t realise is that older people, like my gran, have been through life and they know what they are talking about. They have been through their ups and downs and most probably have learnt from it and have some good knowledge on how to handle the situation or how to deal with it.

             http://www.colourbox.com/image/laurence-mouton-altopress-maxppp-grandmother-and-             granddaughter-embracing-eyes-closed-image-1510268

I have so much respect for the older generation because what we face today, they have all already faced. Maybe not exactly the same as times have changed, but most things have stayed the same – morals, values and beliefs.

My sister said something to me the other day, which is so true. She said that grey hair isn’t a sign of aging and people who are getting older(Like my dad- he would kill me right now) should not try to hide it because grey hair symbolises that persons experiences and journey through life ,old age is a natural process so just let it be.

I know my gran does not even know how to switch on a computer and there is no way she even knows about blogging, but I would like to just thank her for giving me the best advice ,wisdom and knowledge I have ever received, without her I would not be the person I am today.