On Helping People

Ola Friends!
Ok so this will be a very short post as there TONNES to read on the site I'll be redirecting you to- so hold on to your keyboards peeps!

So there's this charity I am apart of called Living Stories Foundation- and it is involved with the publishing of short stories of children living in harder conditions of life- poverty, abuse, trafficking etc. And here's the catch: the stories are ALL written by the children themselves!

The charity was founded and is run by high-school students themselves, which is just MIND-BLOWING!

It seeks to empower the children it helps. To not speak on behalf of the children it serves, as most children charities to do. Rather, to enable their own voices be heard. All funds generated from the sales of these short stories collections go back to helping the children themselves, and reaching out and aiding others in conditions similar to them.

However, it is a relatively new charity- and needs all our help to get it off the ground.

That's where you all can help:

1) Share this post with all your friends, family, and associates. Raising Awareness is one of the major goals of Living Stories Foundation (ie through its publications). They need all the publicity they can get!

2) Visit their site @ http://livingstoriesfoundation.blogspot.co.uk/ for more information on how to take an active part in realising their project.

3) Or contact them directly at:  livingstoriesfoundation@gmail.com to show your support for what they do, and for the effort the KIDS themselves put into writing those stories- it can't be easy.

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE!!

Love always,
CATHY.

I am soo excited about turning 18.....but i dont know how to celebrate

Dear Readers/followers,

I am sooo excited about turning 18!! (birthday is July 3rd) even though i dont know how i am going to celebrate or if my best friend(who's also my co blogger- cathy) will be around.But ive been to student forums to  read up on things that people do when they turn 18. I have to admit people are sooo funny and creative. My best options so far have been these ones:

1.   Go paintballing or orbing with your friends

2.   Go on a track day and drive supercars such as the Audi R8, Ferrari F360 and the Aston Martin

3.   Get your hair cut, nails done or just have a relaxing massage

4.   Go on a ghost hunt!

5.   Go on a Superbreak

6.   Go see your favourite comedian, band or artist in concert

7.   Visit Cadbury World and see how that delicious chocolate is made

8.   Go on a House Of Fraser personal shopping trip

9.   Treat yourself to a theatre package

10.  Do some skydiving or try your hand at some other extreme sports

11.  Find out what deals are on in your city today and over your birthday

12.  Have a Superbreak

13.  Go on a hot air balloon flight

14.  Get a group of mates and go Go Karting

15.  If you love football then why not go and see your favourite team play at home or away or go on a stadium tour.

16.  Treat yourself to a makeover with the girlies and drink complimentary Buckz Fizz whilst your there

17.  Have a birthday bowling session with your family and friends

18.  Go for a tour of your favourite football team's stadium

19.  Celebrate in a local nighclub with your friends

20.  Why not get a tattoo now that you are legally of age?

21.  Attempt visiting 18 bars/clubs/pubs for your 18th do

22.  Kiss 18 boys/girls (whatever tickles your fancy!)

23.  Go on a spa day or weekend

24.  Go ape!

25.  Look around for a wicked leisure centre with loads of slides to go to

26.  Watch the latest movie at your local cinema

27.  Organise the local paper to feature the persons birthday and photo in the special announcements section

28.  Go to a sushi restaurant

29.  Go to Nandos, Zizzi, Pizza Express etc for a nice but inexpensive meal

30.  Have a group hot tub with nibbles and drinks

31.  Have a game of golf against your friends

32.  Go to a casino.

33.  Go to your local Gala for a game of Bingo with your friends

34.  Go skydiving if you're feeling brave

35.  Go for a professional photoshoot with friends or family

36.  Go and see an IMAX film

37.  Go to the zoo

38.  Propose to the one you love with some great proposal ideas

39.  Go skiing or snowboarding

40.  Go swimming with dolphins

41.  Go travelling

42.  See a clairvoyant and get your future and/or past read

43.  Go to the seaside for the day

44.  Go on a all day bender with your mates

45.  Go out clubbing

46.  Go to a festival with a load of your mates

47.  Go to M and D's theme park in Scotland for the day

48.  Order an indian, a chinese or some sushi to eat with friends and family

49.  Go Glamping (Luxurious camping)

50.  go to an amusement park! ( Thorpe park!!)

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

 I must admit some of them are quite eccentric. But nothing is ever too odd if it will put a smile to your face.  I know not everyone takes birthdays seriously but ive such a perfect vision of my birthday since forever.....whether or not that will be the reality is a different case. Who knows what tomorrow brings? Girls just wanna have fun as cyndi lauper sang. wish me luck xx.

Duby

why i love Chimamanda; author of half of a yellow sun

Chimamanda is a writer and a sociologist who is Nigerian.  She is the famous writer of a very famous african novel called 'half of a yellow sun'
the book is based primarily on a young house boy called Ugwu and the way he matures from boy to man  in light of the civil war that was taking place at the time. His master is a math professor called, Odenigbo. Odenigbo is quite an eccentric character, very fierce in his views and passionate about the political stance he has on the affairs of Nigeria at the time.
Other central characters in the book are Olannna and her twin Kainene; the two are as fraternal as they come. the former being weaker in character the fairer of face. The former posessing a very sardonic view of life and though described as 'ugly' her character is strong. The twins are from a very wealthy family and they are not united in any other way apart from the fact that they share the same birthday. A central character in Olanna's life is her Aunty, Ifeka, who breast fed her and Kainene at infancy,  Olanna holds an open regret that Aunty Ifeka is not her actual mother.
Olanna is Odegnigbo's girlfriend and Kainene has a white boyfriend called Richard.

Now I appreciate the fact that not everyone is interested in literature. But i believe that this book is a good read for anyone; no matter your intellectual maturity or literal passion. It presents a simple yet detailed and realistic view of the biafran war which forms a central part of Nigeria's history. The war is presented as battle, a means of initiation into the bitter reality of life and adulthood ( particularly for those characters who experienced it in their early adolescent years). But above all, it serves to bond the relationships  of characters who were apart (especially in the case of the twins).

The plot climaxes at different points which makes the story line unique. Richard writes some chapters titled, ' the world was silent when we died' from the perspestive of how he had felt the war and the experiences that helped him understand the cause.  As we progress through the book we come across many lines that only a sociologist could have come up with; someone who is in tune with the workings of society and the way humans think as an integral whole. The valiance that Chiamamanda Ngozi Adichie portrays in the biafran soldiers would never be better explained than  by the following line, 'Before I came to Biafra I heard that Biafrans fought like heroes but after my visit to Biafra I can tell you that heroes fight like Biafrans' by the french ambassador in response to the valiance he experienced first hand.

Perhaps the ultimate suspense is at the end when we are unsure whether olanna's twin, Kainenen, is dead or not. Chimamanda leaves that piece of information for us to decide; it depends on whether it affects your view of the book. kainene could be alive or dead. It depends on which ending suits the reader.
At the end of the last chapter the ultimate shock is given. The last line reveals to us what we knew but could not know for sure. here the person from whoes perspective the book is written is revealed. it is the loyal house boy Ugwu (or 'my good man' as odenigbo calls him). And as ugwu writes his dedication last it reads, 'for master, my good man.'

only you can determine your happiness

I am someone who keeps memories very carefully. I dont believe that anything that happens under the sun should go un remembered..but i have also come to realise that in life we really only have what is between hello and goodbye. So quite ironically we are bound to be hurt. To be crushed and to be lonely once in a while. But what many people do not realise is that only you have the key to your happiness. Do not wait for people to make you smile, smile because there is hope. Dont wait for people to make you laugh either, laugh because it is the sweetest sound you will hear in life.

As i grow I begin to understand more and more that i do not have to be happy because other people are happy with me. I am happy because I live and and with each heart beat I am reminded that I have a mission to accomplish.

Duby

Things I'd love to do with/for my future daughter

Hey!

Ok so I'm the kind of girl whose been dreaming about the perfect husband and having kids, sinch I was 10(or younger).

I'm still pretty young- almost a full-fledged adult( interpret that as you will, noting that adult could mean above13, 16, 0r 21 given the context)

Anyway, I was listening to Ed Sheeran's 'Small Bump', and couldn't help dream about the things I'd love to do with my future daughter. This serves both as a post for you guys, but also a reminder for me when I'm old(er):

• Take pictures/ document all aspects of their childhood( within reason)
• Take mother-daughter ballet classes and dance with her (i know- they exist!)
• Braid her hair in the cutest styles, and dress her in the cutest baby dresses
• Bake with her
• Play classical music for her both as a kid, and when she's older
• Teach her piano, or any instrument she enjoys
• Get her to keep some form of journal or notebook
• Share my reminder book with her(my own version of a journal)
• Teach her to love writing, especially poetry
• Read her princess stories, but also real-life stories of hardship, pain, and charity.
• Ensure she reads:
• - The Princess Diaries(Meg Cabot)
• - Beautiful Child(Torey Heyden)
• - Ps I love you(Cecilia Ahern)
• - Where Rainbows End( Cecila Ahern)
• - House Rules(Jodi Picoult)
• - A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)
• - The Kite Runner(Khaled Hosseini)
• When I'm pregnant with her, write little notes or letters to her, about my experience with her, myself, hopes and dreams and advice for her as she gets older(maybe by milestone birthdays? too cheesy? i like cheesy). Stick it in a book, that she can read, and always have just in case anything happens to me.
• Let her find God her way, but help and encourage her every step of the way- make sure she finds Him, like I did.

-Cathy

Follow? ;)

Dear guys,
Not that I stalk or anything, but I have noticed an increase in the number and variety of page views lately. Of course I am ecstatic( Sri Lanka? Germany? Wow).

And even though we only have 4 followers, I know that some people still read this anyway- just without subscribing or commenting.

But it would still be nice, anyway, if some of you subscribe just to let me know you're even vaguely interested in what we write. It would just be a little encouraging- and we would really appreciate it.

Even if you CAN  read all our posts without subscribing-we would really like you too anyway.

Or, even( and I'm just throwing this out there) possibly comment?

Well, either way we'll still be here writing for you, and for us.

Sincerely,
Cathy

Things I'll never know...

Dear all,
During my childhood, I did a lot of travelling. I've spent long periods of time( 2 years minimum) in a variety of countries, across continents.
For most part, I love the life I've lived. The different cultures I've experienced all formed some unique part of me, that makes me such an open-minded, diverse being, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

HOWEVER, that doesn't mean there aren't any nuances that come with the life. Recently, I was flashing through pictures of old friends from when I was younger- most of which I have very little relationship with now, because we were far too young when we'd met to keep in touch( basically, before Facebook had peaked amongst 8-yr olds).

And as I skipped through each album, clear-cut memories of different faces, friendships, experiences, and moments soared through my mind- all with a strange mix of happiness, humour, and sadness). I though I'd share them with you:

Have you ever found yourself wandering about the things that never were, are now, and could be?

• I wonder what ever happened to Ahmed?
• I wonder how Rose and Henry broke up?- did they ever go out?
• I wonder if Ido ever learned English properly? Now that I think of it- I don't think it was only language that was the underlying problem in the way he communicated.
• Did Yodi find someone else?
• Did Yabseera- after the countless days of silent( and unnecessary) competition- finally win Yodi over?
• And what ever happened to Adam? And the summer of my 15th birthday, when we first flirted innocently, after years of playful teasing at family holidays?
• I heard he sailed a boat round the world one summer, by the look of things- it did him well.
• I wonder if Lilay kept on acting- if the years below acted out the same play we had starred the leads in- Pandora and her Greek-god husband?
• I hope he's forgiven me for being so openly upset that it was he, not Yodi who got the part.
• And how did Rose end up with that quarter-back type alpha male guy of hers? Don't know why I thought it was never her type.
• Timid 'new-girl', Asma, too- spread her wings and flown. I wish I'd been there to watch her grow.
• And Benjamin(Yodi's best friend) whose actually Bemnet- did I really mistake his name all those years?
• He was always the one who listened, who took me seriously- even at that age when girls had cooties and boys smelt bad.
• And I'd never noticed him- the mellow, thoughtful best friend.
• Was it Bemnet,not Yodi, all along?

-Cathy

I've noticed a pattern.....

Dear peeps,
scrolling through previous posts i can't help but notice that the vast majority of mine happen to be love-related.
And honestly, I find that kinda sad.

I'm actually not that love-obsessed, honestly.

No seriously- I mean it.

Anyway, today I had a get together with my long-time friend, and co-owner of this blog- Duby!
All the while we were together i could only think of Peaches and Herb's Reunited, playing in the background slow-mo style.


It was so great catching up, and it felt like we'd never missed a beat.
I don't care what anyone says- with some people, distance doesn't mean a thing.

Love,
Cathy

She, for him

And as she sat there with him, on the ledge of the bridge, she'd made a deal with herself. She would tell him, finally, how she felt. After these past 2 months that had felt surreal, like she was constantly on a cloud- floating. She would show him her heart- tell him how much she loved him.
But she wouldn't wait for his reply.

'I think, I might just be falling for you'
And in that sane second, with all her strength she pushed off the stony leadge, and for that second air-borne- she was finally free. The nearest thing to how she now felt.

And as soon as she could breathe again, with the thrill of the plunge and the cold water, she swam.

She'd barely heard him call her, heard a glimpse of his perplexed laugh.

And she smiled, if he felt thhe same, he'd jump in- she knew it.

And he did

As fast as she could; she  paddled to the shore and ran- bare feet gritty with sand-turned-mud, till  her saoking clothes and air-deprived lungs wore her down.

She turned and faced him, grinning that foolish-yet knowing- grin he'd known so well.
She smiled
he smiled.

They kissed.

-Cathy