Turning 21

Posted on May 14, 2012 by VeryZoe

Last year I wrote a list of twenty thing I wanted to do while I was twenty. I actually only did seven of those things. But here’s another 13 things I did do while I was twenty.

  1. Lived with my best friend for a month.
  2. Moved to Melbourne to live with my dad.
  3. Moved out with a mate from high school.
  4. Visited my family in Vietnam.
  5. Travelled to Uganda and built a classroom.
  6. Quit my old job. Got a new job. Quit that job. Got a better new job. Got promoted.
  7. Was commissioned to build a website for a stranger (!)
  8. Cut my own hair really short.
  9. Patched my front tire repeatedly (not from bad repair jobs, but from riding over glass so often in my uni commute).
  10. Decorated my entire room in fake leaves and flowers.
  11. Started a new university degree.
  12. Started a daily gratitude blog. Haven’t missed a day in 2012 so far!
  13. Regularly rode my bike as transport. Became faster in my daily commute.

So, even though I didn’t finish the list I wanted, I’m pretty happy with what I did achieve in the last year. I’m not going to make a list of things to do while I’m 21, but maybe in a year I’ll do a recap of 21 things I did and surprise you all.

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Things That I Know To Be True

Posted on April 19, 2012 by VeryZoe

Listening to my intuition I have no problem with, it’s taking action that lets me down. These things, I know to be true:

  • I know that my posture is better when I regularly do simple yoga.
  • I know that I feel better about my day when I wake up early and am productive in the first few hours of the morning.
  • I know that I function best of 7.5 or 9 hours of sleep per night.
  • I know that I am more easily irritated and upset when I am tired or hungry, and especially so when I am both.
  • I know that my teeth are whiter and my gums healthier when I brush and floss twice a day.

I do not act on these truths.

Currently I have shocking posture and my back often aches at the end of a working day. I know how to fix this problem, but I haven’t incorporated a bit of yoga into my weekly routine yet.

I recently discovered I had gingivitis, and it was as a result of not brushing and flossing enough. I’ve fixed that now, but it would have been easier had I not fallen out of the habit of flossing in the first place.

I know I feel best when I’m in the habit of early-to-bed, early-to-rise, but lately I’ve been staying up late to finish assignments then either sleeping in late to make up for it, or cutting my sleep short to get to work or uni on time.

It frustrates me that I know how to make my life better, and that the steps to do so are simple and easy to manage, but I don’t do them. And it’s not like there’s something impossible stopping me like money or time. Most of the things I need to start doing are free and take minutes out of each day. A few yoga stretches in the morning, remembering to floss when I brush, preparing enough food to get me through the day.

I know I like to procrastinate, and I know that sometimes often I give in to things that make me happy short term as opposed to delaying instant gratitude for a better long term outcome.

I know I would like to make my own life better. And I know that I already know how to do it. So starting tonight, I’m going to start building habits. Habits like:

  • doing 5 minutes of yoga stretches every morning and 5 minutes every evening.
  • flossing when I brush morning and evening.
  • going to bed in time to get at least 7.5hours of sleep and wake up reasonably early.
  • eating healthy meals regularly.

I do some of these things most of the time, but it won’t take much to make these habits stronger- to build  up the yoga time every month until I’m doing 30 minutes a day, to make flossing an automatic part of my brushing routine, to change my sleep cycle.

I’ll start with baby steps. More importantly though, I’ll keep stepping. Baby steps become toddler steps, which become teen steps, which become adult steps, which finally become the old-and-stuck-in-their-ways kind of steps. Habits.

What is something you know to be true? How can you incorporate it into your life to make it better? Start right now, with one baby step. Tomorrow, take another step.

That’s the only way- tomorrow, take another step.

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We Need Change, Not One Direction

Posted on April 11, 2012 by VeryZoe

Image from One Direction's website.

I’d like to quote one of the young girls who was waiting at Sydney airport yesterday for the British boy band One Direction to arrive. She said:

“This moment is, like, my life, this, I was born for this moment. You just see them and you just want to cry all the time. They’re beautiful. They’re the reason that my world goes round.”

This quote made me sad and angry. I’m sad that they are so many girls like this girl and I’m angry that they feel this way. We should be raising our youth, especially our girls, to believe in themselves. To believe that their lives don’t have to revolve around the latest celebrity or any other person to have meaning. These girls should be taught that there’s more to life than five beautiful British boys who happen to sing songs like You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful.

They should know that they’re beautiful, and powerful, and can have purpose in their lives by making their own purpose. I think we need more role models in our community who push this message. More people who get involved with our youth and say, “Hey, you’re one great person. And you’re going to achieve amazing things when you set your mind to it.” We need people willing to inspire others to follow their own path, and not all head in one direction (terrible pun intended).

If I ever met this girl, I’d take her out for a coffee (or tea or smoothies). I’d ask her what she’s passionate about (other than the obvious) and I’d encourage her to put her biggest dream into action, today. We all have big dreams, world changing dreams. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all acted on our big dreams? If all our youth got involved in dreaming big and making their world a better place?

I just think that the fans of One Direction represent a crazy extreme. Girls who are 13, 14, 15 should not be waiting for 15 hours at an airport to get a glimpse of a boy band. They should be making plans to do their own amazing thing. They should be getting enough sleep and doing well in school and encouraging their friends to do the same.

I’m not saying they shouldn’t like One Direction, and I’m not saying they can’t be crazy fans. I just wish that they had a little perspective and had the tools and resources in their lives to put as much passion into their own dreams as they do into the dream of getting a glimpse of some pop stars. As a community (and as parents) our job is to provide young people with these tools, resources and good role models.

What do you think?

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New Year’s Resolution

Posted on December 31, 2011 by VeryZoe

I got a bit lost on this blog this year. I didn’t post as much as I wanted to and I really didn’t pin down what I actually wanted to post about. I’m not going to be writing much on here in the new year until I decide how I want to use this space. In the meantime I am about to launch a new project and I thought you might be interested in it.

The project is called Max-Gratitude and is about daily gratitude to change myself and the world. It was inspired in part by my littlest brother who was curious as the whether gratitude meant great attitude, which I think is a lovely sentiment.

Read more about this new project on the website max-gratitude.com, subscribe if you’re so inclined, take a look at the about page and the monthly theme. Let me know what you think of it- I’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave me a comment here or there or shoot me an email.

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NaNoWriMo

Posted on November 3, 2011 by VeryZoe

I laugh every time I see that word. NaNoWriMo. It sort of sounds like Nanna Rhino. Anyway, I’m just letting you know I’m participating in National Novel Writing Month. But I don’t plan on writing a novel. At least, I don’t think I do. But who knows what will happen? Maybe I will, just for fun. What I do plan on writing is assignments, blog posts and lots of cover letters. All things that will in some way or another be “published”.

I figure if I want to keep track of how much writing I’m doing the best way to do so, for me, would be an app. So I had a look at the word counting apps available and have decided to trial two for a little while to see which one I like best.

First up is WriMoDemon- it’s a really simple easy way to keep track of how many words you write each day. It also includes features like a daily goal for words and a percentage of completion towards your word goal. I like it because it’s really easy to see how much I’ve written and how much I have to go.

The second app I’m trialling is called WriteChain- it is also really easy to use and has the added bonus of being able to log individual writing sessions rather than the daily total. You can set a daily word goal and how many days you can ‘coast’ without breaking your chain.

Currently I prefer WriMoDemon for the front page where I can see my goal and progress really easily, but I like WriteChain for the fact that I’m not creating one piece of writing and so I can log my separate projects separately. I’ll see how it goes over the next fortnight and if there’s one I become more partial to compared to the other, I’ll let you know.

If you want to find out more about NaNoWriMo, check out the official website or this handy Wikipedia article.

Are you participating in Nanna Rhino month? What are you writing?

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My Four Favourite Quotes

Posted on September 6, 2011 by VeryZoe

There are many thing I probably *should* be blogging about right now (like going to Africa in 8 days, how my writing challenge went, how much I love my bike…), but this one is calling to me to be shared. So here I am sharing my four favourite quotes.

The first is this, by Staceyann Chin:

I am more than the sum of my fractured identities; altogether I am an army.

I love this one because it reminds me that no matter how many different directions I’m being pulled in (home/work – uni – family – all my various hobbies – etc) when I pull myself together I am a force to be reckoned with. It’s also a good reminder to pull myself together every now and again and just concentrate on being awesome!

The next one is from Goddess Leonie:

Life. Pretty much the best thing ever.

I don’t think I need to elaborate much on this one, life is pretty much the best thing ever, but it’s nice to be reminded. I’ve written it on a piece of spotty paper and tacked it above my computer so I can see it every day!

Here’s one about bikes by Grant Peterson:

Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world.

It basically sums up my attitude towards bikes at the moment! I love my bike, and I love riding it places, but I think the fact that I find it beautiful and want to show it off makes me love it more. I’ll have to take a good photo of her to show you soon- she’s a blue Dutch utility bike and I’m thinking of buying pink or green tires, just for fun!

And finally (tooting my own horn here) a quote by me:

What do you have, and how can you use it to change the world?

I came up with this little question back in 2009 when I was fundraising for my first trip to Uganda. I was basically trying to think of what talents I had and how I could translate those talents into fundraising skills. This line stuck with me and I now use it on this website and on the bottom of all my emails. I’d love it if you left a comment and told me what you have and how you are using it to change the world!

PS. I really should mention a little something more about my trip to Uganda this year (in 8 days no less!). I’m travelling with Mission Watoto Australia (Website, Twitter, Facebook), we’re going with two teams this year and will be building two classrooms for vocational training in the Watoto Childcare Ministries village of Suubi 2. As the youngest member of Mission Watoto, I’ve been their “It guru” for the last 3 years, and have for the third year running taken on the title of “Ms. Blog” by setting up the team blog. If you want to read about my adventure in Uganda in 2011, please pop on over to the blog and sign yourself up for a subscription!

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Challenge: 30 Minutes for 30 Days

Posted on July 25, 2011 by VeryZoe

This is just a quick announcement to let you all know that I am here, I am alive and I am going to start writing again. In my time off from blogging, I have made a few Big Life Decisions, re-designed the look of my blog and re-imagined what I want this blog to be.

To get back into the swing of blogging, I’ve set myself a 30 minute, 30 day challenge. I am going to spend 30 uninterrupted minutes for the next 30 days writing. It won’t all be published, but it will get me in the habit of writing again.

A few rules I’ve set myself:

  1. If I skip a day (for any reason!) I have to start the 30 days all over again.
  2. The 30 minutes can be spent typing or hand-writing, but it must be continuous (ie. no checking phone, emails, twitter, facebook, google plus, etc etc etc)
  3. Writers block does not exist, if I have no ideas I will start writing the words of the objects I can see, smell, hear or think of, until I am writing sentences again.

If you want to join me in doing a 30 minute, 30 day challenge, tell me in the comments so we can encourage each other! To help get you started I have two little things. First there’s a button you can use on your blog or website to let your readers know that you’re doing a writing challenge (accountability is a good motivator!) and secondly I made this little reward sheet that you can download, print out and tack to the wall above your writing space to reward yourself as you go, and actually see yourself progress through the challenge.



Some tips to help you:

  • Start today. Don’t put it off until a new year, month, week, day. Start now and just keep going!
  • Set yourself a reward for completing the entire challenge, something to congratulate yourself for your hard work and continued effort (I’m rewarding myself with a tub of vegan chocolate ice-cream, a treat I’m yet to try…)
  • Have a designated writing space and a special book to keep your work in. Make the space conductive to your creative process. If you’re typing, use a fun font or save files into a special folder, you could even print them out so that you can literally see your writing piling up.
  • Tell others that you’re doing the challenge, they will encourage you and you’ll be more likely to keep going. Tell me and I’ll keep tabs on you if you like!

So leave a comment, then hop to it! Write your heart out!

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First Impressions of Vietnam- Photostory

Posted on June 10, 2011 by VeryZoe

A traffic light count down timer and some crazy power lines in Ho Chi Minh City

Some star fruit growing in the yard- I ate the one on the right!

The corn growing in the backyard

Max and his chook

Jack and Max in the backyard early this morning

A lady and her son riding through the fish market (taken on my photo tour yesterday morning).

A lady who kindly posed for a photograph at the fish markets (taken on my photography tour yesterday morning)

Fish that have been boiled and are drying in the sun (taken on my photography tour yesterday morning)

A busy jetty as the fish are taken in off the boats (taken on my photography tour yesterday morning)

One of the boiling pits that the trays of fish are put into for about 8 minutes before being out out to dry (taken on my photography tour yesterday morning)

This lady we visited on the photo tour, she bakes hundreds of "egg cakes" every day to sell. She has been doing this for many years, but only with an oven for the last two years.

 

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20 Things to do WHILE I’m 20

Posted on May 28, 2011 by VeryZoe

Not before I turn 21, but while I’m 20. And yes, that was a inside joke between me and my dad, as well as a Bill Bailey reference. So here are 20 things I’d like to do while I’m 20:

  1. Build another classroom in a Watoto village in Uganda.
  2. Try out surfing in Vietnam.
  3. Do my nails like this.
  4. Stay up all night and photograph the sunrise. Just because I can.
  5. Have picnics at silly times (breakfast, dinner, midnight feast…)
  6. Go completely offline (internet, phone, everything!) for a whole week.
  7. Go camping (even if it’s just in the back yard!)
  8. Spend a week in complete silence. No talking!!
  9. Make my bed everyday for an entire month.
  10. Make a huge gift basket of hand-made goodies for a friend, just because.
  11. Embroider a large tree and bird on to my bright green dress.
  12. Complete at least 1 e-course fully.
  13. Start a Poem Journal.
  14. Watch Invisible Children.
  15. Make a flower wreath to wear in my hair, and then wear it a lot.
  16. Write a long letter to a new friend and post it snail mail style.
  17. Decorate my bike basket with flowers, stars and ribbons and ride all over town.
  18. Try a raw food diet for a fortnight.
  19. Make a cake with fondant icing.
  20. Go to a salon and get my hair dyed in rainbow colours!

What do you think? Anything I should add on? Do you have a life list? If you do, comment with the link so I can have a look :)

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    International Craft Swap

    Posted on May 27, 2011 by VeryZoe
    Back in March, Zoe of A Giraffe In A Scarf began her international craft swap- and I was super excited to be a part of it. Here’s a sneak peak at what I’m working on and am about to start…

    What you can (almost) see: a ball of purple wool, a little hand-made book, a crafty zine and my French knitting loom

     

     

     

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