Earth Hour

EARTH HOUR

"It's not about which country you're from, it's about what planet we're from." 

Earth hour has arrived and it's time to switch off and get involved! 

WWF's Earth Hour first started back in 2007, when the first ever event took place in Sydney, Australia, and by 2008 the word had spread, resulting in the UK getting involved for the first time, alongside 371 cities and towns in more than 35 other countries. Skip a few years to last year and a record breaking 162 countries took part, that means that over 3/4 of the world was in darkness…let's make this year the biggest year yet. Earth Hour is a global annual event that involves hundreds of thousands of people all across the world switching off their lights to show that they care for our planet.

Various events are going on all across the world, from a lights-out event at Niagara Falls to the World's largest Candlelit dinner in Finland and so much more.

There's so much that you can do for Earth Hour, from having a candlelit dinner party with friends to playing board games, building a fort, and even just gazing up at the stars.

This is our planet, it's time to show what it means to us.

Until next time…

xoxo

p.s. let's make this year the darkest year yet! 

My Biggest Dreams: Rome - The History

ROME 

When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere.

- Saint Ambrose 

I've always had a rather large fascination with Roman history, along with this comes a great desire to explore this beautiful city.  I've spent countless hours reading up on the city, I've came to realise that not only is this city incredibly beautiful, but there is a rather large amount of magnificent ancient Roman architecture that just has to be explored. 

Colosseum

The Roman Colosseum, often referred to as Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built in 72 A.D, this Colosseum is still the largest amphitheatre in the world today. This amazing architectural structure has a total of 80 entrances and can hold a whopping 50,000 people in it's grounds. Although this structure is incredible to the eyes, one thing that shouldn't be forgotten when taking in this site, is the rather large amount of cold-blooded deaths that took place within the colosseum. As well as the mass amount of murdered criminals, the Colosseum also homed to many gladiatorial fights, with the last one taking place in 435 AD. This structural beauty is known as the Romans most popular monument and was built for 3 specific reasons. It was built as a gift to Roman Citizens from the Flavian Dynasty as a means of increasing their popularity, to stage entertainment, various different forms, and to show the world what Roman engineering looks like. This structure is the first thing on my list upon visiting Rome, in fact, it was the thing that birthed my fascination for the city and it's history. 

The Pantheon

The Pantheon was originally built during the reign of Augustus during 27 BC - 14 AD, but was then rebuilt around 126 AD. Even after 2000 years, The Pantheon's dome is still the worlds largest unreinforced concrete dome. This structure is one of the best-preserved Ancient Roman buildings and has been used a considerable amount throughout history. The Pantheon is actually a Christian Church and has been used as such for a number of centuries, although due to being rebuilt twice beforehand, this isn't actually the original Pantheon, but is still extremely ancient. The tombs of this structure tell the story of a doomed engagement, the famous Renaissance painter, Raphael, is buried inside, along with his fiancee, Maria Bibbiena. Like quite a lot of ancient architectural buildings, this one is no different in the respect that their is a lot of history to be learned about it. 

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona is a city square that is located in Rome. Built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built by Emperor Domitian in 86 AD, the square follows the form of the open space of the stadium. This square is arguably the most beautiful and famous one to exist in Rome. The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, also known as The Fountain of the Four Rivers, is the main attraction of this square, which was constructed between the years of 1647 and 1651 on the request of Pope Innocent X. This fountain consists of four figures which each represent a river from a different continent - The Nile, Ganges, Danube and Rio de la Plata, this is just one of the three fountains situated on the Piazza. The others being the Fontana del Nettuno, also known as The Neptune Fountain or The Calderari, and the Fontana del Moro, also known as The Moor Fountain. The Neptune fountain was built in 1576 by Giacomo della Porta and consists of statues of Neptune which are surrounded by sea nymphs, that were added during the 19th century. The Moor Fountain, which was also by Giacomo della Porta, consists of a statues of a Moor holding a dolphin, which was added in the 17th century, the tritons were added later during the 19th century. 

Another great part about The Piazza Navona is The Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, which was again commissioned by Pope Innocent X in 1652 and was completed in 1670. St Agnes was buried in the catacombs at the present basilica of the church and is one of the great Roman virgin martyrs. The most notable part of the Basilica are it's mosaics, the shrine of the virgin martyr St. Agnes, and the catacombs.

1. Musei Capitolini

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   One thing that I have a huge love for is the fantastic art that people create, which is why The Capitoline Museums are such a fascination to me. These are a group of art and archeological museums that are located in Piazza del Campidogilo. The smaller building was opened to the public in 1734 by Pope Clement XII and contains a fine selection of Greek and Roman sculptures. Art is a wonderful thing to see, it's interesting to view the various different creations from artists, especially for someone like myself who isn't too good at art.

   
   

   Church of San Luigi dei Francesi

   

   
   

   The Church of San Luigi dei Francesi or The Church of St. Louis is a Roman Catholic church in Rome that is located near Piazza Navona and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St. Denis the Areopagite and St. Louis IX. This beautiful architectural structure was designed by Giacomo della Porta, who also built various fountains located at the Piazza Navona. On the walls of this church hangs 'The Calling of Saint Matthew, which is a reminder that art that is 400 years old was modern when this church was first built. Some say that Rome as a city is actually a living museum, the works of art hanging on the walls of this church could prove this quite easily.

   
   

   Palatine Hill

   
   

   

   
   

   Palatine Hill is one of the most ancient parts of the city, some of the findings here date back to the 10th century BC, and is one of the seven hills of Rome. The Palatine is the location on which the first settlers built their huts, following this is became a residential district. There isn't much to see here, but at the same time there is, most of what can be seen here are the remains of what once stood here.

   
   

   
   

   Castel Sant'Angelo

   

   
   

   
   Castel Sant'Angelo, also known as The Mausoleum of Hadrian is a towering cylindrical building located in Rome that was built as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian. Inside of this fortress you can find The National Museum of Castel Sant'Angelo which retraces the history of this structure. The Castel Sant'Angelo has undergone several renovations over the last few centuries, mainly to strengthen the castles defences. This castle is considered to be one of the most desirable tourist attractions in Rome. 
   
   There's a Roman saying "Even a lifetime isn't enough time to see Rome". Never could a saying ever be more true, there's far too much to view in Rome, far too much beauty and architectural history to take in. Rome is most certainly one of the worlds most fascinating cities, especially to someone like myself who has a huge love for the city. I can't wait to visit Rome. I can't wait to stand in awe when looking up at the Colosseum or The Pantheon, I can't wait to walk around the beautiful city of Rome with my camera, taking photographs of every single little thing, because I won't want to miss a thing.
   
   To see the post that gave me the idea for this series of posts, click here and to check out my bucket list, click here
   
   Until next time
   
   xo

The End Is Nigh

Yesterday I received my invitation to my graduation…

On the 14th July 2015 I will be walking through the doors at The Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool with the biggest grin on my face you will ever see. This is the day I have been anticipating for my entire life, the day I get up in front of many people, some faces familiar, some not, and receive my degree.

It's not news to you that I have hated every single second of my degree, but that doesn't stop me being unbelievably excited to graduate with my BSC in Broadcast and Media Production, it doesn't stop me feeling like I have achieved something, something that will make my loved ones proud.

Ever since the first moment I walked through the doors at the LJMU Byrom Street Campus, the one thing I wasn't looking forward to was graduation. This was mainly due to the fact that before this comes all of the hard work that gets you the degree, the constant battling with assignments and stress induced rage, not to mention the hell that is your final year project and dissertation...

I think this is the first moment I have been able to look past this, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, it's the final hurdle and I am so ready. I'm so excited to see what my life has to offer, I'm so happy to finally be able to get myself into a situation where I am happy and not constantly stressing over the mountain of assignments surrounding me.

It's time for me to get stuck in, it's time for me to make my future happen, to make sure I have a life that I can be truly happy with, the days are coming that I won't forget and I am so ready.

Roll on July 14th 2015! I AM READY!

Watch out world, I'm coming for you!

Until next time

xoxo

Day Ten: Ten Things I Love About Me...

Sept 10th: List 10 things that you love about yourself! Let's kick that negative self-talk outta here!

I was actually debating skipping this post. I've been siting here for a long while just staring at a blank page, this is by far the hardest post so far. I am constantly at war with myself, there's not that much I like about myself, never mind love about myself. I have tried everyday to love myself, I thought that maybe one day it would just happen. I have vowed to try harder to love myself do things that make me happy, dress in a way that makes me happy and hopefully that positivity will rub off on the way I feel about myself, so I sort of felt like the first step was to take part in this post.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind"
- Bernard M. Baruch

I'm socially awkward, self conscious and have far too many anxieties to count. 

Ten Things That I Love About Myself

1. My Eyes, I have heterochromia and I spent so long thinking I wasn't normal because of it. Since I've grown up a lot of people actually comment on how much they love my eyes and how jealous they are, it makes me feel quite thankful to be honest. 

2. I'm a good person…everything I do in life is with the best intentions and I would never do anything to hurt anybody, I care a lot about people.

3. My tattoo, although I only have one (for the moment) but ever since getting it I have felt a little bit more confident…people tap me on the shoulder just to tell me how amazing it is, they don't know how happy that makes me feel. 

4. My photography and videography skills. There aren't many things that I believe to be good at but, I know I am good at this, I feel extremely thankful to the first person who introduced me to cameras because I haven't been able to put them down since that moment, and I have progressed so much. 

5. My imagination. I try and escape reality all of the time, I much prefer living in my head…I often get a little lost, believing in fairytales, forgetting what's reality and what's not. I like getting lost in my own imagination. 

6. I crack a mean joke: I find myself funny, most people laugh at how unfunny they find me but, I think I am hilarious… 
"Why did the skeleton go to the party alone?"
"Because he had nobody to go with…"
"Why do daleks eat apples?"
"Because an apple a day keeps the doctor away…"

There's plenty more where that came from!


7. I love my own company. I love nothing more than to spend a night by myself playing on the xbox, watching Netflix, blogging and reading. 

8. My ability to see the good in everything and everyone, this pretty much speaks for itself. No matter who you are, everyone has the ability to be good, they just choose whether to be or not to be.

9. I love my music taste. Whenever I am feeling down I just listen to music and it cheers me up straight away…tell me that these beauty's wouldn't cheer you up!

10. My love of the world and all that's in it. I love the world, I think it's the most beautiful thing that's ever been created, I can't wait to pack up with my camera in my bag and go and explore it. 

It's nice to look at yourself and think about all the positive things, what do you love about yourself?

xo

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The Best Intentions

In a world that's not often the nicest to live in, one thing that we should always try and do in life is be the best we can be. That includes being the nicest person we could ever possibly be and always having the best intentions at heart. We should always try and spread a little bit of happiness around wherever we go because you never know who needs it.

I have always done everything in my power to be a good person, to always do the right thing and I have always made sure that everything I do it with the best intentions.

Sometimes I look around me and notice all of the cruelty and hate in the world and I wonder why I try to be a good person. So many people don't care about others. When you bump into someone in the street, do you apologise? Or do you snarl and walk away? Apologising is the decent thing to do, it's just common courtesy really. I realise that I am who I am and live how I do because being a good person costs nothing and it can really put your life into perspective.

Everyone in their life has probably hurt someone, some purposely and some believing they were doing the right thing. Purposeful hurt is a lot more painful than accidental. I'm so scared of hurting peoples feelings or doing wrong in life that I tip toe around everything, unfortunately, sometimes it cannot be helped.

People are sensitive, and you might not think it, but your actions can hurt someone a lot. Words can hurt, people take things to heart and that means you can hurt someone without realising.

I will continue to live my life being a good person, apologising when I do wrong.

Spreading happiness and living life with the best intentions could make you happier than anything else.

Life is better when you're laughing

xo

Books! The best weapons in the world

Books are truly amazing things and I absolutely adore reading, although quite admittedly I haven't actually done it for a long, long time.

Reading used to be something that would help me a lot. It was a way for me to tune out of the world. I'd turn everything off, relax and it would help me to forget life problems. I love different worlds they can transport you to, the different people they introduce you to, making you think you've known them for years. The fact that books can cause you to fall in love with a character when you know they are not real…boys in books are the best kind and should be real, why aren't they real?

I've found some really amazing books out there and I love the feeling of not being able to put a book down, no matter how tired you may be, because the book is so amazing.

The magic held within a book is something of a different world. It's insane where out imagination can take us to when reading. We can travel across county, worlds even time and space. Someones worlds can help you to set the scene and the people, which often results in you imagining this story like it's real life in your mind, like it's a past memory.

I miss the nights of curling up with a good book.

So I came up with a plan…I am going to start reading again and I am really excited about this! I feel it will help me to sleep, it will relax me before bed and might actually make me more of a stress free person. I'm going to read every night, trying to read at least one book every week and I can't wait to get stuck in. I might even start posting reviews on the book I have read, I'm not entirely sure about that yet but I will keep you informed.

So the first book I will be reading (as soon as it arrives) will be Giovanna Fletchers "You're the one that I want" and I must admit, I am super exited to start reading this book, I have wanted to for so long! Hopefully it will arrive soon.

Reading is a wonderful thing, there's so much magic held within them, don't let it go to waste!
xo

I want to break free

I feel like I'm trapped in one moment in time, nothing new happening, nothing to look forward to. It's just the same thing day in and day out, I need to get away…

I need to travel. I need to see what the world has to offer! I need to get out of my situation. All I want to do is start my life and I just can't.

The world is so big, so beautiful and I am stuck in this little town with nothing interesting every happening. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like for me if I was to live in a different country…maybe I would still feel the same, maybe I wouldn't.

It's hard to look around me and see everyone with their life planned out in front of them, with their jobs, their houses and children. It makes me wonder whether staying in education and going to university was a good idea. It has resulted in me not being able to start my life and that's all I want to do right now, I want to be free. I hate having to worry about getting assignments in on time and the one thing I cannot wait for is to not have to worry about getting an assignment in on time, it has resulted in so much stress. If there's one thing I hate about education it would be the fact that you're not free until it's over, you have to take your work home with you and you never, ever get a break…I need a break. I need to be able to feel stable and happy, with no stress. I hope that's what comes once I have graduated, I hope this isn't a permanent feeling. I have never in my life been so stressed over something as I have over university.

It sucks noticing how my life has nowhere near started in comparison to others. Those who didn't attend university now have jobs and children and for me? If that was to happen right now I would feel far too young, but I am 20 now and I think I forget that. We're not 16 anymore.

I'm going into my final year at University next month, it has absolutely flew by but it has been the most stressful experience of my entire life and I hope to never feel this much stress again, ever in my life. This is the end, it's finally going to be over! I mean I have enjoyed it, but by God have I hated it too.

I'm just looking forward to what the future has to hold, I'm looking forward to being free, having the time to relax and not worry about having that one assignment done on time. I can't wait to travel the world.

My life is about to begin and I hope the world is ready for me...
xo

The future is so bright, I gotta wear shades!

I cannot wait for my life to begin properly.

As someone who is now 20 years old, I find that I don't feel like my life has properly began yet due to the fact that I have never been out of education. So many people at my age have full time jobs, some have houses and some even have children. I haven't really found myself thinking about this. I personally still don't feel like I'm old enough to even dream about having a child anytime soon.

I have experience so much in my life, but there is still so much left to experience, I haven't experienced half as much as I want to.

I have so many goals in life, maybe too many, but it's nice to dream big.

One thing I never want to do in life is ever leave behind people whom I love, and as my life moves forward I aim to do everything in my power to ensure that doesn't happen.

I've always thought about the future, for as long as I can remember and it always ended with the same scenario and ideas, living abroad.

Now that I am 20 and I properly understand all the implications of this, I have realised I don't think I would move abroad in my young life, I'd like to spend a few months here and there, maybe even a year, but never a permanent move, not whilst I am young anyway.

I have had so long to think about my life and to figure out what I want from the future and what I want to put into it, so many things have helped me to understand what I truly want.

I cannot life to start my life properly, by going into university I have taken an extra 3 years to work on my education and to figure out what I want. I do believe attending uni was the best decision to me and knowing that I am now going into my third year makes me so proud and I don't think I have ever been proud of myself.

Although moving abroad whilst I'm young is a bad idea, I do want to move across country, I don't want to be stuck in a little town for the rest of my life, I belong in the city.

There will come a time in my life when I feel although I have done most of which I want, which leads me to where I want to be when I am much, much older, when I have travelled the world and spent many years doing what I love, I aim to be living in Venice, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Don't dream small, and don't ignore your dreams…live them.

xo