Turning 20

Oh what a crazy few days it has been. Thursday was my 20th birthday and I am officially out of my teens! I think this is bringing me a whole range of crazy emotions that I don't even really know how to put into words, but I will try nonetheless.

I've been an adult for two whole years already since I turned 18 BUT I was still a 'teenager' so I don't really know if it counted. I still felt young and like I could get away with anything. You're still referred to as a teenager and it sounds so much younger.

Lots of things become irrelevant to you once you turn 20. Silly little things like deciding when you want to be a 'kid' or an 'adult'. Belting out Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus just really doesn't have the same effect anymore, because with those sweet lyrics "I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby", yeah they just aren't true anymore...

So here I thought to end this simple post, I would leave you all with 20 things I have learnt by the time I turned 20. Who knows, my views on absolutely everything could change within another few years- but for now, here is what I know.

1. Not everyone is going to care about your birthday as you get older as much as you do- yes that means you won't receive presents from everyone anymore, sigh.
2. Quality over quantity- it really doesn't matter if you have 4 friends. If they are good friends, never let them go. It's better to have 4 fabulous friends than 40 fucking shitty acquaintances who don't care about you when you need it
3. Time heals most wounds- note, I say MOST
4. Holding grudges is NOT worth your time- who cares if that one girl did something bad to you 3 years ago, there's no point holding a grudge because you are better than that. *does not mean you have to forgive, but just move on with your damn life*
5. Criticism means you're doing something right- (unless it's constructive criticism about work/uni etc.) just ignore it. People who criticise the way you live your life should have no impact on you
6. There is beauty in everything around you, you just have to look for it 
7. Not everyone is meant to be your friend- again with the friends. There is no point trying to make everyone you meet your friend- some people are just not going to like you or even want to be your friend and that is completely okay, just acknowledge this and move on (refer to #2)
8. There is no point dwelling on the past- what's done is done. Learn from mistakes and acknowledge accomplishments and move on
9. You don't have to have your life figured out by the time you're 20- if you do, thats great! If not, who cares! We are so young we have a lifetime to figure out what we want and who we want to be. That's the point of life! To grow and discover ourselves and become who we want.
10. If you aren't loving what you're doing, change it- best time ever to make changes, in your 20's. Started a career you don't love? Change it. Discover yourself, explore, travel the world. Do whatever makes you happy. 
11. Dieting is stupid. It's all about maintaining a lifestyle
12. Making mistakes is okay
13. Materialistic things will only make you so happy- there's more to life than having the newest phone (seems basic but sometimes you need to remember this)
14. Exploring is always a good idea
15. Drinking plenty of water each day is also a good idea
16. Wearing sunscreen (and not burning to a crisp) is definitely always a good idea- no one likes premature wrinkles and rough sunburnt skin (or skin cancer)
17. Love yourself before you love someone else and you will feel so much better about yourself- I've learnt this over the years. When I was younger I barely loved myself and it was really hard to be happy and in love with someone else all the time because I never really felt complete. Once I learnt to love myself, loving someone else was so much easier and I feel whole and complete
18. Admit it when you're wrong- it helps you learn and grow
19. Don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd and be noticed- it's not always going to be a bad thing
20. Finding at least one small thing every day that you are thankful for or happy about will always remind you life is good (even on the bad days)

So there you have it. Turning 20.
Thanks for reading,
Kristelle xxx
Instagram: @krristelley

Brains and books

If there is one thing that I have loved since I was a young girl, it would have to be books. I genuinely don't think I would be the person I am today if it weren't for all the amazing (and not so amazing) books I have read throughout my life. 

I am probably just another cliched teenage girl when it comes to reading. Books have changed and shaped my life and I get extremely attached to the characters, so when something happens I feel every emotion they do. I have cried and laughed and felt as though I were part of the stories I was reading. 

I think everyone has a life changing book. The book(s) that made me realise that I loved reading and I have never stopped since then were the Harry Potter books. Sure I had always read books since I obviously learnt how to read and I was always ahead in the 'readers' we were given when we started school. But when I was about 8 years old, my teacher I had at school loved Harry Potter so in the afternoons she would sit us down and read us a chapter (or two) from the books. I can vividly remember how much I enjoyed listening to her read the books I wanted to know what it would feel like to read them too. For my 9th birthday my mum bought me the Harry Potter books (well only the first 4 and my aunty gave me the 5th one) and I fell in love. I would stay up until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore (which I still do when I am reading an amazing book). I remember getting the 6th book for Christmas and waiting until 2007 to get the 7th book when it came out. I had it ordered for me and I carried it around school for the whole 2 days it took me to read it (I was in 6th grade at this point). Obsessed is definitely an understatement. 

Still to this day my love affair with books continues. I am always open to people's suggestions of books that I have to read and my favourite kind of shopping to do is book shopping (even more than I love buying clothes and make up AND I love buying clothes and make up). 

The only thing I don't enjoy about reading is the fact that these days, my reading books I enjoy for fun has more so turned into me reading case study upon case study and chapter upon chapter from my university textbooks (oh the joy).

For the most part I enjoy books about teenagers and books about love/romance or "finding yourself". Those types of books always capture my attention and probably because I can relate to a lot of the characters really well. I do also enjoy reading classics, but it usually takes me a bit longer to read those. 

I absolutely adore the Harry Potter series (if you couldn't already tell), Sarah Dessen is an amazing author. The Hunger Games series= amazing. I love Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and the YouTube video of the cassette tapes to go with it honestly sends shivers down my spine. John Green books are amazing and my personal favourite of his is Looking For Alaska. I have so many 'favourites' that I can't even name them all (let alone think of them right now).

I think after all my blabbing people will surely understand that I love books and I love reading. I wish I was a better writer (I really do) and maybe that's part of the reason why I even enjoy having a blog. It's my form of expression and I think all the reading I have done in my life has helped shape that.

I will happily take any suggestions of good books to read that anyone has.

Thanks for reading,
Kristelle xxx
Instagram: @krristelley