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

Sisters

Having a sister is a wonderful thing. Your very own bestfriend/hair stylist/ make up artist/ partner in crime (and way way more) from the beginning. You may hate her at times but you will always love her. 

I'm (un)lucky enough to have a little sister of my very own. 

I used to get annoyed when she would copy everything that I say/ do/ like/ wanted/ bought but as my mother ever so kindly pointed out all these years, 'imitation is the highest form of flattery'.

I think you love playing with toys together when you're young (barbies and polly pockets for us) and playing other silly little games (doctors, teachers and spies were our favourites). Then you get to that age where all you can possibly do is fight with each other. You hate each other more than you like each other and you can't stand to share anything let alone talk to each other sometimes. 

I am happily past that age now (for the most part) and get to enjoy all the perks that come with having a sister again.

You want someone to paint your nails?

Drive you to the train station to go clubbing?

Cook dinner with?

Go out to random places to get food because you're hungry?

Fashion advice?

Need to borrow an outfit?

Wondering if your hair looks good today?

Have the sudden urge to go shopping and don't want to go alone?

Need help fake tanning the middle of your back?

Want to go on a maccas run but don't want to go alone?

Need someone to exercise with you?

Need someone to hang out with just so you don't feel lonely?

All of the above for me are reasons why I actually love having a sister. As much as she annoys the hell out of me, I know I will always have someone there to do these things with me and help me out when I need it. Best part is, we live in the same house so there is literally next to no effort to do all of these things together. No need to make the same effort to hang out with a friend and you can be mean to each other and know that at the end of the day you will always have each others backs.

I appreciate having a sister (but I'm still glad I'm the older one).

Kristelle xx

Instagram: @krristelley

How to Save Money

Hey everyone. So today I thought I would make a post on how to effectively save money. These days I think way too many young people have no idea how to save their money. I have way too many friends and know too many people who are always complaining that they only have $20 left in their accounts and "can not wait until their next pay so they can go and spend their money". I'll give you a brief overview of my working life & savings habits and then share some of my best money saving tips I have! 

Working Life Overview

• Pre-working life (under 14 years old): 
• Typically got money off my mum every now and then when I asked to go to the movies or something
• Other than that the money I got came from birthdays, christmas and doing chores for my mum or my aunty. 
• I used to always try and go by the "save half and spend half" rule
• First job (14-15 years old):
• Worked at McDonald's
• Wasn't very good at saving lots of money
• Would save for short term goals, i.e. concert tickets
• Mum used to make me save at least $20 each week from my pay into a savings account
• Having a key card was a bad idea: I didn't pay attention to what I would spend
• 16-17-start of being 18/the remainder of high school
• Didn't do 'formal' work
• Money came from babysitting over the years
• Saved all of that money to spend at schoolies (didn't spend it all- bonus)
• Post-high school/uni student life
• Became a workaholic
• Focused on the future
• Saves more money than I spend
• Got a job straight from school and have worked there ever since
• Each summer holidays I get an extra job (e.g. Christmas casual job and a seasonal theme park job)
• Work as much as possible during all holiday breaks so I can ease off a bit during uni time to study and focus on the uni work

So that (in very basic terms) sums up my life to do revolving around working and saving habits!

Late Night Thoughts

Happiness is the easy emotion. It's simple. No one questions why you're happy. You're happy? That's fantastic! I love seeing you smile. Happiness looks good on you. I'm happy you're happy. 

Questions start when you're not happy. What's wrong? Are you sad? Are you angry? Why aren't you happy? What's wrong with your life? You have this... you have that... why aren't you greatful... there's no reason to be sad... People out there have it so much worse than you... You're not allowed to be sad... People out there are dying and you're crying for no reason... Stop being selfish... You're fine...

People are allowed to be sad. Comparing someone's pain to others pain, in no way lessons said persons pain. Oh you broke your arm? Well it doesn't hurt that bad because that person over there broke BOTH arms. Life and physical pain doesn't work like that, so why should emotional pain? Better yet, emotional and physical pain can not be compared on the same scale of "which is worse".

You want to be sad? Go for it. Be sad. Sadness is a complicated emotion that people always seem to have to answer to. Next time you're sad and don't want to tell anyone why (whether it be because you don't exactly know why or you just don't feel like sharing) then be sad and let your emotions out. It's okay and unless you want it to be people's business, it isn't. 

I'm sad right now and as much as it hurts and sucks, it's okay to feel things. We're human. We have bad days and good days and get sad over small things and and over big things. 

You know why? Because that's life.