forever dreaming: inspiration

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.

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.
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
Time heals most wounds- note, I say MOST
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*
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
There is beauty in everything around you, you just have to look for it
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)
There is no point dwelling on the past- what's done is done. Learn from mistakes and acknowledge accomplishments and move on
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.
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.
Dieting is stupid. It's all about maintaining a lifestyle
Making mistakes is okay
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)
Exploring is always a good idea
Drinking plenty of water each day is also a good idea
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)
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
Admit it when you're wrong- it helps you learn and grow
Don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd and be noticed- it's not always going to be a bad thing
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

Hey everyone!

So something a little different for this post today. Recently I was nominated by Jenny (The Travelling Donkey) for the Liebster Award! It is all about highlight small blogs (200 followers or less) that you think need more support. I feel pretty honoured to have received this nomination because I didn't think that 1. anyone other than a few of my friends and boyfriend read my blog, 2. anyone actually cared about my blog and 3. I thought I was just going on about stuff no one cared about! So I want to say thank you to Jenny for motivating me to continue to make the time to blog and for putting a smile on my face to show me that people actually do care about what I have to say (and the views actually aren't just my friends clicking over and over)

The rules for Liebster Award are simple:

1. Thank the person who nominated you

2. Answer the questions given by the nominator

3. Nominate another 11 bloggers (with 200 or less followers) and link them

4. Create 11 new questions for the nominees to answer

5. Notify all nominees by social media/blogs

Questions received from The Travelling Donkey

1. Favourite memory?

I don't think I can choose a singular favourite memory from my life! I have too many great things to remember. I will however say that my favourite memories in the last 5 years have probably all occurred with the same person- my wonderful boyfriend Kieran. I'll give you my top 3 that come to mind when I think of Kieran. First off I think of our second anniversary when he gave me my promise ring. I thought it was so sweet and special and I cried (I tried to hide the fact I cried so now I just busted myself lol hi Kieran). Secondly, I think time we decided to go camping in Kiama (the first time) and it bucketed down with rain the entire 3 days we were there and our tent started to leak water. We couldn't buy a new tent (limited $) so we drove all around trying to find a hardware store so we could 'fix' the tent. In the end Kieran bought tarps and duct tape and made a shelter over our tent. It was hilarious and it worked. Lastly in my top 3 would be the day we got our matching tattoos because they mean a lot to both of us and it's something that is going to be there forever.

2. What is the top location in the world you would like to visit?

This is tricky because there are so many places in the world I would love to go. I know I am going to sound like such a cliche right now, but ultimate goals are to be able to travel around Europe. In particular: France, Italy, Amsterdam and Greece. But less cliche for some reason (I think it just sounds so so appealing- and Kieran wants to do this with me) I would LOVE to visit Canada. I think I change that to my top location.

3. Why did you start blogging?

Well I have had a tumblr blog for years. But I was sort of getting over reblogging pretty pictures and wanted something more personal where I could share my thoughts and feelings, adventures and experiences and any other quirky little things I found. I enjoy writing (although I am not very good at it) and I thought it would be fun to put everything out there in the open and connect with people all over the world and let people get an insight into my life.

4. Favourite book at the moment?

Still my favourite book at the moment has to be John Green's, Looking For Alaska. I don't know how to explain why. The book just gets me. I get it. I don't know, for someone who likes to write I seem to be horrible at putting reasons for liking things into words. A close second would be Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles (highly recommend reading both of these if you never have before).

5. If you could only eat one food for the rest of you life, what would it be?

One food for the rest of my life would have to be potatoes. No clue why but they are my all time favourite food. There's just so many fun ways to enjoy potatoes. Baked, mashed, potato bake, potato salad... the list is only as limited as your imagination!

6. Favourite song at the moment?

Favourite song would still have to be Elastic Heart- Sia. In one word, love. In multiple words, that song just makes me feel things. You know?

7. A place you go to get away from everything?

Easiest answer. My beach, my lookouts. Anywhere overlooking the ocean. Helps clear my mind and staring out into the big empty spaces lets me know that there's so much out there for me that life will always go on, no matter how bad it seems at the time.

8. What is a weird dream you've had recently?

A lot of the time I just dream about myself eating food or my dreams are so realistic I don't know whether I'm dreaming or I'm awake and living.

9. Who inspires you?

My mum (again a cliche agh!) but seriously she is amazing and I would be lucky to grow up (I'm sort of a grown up at the moment, 19 is still a baby in the scale of life!) and become even half the women she is. She's strong and just downright an amazing person. Love you mum

10. Who is your favourite blogger?

I'm not sure of this one 100%, I do read lots of blogs (especially random posts I just come across in my daily internet browsing). But currently I read a lot of Kayla Itsines blog because I love all the tips and advice she gives on exercise and healthy lifestyle choices (I am a BBG girl in case anyone wanted to know!)

11. What is quote to you find inspiring?

Top two quotes that I find inspiring would have to include:

“To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.”~ Elbert Hubbard. This inspires me because it reminds m that people are always going to criticise what you do/say, so if you aren't being criticised than you aren't being out there doing anything, saying anything or most importantly being anything.
“Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.” ~Russell Warren. Now this inspires me to be better. That it's okay to be 'obsessed' with something, whether it be getting fit or getting good grades because it means that I am dedicated to these and it is not a bad thing.

My Nominations:

These are the blogs that I nominate to answer my questions in a post. It took me ages to pick out these blogs because I wanted to make sure I actually enjoyed reading the posts!

Pulling Our Shit Together

My Questions for my Nominee's: