Needing inspiration

Normally, I am a very weird person with the most random ideas circling my head, just waiting to burst out at inappropriate times. But recently we have had to plan a big art project in school on the concept 'conflict'. And whereas with other art projects, I have ideas pretty instantly, but this time, I was blank. My mind was like a blocked sink... Because that is a good metaphor...!

So, when I was thinking about what to do my post on this week, I once again had a blocked sink brain. I didn't have any inspiration, so what better to do than to write a post on needing inspiration!

When I first got my blocked sink brain over my art project, I have to admit that it freaked me out a bit. Like I said, I am always the girl who comes up with the randomest thoughts and ideas, so when my mind went blank, I got scared and was like: have I broken my brain? No lie, I genuinely thought that I had broken my brain. I then decided that I had plenty of time before the work was due in, so I should take some time, do some research and hopefully that would be the plunger to unblock my brain. However, after doing a lot of research and about 15 million brainstorms, I still had nothing. I know that if you are looking too hard for something, you won't find it, so I decided to cool off for a bit and let the metaphorical plunger fall into my head rather than forcing it (I'm all about the metaphorical plunger today!) 

So about a week went by, and I kept my eyes peeled for anything that might help, and I started to develop a few little ideas, but I knew that I would never have the time, patience or artistic ability to see them through. The next art lesson then rolled up and I still had nothing. Luckily for me, there were exams so we had a cover teacher, so I spent the lesson doodling, trying to find my plunger. Still nothing.

The next art lesson was the next day, and this time our teacher popped in for a bit. Now, I have to say this, my art teacher is absolutely fantastic. They are inspiring and encouraging and they won't accept anything less than your best work if they know you can do better. My art teacher then asked me what my idea was, and I told them that I didn't know, and didn't have one. We then went on to have chat, and I found my inspiration, I found my plunger. I took elements and aspects from work I had done previously to create an idea that I was very happy with, with the prompting from my teacher. So happy ending there, brain unblocked, weird thoughts circling my head once more.

You may be thinking that I have no point to this story and that I am just rambling,  but I do have a point! If any of you have ever been in a similar situation to me, I decided to put together a list of tips for when you need a bit of inspiration.

1. Just have a good old feel around inside your brain, because I'm sure you have stuff in there that is just as weird as the stuff I think of.

2. Talk to the people around you. Your friends, family, all the people who mean something to you inspire you every single day, and I'm sure that you will find something amazing within 39 seconds of talking to them.

3. Research. Google is a pretty brilliant thing that has a hell lot of stuff to help you.

4. Go somewhere private or special to have a thinking session. I love sitting at the end of my bed, by my window, just watching the world go by.

5. Don't look too hard. Inspiration will find you eventually, maybe a little probing might help, but trust me, the harder you look, the further your plunger will stray.

6. Visualise. You may have noticed that I like to visualise that I need to find a plunger to unblock my brain, and that really helped me because, when I finally got my inspiration, I felt the plunger in my brain. That is weird isn't it? Okay, ignore the visualising.

7. Most importantly, never ever give up hope. You are fantastic and you are capable of great things! 

Okay, so I am going to end this here, because it got really deep there at the end and I'm aware that half the stuff I said contradicts the other half! Please +1 this post, comment about your inspiration and follow me! I put new posts on both my blogs every week!

See you soon!

www.gabriellahopebeauty.blogspot.com

My first time tag

This is a tag that is usually done on YouTube, but it is something that I really wanted to do, so I have decided to do it as a blog post. It is the first time tag! For those of you who don't know, I'll just be going through and and talking about all of my firsts, according to the questions I found on the internet. It isn't something rude or weird, so if that's what you were expecting or what you wanted: bye bye!

1. First person you subscribed to on YouTube?
Okay, so the first person I subscribed to on YouTube was probably Zoella, because although I had used YouTube a bit, I had never spent much time on it, and I just decided randomly one day to get a YouTube account and Zoella was the only youtuber I had ever heard of. I spent a long time watching her videos, and all of her collabs, before starting to watch some of the other youtubers, and now I love all the youtubers. I also really like looking for small youtubers, because I am one myself.  So when I search something, I always look for videos that don't have so many views, and I go onto their channels and I really like subscribing to them, because one day, when they're huge, I can say that I was with them from the beginning. Also, I know because I am so small how amazing it feels to get a subscriber, so I love thinking that I may have made somebody's day just by clicking that red button.

2. Who was the first person to text you today?
No one so far, because I am an incredibly sad person and no one texts me. :(

3. Who was your first best friend and do you still talk?
My first proper real best friend was at the beginning of year 3, when my previous friend had moved to Germany and so I was feeling quite lonely and down. My mum told me to invite someone round and to try and make some knew friends, so I asked someone that I had spoken to a bit, and had always been very nice, but wasn't really a friend. It turned out that she was also quite lonely and so we became friends and before long we were besties. However, when we went to secondary school, she went somewhere quite far away from me because her family had moved house, but we do still keep in contact through the wonders of social media, even though it has nearly been a year since I have seen her.

4. When and where was your first sleepover?
My first sleepover wasn't a great success. I was eight and it was the birthday party of a girl in my class. She had invited round eight of us, and it was all of our first sleepovers, so it's safe to say that we were very excited. However, earlier that day, I had been to another party where I sat next to someone who was ill and I caught it from them. I woke up after about two hours sleep at my first sleep over and was sick every where. Not an amazing memory, I must admit.

5. What was the first concert you ever went to?
The first concert I ever went to was with my best friend and we were ten or eleven. It was her birthday and her parents both gave her concert tickets. We went to the X Factor tour and to a Cher Lloyd concert (who ironically had been on the X Factor the year before). Both times we went with her family, so I don't know if these really count.

6. First broken bone?
I've never broken anything big, but I have broken my toe on an exercise machine (I wasn't even on it, I just walked into it!), my nose by falling off and climbing frame, and I'm pretty sure I broke my bum while ice skating (I had to do the SATs sitting on a cushion!)

7. First piercing?
Ears.

8. What is the first thing you do when you get home (from school)?
I always dump my bags and get changed into something comfy. I then take my make up off and moisturise and wash my face, so I feel clean and nice. Then I usually start homework if I can be bothered.

9. If you had one wish, what would it be?
If I had a wish, I would probably wish that everyone's dreams could come true, including mine. That is so sad isn't it? But at least with that wish I don't feel like I'm being selfish by keeping it all to myself. I actually don't know how this question fits into the first time tag, but it was on the list.

10. First movie you remember seeing?
I actually don't remember much of this, just little snippets, but according to my family, I used to watch Disney's Pocahontas over and over again. They still remember the songs today from the amount of times I watched it!

So if you managed to make it to the end, please tell me if you enjoyed this, and if you have done one of these yourself, please put a link in the comments, because I absolutely love reading/watching these! And, if you would like me to do some more of these (because I didn't answer all the questions, just the slightly less embarrassing ones!) please +1 it. And even if you don't +1 it, I'm going to do more anyway because I really enjoyed it!

See you soon!

KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENO

Do you know one thing that I absolutely hate? Labels. I'm not talking about the kind that come on a can of baked beans, I'm talking about the kind that we label a person with. I think that they are so unnecessary and so ridiculous, just another think that we use to make others feel small and ourselves feel tall. Gay, fatty, nerd, loner, weirdo, goody goody, stoner, emo, chav, goth... and so many others.
WHAT IS THE POINT OF THESE?!?!? 
I know of one label that I especially get called every single day. The geniuses in my school came up with the label 'keeno' as a new insult for nerd or geek, but also for teacher's pet. A little bit of grammar for you now, the word 'keeno' comes from the word 'keen' which used to mean excited and happy, but has now been twisted to mean completely uncool, and the kind of person who gets excited about English essays and physics tests. The 'o' in 'keeno' has been added so that it sounds more threatening as idiots yell it out in classrooms and corridors.
Now I just want to be clear here, I highly doubt that the people in my year came up with this, and I am sure that it isn't an original idea, but I just find it so ridiculous. I'm sorry, but of all the things to mock someone about?!? Being 'keen'?
I also want to say that in this blog, my objections are about ALL labels, but I'm using keeno because it is the one I come into the most contact with and am most effected by.
Being called keen has actually never been that much of a problem for me. I would like to make it clear that I am in no way denying my keenness, or trying to hide it in anyway, because I am not ashamed of being who I am. Being a nerd is who I have always been, and I used to be so sure I could change myself. When I moved from primary school to secondary school, I was determined to reinvent myself into one of the 'cool' girls. However in the end I ended up in a worse situation than I had been in before, and it felt like I didn't have anyone to talk to, because I didn't know who my real friends were. On the inside I was still me, and if that me is a keeno nerd, than that is something that I'm going to have to accept. And I did eventually, and I am happy being who I am now. I just wish that others would be happy with me being who I am.
I wouldn't say I get bullied or anything, I don't want anyone to jump to conclusions and start ringing child line. I am probably making this sound worse than it is, but I am trying to give you an example of real life that happens every single day.
Now I personally do not see anything wrong at all with being 'keen'. I don't see anything wrong with doing work, and yes, occasionally enjoying it. I don't see anything wrong with doing all my homework and making teachers happy. I don't see anything wrong with getting a good school report and a good time at parents evening and making your parents proud of you. I don't see anything wrong with this, so why do others feel that these things are the most repulsive things to happen to you in the universe?

I think that some people believe that I have no life, but I disagree. (However, one could argue that as I am writing a blog that no one will ever read, perhaps I don't have a life). Apparently because I get my homework done on time, this means I never watch TV, never go out with friends, never stop working. Well, at the age I am currently, in no way do I get enough work that I never stop working, an hour at most every day after school, but not until I go to sleep. 

And people should know, that when we are handed an English essay to do, I'm not cheering! I'm not excited by the prospect of doing it. Yes, I may enjoy the book, (Romeo and Juliet is one of my favourite stories ever) but I have never known anyone who actually ENJOYS writing an essay, so why would you assume that I do?

I have started to ramble now, but I could go on forever, talking about each and every stereotype and how they are wrong. If you are reading this, and can relate to it, even marginally, whether you're the stereotyper or the stereotyped, just think about how that person feels, every time you label them, every time that you instantly assume something about them, because we all do it! I am awful at seeing someone and instantly making up my mind about them. I think that labelling is just one notch down from bullying, and so if you are about to shout a name at someone, how about you just... don't. I'm not saying you have to go and become bffs with them, give each other a makeover and manicure, but by just NOT saying that name, NOT labelling them, you are making more difference than you probably realise.

If you have ever been labelled or have anything to comment about, I'd love to hear it, so please comment below.