Thoughts on being happy.

There isn’t a list of rules on ‘how to be happy’, and two different people may not necessarily be happy in the same situation. There’s no real definition of what happiness is or what it feels like – apart from the state of being happy, obviously – and that’s because it’s down to the individual alone to decide whether they are truly happy and what can be done to solve it if they aren’t.

Life isn’t always fair, and everyone goes through times in their life when bad things happen. Be it a death of a loved one, an end to a relationship or friendship, or bad results in a test or exam: disappointment and sadness are natural emotions for us to feel through periods of time in our life. These are inevitable, and for the most part unavoidable, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We need to allow ourselves time to feel down or unhappy, so that we know who’s there for us when we need them, and to notice our happy moments when they do come around.

However I have found that there are things that we can do in order to help ourselves be more happy and positive, and a lot of the time I have found that it’s other people’s negativity that stops me from being completely content. Whether it’s a snide comment on how I look or an opinion I express, or a relationship or friendship going wrong and ending up toxic, the people surrounding us have a lot to do with our mindset. Is this okay or right? No not at all. Should their opinions matter? No not at all. Yet we still let others thoughts on us affect how we think and feel about ourselves.

One thing I have learnt recently is that how people treat you isn’t your decision, but the people you surround yourself with is. Surround yourself with people who are beautiful on the inside rather than basing it around the misconception of what ‘beautiful’ looks like aesthetically. Surround yourself with the people who make you happy, and who respect you, and not those who you have to impress or act differently around. Everyone deserves the chance to be happy, confident and to be surrounded by people who love them for them.

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” – John Lennon

Thoughts on mental health.

Some people might think of mental health as a ‘taboo subject’, and after spending a week on my work placement at Mind I am finding it even more difficult to understand why. Last week at my sixth form, year twelve had to find a work placement that corresponded with something that you are interested in going into in the future. Being interested in mental health and what kind of jobs were involved in the mental health sector, I managed to get a work placement at Mind which is a mental health charity, who aim to provide advice and support to help anyone going through mental health problems.

The fact that some people don’t like talking about mental health worries me more than anything, because everyone has mental health. Mental health is a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being, and whether you feel that you are perfectly fine, or if you are depressed or stressed or anxious, we all have mental health.

I spent a lot of my time with people with mental health problems while at Mind, and these ranged from depression, to self-harm, anxiety, OCD, Asperger syndrome etc. After getting over my nerves on the first morning – which was honestly more to do with meeting new people than anything else – I settled in and found that people with mental health problems are no different to anyone else that I’ve met, they just need a helping hand in certain aspects of life. One word I would use to describe the people I met in my week would be brave. They are so brave and strong, for being able to speak up about their problems, for accepting that they need help, for getting through every day life while going through unimaginable issues, and for fighting to get through their problems. I honestly admire every single one of the people that I met, not for what they are going through, but how they have dealt – or are dealing with – their mental health problems.

I for one feel as though people should be less afraid to speak up about mental health and any problems they might be facing in life. Simply knowing that you’re not alone and that you have someone to talk to can make such a difference on how you look at a situation and how you deal with it. One in four people will go through mental health problems at some point in their life, and some might not even recognise it due to them not being familiar with the symptoms or the help that they can get. Mind is only one charity out of many that helps people with mental health problems; there are various charities all over the world that aim to help people with mental health issues.

Mental health shouldn’t be something we don’t talk about, mental health problems shouldn’t be frowned upon, and the people suffering shouldn’t be over-looked or cast to the side. We are all equal, and we will all go through – or know someone who will go through – mental health problems at some point. We might just not be aware of it. 

Thoughts on what Girl Guiding has done for me.

Thousands of girls all over the world attend groups such as Brownies, Rainbows or Guides. Thousands more are involved in volunteering for these groups so that young girls can grow into amazing young adults and be equipped with the social skills they need to go far in life. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with Girl Guiding for the past 10 years, and so I thought I would share my experience.

At the age of seven I was lucky enough to find out about the local Brownie group in my area, and along with my friends, I went along and fell completely in love with it. Being a very shy child from a young age made it quite difficult for me to make friends outside of school. Although recognising this, my parents sent me to a lot of extra curriculum activities in order for me to get over this shyness – which in the long run really has helped me!

Due to the group being all girls and due to the friendliness and dedication of the leaders, I quickly became comfortable and a lot more outgoing when I was at Brownies, which in turn helped me to be more outgoing outside of the club as well. Wednesday evenings became my favourite evenings, because for an hour and a half I got to be myself with my best friends and do crazy, fun activities. Once I became too old for Brownies, a few friends and I moved to up to Guides, however I didn’t feel as comfortable and decided that it just wasn’t for me. Instead, I decided to get into the Young Leader side of things.

Due to my mum being an ‘owl’ at my old Brownie group I was lucky enough to go back to Brownies and help out the younger children as and when I pleased. My confidence grew even more as the children were more dependent on me, and I had a lot more responsibility to look after them and help the sessions run smoothly. After doing this for a number of years we heard news of a new Rainbow group starting up in the village, and I immediately volunteered as I felt it was important I got some experience without my mum or family friends being next to me.

Deciding to volunteer at Rainbows is literally one of the best decisions I have made. Having the responsibility to teach and help these young girls grow into the amazing, beautiful women they are capable of becoming is so rewarding and it is honestly a privilege to even be a small part of their childhood. Seeing their faces light up when we teach them a new game, or seeing them go slightly wild when they’re with their friends, or hearing them chatter about their day at school or what they did at the weekend, is a heart warming experience to be a part of.  

Girl Guiding has done so much for me in the 10 years I have been a part of it. It has helped me grow into the confident young woman I am becoming today, and it has taught me to never be ashamed of the person I am and to always stick up for what I believe in. The social skills I learned are invaluable, and the friends and memories I made will always stay with me. For the past 10 years Girl Guiding has been a constant in my life, and I really feel like it won’t end here. Overall this is just a massive thank you to everyone who has been a part of my Girl Guiding experience because without them I honestly don’t think I would be the person I am today.