Cards, Gifts and Appreciation.

I've always been a girl that loves to receive stuff. Be it a card, a gift or even a little note. That's partly the reason I love to do cards for others too. And my mum would always say: " You do so many cards for people, you yourself also don't get back much " and I admit, I do feel hurt some times when I don't get back any cards or gifts but what matters is THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS right? Well, I am still learning to not expect anything in return la. I'm human and I'm not perfect right? Hahahah xD My mum would also always say that " You do for people, you think they will keep? Even if they keep, one day they will surely throw away. So you put in so much effort for what? " Well, I don't know about others but I have kept each and every card that has been given to me since 2009: Be it Christmas cards, Birthday cards, appreciation letters etc. The only reason I don't have someone's card is cause I misplaced it in my room. Somewhere... But I definitely won't throw away anything that was given to me.

It's Christmas again and I'm just so thankful for the people around me. As the years pass, I do get lesser cards. But today, I've learnt that being able to spend time with the people you love and treasure the most is so much more important than the cards and gifts. This Christmas, all I want is to be able to do just that with the people I love - spending quality time with them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Judgements and Words

I've neglected this space for 2 months and now I'm back with an issue that is affecting me quite a lot. This is just my point of view so please bear with me if you don't think the same way.

So I'm sure all of us judge people. That guy with a tattoo on the bus, the girl with really short hair, the person with a black face on the bus.  All of us will create an impression of people, no matter if they're strangers or someone we are getting to know. To me, I find that it is perfectly fine because I'd be lying if I said that I don't judge people. Of course it is best to not stereotype or judge others based on their appearances but no matter how hard we try, sometimes we are bound to make mistakes because afterall, we are human. However what really pisses me off is that towards people you get to know ( a friend or someone at a social gathering ) or someone you are supporting ( be it a musician, a blogger or a youtuber ) , sometimes people base it on that first impression they don't truly get to know the person better or understand the person and then they start thinking that oh, this person is this, this person is that... ALL BASED ON THAT FIRST IMPRESSION. Yes, I agree sometimes people need to change to give others a more accurate first impression of us. But shouldn't we as fellow human beings give others a chance at getting to know someone and understanding them?

Personally, I am the kind of girl that if I meet you for the very first time I am either 1) very hyper and sociable or 2) super awkward and don't talk to you at all till a later time or 3) super emotional, sensitive and all that comes out of my mouth are negative stuff. Call me fake, call me two faced or call me moody. All of us have times we behave differently in different situations. Lets take scenario 1 as an example: I'm very hyper and sociable. Those who like it will start questioning me when I am emotional and say " you weren't like that when I first met you " and those who don't? They won't even bother to get to know you better as they already dislike you just because you're " different "
Like come on guys, everyone has times when they behave differently. No one is happy for their entire life. Similarly, no one is perfect that they don't ever commit mistakes.

This brings me to my next point. Mistakes. We are all human. We all are bound to make mistakes. Famous or not. Rich or poor. Male or Female. EVERYONE makes mistakes at least once in their lifetime. Some mistakes more serious then others, but no doubt are still mistakes. A girl cheating on her boyfriend VS a husband cheating on his wife. Both are the same mistake in 2 different situations with 2 different severity and consequences. Does that mean one should be pardoned and the other punished? No. In both situations, those who commit the mistake must face the music. So. Mistakes. Recently, Naomi blogged about how she cheated on Jianhao that was part of the reason they broke up and it sparked a really huge commotion. Like yes it's probably her fault but at least she had the courage to actually step up and admit it. And also, she isn't the only girl in the world that has cheated on someone. So why is it that when others do it its just a small number of people criticising them. But when a famous blogger does it, it's suddenly such a big deal. A blogger but no doubt human too. It's not like she's God or that she's perfect. So give it a break. And also, stop tweeting " are you going to get back with Jianhao if you have a chance? " or " but you two were so cute together. " There's always a phase for everything. Just like some people will be in your life now but probably not in the near future. So similarly, don't put your so called expectations on this. And then start judging them when they don't reach that expectation.

People don't realise that their words mean weight to others. A simple " oh I thought you were better than this " can really stay with a person forever. The person will start putting pressure on herself and start comparing herself up others and will feel inferior if she thinks she's worse off than others. Once, someone told me " Everyone will have have someone in their life for tough times. But you? No one will ever be there for you. " 4 years ago. Till now, it still haunts me and I do look down on myself because of that sentence.

To everyone out there, don't judge a book by its cover. It's cliche but it's so true. Learn to love others. Learn to listen. Learn to get to know someone. Truthfully. Sincerely. Without any judge mental eyes because judgements you based on first impression can be significantly different from who they really are.

I must've called a thousand times 

To tell you sorry for everything that I've done 

Suicide

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day and it is really frightening to even have such a day because of the amount of suicide cases have been growing. Even if it's just one suicide case, it is such a tragic thing as people end their lives or attempt to end their life be it because of stress, pressure, problems or insecurities.
If you have not heard, there is a suicide awareness campaign by Samaritans of Singapore. Throughout the day, there were volunteers at various MRT stations across Singapore were giving out plasters with the words #howru .

 

Many local icons and artistes has taken part in this campaign such as Benjamin and Narelle Kheng from The Sam Willows, Mediacorp actress Oon ShuAn and Jayley Woo and many others like Shigga Shay and Hirzi.These people are well known and used their influence and the fact that people look up to them to help spread awareness and support this campaign.

 

Suicide so real to me

Personally, I have been struggling a lot with depression, suicide and hurting myself. I was bullied in primary school, ostracized and left out in secondary school with loads of rumors that made me look like the bad person and to add on, the stress of studies and pressure from teachers and at home didn't help. To make things worse, so many people especially those I held so dear and treasured so much and treasured so dear left. One by one I saw them leave as they stopped caring and stopped understanding why I was who I was. It was crazy to cope with everything. And I turned to the knife. Everyone saw it as attention seeking and as it was easier to say it was then to admit I was really hurting and everyone just brushed it aside. Even up till now in Poly I still struggle with it every single day. Thankfully I've been blessed with friends and people who cared and continued to help me through the tough times and never gave up on me no matter how negative I was, no matter how emotional I am, even when I myself totally gave up hope. Even though sometimes these people left, I am still thankful that I had someone there for me. It isn't easy to go through all of this, it isn't easy to feel all alone in the world, it isn't easy with all those insecurities and pent up emotions. I know what it is like to go through shit. I've had my fair share of problems even though I go to school with all smiles. I know how it is easier to say "I'm fine" than "I'm hurting" because more often then not, people don't truly care or end up turning their back on you. Yes, I have turned to suicide and hurting myself so many times, even now. But I am staying strong. Now, I do things to make me happy and I look for inspirational quotes and remember what the people I hold so dear to my heart has told me to get me through. And I am also doing my best to be there for my friends through their tough times, no matter how they have treated me in the past or if I am close to the person or not.

 

 

Suicide is something so real yet often overlooked upon. A simple " How are you? " and showing concern to someone can make someone feel less alone and take their minds off things while getting a chance to let them share what they need to get off their chest.

If you've friends or family who has been feeling down lately or you know he/she is having a bad day, don't overlook it that " oh it's just life " or tell them that " everything will be ok " without understanding how they feet or what they are going through. Personally, I've been struggling with this for years and I'm thankful to be blessed with people who at some point of time really helped me through and inspired me to be a stronger and better person. And more often then not, we always brush aside these feelings be it for attention or just telling the person to look on the brighter side of life. It's much more than that. To everyone reading this, show your concern cause you never know what someone is really going through, and you might just save a life.

 

" Don't wait and wish that you could've changed things for someone; if you see someone you think is sinking, reach for them with everything you've got. "

- Benjamin Kheng

First Anniversary

Today is a special post just for the one and only.... The Sam Willows! xx Exactly a year ago, 13 August 2014, I got to know this amazing band - The Sam Willows , members are siblings Narelle Kheng and Benjamin Kheng as well as friends Jonathan Chua and Sandra Riley Tang. Last year they were up for the MTVEMAs and Radio DJs were tweeting and rallying the support for them. Being the curious me, I checked them out on Youtube and I got HOOKED to their original Glasshouse. After which I tweeted 300 tweets #MTVEMAs #NominateTheSamWillows (no joke). I have met these lovely and talented bunch so many times and my obsession over them and the photos I have with them, people don't believe I've only known them for a year. Though at some events I don't get a chance to take photos with them but it is really heart warming to even receive a hi from these guys. They are the funniest, quirkiest, loveliest and nicest people I know. They released their first EP way back in October 2012. They had the chance to meet Steve Lillywhite and added a new twist to their single Glasshouse with a Lillywhite Edition. This year they released new single Take Heart in May and will be releasing more singles leading up to their album launch in September (half of which was recorded in Sweden). They also have a concert coming up at the end of this year! WOOHOO!

President Star Charity

 #TSWSECRETSHOW

 Countdown to SG50

 Love is in the air @ Gardens By The Bay

 Sing, Love recording

 Botanic Gardens Jubilee Celebrations

Youtube Fanfest 2015

No group photo:

SEA Games Roadshow @ Orchard

2nd GGC @ Scape

NUS Rag and Flag Day

Scape Invasion @ Ngee Ann Polytechnic

These guys are the most amazing and talented bunch. If you ever say that Singaporeans has no talent I WILL SLAM YOU. These guys have received awards such as:

m:idea Youth Choice Award 2013 and 2014

City Nomads Awards 2015 - Best Local Musician in Singapore 2015

They have played at different parts of the world such as:

Muse Expo in Los Angeles

Los Angeles , Austin (SXSW)

Toronto, Canada Music Week

They have played at these huge events such as:

28th SEA Games Opening and Closing

NDP 2015

Opening for The Script Live in Singapore

Celebrate 2013 and SG 50 Countdown

IGNITE! Music Festival 2013 and 2014

Style x Style Asia Style Collection

F1 Grand Prix 2014

(they will be performing at this year's F1 Grand Prix too!"

THEY  WERE AN MTVEMAs NOMINEE LAST YEAR

 

That one time I appeared on their instagram teehee

If you don't already,

Like them on Facebook- The Sam Willows

Subscribe to them on Youtube The Sam Willows

Follow them on Instagram and Twitter @thesamwillows

Their personal accounts: @narellekheng @benjaminkheng @sandrarileytang @jonchuajx

I love you willows xx The Sam Willows, To Super Wonders!

" WALK WITH YOUR MIND, RUN WITH YOUR HEART "

The Special One.

Today, I will be sharing about someone very special to me and one whom I hold very close to my heart. This woman is none other than the very sweet and very lovely, Christabel Chua aka Bellywellyjelly!

I'm sure you have seen her around on my social media platforms and you probably know her as the one on a series called PrettySmart on YouTube for The Smart Local. So with this said, I shall start from the very first time I met this woman.

24 January 2015 - InstaWalk By The Smart Local x MND and NParks

So The Smart Local conducted an InstaWalk for Instagram users with special Influencers Sandra Riley Tang (@sandrarileytang) from The Sam Willows, Munah Bagharib (@munahbagharib) from Munah and Hirzi as well as Christabel Chua (@bellywellyjelly) who is The Smart Local's very own video princess. This was the very day I met Christabel after seeing her on Sandra's instagram for the longest time. It was the very first time I actually met her and probably followed her only 2 days prior to the event. But this friendly woman remembered me after I commented "see you there" on her photo and she came over and gave me a hug after saying hi with the warmest smile I have ever seen. I wasn't in her group but seeing her from time to time when my group bumps into her group and I would see her wide smile and her fascination over nature. HER SMILE IS ADDICTIVE!

  

So after this day I would see her on social media and slowly got to know her better and talked to her more often through these platforms. The main one being Snapchat. This woman posts the FUNNIEST and CUTEST snaps!!

So this brings me to the next time I met this lovely one.

17 April 2015 - Tamp 1 Fashion Week

So on this day, it was my second day of Poly orientation and I had activities at Jalan Bersar Stadium and ended at 6pm and her event was supposedly supposed to be at 6pm. However, she was stuck in a jam so when I reached around 7, she was only halfway through her event. The super sweet and lovely and friendly woman recognized me and came over to talk to me during her break and we took loads of photos but I shall only upload some because I look really bad in the rest :P

Psst... did I mention  that she got sushi for me after she found out that I haven't eaten

So I shall put the next 3 times together because I met her 3 times in 6 days teehee

29 May 2015 - Met her at Cineleisure for her Maybelline event. This was a day that was too coincidental. Supposed to go down at 6pm because her event was supposed to be till 7pm but school ended early so I reached around 4pm on that day and thought why not I go over earlier to surprise her? Just nice, I saw her leaving and apparently her event had already ended and I was like WAHHHHHHH. After which I followed her to find food and she got me a really yummy cookie from Ben's Cookies! She then had to go back to the office to do work and we talked about life while waiting for her Uber to arrive. We didn't take any photos on this day.

31 May 2015 - She was at Cineleisure for her Maybelline event once again and was gonna give a girl a makeover. However I could not stay for long and had to be home so I only stayed for like 5 mins? But managed to get a few photos before I left xx

3 June 2015 - So Bel had a starbucks event at Plaza Singapura and I went over after my exam. As I was VERY early, I studied for like 3 hours before she came as I had another paper the next day.  This woman was putting army camo on her face on snapchat and I was laughing so much. So she finally arrived and as she had her own starbucks creation, the bellywelljelly frappe - green tea latte add raspberry and java chip less swee, I got it and IT IS DELISH. So after which she had to walk around  so I just sat at a corner with some friends chit chat. Of course we took photos together! xx

AND JOAL WAS THERE TOO

And also, Bel took a photo with me with her phone on that day so I asked her for it and she didn't reply me on twitter, instagram or snapchat which made me worried that she didn't like me anymore but apparently.......

SHE SAVED IT FOR MY BIRTHDAY ON 9 JUNE xx

(She wished me on insta too when I dedicated a post to her few minutes before the clock struck midnight to my birthday xx )

10 July 2015 - BioDerma Event at Raffles City

So I met this woman after not seeing her for a month and I finally got to do the ostrich face photo with her that she LOVES to do hahahah 

This woman really inspires me so much. The way she lives her life so cheerfully, the way she can be vulnerable to others, the way she always takes the effort to go the extra mile for people. These are the type of friends I never ever wanna lose. Thanks for always being there for me through the tough times, encouraging me and giving me advice when I really need it, always knowing what to say at the right time, always loving on me though I have so many flaws. I could never ask for any thing more. Thank you for creating so many beautiful memories for me xx Love you dear xx Continue doing what you do and pursuing your dreams! Can't wait to meet you again!

" What is life if you don't spread some joy and laughter around? "

School and life

Started Poly life in April 2015 this year and from past experiences, I knew that I had to change or I will forever be alone in life  I told myself that whatever my friends pointed out they didn't like, I'll change. I stopped being attached to people, I stopped being hyper all the time, I stopped shouting people's names from across the hallway. Everything was fine. I had a clique, I had friends, I lead the life I've always wanted with friends by my side. One fine day, everything just changed. What I loved and treasured most just disappeared. Since then, everything just went downhill. Broke down in school almost everyday, went from looking forward to the weekends to looking forward when school ended, was alone for breaks most of the time unless I bump into people from church or secondary school. Everything went from being the sweetest dream to my worst nightmare. That was when I realized that that was life. and the only other option I had? Was death. Many times death seemed liked the easier option, that I no longer had to go through so much pain anymore. But every time, I told myself I have to continue fighting, that I couldn't let those who still cared for me down. Especially now amidst the busy and stressful period of project submissions, presentations and the upcoming Semestral exams, where everything is so overwhelming, where life seems to be crumbling down. It is during these times that I have to carry on fighting and hold close the people I love and treasure, the words of encouragement and the advice to keep on keeping on.

"Never let anyone dull your sparkle"