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Like a Second Chance

Whether you are a very religious person or not, I think Easter should be a time for change, remembrance, hope- all those feelings and thoughts we tend to pack away and not give enough attention to in day-to-day life.
Of course it's easy for me to say that right now, when the sun is streaming in the window, the birds are chirping outside, and my stomach is pleasantly chocolatey (yes, already - oops!), and I realise that the world can't always seem as lovely as it does right now.

But please today, however you are feeling,  if you just do one thing - whether you're in with Easter for the faith or just the tasty goodies - please be thankful.
Be thankful for those people around you who are happy to see you, and you them. For the weather outside which keeps everything alive and the flowers blooming.

Go for a walk and appreciate the lambs skipping in the fields or the daffodils by the side of the road. Be thankful for your body which can allow you to do things like walk and see and smell (even if it maybe does enjoy those sugary treats a bit much!) and for your mind too, which is able to imagine and take in such great and beautiful things.

Bake a cake...

Lie in the sun...

Read a poem... 
perhaps starting with this one, which is my Mum's all time favourite, and understandably so!

("I wandered lonely as a cloud" by William Wordsworth)

Most of all?
Put on those springtime rose-tinted glasses and enjoy life for what it is...

No matter how you woke up this Easter morning, make this like a second chance, in every sense of the term. Smile, laugh, be grateful.
I hope everybody has a truly wonderful day!

x

The Commonwealth Melting Pot

It is in the young people of today where the best friendships are made, the most resonant lessons learned, and the future moulded. Now, Glasgow is taking this natural part of life and turning it into something prosperous, innovative, and hugely enjoyable for the Commonwealth - Future News 2014. As one of the 120 lucky enough to partake in such an opportunity, I must say that the natural way to describe these past few days is with the written word.

As a girl from a sleepy village near the Scottish borders, being approached by a bubbly personality from Jamaica or Pakistan, is not something I am used to in the slightest, more accustomed to passing a rogue farm animal in the road than any form of city hustle and bustle. However, I have learned that here in the Mitchell library, anything can happen.

Pushed to talking to strangers despite any former nerves or timidity, we quickly settled in, realising that, here, we are not thought at all strange for wanting to be a journalist, broadcaster, or presenter, but celebrated! Because of Future News we have talked to people we never would have otherwise; learned the ins and outs of the industry from its greats; even had a go ourselves at publishing the type of content we aspire to create in the future (whatever that may be).

At first, I may have cynically seen plucking over 100 young adults from various points across the globe and expecting them to get along as a bit far-fetched. Now, I can see the genius of the whole concept. It turns out that a thread of common interest, no matter how blurred, is enough to form the kind of bond not easily forgotten by anyone - creating the true 'melting pot'.

It seems the young people have done it again! We have done it again: shown that we are indeed the future; capable, teachable, and raring to get ahead. Although 2014 is just the first Future News Conference, I hope it will not be the last, and that the Commonwealth Games, and the reporting they inspire, will leave behind a legacy to be enjoyed by generations to come.

"They lived and laughed and loved and left"...

So, in an event which I looked forward to for weeks and weeks, and which then flashed by me in what felt like minutes, we recently went to Dublin for a weekend. Our excuse? That it was Mum's 50th birthday, we wanted to do something nice, my prelims had just finished and we all deserved a little break. In reality, I think we just wanted to do something regardless of occasion, and getting out of our small same-ish house and village and part of the world, was certainly called for.

Having only flown once before, the excitement of getting in a plane to go somewhere we could just as easily have driven, could not be downplayed. Of course, the flight was so short that we had barely sat down and I had read but a page or two of my trashy magazine before we were being told to prepare for landing again, but it still tickled pink that 5 year old hidden inside me!

Plus, despite it being a typically 'dreich' day, I couldn't help but think that it was quite a lovely landscape to be looking down on from miles high in the sky, with fields upon fields upon fields, and clear grey sea.





The first night was one for a little bit of exploring, tired from the day of travelling and hanging around and getting a little too excited about getting to miss a day of school to go on our little adventure. Naturally, the skies opened the minute we were on solid, Dubliner's land, and we were soaked to the skin, resorting to running down O'Connell Street, tucking my camera inside my jacket on the rare moments I didn't see something I wanted to capture.

I fell in love with the beautiful columns on all the old buildings, not to mention the various statues of revolutionaries, and the vast open street;  taxis zooming up and down it endlessly. There were flags everywhere, and well trimmed trees which just made the place feel so grand and well looked after - Dublin looked so proud to be itself! Plus, everything looks better when laid against a stormy backdrop, the sun struggling with all its might to make an appearance.

Unfortunately, as it was getting late, the night simply consisted of some "Irish" food in the end, a simple trick to satisfy grumbling tums as well as sodden clothes and chattering teeth.

The next day was a slightly better affair as far as weather was concerned, and we set about walking till we dropped, making the most of the beautiful city on tired feet.

I can't say we actually did very much, but really it was perfectly pleasant to just wander and absorb it all.

I never realised before we went what a hive of literary genius Dublin was, but everywhere we turned there was some writer or other, or another fascinating aspect of culture. James Joyce's death mask in a Wee Dublin Museum, a whole exhibition dedicated to U2, and of course seeing Oscar Wilde just hanging out in the park...

Plus an abundance of quotes, each one a beacon of some kind of hope or strength or humour.
Oh, words, wonderful words.








Later on, when it began to get dusky and the mood got just that bit too tired for things to be fun anymore, Temple Bar and its assortment of eateries was the perfect place to turn to.

Then came Sunday; the day of rest, homecoming, tired eyes, minds... and a perfect wash-of-blue sky to bid us farewell as we strolled along the river to wile away our last few hours in the city.

 We saw plenty of innovative architecture, namely banks and offices, covered in glimmering blue glass.

The famine memorial, having just learned about this heartbreaking period of history, was slightly eerie and disconcerting, entirely at odds with it's location, but it was captivating and made us remember, in that moment, the many who perished all those years ago.


And then, after our short break, it was goodbye Dublin, and home we went. As a city it is somewhere I would love to revisit when I am older and can more truly appreciate the history and beauty of it, as well as the busier side we didn't get to see. If nothing else, our visit has left me with an overwhelming urge to delve into the world of the literature which originated and was exposed to me there, and reading something by James Joyce is officially on my bucket list! When he wrote such words as these, who could not want just that?...

And I think I will leave you with that, for how could I follow it?

x