Life Lessons #1: Just Keep Swimming

I'm a huge believer in learning as many things from life as I can. Any negative situation I'm thrown into I almost always turn it into a positive.

Recently I went rollerblading with my friends and I've never really been so I didn't know what I was doing. I went whizzing round the rink keeping up with friends. Within the first 15 minutes I'd already fallen over 5 times. I fell and got a massive bruise/lump on my knee (which is still there!) and then smashed my nose on the floor. I got a small bruise from that as well. I'd also fallen on my arse a number of times so that kind of hurt! I was basically in so much pain and we were going to be there for another 3-4hours! I didn't think I wanted to keep going because of the pain I thought I'd have to go through again. I knew that I'd get bored just sitting there while my friends had fun.

 But I continued. I got up, wiped my tears and rolled at my own pace. I took things slowly even though I wasn't with my friends. I eventually got the hang of it and didn't fall over. I will admit I did have a small tumble though and I crashed into some random chick :)

The point I'm trying to make is to try and take your experiences and turn them into a lesson. In a metaphorical term, my skating was like life. If you take things at everyone else's pace, you won't be able to keep up and get hurt along the way. If you get knocked down, don't give up. Get up, wipe off the dust and continue, even if it means leaving people behind. Even if you stop, the world won't; it'll continue. Don't waste your life because you'll regret it later.

xxx

HOW TO: Fit In

Some of you will know what it's like to move somewhere and how difficult it can be to fit in or find friends. Your experience will differ depending on the type of person you are. If you are one of these people who finds friends in a flash, lucky you and that's not a bad thing., although some people won't have this "skill" and find it more difficult to do so. I don't find it difficult but I do know what it feels like to be in a place surrounded by people who have friends and you're there like a loner.

I thought I'd give some pointers on how to go about adjusting to a new place/area, more so in a community such as a club, school etc.

1. Smile. Just smile. Or at least put on a  friendly and welcoming face. If a person see's you're happy, they might want to talk to you more because you're giving off positive vibes.

2. Expectations. Don't expect the first person who talks to you to be your friend. This may happen, I'm not saying it can't, but don't have the expectation that they'll be you BBF just because they said hi. They may just be being polite, and of course there's nothing wrong with that.

3. Be yourself. There's only one of you in the world so don't change yourself just so people will accept you. Also you are your own biggest critic. Things that you may not favour about yourself other people may love, so don't change just to fit in. It'll be difficult to keep up and you won't feel right in your own skin.

4. Have patience. Just because people don't run up to you the minute you get to school or wherever doesn't mean you won't make friends at all. I made friends on the first day and was still making new ones the following few weeks.

5. Get involved. If you stand on the sidelines, you won't be noticed. If you get involved in classes, games, sport etc, you'll find you enjoy yourself, and especially if someone shares the same interests as you they may want to talk.

There's no wrong or right way about making friends. Like I said, your experience will differ depending on who you are, what sort of a place you're in and the type of people surrounding you. You may find it hard to make friends and if so, don't blame yourself. You may find that it's everyone else, not you, so don't get too down.

You don't have to follow what I've said, they're just pointers. If you've got anything to add, I'd love to hear it

:)

xxx