A letter to 26 year old me | 2018

Dear 26-year-old, Jade.

I'm writing you this sat at my dining table, after having a horrible day. I'm hoping you're smiling reading this and embracing the fact that you're happier than ever, without a care in the world.

How are you? I hope you're well. I hope your depression and anxiety is very minimal now you've moved on with life. If not, don't worry - you'll get there. You went through years of hell, you deserve to be happy and I'm pretty positive this is the case. I've always had faith that you'd find happiness, especially throughout the darkest days. Life has a funny way of testing you doesn't it?

I bet you got that job you wanted/dreamt about, making the big numbers and kicking ass every day showing people how great you are. Don't forget how much you've grown in the last three years, there's still a lot of work to do, of course. Just promise me this; Never lose sight of happiness or your dreams. Don't let anyone take away your smile & certainly don't take shit from shitty employers, that is in the past!

Pretty sure you're at your peak in life, whatever road you're currently down. It's exciting thinking about the future and what it holds. I have high hopes for you, Jade. Strive to be the best at everything you do and never settle for anything less.

26 eh? blimey, that went fast. I couldn't be more proud of where you are now. You've handled life better than I thought you would and I'm so proud.

What's next for you? I'd love to hear what 26-year-old Jade is doing and how she is.
Can't wait to hear from you.

Love always,
23-Year-old, Jade xxx

New Year, New Resolutions

Happy New Year!

Wow, that's Christmas put to bed for another year, Welcome 2018! Well and truly baffled at how quick time is just slipping away. Oh well. Another year full of goals, memories, journeys, and happiness. So exciting to say the least, I wanted to share some of my resolutions. I did one last year and I shocked myself with how much I achieved.

• Be more positive - Getting inside your own head is not a nice feeling. I struggle to stay positive with simple situations so achieving this resolution is #1 on my list.

• Get Professional Help For My Mental Health - Don't want to go too much into this topic as it's quite tender and fresh cut at the moment, but at some point, I want to seek professional help when it comes to my mental health. More so, for strategies to learn whenever I feel anxious, depressed or not myself. 

• Set More Goals - This is something I say will happen but never does. I am my own worst enemy at times which sometimes holds me back. I want to achieve more goals that I set and do more exciting, new and spontaneous things throughout 2018. 

• Say Yes More - Being too scared to say yes to more things soon catches up with you. 2017 I didn't take risks to say yes, I said no instead. For 2018, I want that to change to be able to go for a night out, or on a coffee morning with the girls, shopping and not feeling guilty, spending time with family/friends and taking more opportunities by the hands and just do big things.

• Find myself - Sometime's I don't even know who I am, or what I'm here for. Throughout this year I want to find that sense of security of knowing who I am and what my purpose is. Here's to the crazy adventure! 

Those are my resolutions for this year, nice and simple. When I first wrote it, it appeared I had more things I wanted to achieve to say I've done rather than develop on the things nobody talks about. Well, that's going to change. Stay tuned. 

Thanks for reading!

Find me here: 

Instagram: @jaydeekelly 

Twitter: @crashl0nelystar 

xo

5 ways to overcome a tough day

Photo Credit: Jaydee Kelly (me)

What do you consider a hard day? How do you unwind?

These are the questions I ask myself when I have had an unsettling day. Whether that's at work, shopping or spending the day at home. A hard day can also just be suffering from mental health which happened to me quite a lot in the last couple of months. 

1. Step away from social media

Whether you're watching Snapchat stories, reading on Twitter/Facebook or scrolling endlessly on Instagram, put your phone down and step away from any aspect of social media. I recently found myself on social media after a hard day and all I did was tear myself apart, comparing my "crap" life to other people's and to be honest, it's just not worth it. Nobodies life is perfect and social media is a false representation of what people live like. So step back, put your phone or laptop away and find other ways to focus your mind. 

2. Listen to your favourite music 

A song that has really helped make a hard day more bearable is Move you by Kelly Clarkson as the lyrics are just... comforting. As sad as the song is when you're singing you just forget everything. This song has helped me recently through the transition of leaving a job which destroyed me as a person, took away the excitement from my life and just drained me mentally. My boyfriend introduced me to this song & now I am obsessed. Highly recommend it to anyone who is finding it difficult to unwind after a tough day.

3. Read a book 

The best books to read are the ones you can get lost in, those that leave you in awe. I am a HUGE Nicholas Sparks fan and his writing just makes me feel so happy especially dealing with a difficult day. One of my all-time favourites is "A walk to remember" - read it and you'll see why :) 

4. Take a very long shower/bath

Washing the stress you feel away is the best feeling in the world. Spend those extra 10 minutes washing your hair, or singing so badly your housemates/neighbours bang on the walls to shout "shut up" to you, give yourself a nice soak in the bath and throw as many bath bombs in as you can. Just have that time to bring yourself back to normality and relax. 

5. Write it all down 

If you have a journal, great... write in it. Or if you have a blog, then write it down. Personally, I put all my stresses into scriptwriting. I turn my "hard day" into a story and expand on it for the characters I have created. I explore my creative side and use it to my advantage to make myself feel better & to dramatise some plots for my scripts. It's definitely a good way to focus your mind creatively and to spend time doing something you love. 

Thanks for reading!

Find me here: 

Instagram: @jaydeekelly 

Twitter: @crashl0nelystar 

xo

Monthly Goals for May 2017

Hola, everyone!

After being given a second weekend off for a bit of annual leave, it got me thinking what I wanted to achieve throughout May. I have had many goals this year and I won't lie, I have achieved quite a lot since my New Year's resolutions post. So this is more for motivation for myself and for other's who are wanting a little push to achieve their goals. 

1. Pass my theory test 

So I have been doing my lessons for quite some time & have massively put off my theory test as I wanted to get close to the end. Now it's near the end, approaching my test but unfortunately, I can't move forward with that until I pass my theory... After revising non-stop and it's given me a highway headache ha, jokes aside, hopefully on tuesday I can book in and finally pass in order to move onto the bigger and more scary test to actually get me out on the road. 

2. Have my operation 

This is indeed for medical reasoning - two years ago during the beginning of my third year at University I fell downstairs and smashed my face into a brick wall, therefore resulting in a badly broken nose (ouch, I know). After the last two months of having it rescheduled I have managed to ask to see a doctor who will then hopefully refer me for a "under the knife" surgery. I will more than likely post my experience of this in a few weeks!

3. Flat Hunt & Move out my shared house

Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed the majority of my time living in a shared property but I feel as if I'm ready to get my own place. Whether it's on my own or with my boyfriend, right now I just need to call somewhere home without feeling like I'm going to murder someone for being a disturbance... ha!

4. Manage my finances properly 

I have struggled for months, if not years with budgeting. So add paying bills to the mix, it more or less gets you down. Paying £400+ for a room in a shared house, actually sucks. I feel as if I never have any money left to do something for myself - or I've got so used to saving it and became tightfisted. So I've promised myself to get ontop of my finances, even if it leaves me with nothing each week, it'll be a massive weight off my shoulders for sure. 

5. Cook more - Eat out less

Eating out is great, I love trying new places. However, when it's making you feel guilty for spending money you should be saving, gaining weight and getting bored - it's time to break out and start trying to eat smarter and leaner at home. That is a big aim of mine to succeed with, as I do miss cooking and get more in shape. 

6. Have more "me" time 

I don't have much "me" time anymore as I love spending time with my friends and boyfriend. When I'm not with them, I'm at work looking after everyone there. I've recently been through a really difficult time and my depression played a huge part of it. But after having time to think about it, there's not been much time where I've spent a day alone, getting things done and enjoying my own company so I definitely need to make more time in order to do that. 

7. Exercise / Yoga 

Week by week I've said to myself "i'll start tomorrow" or do 6 days working out then I stop for a total of two weeks. I lack in motivation to help myself feel confident and look after my body properly. Don't get me wrong I have finally started shaping up and losing a few lbs here and there, but I want to keep it persistent as body confidence has a huge grind on my anxiety. Anyone who struggles with anxiety or body confidence issues will understand where I'm coming from, it's difficult. But it's a goal of mine to keep striving to do the best I can to feel happy within myself as well as my body. 

What are YOUR monthly goals??

Thanks for reading!

Find me here: 

Instagram: @jaydeekelly 

Twitter: @crashl0nelystar 

xo

The photo above is from twitter, 
all rights are issued to the owner. 
Writing added via befunky.com

Top 10 New Year Resolutions | 2017

Hiya everyone!
Long time no post... Firstly, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! :) I have been quite absent recently over the last two months and I feel like due to being so busy I have neglected my blog, but now I am focused and ready for what this year will be like.  So, I tried this New year's resolution thing last year and the year before that etc. and I have neve really had any serious goals that I wanted to achieve whilst studying at University, so entering this new year I have been going crazy to share these resolutions/goals that I want to achieve this year. 

1) Be happy
Over the last two years I have been learning who I am, why I used to feel like I did, why people would leave, Why I was like I was... etc. & I realised that I just wasn't happy. With myself, or what I studied/where I lived and so on. THIS YEAR that changes, for the better. My biggest goal for this year is to be happy. Happy with my body shape, my personality, my interests, my job, academic career, relationships/friendships etc. You get the point. All I want is a good year full of positivity and happiness so I will be making that my top goal for sure!! :)

2) Post on my blog more
I am so guilty of neglecting my blog once or twice... oops. If you check what I've posted in the past, you'll see I didn't really post much last year due to personal issues, but when I did they were super long haha. I want to be posting more content based on lifestyle, health and fitness, beauty, fashion etc. Although I don't really know much about beauty or fashion, I want to collaborate with awesome brands and try new things.
I also want to update my photo quality for this blog and maybe move onto posting video's for a haul to describe what I want to say better... there's just so much but for now, I want to concentrate on my blog and even create a new layout for it to make it cosier.

3) Take 2 whole days a week off Social Media
I have already gone 3 weeks without my Facebook account as I deleted that. Long story short, people were getting extremely annoying by posting rubbish for attention or acting like they're a politician or "facebook famous", like I'm sorry but those types of people are the worst. I removed myself from the website and I couldn't be happier! I feel more at peace without it for sure.
I decided on this resolution to just relax and have more "me time" as it's a good way for the brain to stay healthy without being stunned by a phone/tablet/laptop light. & It helps you sleep better which makes you feel more relaxed and happier the next morning! 

4) Graduate University 
So I didn't have the best final year at University, I tried my absolute best and my tutors marked me down for whatever their reasoning was, which led into a resit and my University didn't allow me to walk the stage in my September graduation due to my results "not being released" BUT... got released the day after my actual graduation, so my anger towards that was the highest it's been as I felt it was unfair. Which it was, but I'll discuss that at a later date. So that's why I'm graduating on 18th January 2017, but I'm glad I still get to walk across stage and collect my degree paper thingy ha! Happy ending in the long run :) 

5) Travel 
I've never travelled abroad, so I need to change that as soon as my passport arrives. My family couldn't afford it, but we still went away in summer, which is just as good right? :) 

6) Lose Weight 
This for me is a personal matter, which I will discuss in the near future within a separate post BUT I just feel like I need to get my health back on track, tone up my body, eat the correct foods and then lose the extra weight that is tied to me. It's not because of the society we live in as I don't let it define me. Like I say it's for more personal reasoning. 

7) Pass my driving test & buy a car 
Everyone's dream right? I started my lessons at 19, I went to university which revoked the chances of my lessons taking place. It was on/off since 2013 until late 2014 and I just wasn't confident. I began again last year (2016) and now I'm so close to finishing which is UNREAL. I've achieved so much within my driving lessons such as; A relay drive for Children in Need & A two hour drive to Sheffield and back (excluding motorway) which is close to where I live. So happy I had the opportunity to do that :) 

8) Read more books 
I think it's important to read, no matter what it is. I say that because it helps relax you, gives you some enjoyment in losing yourself in someone else's story and lets you escape real life for a while. Which is great :) 

9) Do more activities 
My aim with this is to either do Tough Mudder which takes place throughout the UK, take part in The Great Northern run etc. It's keeping active, healthy and in shape whilst achieving something great, raising money for the less fortunate.

10) Get my Mental Health better
It's not been the best over the last few years and It stops me from so so much! This should be at the top of my list but oh well. I just feel as soon as my head is in a better place and I ain't feeling like I do, I'll find my happiness :) That's a big step for this year and I'm excited to see a difference :) 

So there are my top 10, I have waaaaaay more but I'll be here all day, writing a very long post. Let me know if you have the same or similar resolutions as I'd love to hear some. :) 

Find me here:

Twitter: @Crashl0nelystar 

Instagram: @jaydeekelly 

xo