An Overdue Rant

Well, hey there! Who are you again? Yeah, sorry guys, I know it's been a while, and to be perfectly honest, I have no excuse for you. But... here I am now, and I guess that's what counts, right?

(psst, stop lying yo)

Anyway, I am here today to give you a little... lift off. Houston, I'm here to solve your problems.

School has been... school. It's stupid because people are telling you that being a teenager is meant to be the best part of your life; it's meant to be the point in your life where you discover who you are, and what you want to do with the rest of it. But they never told us that it came with a price. How can you have a life if you're being pressured to get good grades? How can we live right now if we're being forced to think about the future at such a young age; an age which most of the older generation remember so differently.

Yes, I am sick of adults stereotyping us; saying that all kids drink, do drugs, don't pay attention in class or WHATEVER. But I'm also sick of people telling kids to grow up; why can't we just be kids for a little bit longer? I don't want to think about mortgages or taxes, I just wish I could think about the normal, 'teenagery' stuff.

And the worst part? Us teenagers are used to it. Everything we see and do goes towards our future. We are walking down a tunnel and only seeing the end of it; we aren't seeing the little exits along the side. We aren't seeing that happiness is more important than worrying about our future.

To be alive and to live are two completely different things. And, sadly, we cannot have both. This makes me angry; adults see us as being lazy and 'this isn't what it was like back in the day'. Well, you know what? Back in the day, with your hot pants and NSYNC merch, things were easier. Just because you were a teenager once does not mean in any way that being a teenager now is the same thing.

We've got it hard. And we've just got to deal with it.

(I have just realised that I didn't start this post with the intention of ranting. I meant to encourage you guys. Whoops. Should we start again?)

And now? Three weeks of freedom (except not really, cause revision... shhh) and I intend to live, and not just be alive. I am making the most of this holiday because it's the last one before exams.

My advice to you? Well, I've realised that this post is going everywhere, but here I am; about to give you advice...

If there's anything to take away from this post:

LIVE, DON'T JUST BE ALIVE.

I've said this loads today, but only because I mean it. I am sick of seeing no point in learning about competition in animals, or why 9 to the power 0 is 1 (Why? Just why?).

As I said, I am here to be your Houston. Your lift off. Whatever, anyway, that's not my point. My point is that we all work so hard, we are all expected to work so hard, and at the same time, we are expected to take on other responsibilities, being questioned by those older than us as if we are a different species.

I'm not saying school isn't important; because it is. And, sadly, without it, we're off to the land of nowhere. But I am saying that school isn't the most important thing that a teenager (or anyone, for that matter) needs to think about.

We're now in the Easter Holidays. And this long break is the perfect time to think about what is important to us. And please do NOT let it be school.

Another way of saying it:
To be alive is to have your lungs working.
To live is to feel something in your heart.

(Please breath, though. That's kind of important.)

Fly On, soon it will be over. I promise.

Luce xx

PS: The song for today is called Lose It by Oh Wonder. I've chosen it because I first heard it at 1am, and immediately I got up and started dancing. Yes: on my own. On my bed. In the dark. Shut up. Also, it is perfectly suited for today. In my opinion, it's just about forgetting everything and losing yourself in the moment. I hope I can do that.

PPS: Thank you so much for sticking by me! I'm so sorry for not updating!

PPPS: This is all going to be worth it. Seriously, I know that at the minute it probably seems like loads of work, too much homework and not enough free time. And I hate to say it, but it's probably not going to get a lot better in the next few years. But we can do everything in our power to make it worthwhile, and to make it as stress-free as possible. (Yes, Mum)

Honestly, though, you're doing so great. So it's okay to have a break once in a while. Please do.

So I listened to my feet, for once...

Hello!

So, I've now been off school for a week- but almost everyone else in the country broke up for the holidays yesterday.

What are you going to do with yourself? I always tell myself that I've got to do something new and exciting- and I try to stick to it.

Well, I discovered a new TV show- that's pretty exciting, right? It's called The 100 (you might have heard of it: maybe, maybe not...) and it is honestly the best thing ever...

Basically, there was a nuclear war on Earth, and all it's surviving habitants fleed into space- where they survived and reproduced on a huge spaceship called The Ark. Three generations later, they want to see if Earth is breathable and liveable. So, of course, they send 100 of it's teenage delinquents (they haven't really got a lot left to lose) to test the Earth out, in an attempt to redeem themselves of whatever crime they've committed. A lot happens from there, and you can only find out it you watch it...

Seriously, it's good!

Now, what I'm about to say might be slightly hypocritical, because I know that in the past, I've struggled to keep to this.

It's Christmas, you've got three weeks. In those three weeks, don't just sit about on your laptop with a blanket, eating popcorn and crying (which is exactly what I'm doing right now, might I add...)

Adventure is just around the corner, if you're willing to look for it.

Go out! Do things you'd never expect you'd do. Try something new. Make friends. Make memories.

Do something that you won't want to forget.

Tomorrow, I plan on doing something extraordinary.

Then I plan on adventure.

And then, who knows about that?

You do what you want to do, you go where it feels right to go. You smile. You laugh. You enjoy this holiday, because next year, I will be revising for my mock exams (ew)- and then?

Then my life is over.

Fly on, and let your heart follow your feet...

Luce xx

PS: I need to add to this.

I wrote this three weeks ago.

I didn't post it because I thought- let's see how one post can go in three weeks?

Let's see where my feet take me.

And boy, has it been an adventure...

I've been to lots of places, I've actually talked to people, I've done things I never would have last year.

For example, I've been to Edinburgh...

I've actually kept a conversation going with a complete stranger for more than two months...

I've been outside, I've smiled, I have done so much!

That's only a small part of it!

I actually lived. 

I haven't jumped off a cliff and survived, I haven't skinny dipped, I haven't made a pizza the size of my bedroom. I haven't done any of the wild and crazy things that you see in a movie or read in a book.

I did the little things. I survived. And, boy, I made memories I'm never going to forget.

Now it's New Year's Eve, and I've got approximately half an hour left to confess all my sins, or to appreciate what I've been through this year, or whatever cheesy things people always try to do.

I confess that I love food. I confess that I love sleep.

I confess that I can sometimes be a little awkward, a little selfish, a little moody, a little out of place.

I confess that a lot of the time, I don't even know what I'm doing.

(I confess that I have no idea where my confessions are going, just so you know...)

I confess that this year has been the best so far. I confess that this year, I've done things I never would have done this time last year. I confess that this year, I've jumped out of my comfort zone and I have done lots of new things (crazy things, yes, stupid things, yes- but they are all things, and these things I am proud of).

I confess that I don't want to let this go. Not just yet. And I confess that, I am more grateful for everything and everyone than I let on.

And God, whatever happens in 2016- I won't be ready for it, I know that for sure. But I'm going to go with it, because that's what Kanye would do.

(Looking back at this- yes, I am from the future- I realise that the Kanye thing might have been a silly thing to say, but, it's a new year- and the past is the past, my friend...)

So here's to good times, and to even better ones that are coming my way.

We're watching the Big Ben thing now. And now it's midnight (happy new year, by the way). I can hear the fireworks go off from outside- all of my neighbour's are celebrating (even though all of them are like 3 years old)

Literally all I can think is- this fireworks show's gone on forever, hasn't it? It lasted about fifteen minutes. And then when it's over, I stay up a little while after.

I think, I've got to do something this year. I've got to make something, or just something that will make me remember 2016.

And then I found Pinterest (the holy grail of amazing ideas that we try but they always end up looking like a run over hedgehog or something). So, the thing I'm going to do in 2016 is...

Every day, I'm going to take a picture. It can be of anything, it doesn't have to be of great importance. But then I'm going to put it together in a photo album and see everything in one place. The whole year in one book. It sounds weird, but I'm looking forward to it.

And ack, school is almost here, and then I have to face homework and tests again. But then again, I have 2016. I have literally the whole year ahead of me.

So enjoy it!

Fly on, you've got 365 days to do it...

Luce xx

Happy New Year, everyone.

Make mistakes!

(But don't forget to laugh about them...)