Why Looking For Your Dream Job Is Just Not Enough…

Ever since I’ve started this blog (back in 2011!), I’ve openly written that my dream job was to be a writer. At first, I meant fiction writer, but as adulthood and the realities of the real world sank in, I diverted to becoming a freelance writer.

Being a freelance writer was not too bad. But at the end of the day, I was like: ‘is that it?’

Is this what ‘living the dream’ meant?

It was exciting to finally get paid to write, yes, but there was nothing more to it. So I started questioning myself: was being a writer really my dream job? Was this what I wanted to do for the rest of my life? The answer arose almost immediately: no.

That was when I decided to ‘change career paths’ and divert to digital marketing. However, my previous freelance work kept attracting companies and writing opportunities, so I ended up merging both my interest in marketing and my content writing skills.

2 Key Habits of Mental Health Counselors that We All Need to Put into Practice

On the 10th September, we are reminded that a person dies of suicide every 40 seconds, commemorating World Suicide Prevention Day.

On the 10th October, we will be reminded that mental health issues are a part of reality and we need to be aware of them, not take them lightly. It will be World Mental Health Day.

On the 3rd September, my friends and I, as our school’s Mental Health Ambassadors, attended a Suicide Prevention workshop, organized by Befrienders, a Malaysian NGO and helpline that offers emotional support and promotes psychological well-being.

As a psychology undergrad student, the topics surrounding suicide, depression, anxiety and the likes were nothing new to me. As one trained in mental health first aid, immediate interventions regarding psychological distress were also not novelties. As a current mental health counselling student (taking it as an elective this very semester), the workshop was more of a refreshing aspect than anything else. Yet.

Yet, this workshop still made a significant difference in my perspectives regarding mental health awareness.

On The Will To Get Out Of Bed

You’d be walking by the road and chatting with your friends, when suddenly an unstoppable force would pull you out in a blurred mixture of melting colours, as you hear a weirdly familiar melody becoming louder and louder…

And the next thing you know, you are in bed, with your morning alarm ringing next to your ears. You feel the brightness of your phone’s screen glaring back at you as you struggle to move your arms and fingers to swipe and shut that noise down. The realisation of the beginning of day dawns on you as you think of the first few things you have to do this morning.

Another fifteen minutes, you say. You’ve set up more than one alarm. It’ll be easier to wake you up the second time.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

It is not because it is a social media ‘trend’. It is not because of the work overload. It is not because of the exhaustion that comes along with working. It is not because of the discouraging pile of paperwork to complete.

We procrastinate because we are tired of life pulling us to every part. Tired of the increasing speed and rush of our daily lives. We yearn to rest our body and soul, for at least one minute, but no. Since the advancement of the internet and a 24h trend to be available, we have not stopped for a second. We have not stopped to sleep or to breathe properly.

We procrastinate because we are scared. Afraid. Terrified.

Motivation Monday | Making Time for Personal Hobbies

Did I just make ‘Motivation Monday’ a weekly blog post series? Still thinking about it.

This is just going to be a quick tip for everyone who is as busy as me, whether it’s because of work, school or family, and have happened to just lose control over their time management and over their professional/personal life balance.

Aside from my workout morning routine, I have also set a kind of evening routine for myself. Since the beginning of the semester, at the start of this month, I have found myself to be caught up in my university schedule and studies, and extra-curricular activity. In fact, those who follow me on Goodreads might have noticed a sudden drop of activity.

I had stopped reading.

Motivation Monday | Together We Fitness

*I have no idea whether ‘Motivation Monday’ will become a weekly/fortnight thing or a one time thing, but I couldn’t resist making that alliteration.*

Malaysia has been very hard on my health in the past weeks (weather, school, activities, living on my own… who knows why) and thus one of the things I started to do was to be more conscious of my fitness levels and on how to stay fit. In almost 21 years, I have never been focused on fitness, or the importance of sports/working out for instance, until now.

A lot of my friends, local and abroad, go to the gym regularly and although I am lucky to have access to a free gym at school (or if it’s not good enough, I can even go to the paid one next to my apartment) I’ve never been interested in doing so. I am still not interested, but this is mainly because I am always shy when it comes to starting something new and foreign to me, and also because I do tend to be intimidated by the various machinery that I wouldn’t know how to handle. However, lately, my room has become my little gym place. I even bought a yoga/fitness mat!

Wrong Major, Right Path

I figured that university was probably not for me. But I kept going, because it was not about classes and grades anymore, but about that sense of belonging among your peers, the community that makes the institution truly alive in the first place.

People have told me several times that I’m good at academia. But I chose not to go with it. I did not enjoy it as much as getting my hands dirty. Academia is too lonely for me. I enjoy teamwork and concrete projects, though I did not know that side of mine before I had actually experienced it.

In the end, I’m left doing a degree I have no real passion for; I have no idea what I am going to do after this, but at the same time, I know exactly what I am going to do after this. Taking a right turn, not looking back. The trip is set.

As the year 2015 is ending, I’ve been giving a lot of thoughts about my future and this is what I am at now. It’s all even more blur and unstable than before. Yet, I have grown to know myself more, my needs, my happiness triggers. All of me never stay the same and that is, I believe, the beauty of what makes us human: we are full of possibilities; we change because nothing is ever fixed and it is those uncertainties that are closer to the truth of who we are.

On that note, merry Christmas and happy new year 2016!

An Evil Nymph.

P.S.: Also partly published in my Dayre: dayre.me/dkwaye

“How To Be A Gentleman”

LOL I’m sorry but I could not NOT post this with a post title like that!

Okay, the remaining content of this post is actually serious and if you cannot stand crazy feminists, I strongly recommend you NOT to read any further. Don’t complain. I warned you.

Today, I want to address a particular concern of mine that I’ve been thinking about for a while now. That of gentlemanliness (I had no idea that this word existed until now!) in our present time.

Can You Really Be Happy?

By the title, I mean, can you be happy for 100 days in a row?? 🙂 Yes, most of you already know what I’m going to talk about in this post and what has been going on in my life recently while I was away from the blogging world (my most sincere apologies for that!!!), which is the #100happydays challenge!

The challenge is to post a picture everyday for 100 consecutive days online on any social media platform of my choice (I chose Instagram!) showing the little things that makes me happy. The main goal is to make people realise that happiness is not a destination, but a lifestyle 🙂

Thus, I decide to share my first 14 days in the challenge here:

 

 

On Making The Right Decision

Today I dreamt I had to sit for an exams… although I felt in holidays… so I had to learn poems. Not exactly related to the subject of this post but… it was scary!

Well maybe it is slightly related as the ‘right decision’ for me at the moment is all about education! After all, I just finished my A-levels and now I have to decide which course I want to study and which university I’d like to apply to.

For an 18 year old like me, these decisions are scary… since they feel to be life changing! Especially that I know I’m so whimsical concerning my future! I’ve always had many dreams, including the one of becoming a bestselling author which never fades away…

A Bunny Rant About Google+ & YouTube “Just Married”

*I was thinking about vlogging about this because it is mainly on the changes YouTube has been undergoing lately, but I’m still in exams and blogging about it is much easier and less time consuming. With that said…*

When I first integrated myself in the YouTube community it was for the sole purpose of watching piano tutorials and covers of my favourite songs because at that time I was self-teaching myself how to play the piano. It was in 2009. I was only 13-14 years old then. Afterwards, after one year, I started making video montages with my favourite TV series at that time: Merlin, and as most of you know my vidding channel was born.

I remember how at that time my YouTube channel was so customizable with the transparency option especially, with which I could thankfully put up a favourite wallpaper of mine to serve as my channel’s background image. I remember how a YouTube channel back then was like a… profile page, with friends as well as subscribers and channel groups and more.

But YouTube’s format gradually changed as the years passed… until we came to the current channel format: less customizable, more professional, which led to a kind of a division between the content creators and the viewers… when in truth we are all equal, and creators are viewers as well as vice versa.

10 Ways To Get Over… Just Anything At All!

Are you having a bad day?

Did you just break up?

Did you just realise that your crush and you are never going to be?

Did you spend hours on the same piece of art or writing, painting or drawing or typing or scribbling over and over again without getting the result you wanted?

Are you frustrated with life right now?

I know exactly how you feel, and that’s why I’ve been trying to find ways to cheer me up and one of the ways was to make this video for you! 🙂 Here:

Hope you liked my 10 ways to get over anything at all, and had a good laugh, because the real point of all these crazy things I dared to do in front of a camera is to make you have a good time for a few minutes, so that you’ll stop thinking or overthinking about your problems.

But eventually you have to go back to them. Well doesn’t matter, you’ve been entertained, and hopefully now you are more relaxed and alert to start working again and deliver good work or mainly start living again and deliver positive vibes all around you! 🙂 Believe me, people need these vibes as much as you.

Any more tips you’d like to share on how to get over it? It like anything at all? Comment below!

An Evil Nymph.

Life, I’m Scared.

My first ‘serious’ vlog:

I hope it doesn’t make you cry, although if you did cry it means I did a great job 🙂

Anyway, this is basically some reflections on my life situation, where I’ve recently realised that I wanted to pursue art as a career while writing will remain my favourite hobby. And it’s also about my struggle to be accepted as an art student, since many do not agree with my decision, many don’t believe in me, many think that I’ll just end up in the streets instead of having a stable job.

But I don’t believe that. I believe in me. I know I can do this.

I know it’s so sudden and since I didn’t do Art & Design at school I have to do it privately and sit for its A-level next year, thus I’ll still be studying next year instead of going to university.

It’s a risk, I know, but I’m ready to take it. It’s all about follow my dreams and listening to my heart because only my heart knows what makes me happy.

And art does.

That’s the advice I want to give you: it’s okay to be scared, but you should go forward along your heart’s desires anyway.

An Evil Nymph.

“Please Accept Me As I Am”

This is an article that I had written for my school’s School Magazine 2012/13. Now that the magazine is officially and finally published and out there, I think that it’s then eventually all right to at last share with you what I wrote. Hope you like it! Don’t forget to share your views as well in the comment box below 🙂

***

   “I won’t have a gay son.”

   “Then, mom, you don’t have a son.”

   “Fine.”

 

   In the award-winning television film, Prayers for Bobby, Bobby Griffith decided to end his life because he could not live with the guilt of being homosexual. Although he had gone to live on his own with an understanding cousin and his caring boyfriend, he could no longer bear it. He could not live while knowing that his mother did not accept him as he was.

   This film is based on a true story.