Thoughts from the hippie..

Exams are OVER! As much as I did try my hardest studying for chemistry, I still think I failed the exam which means I would of failed the subject :( But my other three final exams went really well, definitely happy with them. I guess I just have to wait and see obviously.

Today I'm leaving for Arusha, Tanzania and I'm feeling a mix of nervousness and excitement all at once! I've always been so intrigued by Africa so to finally be able to visit there, even just for three weeks is a dream come true. I can't wait to be completely out of my comfort zone, trying to make the most of each moment and have every experience I possibly can have. Hopefully I'll try to do a blog post while I'm over there, but for now I'll leave you all with a quote that's short and sweet...

 The sun doesn't set for a wild heart.

Thoughts from the hippie...

Thoughts from the hippie...

This week is the first week of SWOTVAC... the week before exam block where there are no lectures, no tutes, just study. Generally I'm pretty good with my study in this week although thinking back on previous SWOTVACs I probably haven't applied myself as much as I could have. This time though, it's different. This week is going to be hibernation study week for chemistry. I'm currently failing this subject right now so I do need a lot more than a pass for this subject. The thought of failing a subject actually terrifies me a little, especially the thought of failing chemistry. But I must remember it's not the end of the world if I do fail, I just have to do it again in semester one 2013, and it won't take any longer to do my degree. Who knows, if I do fail maybe there's some lesson to be learnt for me. I don't know, but I do have a good feeling that this week I will go study nuts. I'll update next Sunday to see just how much I committed myself to study. I really have no excuses, I'm not working all week (except Saturday night), I have no other commitments, just study! I must remember this isn't going to kill me, studying all the time is only for three weeks and that's it, three weeks and I'm free of this semester. I'm also scared of telling people that I failed, I feel like because I've spent so long figuring out what degree I actually want to do, I should be coasting by getting it done as quickly as I can. I think I will be fine studying for my other three subjects, it's mainly just chemistry I'm terrified of. All in all, this is a bit of a useless post, it's more just for me to be accountable to myself, telling myself this is what I'm going to do, this is what needs to be done, it's not forever, no excuses.

Thoughts from the hippie...

"She loved life and it loved her right back
celebrate her passion
She listened to her heart above all other voices
celebrate her wisdom
She pursued big dreams instead of small realities
celebrate her priorities
She saw every ending as a new beginning
celebrate her resiliency
She discovered real measurements had nothing to do with numbers or statistics
celebrate her self-esteem
She was kind loving and patient...with herself
celebrate her tenderness
She woke up one day and threw away all her excuses
celebrate her accountability
She realized that she was missing a great deal by being sensible
celebrate her spirit
She turned her cant's into cans and her dreams into plans
celebrate her goals
She ignored people who said it couldnt be done
celebrate her independence
She had a way of turning obstacles into opportunities
celebrate her magic
She went out on a limb had it break behind her and she discovered she could fly
celebrate her faith
She discovered that she was the one she'd been waiting for
celebrate her self reliance
She added so much beauty to being human
celebrate her presence
She walked in when everyone else walked out
celebrate her friendship
She just had this way of brightening the day
celebrate her radiance
She made the whole world feel like home
celebrate her warmth
She decided to enjoy more and endure less
celebrate her choices
She decided to start living the life she'd imagined
celebrate her freedom
She coloured her thoughts with only the brightest colours
celebrate her optimism
She was an artist and her life was her canvas
celebrate her brillance
She ran ahead where there were no paths
celebrate her bravery
She crossed borders recklessly, refusing to recognise limits, saying bon jour and buon giorno as though she owned both France and Italy and the day itself
celebrate her joie de vivre
She held her head high and looked the world straight in the eye
celebrate her strength
She not only saw a light at the end of the tunnel she became that light for others
celebrate her compassion
She designed a life she loved
celebrate her joy
She took the leap and built her wings on the way down
celebrate her daring
She said bye-bye to unhealthy relationships
celebrate her happiness
She remained true to herself
celebrate her authenticity
She made the world a better place
celebrate her" - Unknown

Thoughts from the hippie...

This image very much came into my mind today as myself and three close friends climbed up to the summit of Mt Tibrogarban. This climb was so much harder than Mt Warning, it's insane, I think it's because when you're climbing up the rocks to get to the top of Mt Warning you at least have a chain to hold on but at Mt Tibrogarban if you want to do the climb to the top, there's no chain and the majority of the climb is crazy steep... here are a few examples to give you an idea...

 I found it more scary going down than I did climbing to the top. There were two clear times going down where I had kind of gotten stuck and honestly thought to myself 'oh fuck, what have I got myself into, why did I put my body in this position where my foot can't touch the next rock, I'm going to get hurt!' The first time that happened I had help from a lovely stranger who could tell by my body shaking like crazy and my breaths sounding a little bit too quick that I didn't know what to do. This person took my back pack off me and talked me through how I needed to change my position to get down safetly, the whole time being so incredibly patient with me as it took me ages to just do small simple changes, I appreciated it immensely, ah the kindness of strangers! The next time was a lot more scarier, it's hard to explain what I had to do but I'll try. I was kind of in this corner of these rocks with the front of my body facing outwards, not into the rocks, it had gotten to the point where I wouldnt be able to squat down to stretch my leg out to get to the next rock down from me, I needed to get to the other side of this corner thing I was in to be able to get down, so with the help of my friend's boyfriend I had to swing my body and kind of jump at the same time around the corner onto this extremely small space to be able to get down properly. It was with the help of my friend's boyfriend's arm as a support that I was only able to do this, it felt like my heart was beating a million times a minute. But that's the thing afterwards I felt amazing, reaching the top of this mountain was hard, going down even harder, but all the fear, the physicalness all outweighed how accomplished you feel afterwards, you feel all like yeah, I did THIS! The view was sensational as well..

It was so satisfying being out of my comfort zone today, can't wait for it to happen again!

Thoughts from the hippie...

WOOO! Today I ran the furthest I've ever ran before! It was only two kilometres more than my furthest, but still, it was more than what it was. This morning I ran 30 km, felt so good and so bad at the same time. My legs feel like death but I still feel so happy with myself.

Thoughts from the hippie...

Aaaahh I apologise for this, this is going to be a boring rant, but I want to get it out...

I don't know of anything else that makes me feel as shit as university does. I'll be giving it so much money by the end, feeling like I've been a machine for the past four years and hating that there's no compromise with subjects. I understand that each degree needs to have its own list of subjects that everyone needs to do but I think a better way of the list instead of having 'compulsory' and 'elective' lists, why don't they just merge the two lists together to create a mega list that students can pick from ourselves for OUR degree that we have to pay for. Sure I think they can still set your minimum requirement of first, second, third and fourth year subjects, but fuck, at least let us choose the subjects to create our own degree. For example, I have to do a first year chemistry course. I hate chemistry, I thought I did ok on the mid-semester exam, turns out I failed, thought I did ok on the last online quiz, nooo turns out I failed that too. Now I'm going to start going to a tutor to help me understand why I think I was understanding chemistry when I actually wasn't, just so I can pass my final exam which I have to do to pass chemistry. This chemistry subject is the only chemistry subject that is compulsory for me to do for the whole time I'm at uni and I'm 100% sure I'm not going to remember a thing once it's over and that I'm not going to use it. I understand that chemistry is interesting, amazing and useful but it's just not for me so why do I have to pay for something that I hate and I'm not going to use or remember?! By having just one list of subjects to choose from I could create my degree suited for me and not be so bitter about uni.

Thoughts from the hippie...

Thoughts from the hippie...

Earlier at the start of the month I joined my first book club (yes, a little nerdy, I know!) and last night was the first 'meeting' about 'The Chemistry of Tears' by Peter Carey. Between the six of us it was unanimous... the book sucked. I highly recommend staying away from this book so you don't have to bore your life with it, there were unnecessary characters that for some reason had main parts (like the assistant, the fairytale collector, many others), the book was divided up by two characters, Henry and Catherine with the Henry sections being intensely boring, and the main part of the book that I had a problem with was that you knew pretty much nothing about Catherine and her affair with Matthew Tindall who dies at the beginning and one of the main themes in the book is about her grieving about him dying! It was a very annoying read, easy read at least, but annoying. I found it really interesting during the book club meeting hearing all of us get so worked up about a book we didn't like, and although we all agreed on why we didn't like the book, when it came down to the nitty-gritties of the book we all had different opinions about why these things made the book bad but we were still all agreeing with each other anyway, it was interesting to hear the different points of view of the same opinion. However, one thing about the book I will say is that there's this quote in it that I really really love:

"You are wholly unable to associate what you see with what your life has taught you."

I think there are plenty of people including myself who could really use this quote in everyday life. I love how it's saying you've been in this situation before why can't you see that, why aren't you using what you learnt that time around.



Right now I'm reading 'Papilon' by Henri Charriere, and WOW, it is amazing! I'm only 50 pages through but the writing is just incredible, I highly HIGHLY recommend anyone to start reading this book, it truly is mind-blowing!

Thoughts from the hippie...

Thoughts from the hippie...

This weekend was my first experience with volunteering. I won't mention the organisation I've started volunteering with, I'll just say that they do such amazing work with refugees. The topic of refugees is such a huge divisive topic here in Australia and also within my family; my parents and I have very different views on the topic.

Over the weekend, I visited a single mother and her 8 month old baby who are clients of the organisation that I've started volunteering with. The visit was very casual and went for about two hours; I just went to the woman's house, we hung out, chatted, played with her baby and practiced a little bit of English. From this visit it was so obvious just how grateful the woman was, just having a bit of time to relax from the baby, to study her English and simply to have someone to be with her for part of the day as this woman has had a falling out with her family who are also in Australia and does not know anyone in the area. It was an extremely rewarding feeling of helping someone out for just a couple of hours, I didn't have to stay for that long, I could have left after half an hour but I genuinely enjoyed my time with this family, listening to the woman, just helping her out and just seeing how appreciative she was.

After this experience I recommend anyone to try volunteering, whether it is once a week or even once a month or whether it's working with refugees or working with homeless, disabled, or older people, it is such a rewarding thing to do which really does not take up much time at all.

On a completely different topic, one of my favourite people to search for quotes is Anais Nin, here are a few of my favourites from her:

“I am only responsible for my own heart, you offered yours up for the smashing my darling. Only a fool would give out such a vital organ” 

“Music melts all the separate parts of our bodies together.”  


“I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naïve or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman.” 

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.”  


“I have no brakes on...analysis is for those who are paralyzed by life.” 

Thoughts from the hippie...

Some laughs for Friday :)

Thoughts from the hippie...

It's been a while since my last post (even longer for the fashionista...tsk tsk tsk) but I still haven't got the net at my new apartment yet so I have a bit of an excuse.

This is just a quick little post to let anyone who doesn't know about Khan Academy now KNOW about Khan Academy. This site is brilliant! It has helped me so much especially tonight as I try to cram for my chemistry exam on Saturday (exams on a Saturday afternoon, really uni, really?!). For anyone who's having trouble in their classes, whether it be from finance, biology, chemistry, maths, art history, pretty much anything, this site is for you. Even if you just want to learn something new, the videos on this site has helped me more than any of my chemistry lecturers have this whole semester. Definitely check it out to learn something new or understand any subject you need to http://www.khanacademy.org/ .

Also if you want to check out some awesome photography check out this guy, Zack Arias, he's rad: http://zackarias.com/blog/.

Thoughts from the hippie...

Here's the start of a brilliant article by Julia Gazdag I found today on one of my favourite sites, www.hellogiggles.com. I recommend EVERYONE to check out the article and to also check out http://www.ihollaback.org/. Here's the link to the full article: http://hellogiggles.com/no-catcalling-is-not-a-compliment-and-heres-why

"Halfway through high school, I transferred to an all-girl school and for the first six months, I refused to wear the cliché girls’ school uniform skirt and sweater. I figured that, for once, I wouldn’t get catcalled from every car that drove by on my walk home, because awkwardly fitting khaki pants and oversize grey sweaters were sure to render me invisible. Turns out, you can pretty much walk around in a giant potato sack; as long as you’re a girl, creepsters will still do their thing. Whoop-de-doo.
“But it’s just harmless flattery, why do you have to be such a Feminazi about a guy trying to pay you a compliment, Julia?” Well, me, I’m glad we asked us that. It’s not flattery, actually – it’s harassment. Street harassment, to use the official term. And the thing about street harassment is that it is not meant to be a compliment, but, in fact, an aggressive assertion of male dominance by dehumanizing and hypersexualizing someone. Fun fact: street harassment is not reserved just for women! It’s now available to all members of the LGBTQ community, too! Oh, yeah, about the Feminazi thing? Me standing up for my rights and personal safety don’t warrant a label trying to arbitrarily draw a comparison between my empowerment in the face of social inequality and the German National Socialist Workers Party  responsible for the largest genocide Europe has seen since the Crusades. You do sound like an idiot when you use the term, though, so thank you for identifying yourself! I can now avoid future interaction with you."

Thoughts from the hippie...

Oh Justin Vernon, Oh Bon Iver!

I still remember hearing 'Skinny Love' for the first time on triple j when I was 18 and for ages I had no idea who the band was but I was obsessed with this song (probably like a whole bunch of other people were!). I also remember buying the album from HMV, going home so excited to listen to For Emma, Forever Ago and afterwards thinking that I hadn't heard anything so beautiful in such a long time. Fast track a couple of years and once again Bon Iver stole my heart with Blood Bank and Woods. Woods especially was and still is such an escape song for me, it reminds me of my favourite movie Into the Wild and whenever I feel like the city is getting too much for me, I just put this song on and just escape. Being completely obsessed with Bon Iver and even Justin Vernon's solo songs (The Orient and the Gatsby's Slew of Choices...incredible) I couldn't of been more excited for when Bon Iver, Bon Iver was released. While I was listening to the album I couldn't help but cry. I honestly simply just felt so much with this album, every song was perfect, I hadn't heard such a beautiful album quite like this that all I could do was cry because I felt as though every song was a part of me, it was just insanely beautiful.

Tonight I was finally lucky enough to go see Bon Iver play at one of the best venues in Brisbane, The Tivoli. This was by far one of my favourite gigs I have been to. I knew I was going to be impressed and be in love but it still took me by surprise just how amazing it was. Every song they played was perfect, Justin was funny, I had a perfect position for the gig, it really couldn't of been better. Bon Iver is one of the few bands for me that makes me scared, especially now after seeing them live. They make me scared in a way where I hear something of theirs that's so beautiful, the lyrics are so perfect that it makes me scared and in a way useless that I will never create something so beautiful or something that has as much impact as what they have done and in a strange way that's what I also love about them too. I love that their music can make me feel so much in a way that nothing else does, that hearing Bon Iver play live, hearing Justin's incredible voice that it actually feels like this music has made its way inside of me, that I'm feeling it circulate around inside my body.  That even though I am in a room full of people, that when I closed my eyes just to really listen that it feels like I am the only one in the room.

Thoughts from the hippie...

I don't actually like this song, but the video is so cute and is bound to put a smile on your face! It shows life from the view of a carefree, happy dog...very sweet :)

Thoughts from the hippie...

Thoughts from the hippie...

Thoughts from the hippie...

Mmmmmm had a kilo of carrots for breakfast this morning, delicious!


On a different note, I found this quote on tumblr which I really really like:

"No one runs in my family. I am not built like a runner. My bones aren't weightless. My legs aren't gazelle-like. As a child, no one ever said, “Now that one…she’s going to be a runner.” I am not a marathon runner. But, I know that no one is a marathon runner until they actually run one".

I love this quote because I know that sometimes people are surprised when they look at me and they find out that I'm a runner and a vegan. I think there's this expectation that if you are a vegan you are extremely slim. I am not; I don't have a completely flat belly, but I've finally learnt to love my body and accept that I don't have an extremely slim physique. I know I'm healthy, I know I can run 28kms and just because I may not look like a stereotype running freak, I am. My body is a progress and as long as I stay eating healthy and treating my body properly I know in time my body will reward me. I love being fit and healthy because I love knowing what I can do with my body, I know I can rock climb with the body I have, do yoga with the body I have, run for three hours without a break with the body I have. Being this strong and healthy and knowing that I'm getting stronger and fitter week by week is a reward in itself. My body isn't perfect but that's ok, I'm fine with being healthy and happy.

Thoughts from the fashionista

Am I asking too much to meet a guy who looks like this:

*Sigh*. My fingers are crossed that maybe this Saturday night it will happen! He is hot, hot, hot.