2014

As the New Year approaches I am starting to think of everything that will be happening for me in 2014. Next year I will be going to see Parmore in concert, turning 18 (and becoming an adult and legal), and the biggest of all, completing my final year of school! I am sure a lot more will be happening but I haven't planned or thought of anything more yet.

So as this next year is going to be a big one for me, I thought it would be nice to let you follow me around for the whole year. Yes that does mean vlogging. All my vlogs will be uploaded to my second channel Rachel Vlogs.

However, because I will be busy with school, I won't be uploading a vlog everyday, more like once a week or once a fortnight, but I will be trying my best to make them as regular as possible.

If you have an idea of what I could call my series of vlogs for next year, your suggestion are very much appreciated.

So if you want to follow me around and go on my 2014 journey with me, please subscribe to my channel and tell your friends about it too!

So until then,
Peace & Love,
Rachel xoxo

Happy Holidays!!

So today I finished school for the year and now have two months of holidays to look forward to!! I have quite a fair bit planned. Not necessarily events but stuff I would to do. However, because I did two weeks of Year 12 transition in my last two weeks of school, I do have some holiday homework that needs to be completed before I go back next year. But despite that, here are a few things I am planning to do over the summer break!

• DECORATE MY ROOM!

I don't know to what extent my parents would let me go in decorating but it has been almost three months since I moved into this house and I haven't done anything to my room to make it mine. One reason was because Dad had just gotten it repainted before we moved but I still feel like I need to do something to personalise it.

• CREATE A DREAM BOARD!

Over the past year I have thought more about what I would like to do in my life and what I would like to achieve, and me being a big dreamer, I thought it would be nice to create something to put in writing and list/make a note of all my dreams and goals I have for the future ("starting from next year" future). I feel as if that putting these dreams in writing would make them official goals and not just something that I think about once and then give up on or forget about. When I eventually move out of this house in a few years time, I could then put all those dreams into a folder or scrapbook and then I could look back on them in years to come and see what I have achieved so far to ones I am still working on. These goals/dreams range from the smallest, like passing Year 12/getting a good ATAR, to the big, like singing/writing songs with many great artists.

• START AN ONLINE STORE!

I got this idea off my friend Jordan to start a little online store to earn some more money and to give me a chance to be a little more creative as well. I was thinking of selling handmade flower crowns or decorative items. Whether or not this plan goes through is up to how much time I have and if I have enough money to start off and for postage stuff. If it doesn't happen this summer, I will try to make it happen when I finish Year 12 next year.

• MY HOMEROOM TEACHER'S WEDDING!

At my school, we have the same homeroom and homeroom teacher in both Year 11 and 12 and in January, mine is getting married. She has invited our class to the ceremony which is making me really excited both for her and for me. It's been four years since I have been to a wedding and I cannot wait to go to this one. I absolutely love the atmosphere at weddings and I think the whole idea and the actual event is really lovely and happy. 

• PARAMORE CONCERT!

Two days after the wedding, Jordan (who I mentioned before) and I will be going to Paramore's Melbourne concert! I am so excited for this, not only because we will be seeing Paramore and we have fourth row seats, but also for the fact that I get to see Jordan again and I haven't seen her for almost a whole year! 

• NIDA ACTING WORKSHOP!

On the Saturday and Sunday after the concert, my friend Mikayla and I will be attending a two day acting workshop run by NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art). NIDA is probably the biggest and most renowned Performing Arts collage in Australia which makes this such an amazing opportunity. I am also heaps excited for this because it'll be the very first time I actually meet Mikayla in person after talking to her for over a year on the internet! It will be great to go and will also be very helpful as we are both (well I think Mikayla is) doing Units 3 &4 VCE Drama in Year 12 and it will help us develop and improve the skills we need for Drama. 

So there are just a few things I have planned for my holidays! Hopefully the break will be fine and the weather is really good so I can also go to the beach a couple of times and spend a lot of time outside.  

If you are in Australia or elsewhere in the southern hemisphere, I hope you have a wonderful summer holiday, and if you are in the northern hemisphere, I hope the few weeks you do get off between terms are wonderful as well. I will probably say this again but I also hope that all of you have a happy, safe and wonderful Christmas. 

Peace & Love

Rachel  xoxo

Hey Hey!

Hiya everyone!

I feel like I have kind of neglected you all. I haven't posted anything in AGES!!! So I thought today I shall just give you all an update into what has happened over the last 2 or so weeks. This is gonna be such a short post because not much has actually happened haha.

From the 21st of September to the 6th of October I was on school holidays. On the 21st, as a kind of new start thing, I went and got my hair ombred, which, if you have no idea what it is, is when you dye the ends of your hair to look as if it is gradually becoming a different colour or shade. In my case, I went slightly darker at my roots and the top half of my hair and then from around half way down it gradually gets blonder. My hairdresser, Mel, did it really well so it isn't full on half and half, you can't really tell where exactly it starts to change.

Woo ombre hair!!!

The first week of the holidays was pretty average. Not much happened. BUT then on Monday the 30th of September, SARAH CAME OVER!!! YAYAYAYAY!!! (btw go and check out her blog here). As soon as I picked her up from the airport, we went straight to Chapel Street to go to TopShop and MAC. In TopShop I bought two shirts and in MAC I bought a 4 insert eyeshadow palette. I thought buying a 4 insert was a good way to start my MAC collection. Both Sarah and I were given advice about colours by one of the shop assistants and she helped us fill our palettes. The four colours I bought were 'All That Glitters', 'Woodwinked', 'Mystery' and 'Sketch' and I love all of them! I won't promise but I might do a little separate blog post on the palette and another make up product I have bought recently.

YAY SARAH CAME!!

On the Tuesday, Sarah and I got up nice and early and headed into the city for some (1D) site seeing and some more kind of shopping. We also met up with her boyfriend, Daniel, who was visiting family in Melbourne. Unfortunately we didn't spot One Direction or 5 Seconds of Summer (sad face), but we did have a lovely time and managed to score a free Starbucks drink each. After we were finished in the city, we said goodbye to Daniel and headed to Southland shopping centre to go and see This Is Us.

I met my boys when I saw This Is Us! :P

Then one of the best days in my life came! It was Wednesday, the 2nd of October. A day I will never EVER forget. It was the day Sarah and I were to see 5 Seconds of Summer and One Direction in the flesh and doing what they do best. IT WAS 1D CONCERT DAY!!! YAY!!! Sarah and I spent our day walking my dog, taking photos and we watched the Up All Night concert DVD as preparation. Then we headed off to Rod Laver Arena. I cannot describe how amazing the night was! We both had so much fun and I want to see them again!!!! Definitely the best night of my life!

1D and 5SOS were AMAZING!!!

With an amazing concert comes massive post concert depression. I legit woke up and almost cried. Don't laugh. I was overwhelmed. During the day, I took Sarah into my home suburb and showed her around. We also bumped into a few of my friends from school. Then it hit me. I felt so down and I actually did want to cry. And yes, I do still have PCD and it has been over a week since the concert. I don't think it will ever go away.

On the Friday, my brother came over with his two daughters and we played with them in the morning, and in the afternoon we went back to Southland for some late night shopping. We got some pizza for dinner and sat outside on my deck and chatted.

Saturday came around and it was the day Sarah was to fly back to Hobart. In the morning, she helped me by being a model for my Studio Art photos and we filmed a few covers of songs. Then it was time to say goodbye (major sad face). I absolutely loved having her here with me and I am missing our late night 'would you rathers' and 'snog, marry, avoids'. But I will be seeing her again soon hopefully.

After that, it was time for me to do my holiday homework and get ready to go back to school and that is where I shall end this blog post.

I will talk to you all soon.

Peace & Love,
Rachel xoxo

My Idols!

Hiya everyone!!!

As you probably know, I love to sing and eventually would love to get into the industry... Hopefully.

Everyone has their idols, role models, people they look up to and aspire to be like. Whether it'd be business people, musicians, artists or actors, they take inspiration from their idols and then make their own with that.

So today I am going to share with you 4 of my idols.

The first is none other than Hayley Williams.

I don't know what not to say about her. She has an amazing voice. She can sing like any genre and it sounds perfect. She rocks any look she goes for whether it's be with her hair or fashion. She is absolutely stunning and uh.

Usually when you see girls breaking down when meeting One Direction or Justin Bieber you would probably say they are 'hormonal' and think that they need to just get over themselves, but if I were to meet Hayley, I would most likely start crying, at the least be shaking. I don't know but I have looked up to Hayley for years and meeting someone you admire and are inspired by so much, it would definitely get overwhelming.

In saying all that, here is ZEDD featuring the beautiful Hayley Williams; Stay the Night.

Is it weird that I remember the exact date I first heard an Ellie Goulding song?? Anyhoo my next idol is of course Ellie Goulding!

I'm probably gonna say this about all my idols but she is stunning and seriously has the voice of an angel. Her songs are absolutely beautiful and I feel like they suit my voice well which is a bonus. 

Here is the first Ellie Goulding song I ever heard; Starry Eyed.

Now, I know there are many people out there who get annoyed when people younger or the same age than them are more successful and are achieving more than them but for me, when it comes to Lorde, I cannot help but admire that and hope that one day that success will happen for me. That is one of the reasons why the New Zealander is one of my idols. 

Once again, she is stunning and her voice is amazing. I love her songs what they are about. I love how she tells it how it is. 

The song I am loving of hers at the moment is Tennis Court.

To add to these three, I think they all have an amazing stage presence and their shows and concerts are incredible. There is no disappointment when you see them live and for me, watching a live performance of theirs does give me an emotional high.

My fourth and final idol is a singer but also an actor and YouTuber. She is Carrie Hope Fletcher. She is my idol in all three of these categories and I couldn't pick a better one. She is (you guessed it) stunning, her voice is so incredibly beautiful and she never ever gives up on her dreams. When I watch her YouTube videos, I don't fee; like I'm just watching it, I feel like I am having a conversation with her and she always seems to talk about things I can relate to and/or agree with and she always makes me smile. For someone like me who loves singing, being in productions and making videos, she is most certainly one of my top idols. I seriously do not know why she isn't everyone's idol. 

Here is Carries' most recent video which is one I definitely agree with. 

So there, those are 4 of my idols. I do have a lot more but I feel these are the ones I look up to the most.

Who are your idols? Have you met any of your idols?

Anyway, until next time...

Peace & Love,

Rachel xoxo

High School Advice

Hiya everyone!

As it comes to the end of another school term for me, I thought I would take the time to reflect upon some of the things that happened during this past term.

I am not going to say exactly what happened this term, but I will use what I have learnt to help any of you.

If you find yourself feeling uncomfortable or not really included in your group of friends and you feel like an outsider, go and sit with others who you know you will fit better with, or, talk to your group about it and try and work it out. Out of your whole life, being at school is only a small portion. It is not worth it being uncomfortable. It will only make you feel more down and less interested. If you decide to move, let someone in your group know that you are and why you're doing it. If the group take it the wrong way and get the "you left us, you're not coming back" attitude, then they are not really being the best friends anyway. I'm not saying never talk to them again, they are still your friends depending on what has happened, just find a group that you know you will be included in more and have more fun with.

Secondly, if you find yourself in a bit of drama with someone and/or you don't like something someone in your group of friends or just anyone is doing or treating you, don't make the drama bigger. That is in someways what they want. It will just make things worse. Just give whoever is bothering you some space and focus on your school work and having a good time with the rest of your friends. Don't let it distract you from your main priority at school, which is learning, and if it starts getting too much, talk to someone you trust about it. No gossiping, just talk to let it out. Hopefully in time, you will be able to talk it out and try and work things through with the other person, but if that doesn't happen, again don't let it bother you.

Hopefully, this helps if any of you need it. I am in no way trying to dis anyone and I am not a professional advice giver but this is how I have dealt with similar situations. Just remember, never cause or make drama bigger. It just makes things worse. You are at school to learn, but, if you are unhappy or uncomfortable, you are not going to focus properly and you won't learn as well.

So until next time,
Peace & Love,
Rachel xoxo

The Polaroid

Hiya everyone,

One of my favourite things in this world is photography and one of my favourite types of camera is the Polaroid.

Here is some background history (yes I did go and research the history of Polaroids):

1948 saw the introduction of the Polaroid camera that used the one-step photographic system created by Edwin Land. This was the start of instant photography.

The popularity of the instant camera started to increase from the 1950s and in 1963, coloured film was introduced.

The different generations of the Polaroid.

Since then the design of the camera has changed a number of times, however, it still remains as popular as is was 50 or so years ago, maybe even more.

Today's Polaroid looks quite a bit different to the older versions. However, it still produces the same instant photos we all recognise that the other Polaroids would create.

(all history found here: http://www.polaroid.com.au/history)

Today's Polaroid.

I was lucky enough a few months ago to be able to buy one of these newer models. It wasn't incredibly affordable but compared to buying a vintage Polaroid I think it was pretty good value. I absolutely love my Polaroid. I love the way the photos turn out and I love how the photo only takes around 2 minutes to develop. The only downside however is the cost of the film. Polaroid film can get quite pricey, especially for a pack of 10 which is the amount my camera can hold. So I haven't been able to take a heap of photos of anything. I am only really keeping it for certain occasions so I don't waste my money buying new film packs so frequently.

But on the brighter note, I do not regret making this purchase one bit and I definitely do recommend getting one if you have been thinking about it for a while.

So until next time,
Peace & Love
Rachel xoxo

School Production!

Oh my! It seems like forever since I have posted on here. I do apologise.

But I do have a valid reason.

Over the past 7 months, myself and a few of my friends have been rehearsing for our school musical, this year of The Wizard of Oz. Two weeks ago, it was production week (which was incredibly busy and tiring) and time for us to perform.

We had the pleasure of being able to perform in a real theatre this year instead of the school hall. This gave us all the chance to experience what it is like to use the space and equiptment professional performers use.

I absolutely loved being a part of the whole thing and I have made wonderful friendships with everyone in it.

Now it is time for me to continue gradually getting over my 'post performance depression'.

Here are some photos from production week:

 

 

Peace & Love

Rachel xoxo