A few things have got me thinking recently, about the beauty of strangers and how we never truly know who we are walking past in the street and what their story is.

If I could have any super power in the world, it would be to read people's minds. This is mainly because I'm possibly the nosiest person you will ever meet, yet also because I feel like there's such depths to strangers which passers by never truly appreciate or think about.

I did a weeks work experience at Mancunian Matters, a digital newspaper based in Manchester, who on one day paired us up (I was paired with my lovely new friend Paul... who I know is reading this right now) and set us free to roam the streets of Manchester and talk to strangers ...

That sounds a lot weirder than I anticipated.

The guy running the course told us that he believes every person who we pass on the street has their own story to tell, and we were given the challenge of finding out the most interesting story we possibly could in an hour.

Due to the fact that we only had a short amount of time, and some people really DO like to talk - not that that's a bad thing ... unless you're under a strict time limit - we eventually settled for a young girl (who's name I have since forgotten, sorry!) who had met the Queen.

Although this wasn't the story I had in mind, I guess I must've been hoping for a Pride of Britain-esque tale, it was still amazing and definitely the most interesting of the day.

To the cute old married couple who told their story of the deer escaping from the National Park - yours was a close contender, please don't be disheartened.

Anyhow, I suppose what I'm trying to say is that on any other day, I would've just walked straight past this unfamiliar girl on the street with no idea that she had set foot in Buckingham Palace and met HRH. There's a popular belief that you are only five people away from anyone you want to get to. I guess this girl was my first step ... I'm coming for you Queenie!

Going back to what spurred this ramble on, Louise Dougherty is completely to blame. Apple Tree Yard was a book I read recently which had me gripped right through to the end, the mystery of the characters and uncertainty of the ending was definitely responsible for that.

The novel embarks on a tale of a married woman having an affair with a man who radiates more enigma than Sherlock Holmes himself. Now, this blog post focuses on simply walking past strangers we know absolutely nothing about, yet the main character in this novel (Yvonne Carmichael), goes one step further and hops into bed with them.

It was destined to end disastrously, yet not quite in the manner that we automatically assume. Without giving too much away in case anyone wants to read it (I definitely recommend that you do) Yvonne and her 'bit on the side' end up on trial for murder.

Another thought provoking event happened in the airport. There's always been something about airports that I find so interesting, I think it's mainly to do with the fact that they encompass so many different emotions, whilst remaining all under one roof.

Coming back from Rhodes was heartbreaking enough, yet on top of that we had to endure an 8 hour delay. Although this wasn't the best end to our holiday, I'm glad it happened as it allowed us to meet the sweetest old man.

Sporting a Rhodes baseball hat and tired eyes, he just looked like your typical British tourist coming back from the mandatory summer holiday. Yet, after we got chatting to him, he told us about how his wife and daughter both passed away in the same year, to the same awful disease. 

Here was a man who had suffered through so much heartache, yet there was absolutely at all that was bitter about him. Anyone else who had been through what he had may have crumbled and looked at life as though it was poisonous, yet this was the complete opposite to his attitude. I remember him leaning across and saying "live long and take it easy", which I've come to realise was a saying that had kept him going for the past 18 years.

I think I've pretty much written a novel here, so thank you so much if you've managed to read to the end without getting bored! 

My reasoning for this post is to send a message that you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss and judge strangers, as you never know what is going on in their lives - or what amazing stories they have to share with you. 

Finally, I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who was so lovely about my last post, it honestly meant the world to me and was definitely a motivation to write more!

Love,
Grace x 

Just over a week ago, I was inspired by the strangest reflection on my bedroom wall and ended up writing this post on the notes section on my phone. I have refrained from posting this on my blog for about a week now, in fear that this post was overly cringey and pathetic. But I have decided to bite the bullet so here it is ...

Enjoy!

It was around 11:30pm and I was getting ready to get into bed (I live a pretty wild life, I know). I had my glass of water on my nightstand and had left my phone face down next to it. I must've accidentally pressed the torch on as I was suddenly blinded by the brightest light. For some reason, my gaze was directed towards the wall facing me and I noticed a little rainbow reflection shining back at me.


Those who know me will be aware that science is most definitely not a strong point of mine, and instead of looking at things like this and wondering how they have happened - I much prefer sitting back and just admiring the beauty without feeling inclined to figure out how it has been created. "We murder to dissect" is a perception that I feel very strongly about.

This little 'miracle' (which I am now referring to it as) made me feel overjoyed, and had me sat on my bed smiling like a crazy person for a lot longer than I care to admit. A few months ago, I probably wouldn't have even noticed this 'magic' appearing before me, I would've just grumbled at the bright light shining in my eyes. This sudden realisation got me thinking about how much I have changed over the past couple of months.

There comes a time in everyone's life when they have no choice but to stay positive, regardless of how difficult it is to do so. Now, I am most certainly not looking for sympathy at all here - as I have come to absolutely HATE that - but the past year has been difficult, to say the least. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is something that I have lived by and repeated in my head again and again every single day.

I think that after trauma occurs in your life, it is so easy to tell yourself that life as you know it has ended and that you will never truly be happy again. Part of that is true - your life won't be the same again, but that doesn't mean that you won't ever find happiness.

Over the past year I have developed an extremely positive outlook on life, which - I admit - can be exhausting at times when you would just prefer to stay in bed and close yourself off from everyone around you. Trying to see the good in every situation is challenging at times but also rewarding, especially when you learn to appreciate the little things and not letting silly trivial things bother you as much as they used to.

I strongly believe that every day is a new day, a new beginning and the time to make a decision - 'am I going to be happy or sad today'. To that I (most of the time) answer "HAPPY!!!".

Don't get me wrong, I don't bounce out of bed singing Pharrell Williams' 'Happy' (after sharing a room with my sister for two weeks, she will tell you that that most definitely is not the case) but once I've had my morning coffee I usually develop my regular positive attitude to see me through to the rest of the day.

Something you should constantly ask yourself is 'What makes you happy?'. For me, I would say writing and generally making a bit of an idiot of myself (and Benedict Cumberbatch ... but let's not get into that) - hence why I set up a blog. Your own happiness is personal to you, and the only person who can determine and expand your happiness further is ... YOU.

Happiness, to me, also stems from who you surround yourself with. One thing that I personally cannot stand is being around negative people who like to complain a lot. I am so lucky to have such amazing friends and family, who have gotten me through some of the toughest days of my life. If you surround yourself with people who you can laugh and joke around with, yet also know will stick by you no matter what then I believe you can get through anything. Laughing until your stomach hurts with your favourite people in the entire world has got to be one of my all time favourite feelings.

So there it is. Thank you for reading, and I hope that this has helped in any way that it possibly can. I am planning on writing a LOT more blog posts - I forgot how much I loved writing things that aren't essays - so hopefully see you again very very soon.

Love,
Grace x