The Beauty of Music

     When you listen to music, why are you listening to it? Are you listening to music because you are doing homework, working out, maybe meditation, or just because you want to? That is what is amazing about music, there is never a bad time to listen to music, well maybe if your are in class then yes that might be a bad time. Other than that, music is amazing for many situations, and I'm going to let you in on those situations.

     Picture this, the friends you usually sit with at lunch are sick or just not at school that day. Are you just going to sit there and think about how lonely you are? No, you can pop in your headphones and jam out to your favorite songs! You can easily turn a boring situation around to having the best time just listening to your music.

Photo provided by Google

     Say you are doing homework and it is just mindless work, and you are starting to get bored. All you have to do is turn on some music and you change boring homework into fun homework, not wanting to be done with it. This has happened to me multiple times, and just by simply hitting play, homework can be so much less boring. Also it can help you focus more, you could be nodding off but if you have music playing, it will be hard to fall asleep while doing your homework.

     Here is a different scenario for you that can really help with your daily life. Meditation is the best relaxing and mind relieving exercise you can do. The most relaxing part of it is the background music, the calming soothing vibe of music. The place that I have found this relaxing music is from Pandora or Spotify. They have an amazing playlist for meditation/relaxation music.

Photo provided by Google

     The last situation is when you are exercising. The best kind of motivation to keep going and work harder is having music blast from the speakers or your headphones. Just think about what it would be like exercising with nothing playing out, boring right. Just by blasting out your favorite tunes, you could have an amazing workout that you never want to end. 

     Music can spice any situation up really, it does not matter where you are. The beauty of music is the chance to be able to change a boring, tense, or sad situation into a powerful, joyful, or rocking situation. No matter what type of music you like, it can instantly change your mood.
   

Making Your Room Your Comfort Zone

     When you go into your room you should feel comfort. Your room should be the place where you can go to if you're having a bad day or anxiety is creeping up, and you can just relax. Personally for me, my room is the one place in my house that is all mine, I can do whatever I want to do with it. It can range from what I put on my wall, how I arrange the furniture, or what overall is in my room. Basically as soon as you walk into your room, you should get that feeling that this is solely my room and it is safe to express yourself however you want to. If you do not feel this way when you walk into your room, I can help you out with a couple of tips.

Photo provided by Ikea 

     First start by putting up things on your wall that you like. For example, you can put up quotes that you like or admire, you can put up certain bands/artists posters, or you can go the seasonal route. For my room, I have one wall dedicated to just band/youtube posters and the rest of the walls are for my seasonal decor. Overall, put anything up on your wall that makes you smile or happy when you look at it.

     Next decorate your room with your favorite colors, colors that will make you smile when you walk into your room. An easy way to do this is first start with a rug color, you may already have carpet down but there is no problem with putting a small rug on top of it. It could be an artsy/intricate design or just a simple color to match a color theme.

     Another easy way to decorate your with your favorite colors is your bed sprea
d. If you have a color theme going on, you can easily find a bed spread to match it. For me, buying a new bed spread is of my favorite things to do. There are SO many choices of bed spreads to choose from, it is all up to what kind of style you like.

Photo provided by zoella.co.uk blog

     The last tip is one of my favorite ways of making my room a comfortable place, it is candles. When you walk into your room and you are automatically hit with your favorite scent, it makes your mood go up instantly. With me my favorite season is fall, so when fall comes around I whip out all of my fall candles, and once the smell hits me, I become very content. This one is probably the easiest one to do and the one that makes me the happiest.

     These few tips I have just shared with you are the easiest ways I have found to create my comfort place. It's crazy how knowing that one space is yours and you can do whatever you want with it is amazing. By creating this space it could help with calming you down from a bad day or maybe if you anxiety. I highly recommend everyone to do this with your rooms, or just any room in general because it is the best feeling to walk into your room and feel secure.
   
   

Do's and Don'ts of Concert Going

Ellie and I at a One Direction Concert

     Now I have gone to many concerts in my lifetime, my first one being an American Idol concert which was probably 9 years ago. Most concerts I go to are usually in an arena or stadium, I don't go to state fair concerts or small one's very often. I usually go to concerts at least 3 times a year so I have learned  many things about what you should do at a concert and what you should not do. If you are new to concerts and what you should do to make it an amazing experience, I can help you out.

     When going to a concert always bring a small over the shoulder purse, never bring a tote bag, backpack or any large purses because I can guarantee you that the security will not let that in. In your small bag you should bring a portable charger, because let's face it, you want to take as many pictures and videos as possibly and you do not need a dying phone to stop you from that. Next bring sunglasses because if you are at an outdoor concert, the sunset will most likely be in your face blinding you.

     Another thing to bring in your bag is a lot of money because once you see the merchandise section you will probably want to buy everything. Also when going to a concert at an arena or stadium, the prices for food and drinks will be ridiculous, I'm talking $4.50 for ONE bottle of water, and they will not let you bring outside food or drinks inside, trust me I've tried.

Autograph from Lorde!

     One more do that you should try at least a couple times in your life, is go to a general seating concert. Basically your seat depends on how early you arrive to the venue and get in line. This is the easiest way to get front at a concert, but it does take a long time. Basically when I went to my first general seats concert, I waited 10 hours in line to see Lorde. It was so worth it because I was the third person in line and since I arrived so early, Lorde's mother came out and gave us all signed autographs from Lorde, I also got front row. Basically try to arrive as early as possible because you never know what could happen.

     Some things you should not do at a concert is bring a huge sign. It is fine to bring a sign if you are in the floor section, but if you are not on the floor section and are on the lower or upper deck DO NOT bring a huge sign. The performer(s) will not see it from all the way back there, the only thing you will accomplish is annoying the people behind you.

     Do not be one of those people who screams the entire time, yes you can scream when they come out or when they tell the crowd to scream. When the performer(s) is singing a beautiful song, you don't want someone screaming in your ear ruining it or if you are recording hear someone screaming during the song in your video. I have done my fair share of screaming at concerts but it gets to point where all of your videos is just of you screaming, which I mean is fine if you don't want to hear your favorite artist's voice.

5SOS concert 

     One last thing that you should not do is push the person next to you to try and get a better view. When you get to the seat that you have paid for, stay in that little area. Do not ruin someone else's concert time just so you can see better, and do not stand on top of your chair, yes that has happened to me before and it sucks being behind that person. There are big screens for a reason, since I am very short I always resort to watching the jumbo screens on the side. As long as you can see and hear the person you came to see, everything is okay.

     Now going to a concert is always the best experience, and you can make it even better for you and the other people around you if you follow these do's and don'ts. Don't forget to always bring a small bag, and a lot money with you, always save up for a concert. It's not the end of the world if you don't buy any merchandise, but it is always an easy way to help you remember the amazing time you had at that concert. Now go to as many concerts as you can and always have the best time as possible when you are there.

Five Guy's Review

     My family and I have been driving to Florida and Indianapolis for many years, but just recently, about 3 or 4 years ago, we discovered Five Guy's. Five Guy's is a very popular burger chain on the east coast. I think my mom was looking up good places to eat for burgers and Five Guy's popped up.

     The first impressions my family and I had were that it is a very casual, relaxed environment. They had bins full of shelled peanuts sitting out for customers to take and munch on while you are waiting for your food. Also right when you walk in you see a big white counter, with a huge sign hanging above it. The sign has all of the toppings, sizes of burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, etc.

     The thing I love most about ordering at Five Guy's is you can choose if you want a mini burger, regular, or double patty burger. Once you have the size of your burger, you get to pick what toppings you want, you can get as many as you want because all of the toppings are free! My usual order is, a regular burger with tomato, lettuce, and cheese. Yes it is very simple but is is a fresh taste while also tasting very juicy at the same time.

     Another thing that is a plus are their fries. When my family and I first ordered, my parents wanted 2 large fries to share but that ended up being a big mistake. Five Guy's serve their fries in brown paper bags, they fill the bottom with fries and then stick a large cup of fries in the middle of the bag. So when we saw two huge bags of fries, we flipped. We ended up not even finishing one bag of fries, so word of advice, if you have a family of four, a medium or large bag a fries will be plenty! The seasoning on their fries is another reason why they are so amazing. Five Guy's use a cajun seasoning making the fries different from other fries that are just salt seasoning.  

     There is a reason why Five Guy's is probably one of the best burger restaurants out there. It is because they are authentic, use unique ingredients, and have a calm environment unlike some burger restaurants. Now if you are driving through the southern or middle east coast, I suggest you find a Five Guy's and try it out, you will not regret it. Also when you go, remember that one bag of fries will be plenty and don't forget to add cajun seasoning on your fries!

Fall Decoration Tips

     Now that fall is almost here, I have gone out to Michaels Craft store and bought all the items I will need for decorating my room this year. Two years ago I went out to buy decoration for each season, but I did not buy them during that season, I bought them after the season was over. For example, for Christmas I went to Michaels and saw all of the prices for seasonal decoration and they were beyond over priced, so I came up with the idea of going out to buy them after Christmas was over so that way the prices were dropped and there were tons of sales.

     This year I am very eager for fall, so I decided instead of going after Halloween/ fall was over, I
should go before Halloween/ fall is here. I was in luck, yesterday when I walked into Michaels, there were 50% off signs all over the fall decoration, so I grabbed my cart and rushed over the decoration area. I started off with the fake flowers, I decided to get one clump which is about 6 flowers connected to one huge stem, of each different type of flower they had. I ended up getting 6 bunches of flowers.

     Now I needed something to put them in so instead of just tossing the flowers into a vase, I found 3 round baskets in the color chocolate brown and an ashy blonde. I also found 3 different ribbon patterns with little pumpkins on one, and on another ribbon were little leaves and then the third ribbon was an orange pumpkin color string. What I did with the ribbon was, I wrapped it around the top edge of the basket and the bottom of the basket giving it that kind of homemade feel and a little fun onto the baskets. I then put two bunches of flowers in each basket, creating that very fall look feeling in my room.

Leaf garlands hanging from my ceiling

     The next item's I bought were two about 6 ft. long leaf garlands. I wanted to hang the leaves from my ceiling but I did not want a huge piece of garland hanging there, so what I did was cut the garland into three pieces, making the garland much shorter and better looking to hang from my ceiling. I then hung all the strands of garland creating that feeling that you are under a tree.

     I bought many more items but the ones I told you about were more of a creative way of decorating that I wanted to share. If you are like me and love every season of the year and want to portray that in your room, use the money saving ideas I gave you. Always go seasonal shopping before or after the season to get the best deals, and always look at the stores website to see if there are any coupons on there as well. You can easily have the best looking room in a very creative and affordable way.

The Beauty of the Internet

     Back when my parents were kid's they did not have the internet, they barely had television. Now we have touch screen computers, touch screen phones, touch screen T.V's, even touch screen watches! The internet has developed so much over a short period of time, I am watching this show called Gilmore Girls currently on Netflix and it is based in the early 2000's. The internet was just starting to develop around 2003-2004, I believe. Just to think in a span of 10 years, we can look up anything thing we want and the information is right at our hands.

Early 2000's computer

     Some people might believe that the internet is taking over this generation, but it's really not. The internet gives you different perspectives on many things. For example, on twitter I follow a range of people, including Youtuber's, music artists, and my friends. You can find out what those people are currently thinking at the moment and see what they are thinking about on current trends. 

     You can also get perspective on other peoples lives, in a not so creepy way. I watch Youtube when I'm not busy, and I watch people from all over the world. I watch people from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and even Sweden sometimes. By watching how these people go through their daily lives, it gives me inspiration to try more things, and experience life more.

     Also back then people could not get information out that quick, most of the time it came through the newspaper, which is still a very good source. Now that we have the internet, people can be easily informed on current global things. For example, if there was an earthquake in China, you would know about it instantly, and people would be able to start fundraisers to sign up and donate online quickly and give help. 

     To some people, the internet is a bad thing, but I believe they think that way because they view the internet the wrong way. Those people probably think that other people use the internet to be lazy, or bully online, or just are too antisocial to not interact with other people, but they are wrong. The internet is there so people can be more informed, but not just about news, it is there to also help people learn about the daily obstacles you will go through in life. For example, I learned about anxiety from one of my British Youtubes that I watch. This person helped me truly understand what anxiety is and how to get through it. The internet can really help save people, and that is what I think is the beauty of the internet. 

Road Trip

My sister after the drive to Florida

     When your parents tell you are going on a road trip, what is the first thing that comes to mind? When I was younger, I automatically thought, this trip is going to be boring, I won't have anything to do. Well now that I have grown older I have found out the beauty of road trips. You can find many things to do inside and outside of your car, you just have to be a little creative.

     Something on the more creative side could be making up a game with the people in your car, it could be I Spy, or yelling out crazy billboards signs, etc. My favorite is where you start at the beginning of the alphabet and when you see a random sign or billboard on the road and it starts with an 'a', you shout that word out and move on to the next letter. The object of the game is to get to the end of the alphabet the fastest. I usually play this game with my sister and it usually takes a good half an hour because we always get stuck on finding words with Q, Z or V, so if you want to use up a chunk of time, that is a very entertaining game to play.

     Other times when my family and I drive to Florida and it is a lengthy car drive, I bring stuff to do with me. The things I bring are, a lot of books, movies, and headphones. I am a book junkie, so usually before every road trip I buy/ bring two new books to read on the trip, and that usually takes up a lot of the time. Also I always look forward to road trips because I am excited to start my new books, so basically find something to do that will make you look forward to the trip instead of just dreading the trip.

     This idea does not involve games or stuff to bring with you to keep you busy, this idea is just looking outside your window and enjoying the scenery around you. When going on a road trip you are usually traveling out of state or to somewhere other than your home town. By just looking out your window and seeing the different sceneries, you can discover many things. For example, when my family and I drive to Florida, we pass through Tennessee and in Tennessee we drive through the Smoky Mountains. In the Smoky Mountains are these gray skinny trees everywhere and surrounding the trees is a gray eerie fog. It was something completely new to me that I had never seen before, I was awestruck at it. Just by looking out your window you can see many things that not a lot of people get see, and you get to keep that picture in your mind forever.

    Road trips can be exciting if you choose what you do well and keep an open mind. Always remember to be creative in what you do inside and outside the car, and find something to look forward to, to do in the car.

Concerts vs Sporting Events

     Concerts and sporting events can be very similar and different at the same time. There is also similar and different things you would do at a concert or sporting event. For example at concerts and sporting events you go to see a certain band or singer that you enjoy listening to or you are going to see a team or athlete that you support and enjoy watching. Another example could be, at a concert there is a supporting artist that will open the show to get the crowd excited for the main concert, but at a sporting event you are seeing the team or person right away.

General admission front row

     Now when it comes to concerts, there can be two different types of seating arrangements. One type is, you are going to an arena or stadium and when you buy your ticket you can choose what seat and section you want to watch the concert from. The other type of concert is general admission. General admission is when you buy a ticket that is the same price for everyone but where you will be viewing the concert is not definite. What I mean is that when the gates open and it is time to go into the concert, it is every man for themselves. You could be either front row or in the middle or back, it is all about how early you get to the concert. When I went to see Lorde in concert it was general admission, so I waited 10 hours in line and I ended up getting front row!

     When you are going to a sporting event, you could get bleacher seats, normal seats, season ticket holder seats, luxury seats, etc. Generally you will always have a set seat for a game when you buy a ticket. Actually sometimes it depends on the sport you going to watch. If you are going to a baseball game, you can get bleacher seats or regular seats. If you go to a football game you could have a normal seat or in some stadiums you could be standing at bar type bench standing the entire time.

Front row at Yankees Spring Training game

     Next when it comes to concerts, as soon as the band or artist comes onstage you are hit with an adrenal rush right away. It is the best feeling in the world when someone you have been watching/listening to through a computer screen or phone, is finally right in front of you. It is definitely a constant thrill for 2-3 hours. You are constantly jumping, screaming, singing at the top of the lungs, and dancing with complete strangers all night. Going to a concert is probably one of the most exciting/thrilling things I have experienced.

     At sporting events you do get very excited when the players or player comes onto the to field or court. The difference from a concert though is there are spurts of excitement, like little bubbles of adrenaline. If you are at a football game, there could be no action for long periods of time but once the team gets close to scoring a touchdown that is when your little spurt of excitement kicks in and once they reach a touchdown, there is your bubble of adrenaline. Don't get me wrong, sporting events are very exciting but generally the excitement lasts for a short amount of time.

     Concerts and sporting events are popular for a reason. People tend to go to these type of events because after watching a team or person on TV for such a long time, it is an amazing feeling to actually be there in person and enjoy the atmosphere that comes with it. When going to a concert or sporting event, there is always this exciting buzz in the air, it is almost as if you can feel the excitement in the air. You also get to see how other people react at seeing someone they idolize for the music they make, or the effort a team puts in to win a championship. It is a relief being able to meet people who share the same obsession as you, and get to talk to them about the person you are seeing or team you are seeing. Going to these two events are exciting in their own ways and is always a thrilling time.