We're Dancing With The Demons In Our Minds

Hello friends!

It's been a while, hasn't it? I apologize for the blog silence; I take full responsibility for it. When I started this blog, I thought that it would be fun. I thought that I would publish posts a few times every week and that my blog would grow into something wonderful. Instead, I posted a few times a week and then posted only once a while until I was hardly posting at all. I have thought about what happened, what prevented me from continuing my blog as I had planned, and I realized a few things, one of which is that the concept of writing and maintaining a blog scares me. I don't have a lot of experience with web design or writing for a public audience so, I'm scared to try and learn about web design and I'm also scared to publish posts until I know that everything is absolutely perfect.

That's a big thing that has been stopping me from doing what I want: perfectionism. When I was little, I was a bit of a perfectionist and, although I have learned not to be so hard on myself about things, the perfectionist in me still comes out once in a while and scares me out of doing things that I want to do. I've learned over the years that our minds can be our greatest enemies. It's like the lyrics in Eurovision 2015 winner Måns Zelmerlöw's song "Heroes": "We are the heroes of our time/ But we're dancing with the demons in our minds." Sure, you could interpret "dancing with the demons in our minds" as going along with evil ideas or doing bad things, but I interpret it differently. We go along with what our minds tell us instead of choosing what we want. It's like the angel and the devil on your shoulders, one telling you to do good things and the other telling you to do bad things except in this case the demons in our minds are preventing us from doing what we want to do with our lives. They are putting us down, telling us that we are not good enough. They stop us from moving forward.

Moving forward is a big thing for me. It would be a huge accomplishment! I have never been diagnosed with anything, but I have been dealing with a lot of things going on inside my mind for quite a few years now, starting in high school. I've talked to friends and family about what I go through and I also just deal with it on my own. Maybe I should talk to a doctor about it but for now I just try and learn how to get through it on my own. I want to move on. I want my mind to be my friend, not my enemy. I want to stop dancing with the demons in my mind and start dancing along in life, doing all of the things that I want to do, all of the things that I want to accomplish.

This blog is one of the things that I want in my life. I want to write. I want to share my stories, my experiences. I want to share happy things. I want to share fun things. I want to show everyone all of the great things that we have in our lives but I also want to show people that they are not alone if they are going through a tough time. Maybe this blog will help me deal with the challenges that I face. I have already been writing things down, trying to figure out what to do and how to deal with everything that is going on, and it definitely helps. Transferring thoughts to paper instead of letting them continue to swirl around and wreak havoc in my mind helps a lot. Maybe putting them here on this blog will help too.

Thanks for listening!

Cheers,
Kay

Hello again!

First things first, I really need to start posting on my blog more often. I love writing and I really like trying out all sorts of different forms and outlets for writing. I'm going to try and work on my blog a bit this week. I want to change the header so I'll have to work on putting that together. I might change the arrangement of the blog as well. Stay tuned for all of this!
So much is going on right now and I'm just trying to keep on top of everything and not go crazy. I have classes, I joined that free yoga class on Mondays and Wednesdays at my university, I go to the gym with a friend every Wednesday (swimming, jogging, rock climbing), I'm teaching piano two days a week, and I have school work and reading to do around all of that. I'm pretty busy! Plus, I also want to start practicing piano daily and organize my bedroom.
Yoga is really helping during this busy time. It's so relaxing and I feel great after each yoga class! I'll have to write a post about my experience with yoga some time.
Well, this was mainly just an update on what's going on with me and my blog. I hope 2014 has been lovely for all of you so far!
By the way, feel free to comment, email me, or follow me on twitter or facebook. I'd love to hear from you about any comments or suggestions that you have for my blog!
-Kaylie

Looking Towards 2014

Sorry for not posting on here for a while. Life at school and home has been pretty busy. With the new year coming up, I have decided to look back on 2013 and use this year's experience to figure out how to approach 2014. This year has been hard and I'm excited to start fresh!

Firstly, I'm so glad to be finished with the 1st semester of my 3rd year in university. It went by so quickly! It was also kind of difficult. I've been doing some planning and getting organized for next semester so that I can stay on top of things and reduce stress. I loved my classes this semester, except for one, and I'm so excited for my classes next semester! 

I'm also going to have 10 new piano students this semester because another piano teacher is retiring and those students need a new teacher! My total piano students will now be 16 students! I'm so excited to start working with them, especially since they are in different books and are at different levels. I am ready for the challenge! I'm also planning on having a piano practice schedule for myself so that I will practice more and advance more towards the piano exam that I have been working towards for the past few years.

I'm also planning on doing more fitness related things. I love exercising and being active! There's a free yoga class offered at my university two days a week so I'm planning on attending it. I love meditating and stretching so yoga should be fun! I also want to use my university's pool because we have to pay a gym fee in our tuition which gives us access to the gym and pool so I might as well use it! Plus, I like swimming. I also want to start jogging in the mornings and taking brisk walks before class. I love mornings and moving around really wakes me up and helps me concentrate on whatever I need to do. 

Meditation was really helpful during exam time so I plan on meditating more this year too. I want to look into my mind and focus on becoming the person that I want to be. I want to concentrate more on the present and gratitude. All of this will help me towards living a positive life.

As for this blog of mine, I really want to continue it and make it better and better. I've realized that writing these sort of diary entry posts are easier to write so I want to continue writing them. Telling stories is a great way to get a point across so maybe I'll try telling stories rather than simply stating information. It's fun writing a blog and I'm always thinking of new things that I want to post here. I also want to change the look of my blog because I'm getting bored of the way that it looks right now. I'm going to make more of an effort to post here in 2014 and have fun doing it!

Well, here's to a great new year!

-Kaylie

University Life: Using Technology for School

In this day in age, technology is very important and it is at a point where it is fast and easy enough to help us in so many situations so why not use it for school? Yes, technology can be very distracting but it can also help us and make our school life a lot easier! Here are my favourite technologies and programs that I use for school:

• My Netbook: You see so many university (and high school) students using laptops today and it is no surprise. The cost has gone down a lot in so little time (my very own first laptop for grade 9 in 2007 cost $1000 and now laptops can be as low as $200) that it is easier on our pockets to buy a laptop now but it can still be expensive. I received my little netbook (which I am using right now!) from my great-uncle who had some left over from work (he’s now retired) so he gave one to me and one to my parents. He told me to use it for school to get good grades and I try my best. I use it to type assignments and notes, do research, check my school email, and visit websites that help me with specific classes.

• My iPod Touch: 

1. Calendar: I have my calendar on my iPod Touch connected to my Google calendar and it’s great! The calendar can be used to schedule in classes, assignment due dates, test and exam dates, and so much more!
2. Reminders: Reminders can be used to make a to do list for studying, completing homework, and working on assignments.
3.  Grades 2 by Tapity, Inc. : I use this app to calculate my grades and averages in each class. It lets you enter the grades for each specific assignment and how much of a percentage of your final mark each assignment is worth.

• Google Account : Google accounts can be useful for so many things because they have so many different tools. They have so much that I still need to explore my Google account more and try out everything!

• Evernote : I use Evernote to create and save lecture notes and personal notes. It’s great because you can use it on your computer, laptop, iPod Touch, iPhone, etc and sync it to all of your devices. I use it on my netbook and my iPod Touch. On a computer, you can create audio notes, webcam notes, and to do lists and then organize notes into specific “notebooks”. It’s handy on an IPod Touch as well because you can create notes on the go and add audio and pictures.

Sometimes, pen and paper is the best way to go with certain things in school. Not everyone will use technology for the exact same things. I like to type my notes now using Evernote but I still write some notes down on paper. I also like to use a good old fashioned agenda along with my online calendars and iPod touch reminders because I like to have a physical calendar that I can quickly jot notes on and I like the weekly spaces for assignments in which I can write details about assignments rather than just putting the basics in a virtual calendar and reminder list. It’s up to you how you use technology in your school life (or if you use it at all).

-Kaylie

Staying Organized: Completing Large Tasks

I think that everyone can relate when I say that large tasks are hard to complete. I myself always tend to procrastinate when it comes to large tasks. I complete the easy small tasks first and worry about the large ones later. Whether it is an essay for school or organizing my bedroom when it is messy, I instantly see it as difficult and leave it for later thinking “I’ll get it done… eventually.” If we break down those tasks and work on them step by step, they become smaller tasks and are easier to complete.

Here are my tips for completing large tasks:

• Break it down. Write down the task at the top of a piece of paper. Now, underneath the task, break it down into 3-5 steps. If you need to, break down each of those steps into 3 more steps. Once you are finished, you will have a page full of smaller tasks. When you have completed all of these small tasks, you will have the large task completed.
• Work on the task a little bit every day. Spread it out among a week or even a month. It will be easier to complete the task over the course of a few days, weeks, or a month than trying to complete it all in one day.
• Take breaks. Set break times aside to relax. It’s hard to work and work and work without a break. We need to give our body and mind a break to be able to think clearly and work well. A break will leave you feeling refreshed and ready to get back to work on your task.

-Kaylie