Me:  "...the sun"

I started losing friends, my grades went down drastically and everything was just not right to the point that it left me with a negative mindset but one day I stumbled upon this person's blog and she talked about life; how life isn't always easy and all that and ever since that day I have been questioning all the things I have done; is this right? Do I have to act like someone I'm not JUST so people would like me? And etc. That post made a huge impact on me which made me realize that I want to be able to deliver that feeling to others like how she did to me. 

Yes I may write useless and random stuff but at the end of the day my main reason for creating a blog is to motivate and inspire people in any way possible. In fact, that is also my goal in life; to inspire others when they feel like they have no hope anymore. Although, I may not be that important person that you should look up to but I want everyone to know that, there are still people out there who still care, who are willing to help you with anything. 

I am working very hard now to try to be that person who can inspire others. I also love to be inspired, I always look for inspiration and motivation simply because they make me happy and they make me stay positive. Though, I do have days where I would just mope around feeling all dark and negative but I always tell myself to be strong, and to look at the bright side because I know, other people have it worse. I keep telling myself even if I don't have a lot, I should be thankful to have a roof over my head, adequate food on my plate and to have amazing people that support me through everything and I want you to be able to think that way too. 

I may not have a lot of medals, a lot of achievements but I can assure you that I will find a way to somehow inspire and motivate you. If you have any doubts and if you ever feel like you're lost, please come talk to me, I am all ears. I don't want you to feel like you're not good enough, not smart enough, not beautiful enough because the truth is, no one is perfect, all that matters is how you choose to react to everything. Whether you want to think negative about it (which I wouldn't want you to do) OR to look at the brighter side and just be thankful for all the things I have mentioned above. I know I have mentioned this in my previous posts as well but I can't stress this enough; YOU ARE WORTH IT. Everybody is.

So thats the main reason why I have decided to create a blog!

Oh and I also like to share the random things I do in my everyday life. For example, all the embarrassing moments, which I have yet to blog about and anything related to beauty and fashion! Hehe.

P/s; I initially wanted to write about something else but that's for another day. Maybe tomorrow! Because I'm trying to be more active so our blog won't be dead.

Pp/s; If you are following pretty little liars, I AM BEYOND EXCITED FOR TOMORROW'S EPISODE!!!

Ok, good night!

Sabrina 

*dusts off cobwebs from my part of the blog*

(Props to Sabrina for keeping the blog alive while I was MIA!)

It's been so long since I've written anything (blog, article or speech-wise!) but the first day back to Uni meant that a 4 hr lecture was cut short to less than 30 mins so that granted me ample of time to write a post! At least before I dive into more work, of course.

I can't think of anything better to kick start my writing spree again than to talk about my long awaited success in nailing 100 unbroken skips!!!

Skipping has always been one of my most dreaded workouts because back then, I couldn't skip for my life! My first go at it was last December during one of my very first classes in CrossFit. I will never forget how horrible my first few tries were. 

I would either be desperately trying to get my skips right or completely disregarding the whole idea of even considering to skip for the day. I hated it. I hated the idea of not being able to do it and I hated the idea of failing. 

When I say I dreaded it, I really do mean I dreaded it. It wasn't just some workout that I was lazy to do or just hated the burn. No. It affected me emotionally. I hate failing the first time because that would make me fear the second and the next few tries. When I say I couldn't skip, I really could not skip. I would trip at every try and all those failures have brought me close to tears multiple times. 

There are a few moments which are still burned at the back of my memory:

The Opens

Before the 3rd workout of the CrossFit Opens, I tried practicing my skips almost everyday. Some went fairly okay, while some were bad. Little did I realise that all those afternoons and nights practicing would lead to shin splints. I did not know what the pain on my shins was, so I just shrugged it off thinking it was just sore. Days passed and the pain continued to grow to the point where it hurt to even touch it. On the 3rd week of the Opens, I ignored the pain and tried to skip anyway. That was when things when horribly wrong. On the day, I was fairly convinced that I would do alright considering all the practice I've had but I couldn't be more wrong. Everything that could go wrong actually went wrong that night. I kept tripping on the rope and the rope kept getting stuck in my hair. Needless to say, I did not complete one round before the time was up. I think that was the very first time I have ever slumped on the ground in disappointment and was on the verge of crying. I did not only go home with a heavy heart filled with disappointment, but I also brought back added pain on my shins that lasted for another 2 weeks. From that day on, a roller coaster of emotions have been following me on my journey to perfect my skips.

Trying to get back

After that incident, I gave it a break for a few months and completely threw the idea of skipping aside. What made the thought creep back in was the fact that in order to Level Up to Level 2, I had to get my 100 unbroken skips done. 100 unbroken skips?! How was I going to do that? Over the semester break, I tried doing just that. Another wave of emotions hit me almost every night. Over the course of a few months, I went through nights of at least an hour of non-stop trials. Some nights, I got 0 skips done but as I progressed slowly, I got up to 20, 50, and squeezed my way through 89 unbroken. By the end of those nights, I would have done hundreds of skips but none of those consisted of 100 unbroken ones.

Some nights, I would tell myself, This is it. I am not going home without that 100 unbroken skips. But guess what, I still had to go home without it. This repeated itself more and more until I actually got it when I least expected it..

The day I finally nailed it

It was just like any other day walking in the box not expecting anything extraordinary to happen. Without thinking, I grabbed a skipping rope and started skipping not even considering trying to get that 100 unbroken that day. Everyone was minding their own business so I counted my skips myself. (I usually have someone count for me and Nash normally does it for me. 100 unbroken skips for the Level Up only officially counts if someone was there to witness it.) For the first time ever, my breaths were even and I did not feel tired when I found myself counting past 89...90...91...and eventually hit 100!!!!! I stopped after 100 and just stood there speechless and sat on the floor for a few seconds before I walked over to Nash and told him calmly that I got it. I got it. I had mixed feelings about it. I was over the moon that I finally FINALLY got it but what if that was just a one time thing and I can't do it again? Convinced that if I've done it once, I can do it again, Nash talked me into trying it again and this time, he counted. My first try got as close as 98 but I wasn't going to stop there. I requested that no one counted out loud so I would not freak out when I know I'm close to 100. I skipped blindly not knowing whether I'm close to finishing or not when I heard voices from behind saying "SHE DID IT RIGHT?" and I heard joyous laughter. That's when I turned around and realized that I officially nailed my 100 unbroken skips and that proved that it wasn't just a one time thing. Of course, I did not let the moment go without a shriek that echoed throughout the whole box and I was ecstatic the entire day!

They say practice makes perfect. I found that practice makes phenomenal progress.

They also say it's not going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it. I learnt that it's never easy, you're going to crash and burn but the success is worth all the pain.

The support of people you love and people around you should never be underestimated because without them, you might not be able to get back up again.

Here's to my crossfit673jerudong community and of course the one and only Nash who stuck by me from Day 1!

One step at a time,

One day at a time.

Let that sink in for a while. What does that mean to you?

If you've been keeping up with this blog, you'll know that being on a break from Uni definitely did not mean a break from work and responsibilities for me. I thought I'd be stress free for 3 months but that's not what is happening right now. 

At times, I find myself stressed out to the point where I am demotivated beyond words. I stress out about things that have yet to be done, and I just want to do them all in one go. But we all know what that will turn out. There are so many things I want to do and achieve but all I end up doing is nothing.

Trying to do everything at once results to not getting anything done at all.

That's when this phrase comes in handy. 

One step at a time,

One day at a time.

1. I try to be patient with myself.

I am naturally not a very patient person. When things don't go well or according to plan, I lose my temper and drop everything I initially plan to do. I get mad at myself for not being to fulfill my own expectations, and I rush through a lot of things that should not be rushed. This is something I'm trying to improve about myself because a little bit of patience can go a long way. 

2. I try to plan my day.

Every night, I try to look through the list of things I need to get done the next day to mentally prep myself of what I should expect and remind myself of errands or meetings that I need to attend to. I also check upcoming events, speeches or deadlines I have in the next few days or week to keep myself on track. 

Now, this is quite a challenging task for me because as I have mentioned, I am not a very patient person and I can't stand having to sit and look over my planner for just a few minutes because my mind is urging me to go do something else. However, I think this is crucial step that needs to be done every day to ensure that you have an efficient tomorrow! This is another thing I am trying to improve about myself.

3. Stick with it!

It's one thing to plan, it's another thing to actually carry out those plans. If you put that Pro in Procrastination like I do, we both need to work on that! Procrastination is a habit probably 99% of people possess, so don't worry you're not alone! But just because everyone else is doing it, it does not mean you shouldn't try to grow out of it.

4. I try not to stress out on the "have-nots",

Like I have mentioned, I tend to stress out a lot on things that I have not yet done. Whenever I am trying to work on one thing, my mind will drift off and worry about another. This will distract, disturb, irritate and finally cause me to abandon the work I was working on in the first place. Productivity = 0.

5. I try to be realistic.

I have made the mistake of trying to dump everything I have to do in one thing thinking "yeah, I can handle all this. That way, I'll have a productive day and all my work will be done!" Guess how that turned out? Horrible. I couldn't keep up with things and I ended up sulking the entire day.

Now, whenever I plan for the next day, I try to keep my plans realistic and I try to keep in mind time I have for each plan.

6. Be spontaneous once in a while.

After having said all that, it's clear that a well planned out day is better than a messy one. But whenever you find the time for anything besides work or errands, nothing is better than some spontaneous fun with the ones you love. Have a meal out or just hang around with the people who matter to you. Make use of that time before you need to get back to well planned out day! :)

Liyana

Only now am I jumping into this bandwagon! I am quite certain We Were Liars has been the talk of the entire reading community but I have only recently gotten my hands on it, and what I mean by recent is, last month. Hehe.

Maybe you've read other people's thoughts on this book, now let me tell you mine:

My initial reaction:

"What on earth am I reading?"

If it wasn't for the fact that I talked to my friend, Aainaa, about it beforehand, I wouldn't have continued reading. I am quite an impatient reader and I rarely give my books second chances so I'm very glad Aainaa convinced me to stay tuned.

A few chapters in:

I was already developing theories on why things were happening the way it was. Scenarios started being bizarre and I was getting more and more convinced that my crazy theories were right.

Towards the end of the book:

I WAS RIGHT!! I felt like such a genius for figuring out the most part, and if you haven't guessed it by now, I was well and truly engrossed in this book that I forgot my initial feelings towards it.

Final Verdict:

3/5 stars from me. The mystery in it completely pulled me in but I wouldn't necessarily re-read it again simply and only because it took quite a depressing turn for me and I'm not one to re-read a book like that again. However, I'm glad I gave it a chance and I think everyone should give it a read! From the title alone, it might seem like a Sophie Kinsella kind of novel but it definitely isn't. There were some dark parts, at least I thought so. It wasn't a super light read for me.

I'm not going to summarise the entire book for everyone because I don't want to give out too much details. You have to read it for yourself! But here's what you probably would want to know before reading the book:

The story revolves around a big and rich upper-middle class (or maybe even upper class) family, the Sinclairs. All is well and perfect, at least on the outside. Things took a turn for the worst after a horrific incident, especially for one particular member of the family, young Cadence Sinclair. Follow the story and mystery of the Sinclair family in this book!

Happy Reading, everyone!

Liyana

So it's safe to say we both had a satisfying day out!

Mission Project Henna & Sungkai, Accomplished!

Liyana

Here's to a better GPA for my third semester!

It's that time of the year again! How blessed we all are to see Ramadhan for another year.

To me, this year felt like it just started. I still remember New Years Day where I celebrated with a nap on the living room couch. Among all the other years, this year takes the cake for the most laid back New Years celebration ever. But compared to any other year as well, even though only half way through, this year has got to be my happiest one yet. 

Now, everyone knows being happy comes with it's challenges. The challenges I have faced this year were tough. It made me burst into tears more times than I would like to admit and it made me question my purpose in life a whole lot. However, I overcame them anyway. It was not easy but I did. These challenges led to my achievement in so many things. These achievements will be forever stored and framed in my heart and mind. 

The people I've met and spent my time with this year play a huge role in my success and happiness, and for that, I will be forever grateful. Without their love and support, pushing through every obstacle would've been next to impossible. 

There are so many wonderful things to be thankful for this Ramadhan and there is no better way to show how grateful I am than to take this holy month as a stepping stone to not only be a better Muslim, but also a better person.

I hope everyone else has about the same idea in mind and I wish you all a very very blessed Ramadhan. May we all see the end of this beautiful month as better people together!

Selamat Berpuasa to all my Muslim friends and family!

Liyana


As mentioned above by Liyana, it's that time of the year again! Syukur Alhamdulillah that we are all still alive and well to welcome this holy month of Ramadhan again.

Ramadhan is probably the month that I have been waiting for every single year, the feeling of Ramadhan to me is just indescribable. Every year I always have goals that I need to achieve during Ramadhan, and sadly, I have yet to cross out any one of them in my list *sigh* but not to worry, I am not giving up as I still can try to achieve them this year.

Completing Taraweh for the whole month has always been one of my goals during Ramadhan. Well I know it's impossible for us ladies, but I'm talking about those days where we can actually perform them. I have never surpassed 10 days or 15 days of Taraweh, and I want to change that. I long for the feeling after completing them for the whole month (or the days we can actually perform them) and if that day comes, I will be sure to write it down in my achievements list!

Reciting the Al-Quraan and actually finishing the whole Juz in this holy month is also one of them. This is a bit hard for me to do because I tend to sleep off my hunger than do anything else but again, inshaAllah, I want to change that. I will try to complete one Juz in a day, if I can. Although I know that is not impossible as I see people do it all the time, even during other months.

Third, would probably be... Me, cooking for Iftar. I am one of those ladies who can only cook simple meals, when I say simple, I mean really simple but I have always wanted to try to cook other food as well. I don't spend much time in the kitchen cooking as how I do in baking because I love to bake! Though, I guess it's time to step up and actually know how to cook real (and yummy) food. Since today is the first day of puasa, I shall try to cook something for Iftar later.. (and I'll be going on youtube to find food that I can cook after this).

On a side note, I have to tell myself to do something productive and beneficial this Ramadhan because I tend to get sad whenever I look back on my pervious years during Ramadhan and knowing I did not do anything that's beneficial that can help others, or to improve in myself when we know that this month is all about that. I am ashamed and I am determined to change that.

So I guess to me Ramadhan is the time to improve myself to be better, not just for now but for the hereafter as well. Although I have to put it out there that I am only human, I make mistakes and sometimes I get side tracked but I am trying my best to be the better version of myself than how I was a year a go.

With that I would like to wish every one of my muslims family and friends a very blessed Ramadhan, and I would also like to apologize for any of my wrongdoings, whether intentionally or otherwise. Let's hope this Ramadhan will help us to better ourselves and let's hope it will be better than the last! InshaAllah.

Sabrina