How to Switch Off Your Brain...

Some days, I think too much. By thinking too much, I put myself in a bad mood. I usually over think things like my friends not replying to me, or conversations with people where I laughed weirdly or mumbled or just said something stupid. Then, I am usually left feeling embarrassed or lonely or sad, or an awful mixture of all three. 


However, on these days, I also have some coping mechanisms, some little things I do to help shut off my brain, and either change my mood, or help me to just chill out and stop panicking about the little things.
We all have days where it gets too much for us, so I hope this 'guide' will help you on your bad days, too. 

I you read my blog regularly, or know me in person, you'll know how obsessed I am with music. I usually turn to this when I feel kind of down. I have a playlist of quiet songs, which I will listen to when I fall asleep, so I guess I will always associate these songs with relaxing and falling asleep. This playlist contains artists like Jack Cookson, Ben Howard, and Mumford and Sons, and any other quiet, relaxing music I have on my iPod. Other times, I will listen to a certain artist, or just shuffle all of my music.. Twenty One Pilots are pretty good for helping you to feel better, because a lot of the lyrics show that you're not the only one overthinking, and they basically explain your feelings waaaaay better than you can! 

But I'm sure we all also have days when music doesn't do anything, when it's all just noise and nothing sounds right. So what do you do to shut your brain off when music does nothing? As odd as this sounds, colouring really helps. Not the small child colouring, but the  more adult one, with pretty floral patterns and little intricate things.. Honestly, the repetitive action of colouring can be relaxing.. It can also be tedious, but it's quite nice sometimes. If you don't have a colouring book, try drawing... It's also pretty relaxing. 
Sometimes I will play guitar, but honestly, if I'm feeling sad, or lonely or tired, I will just not bother, because I usually get annoyed when I can't play things perfectly, and that isn't good for improving my mood. 

Something that I've been meaning to do, and did start doing, was keep a journal. If you ever need to, just vent all of your feelings down onto the page. Make it as messy or as neat as you like. Make your journal a work of art, make it messy and simultaneously beautiful. Do it for you. Every time you feel anything, just write about it. Write your thoughts down, and anything you need to remember. It will help, honestly. 

If you don't have a journal, and don't want to talk to your friends, pop over to 7CupsofTea.com and either talk in the group support chat rooms, or to a listener. It really does help, in a similar way to keeping a journal. 

The last thing I can advise is taking a nice, long shower, putting on some PJs, and curling up and reading a book or watching a movie. Take your mind off whatever might be bothering you. 

Okay, well I hope this helped. If you need to, you can find my 7 Cups profile here: http://www.7cupsoftea.com/12589327

I hope all is okay, 
- Dottie.  

Be a Tourist...

Okay, so I've had this week off college (and I still can't stick to my blogging schedule... Damn...), and on Tuesday, I visited a city that I've been to numerous times for gigs. (and I won't name it because stalkers...) 

So anyway, as I said, I usually go to this city in the evenings for gigs, so I've never really explored, or had a chance to look around. I'd only ever been to Starbucks and gig venues before Tuesday!! I found it so lovely to just have a look at different shops, and record stores. It was really relaxing, if cities can be relaxing! 

I went into two record stores, and if you know me, you'll know that I adore record stores!! There's just something about the smell of vinyl sleeves (old ones smell old, okay???) and the indie music playing in the background that I love. And it's always cool to just flick through boxes of vinyl!! I could have stayed in there all day, honestly.

Phone photography sucks...

I also visited a couple of guitar shops, and oh my gosh, one of them was literally heaven! There was literally guitars covering every wall, it was amazing! Again, another shop that I could have spent days in!! Finally, I went to visit my favourite gig venue, and it's so different in daylight! They also painted it, and cleaned it up..It looks crappy now... But I definitely think I'm more of a city person than a country person. 

If you read my last post, you will have noticed that I was starting to appreciate the world more and more, and look around me, instead of at the floor all the time. If you look up, you start to notice things that others might not, and you get a unique perspective of the world. When I was wandering around the city, I was trying really hard to look around and see how beautiful cities can be.

There's something peaceful about being just another person in a crowd, and being a tourist is fun! Surprisingly, you don't get many funny looks for stopping to take photos! It's just so nice to go out and explore, and maybe start to appreciate things that you might not have appreciated before. 

So I guess the point of this little post is, I want you to go outside. Wherever you may be, go outside, take a camera or a phone and keep it in your hand, think of things that you can take photos of. Try to be artistic. Be observant. Do this often. I'm going to try and take more photos myself, because I go to a small city four days a week for college, and it can be quite beautiful. And I want you guys to do it too. 

I would share some more photos from my city adventure, but I didn't take my (dad's) DSLR camera with me, so they're not that great.. 

Until next time, 
- Dottie. 

The World is Beautiful...

Wow, yay, the world is beautiful. And I shall tell you why... 

There are trees and plants and grass (although grass is a plant...) that make oxygen that we breathe. The drop their leaves, grow new flowers and are beautiful colours. Those trees and plants and the grass are homes for all sorts of different animals, that do wonderful things to help our environment. The trees provide shelter for other plants, that maybe can't grow in harsh winds, and when their leaves are gone in early spring, it allows small ground flowers like bluebells to blossom. There are tiny beetles and bugs and small creatures that have their own lives, but they also help to provide life to other creatures. Isn't that amazing? 

There are also people in this world. And yes, there are some not so great ones, but we won't talk about them. Why would you want to, when there are strangers who will smile at you as you walk past? And what about the strangers who make conversation with you on the bus? The people at gigs are all beautiful, because in one moment, hundreds to thousands of people are united by one thing - music. There are people who will know everything about you, and notice things that you didn't even realise you did, like playing with your hair when you're uncomfortable. 
There are selfless people who will give up their time to help people less fortunate, and people who will help you, so that you can have the best future possible. Wow, dude, people are just pretty cool. 

Buildings. Architecture. Everything has beauty, even if it isn't the conventional kind. We all need to open our eyes and appreciate how amazingly complex the world that we live in really is. There is so much that we don't even notice. I mean, don't we all take for granted the fact that, in a crowd, we're just another person, but everyone in that crowd has a story? Life is incredible, and not enough people realise it. 
Honestly, sometimes it's amazing to go out for a walk, with a camera, and just observe and see how beautiful the world really is. And no two days are the same!! Everything is always slightly different, and isn't that incredible? Wow, dude, I just really love Earth right now!

Until next time,
- Dottie. 

7 Cups of Tea...

No, my obsession with tea has not intensified... 7 Cups of Tea is a website with active listeners, who will help people who are struggling with any problems in their life, or anyone who would just like to talk. 

I first found out about this website when I saw a text post in my Instagram feed with a list of websites everyone should know about. 7 Cups was one of them. I didn't think too much of it to start with, but it stayed in my mind. Then I came across it again when someone I followed said they became a listener and someone gave them a lovely review. 

I guess the point of this little bit is, even if you don't think you need the website right now, don't forget about it. It does help. 

I became a member on 7 Cups when I started college, because I felt really alone, and my friends from school didn't really understand, even though they were all in a similar position to me. So I made a member account on 7 Cups, and spoke to a couple of different listeners. They were all really professional and lovely, although I feel like one of them was flirting with me? Anyway, the point is, the listeners really helped me. 
Once I became more confident at college, I started talking on the group support chats, such as High School Support, and trying to help other people who were feeling down, or alone. It was recommended to me by a few people that I should become a listener. 

On Saturday, I did become a listener. Now, while it is difficult at times, it is rewarding. Knowing that I've helped some people means such a lot to me, because I feel as though, even by being there and talking, I've impacted someone's life. I can't tell you anything about the conversations I've had, due to listener confidentiality, however, I have helped people. And that means the world to me. 

Now, I'm going to tell you a little about some of the people I've encountered on the group supports. The first thing I should tell you is that while they are a little opinionated, they are some of the nicest people I have spoken to. 7 Cups is such a lovely little community, where you don't judge and you can be yourself. 

Even if you don't have anything to talk to a listener about, I do recommend talking on the group supports. 

So there we are. 7 Cups of Tea. Go check it out here. 
And check out my listener profile here. 

Bye for now!
- Dottie. 

Priorities....

If you regularly read my blog, then you might have noticed that I don't post as often as I used to. This is partly because I don't have as much time as I used to, because I'm at college a lot.
I leave the house at 9am on Mondays and get home at 6:30, leave at 7:00 on Tuesdays and get back at 5:30, leave at 11:30 on Thursdays and get back at 6:30 (easier day, I know), and leave at 7:00 on Fridays and get back at 2:30.

So, as you can see, my week lacks routine (and a Wednesday, apparently... They're my days off, at the moment!), and I have a lot less time to do stuff. Now, while I get three days off out of seven, and don't get much work, I do spend two hours on a bus four times a week, and it is exhausting. I spend such a small amount of time on the internet now, and even when I'm not in college, I am always thinking about college. 

I love college. It's amazing that I finally get to do something that I'm so interested in, and I find stuff difficult!!! For once in my life, I'm doing something that I want to do, and it's not what's easy. It's great. I'm even doing something that I thought I'd never see myself doing - I put my name down to perform in the college Christmas concert!!!! I mean, I'm freaking out over it, but I'm proud of myself. Yay!! I also want to volunteer at a music venue type thing near my college, because I need to do work experience for my college course. SO I'll have even less time when that happens.

The other reason I haven't been blogging as much is because I've started to really care about my content. I don't want to write any crappy, waffle-y stuff. I want my blog to look good, and I want to attract new visitors to my blog. I want people to look at it, and say "wow, this girl's blog is amazing!!". I feel like I need to spend more time on stuff, adding photos, and doing background research, instead of writing whatever crap comes to mind. 

So yeah, there we go... College (UK!!) is my priority, because it's my gateway to what I want to do, and I want good content on this blog.
Okey dokey... One final thing - I levelled up!! I'm 17 now!!! It's SCARY!!! 

Bye, guys!!
- Dottie. 

10 Things I Wish I'd Learnt In School.

1. How to live in the adult world. I know nothing about filling in forms, or paying taxes. I don't know how to manage my money and I am clueless about how my country is run... I mean, who do I vote for? What information do I need to put on a form? How do I make a doctors appointment?? 
2. How to talk to people, and feel comfortable around them. I've always been the shy kid, and my school kind of just accepted that; they didn't care that this might hinder my future, and I was always overlooked. I really do wish I'd been helped more with relating to, and speaking to people, as it's something that really worries me now.
3. School is nothing like real life. 
4. People aren't as bad as they seem. I used to be, and still am sometimes, a cynical person. But now I'm no longer in school, I feel as though I can open up to more people, and be less afraid of them. School was always such a judgemental environment. 
5. People care more about your personality than what you look like. If you're a nice person with similar interests to someone else, you will probably make friends with them. No one cares about your face. Seriously, that spot on your face, or the fact that you aren't wearing make up literally does not matter. I cannot stress this enough. It. Doesn't. Matter. Just be smiley and polite and yourself. That is all that matters. 
6. Cleanse your face twice a day, and also moisturise. Don't wear make up to bed. Don't wash your hair everyday, and leave the hair straighteners alone once in a while.
7. Things will usually always work out just fine, but time and dedication will help you to succeed. 
8. You won't talk to most people you used to call your "friends" after you leave. But you will make new friends, and you will continue to lose friends and make new ones because that is life. 
9. Going to gigs, and seeing bands and spending time with your friends will mean way more to you than the latest iPhone or expensive make up. Memories over money. 
10. Finally, the last thing I wish I'd leant in school is how to love myself. Because so many teenagers now are so insecure and no one opens up about it. Honestly, talking about it would have helped me so much. Also, confidence classes would have been pretty cool...

Okey dokey, so this post was inspired by Dodie Clark's (Doddleoddle's) video right here: 

Her's are a lot better than mine, but there we are. And you have no excuse for not watching it, because it's only like a minute long. 

I also want you to write some things you wish you'd been taught in school, because school is crap, and my education is kind of useless.. I mean, I don't need to know about triangles to be a sound engineer??? 

Okay, thanks for reading!
- Dottie. 

Boring Bus Journey? READ THIS!!

So guys, as you know by now if you're here regularly, I have to get a bus twice a day, four days a week. And the journey is around an hour long. And it is boring. So, I have attempted to compile a list of things to do on a boring bus journey!!

See The Light (yes, vinyl!!)

1. Listen to music.

I feel as though this one is a bit obvious, but it's what everyone does. AND it does help to entertain you. A really fun thing to do is make a playlist of different songs and change it up every week. Some of my favourite bus journey albums are Bring Me The Horizon's That's The Spirit, Less Than Jake's See The Light and Green Day's American Idiot. 

2. Read a book. 

This isn't something that I personally do, but my sister told me to read on buses, as apparently it makes a journey go a lot quicker. (Also I was discussing this post with Emma, and she said I should put read a book, so here ya are Emma!!) But I can spend hours reading, so I completely understand how bus journeys can go fast when you're reading... Just don't miss your stop!

3. Talk to people.

This is something no one ever really does any more, especially if you get a bus by yourself. People usually just listen to music and ignore everyone around them, and that's fine. Sometimes. But if you're with your friends, or someone sits by you, try and make conversation, because I promise you, it is really lovely to have someone to talk to. It definitely helps with both your confidence, and feeling alone. It's nice to know that when I wait at the bus stop in the super early mornings and on Monday evenings, I'll have someone to talk to. So don't be rude. Say hi. You might meet some amazing people. 

Alternatively, you could ring a friend, because that's always a really nice thing to do when you're on the bus and have no one to talk to. Just don't talk to loudly, because it will start to irritate the people around you. 

I felt so hipster taking this photo!!

4. Drink tea, or eat chocolate.

Or both. I usually do this on a Friday on the way home after a busy week, and it's really relaxing to sip tea and look out at all of the scenery. So if you have some spare time before getting your bus, nip to a coffee shop and get a hot drink, because it's not only relaxing, but it's good to stay hydrated. 

5. Look at the scenery. 

I love just gazing out of the window and looking at what's around. Any trees will start changing around now, and autumn is such a beautiful time of year. Plus, you get to recognise when you're almost there, or almost home!

Okay, that's honestly all I can think of to do on a bus journey...They honestly are really boring, and it's dead time, really. I mean you could do your homework, or your makeup, but then you have the risk of it looking messy... Or you could sleep, possibly, but mind you don't miss your stop... And don't let people draw on your face... 

Hmm... I hope this helped in some way guys!! If you have any other tips for bus journeys, please feel free to leave them below, I've set the comments so that you don't need any Google accounts to comment!!
Thank you, 
- Dottie.