I've always loved a good quote.

I remember a few years back, my grandma gave me a little notebook that I'd had my eye on for a while, and for a while, it just sat in my room with no purpose. Empty. It was such a special, beautiful little notebook that I was convinced that if I wrote in it, I would ruin it. Eventually, when I got around to giving it a purpose, I decided that I was going to fill it with quotes.

2 and a half years later, and I have 1114 quotes in it, but it's still not full yet.

Anyway, since yesterday was my 17th birthday, I decided to share with you 17 of my most treasured quotes. The ones that mean the most to me, or I think are the most helpful. So settle down with a hot cup of tea, and get yourself comfortable and relaxed. I hope you find these as inspiring as I have.

1. I see now the circumstances of ones birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.

2. Take what comes your way as an opportunity, not a burden. There is always a plan, sometimes it just takes a little longer to understand the journey of life, but in the end, everything is meant to be.

3. You have the right to endure, and that is something struggle can never take from you.

4. There are two kinds of failures; those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought.

5. Never give up on a dream just because it will take time to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

6. I hope you life a life that you're proud of. If you find that you're not, then I hope you find the strength to start all over again

7. Every day is a new beginning. Take a deep breath, and start again

8. We all go through rough times. We all have these obstacles that seem too large to overcome or that current that you never seem to swim out of. These are the times we have to decide what matters most to us- our passions.

9. A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than a lot of friends who only know your smile.

10. When someone walks away from you, it's not the end of your story. It's the end of the chapter in which they were a part of your story.

11. Just because something isn't happening right now, doesn't mean that it will never happen

12. I don't know why terrible things happen to us, but I've gotta believe that some good will come out of this

13. Rise up and be all that you dreamed

14.To anyone who told you you're no good, they're no better

15. If you ever think of giving up, just remember why you held on for so long

16. You don't need anyones permission to be exactly who you want to be

17. There are two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live.

5 happy thoughts

I'm starting to enjoy Photography

I took photography as one of my higher subjects for my last year of school, thinking it would be a bit of a skive. I was shocked when I got into the class to find that it's actually pretty hard effort, and I almost ended up dropping it, but I decided to stick it in and make the best of it. Now I'm really glad that I did, because I've learnt so much that I will be able to apply to the photos I take for herelectricocean, and hopefully I'll start to be less dependant on stock photos, as great as they are.

I bought a jar of nutella

I love all things chocolate, but I don't really buy myself a lot of chocolate, so it's more of a treat when I do. Right now I've treated myself to a giant jar of nutella, and I'm loving every second of it. Now where's that spoon...

Clearing out

I've been meaning to give my room a bit of a tidy up, but school and work always seems to get in the way, resulting in a not so nice bedroom to come home to. Finally, this weekend I decided that enough was enough, and I've given my room a nice little clean, and sorted through some old junk that I don't need anymore. It feels good!

I found my old diaries

I started keeping diaries when I was about 9 or 10 years old, so there's a ton of hilarious stuff to be found in my old diary books. From first loves to silly arguments with my little brother, I've been in a fit of giggles over some of the stuff I've written.

I got myself a new diary planner

During my monthly visit to paperchase, I noticed this adorable little red and white spotty diary planner, and decided that I just had to buy it. I've been filling it up with all sorts of blog-related things, so I'm hoping it'll help me be more organised with my blogging!

What are some things that have made you happy this week? 

Pukka: incredible organic tea

Last week I got a wonderful surprise through the post; a free sample of 6 wonderful sashes of pukka herbal tea! With autumn really kicking in, and the mornings getting colder by the day, I'm really getting back into the habit of having my afternoon teas to get me through the day. There's just something so special about cosy-ing up with a nice warm cup of tea, especially herbal tea. 

Not to mention, that with the colder weather there is bound to be a spread of germs... colds and flus are never too far when it comes to this time of year, and herbal teas have some amazing superpower ingredients that can help you combat these illnesses, and keep your immune system strong,

I've never really tried out many different types of herbal teas, so having the 6 pack of pukka's herbal teas was a great way for me to try something new. I usually stick with peppermint or green tea, but I instantly fell in love with pukka's okay lemon, ginger and honey tea. It was definitely my favourite out of all the samples I've had so far, but I loved each and every one of them!

I usually put one spoon of sugar into herbal teas just to bring out the flavour and make it that bit more bearable, but with these pukka teabags I felt no need to sweeten it; the flavour was so intense and satisfying already! 

I reckon that when these samples run out (I've only got two left...) I'll have to go into tesco and buy the full pack, and I would definitely recommend that you do the same thing! They're really great quality teas, and the flavour is just out of this world!

What's your favourite herbal tea?

100 things that make me feel good

1. heartfelt compliments

2. looking back at silly pictures I've taken of friends

3. "I love you"'s

4. morning messages from him

5. talking on the phone to people I've not seen in ages

6. Watching funny interviews of my favourite bands

7. buying concert tickets

8. disney

9. Being with the people I love

10. Helping people

11. Being around little kids

12. Making other people laugh or smile

13. Looking through my favourite twitter accounts

14. Looking through timehop

15. Funny tumblr text posts

16. Cute relatable quotes on pintrest

17. Pretty dresses

18. Buying or recieving cute stationary pieces

19. travelling (But not on trains..)

20. Looking forward to exciting events

21. Thinking about all the good times

22. Spending money

23. Giving people presents

24. Finding and falling in love with new music

25. Fangirling

26. Coming home to hot chocolate and a movie

27. Watching home and away

28. Watching concert videos

29. Birthday Parties

30. Spending time with family

31. My HRM the queen mug

32. holding hands with him

33. Getting ready to go out

34. Giving people good advice

35. Receiving letters

36. Listening to my old mixtapes

37. Discovering old CD's

38. Reading old diary entries

39. Getting comments on herelectricocean

40. When people appreciate my hard work

41. Dancing around the room

42. Getting home after a run or workout

43. Achieving my personal targets

44. Being silly and crazy with my bestos

45. Playing guitar and being badass

46. Writing something decent and reading it over, and being happy with it

47. 5 seconds of summer

48. Going to sleep and thinking happy thoughts

49, Reading a good book

50. Meditating

51. Talking to my friends over food/drink

52. Listening to radio 1 after school when Greg James is on 

53. Iced caramel frappes

54. Just starbucks

55. Making decisions about the future

56. Talking to my little brother

57. Watching stupid videos with friends

58. Baking a cake

59. Getting cute DMs from people I don't know

60. When the moon is bright

61. Talking to my faraway friends on oovoo

62. Late night chats with him

63. All time low

64. Getting likes on facebook

65. That friday feeling

66. Reminiscing with my best friends

67. Playing the question game with him

68. Getting closer to 69

69. Being well planned and organised

70, That feeling after I tidy my room and it's actually clean

71. Taking a good photograph

72. Laughing at my crap photographs

73. Being ahead of schedule

74. Chilling at home all day

75. Pyjama days

76. Lilly Allen

77. Nevershoutnever ie. Christopher Drew

78. That feeling after a good old cry

79. Colouring in therapy

80. Making a perfect cup of tea

81, Cupcakes and muffins

82. Having a cheeky wee nandos

83. Movie nights

84. Sleepovers with the girls

85. Planning meet-ups with my people

86. When my eye makeup is as close to perfection as I can get

87. Trying on prom dresses

88. Looking at wedding dresses and imagining my dream wedding

89. Getting As in exams that I've worked hard in

90. Exchanging funny jokes with my mates

91. Rocking out #punkrock

92. Jamming with the crew

93. Buying cute

94. Making cute plans about dates in the future

95. Daydreaming

96. Going to the beach

97. Selfies

98. Making spotify playlists

99. Summer holidays

100. Learning new things

5 Happy thoughts

Happy Sunday, friends! I've got this next week off school, which gives me plenty of time to catch up with friends, and finish off the dreaded personal statement. I've been stressed out of my mind this past few days, trying to write the perfect personal statement, and worrying about whether or not I'll get in to university, but it's time for me to wind down and relax! Yeah, university is a bit and scary thing, but whether I get in or not, things are going to work out. I'm so glad I've got this post to write, so that I can reflect on some of the more positive things that have happened this week. Here goes...

I have the most amazing friends in the world

I know that pretty much everyone when asked will say that their friends are the best, but trust me, mine are. I love my friends so much, and I know that I sometimes always take them for granted, but I really appreciate them so much. They do so much for me, and they are always by my side, whether I'm bubbly and happy, or completely out of motivation. THANK YOU!

I don't believe in my beauty...

But this week, a good handful of people have complimented me, and each time someone has offered me a compliment, I feel like there's a chance that some day, I might be able to look at myself and see more that faults. That's probably not going to happen overnight, but I'm working on it, and I'll get there eventually.

Calm

As I mentioned previously, I certainly have not been feeling calm at all lately. However, flicking through Calm by Michael Acton Smith has given me a few great pointers in the right direction, and after my 10 minute meditation this morning (which I have admittedly neglected quite a few times this week) using the Calm app, I'm feeling a whole lot better!

I'm in a good place for university

While I may be stressing myself out endlessly over this whole question of whether or not I'm going to get into university, I have come to appreciate that I'm actually in a really good place for university. My grades from last year exceed most of the entry requirements for studying business management, apart from the University of Edinburgh, which is asking for 4 A's, which I have anyway. When visiting Strathclyde Open day last Saturday, I talked to one of the Business management lecturers, and when I mentioned that I had 4 A's her eyes lit up, and she smiled and told me "I'll see you next year, then". I always thought my grades were quite an achievement, but that's because I am not smart in the slightest, and I know the amount of hard work and effort I put into my studies last year to ensure that I would get the best grades possible. However, I never thought of them being that great compared to everyone else... I thought pretty much everyone applying to university had A's in the bag, but that's totally not the case.

It's my birthday soon!!!

Woop woop! In 19 days I'll be hitting the big one seven! (17). I'm so looking forward to getting all of my friends together, and while not all of them will be able to make it, I can't wait to spend some quality time with the ones who can.

The 1st Playlist

It's a new month, a new adventure, and we're well into autumn, ie. sweater weather. I really love October; I love the colours, as the leaves start to turn golden and fall from the trees. I love the days where the sky is blue and the air is crispy, cold, clear and fresh. I love the countdown to my birthday (Which fyi is on the 30th of October). Anyways, here's my 1st October Playlist. Enjoy!

Autumn leaves - Ed Sheeran

Ditmas - Mumford and Sons

Let it all go - Birdy + Rhodes

Fight song - Rachel Platten

Drag me down - One Direction

Let it go - James Bay

I found - Amber Run

I need you - m83

Meddle About - Chase Atlantic

You are enough - Sleeping at last

Messiah - Prides

Isaac - Bear's Den

Thursday thoughts #3

"The struggle you're in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow"

The principle of growing plants is that when they are injured they grow back stronger. I remember one Sunday a while back when we had invited a small group of older family friends over for a meal, and we had somehow came onto the topic of growing fruit and veg. My mum mentioned how she had just began growing strawberries, and was then told that after they flower and all the fruit from that year has been produced, she should cut them right back to the roots so that next year the rots would be stronger and the supply of fruit more plentiful.

The phrase "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" comes to mind. I think that for me personally, I can relate to this. And yeah, I know it's a bit wacky to relate to a strawberry plant, but I really do. There have been so many times where life has been going so great, and I've had my prime time where my fruit is produced and the flowers blossom. But then something comes along the road and knocks me right back down.

See, the thing is, when I'm down there being cut right back to my roots it feels awful. I feel empty and broken. But whenever I stood back up again, I stood up so much taller. The pain had made my joy even better; even bigger!

The good times make the tough time worthwhile.

Have you ever had your branches cut back?
How has that allowed you to grow again?