Hey there Diamond Lovers! I hope all of you are doing okay! I am deeply sorry that I wasn’t able to stick around for a few months. A lot of stuff was going on while I also needed to adjust myself to a whole new environment. Rest assured though, this time, I am back for good!

Before we dive in into today’s topic, I will make a promise that I will post a new article every week. Some weeks might get tough since my degree is demanding, but we can do this! I will post daily on my Instagram stories, so if you want to follow along just click here!

For those of you who might be new here, welcome to our family! This is a place where we share positivity and encourage ourselves to move forward and improve every single day! Here’s some posts to get you familiar with the idea DB represents..:

It’s been a few months since I came to the UK and I have to say that my life is completely different. Might as well add that I am completely unrecognizable. Why am I saying this? Mainly because I realised so many things by being here, met new people and had what people call a “new start”. It was not always roses and rainbows. In fact, many times this “new start” tested my limits so much that all I wanted to do for a whole week would be to sleep or stare at the ceiling. I never gave in to this. And I never showed that to the outside world. Life gets tough people, and sometimes it even tests you to your very core. I do not know why to this day, but it’s how we evolve, and become better. Now, you’re probably wondering, why are you yapping about yourself? Aren’t you gonna get into today’s topic? Well, this is my introduction.

Imagine yourself. You’re somewhere new, or in the same place you were before. You might be studying, working or doing both of those things. You repeat a similar (if not the same) routine every day. Over and over. Why? What is your purpose? Is it a bad thing?

Before your overthinking gets the best out of you, no, it is not a bad thing. It isn’t illegal to have a regular weekday or every-day routine which keeps you consistent. What works best for you, might not even be good enough for others. Keep this in mind for later.

As humans, we are overwhelmed by emotions which are sometimes controllable and some other times simply chaotic. If I would speak about myself, even though I am really trying to eliminate it, anxiety would rank 1st above all the other emotions I feel daily. Demanding routine, pressure from different factors, it all adds up and boom. You have anxiety.

Although these moments exist, there are other moments which you feel like a superhero. You had a few productive hours (or day(s)), you went to a friend’s birthday party, you ate your favourite food and watched your favourite show, or you simply just woke up on the good side of the bed. Either of these are perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with feeling empowered.

There’s always a but though, isn’t it? But… you suddenly remember exams take place in 2 months, your worksheet is due in 4 days (or even tomorrow), you need to clean up, you need to cook. It all adds up. And you’re back to the ground again disappointed in yourself, thinking you’ll never be able to have it all perfectly coordinated (or to put in simply, have your sh*t together).

I would love to write right now that I have a solution. The truth is I do not. But that’s okay. I learnt this the hard way, but you do not need to have it all figured out. Even if you make the perfect schedule for your study time, or even for your whole day, something will distract you and you might go a bit overdue.

Here, instead of thinking “Well, now my day is totally screwed up.” think instead “okay. I shouldn’t have done this but it happened. Now it’s time to finish all those tasks I want to get done by today.” Before you come at me saying that this ain’t an easy thing to actually think (that’s a nice rhyme here haha), I know that there will be days where you might waste your day procrastinating, or doing something completely irrelevant to what you should be doing. That’s okay, only to an extent though. Your to do list cannot speak (they haven’t developed this technology yet, have they?), neither your planner. Those two are there to support you. Because you write your story in them.

Possibly, many of you are wondering “Story? Are you serious girl? It’s a damned to do list!”. I am serious, yes. Have you ever thought about collecting all those lists and reflect on them every month, or 3 months or every year? Imagine, a couple of years later your older self will see a pile of notebooks on that dusty bookshelf, and they’ll want to explore what these are. They would like to remember. Again. And you’ll be able to see how many little silly tasks you had for yourself back in the day. Isn’t it amazing? Sounds wholesome to me.

Where do I wanna get with this? Stay with me. This goes past what we think. This post will also focus on what we see around us. The use of social media is an everyday thing that if not all people on earth, then probably 95% of them use their phones. Some of them are influencers, some just simple ordinary people like you and me. But apart from the small screen on your hand, I know you’ve wondered what’s happening around you and why. You’ve seen people study, wearing beautiful outfits, having a “perfect” makeup routine, or an “ideal” body. (notice how I use these words in quotation marks here. Such words are never used in such articles from me. For the simple reason that everyone is beautiful and unique in their own way and no one and anything will ever change that.)

Some people around me study faster than me. Retain information way easier than I do. Some others have time to do it all in a day (like those unemployed friends on a Tuesday, who claim they can find the immortal potion – I made this up right on the spot). I’ve seen people around me always smile, or always have fun. There are people out there that have enough money to buy 7 times a week their favourite Starbucks coffee (I mean, I wouldn’t argue). Am I one of those people? Probably not. I do study and I try my best to keep myself on track everyday. But my life isn’t as “amazing” as it seems. And no, I’m not being ungrateful. If you ask me, I’m very happy to be here and spend every one of my days studying for my passion, for something I know I’ll never get bored of.

But some days, jealousy surrounds us. And that’s alright. The categories above of those people, are they more than we are? Are they less than we are? Are they better? Are we not good enough? The answer to all of the above, should be a huge, fat, no. Why? Each individual lives differently. Behaves differently. Eats, studies, communicates, sees everything from a different perspective than you and me. Is it okay? OF COURSE.

My question for you today: Why do you always have to mimic other people? Why do you so badly want to be like them? Answer that in the comments in your own words, I’ll be seeing every response.

Moments of jealousy or anger or frustration over silly daily things (or over the fact that your friend now has an iPad and you don’t) happen always. Some days you just feel less. And how do you fix this? By providing yourself with the love and care you need. By giving you a pat on the back. It’s okay if you didn’t make the best pasta for your friends, or if you weren’t satisfied from your exam’s result. Take this as an opportunity to start again, to try harder.

Life doesn’t wait for you, dear reader. Life is like a small beautiful river. It is constantly moving, rapidly. And the small stones and fish run with it to try and catch it. Same happens with life. If you are stuck over something that happened today, or a year, or a month ago, how are you supposed to move forward? To learn from your mistakes and get better? To improve?

I too, wish sometimes that life was something like a spotify playlist or a YouTube video, where you can press pause whenever you want, for as much as you want. But we do not live in that fairy tale. Move forward.

And what if I’m scared? You might ask me right now. Well, in that case, it’s a bit brutal but, get over it. Are you gonna stay in that comfort zone of yours for the rest of your life? What about those dreams, those you care about, the so many new year resolutions you have?

Change does not happen overnight. It requires patience and time. But hey, if you don’t give it a try, how are you supposed to know it’s not gonna work? Just do the damn thing! And if you screw up, well, laugh about it. Release some endorphins. The worst that can possibly happen is you to fail in something. So what? People out there in their 60s and they go to university! And you’re scared of starting over for something you messed up?

If there’s anything you can get away from this article today, it’s this: Just start. Give it a go. You might not like it at first or at all. Or you might fail. So what? Try again. We’re not perfect. We’re humans, made to make mistakes. The “secret ingredient” is to not repeat them and learn from them. Be courageous and proud of yourself. It’s not every day where someone manages to accomplish what you did. You are enough. And you will always be. Despite what the small screen on your hands says, or the way that people around you act. You are you. And nobody but you, will ever be able to change that.

I’ll see you again next week. From me to you, your (hopefully) favourite author!