No-Makeup Selfie

Cancer Research is a cause that is really close to my heart, not because I know loads of people who have died from Cancer, and not just because that is where I went to volunteer for Uni breaks, but because Cancer is something that more and more of us will be dying from in the future. There are so many preventable diseases, and Cancer is one of those that seems more inevitable than avoidable now. Yes, people survive from Cancer, but wouldn't it be better if we developed a solution to even getting it in the first place?

That is where the no-makeup selfie comes in. I have been kind of against the selfie for a while now, I think it shows a disposition that I would rather not be a part of; a way to show people how pretty you can look when you take pictures of yourself. Well, here's my issue, even with makeup, I really don't take good pictures. I could probably win an award for the least glamorous person to photo-shoot. I will admit it, I am goofy and un-photogenic, and I make particularly unattractive faces on a daily basis. However, this is different. This is to beat Cancer, and so I understand that it is morally OK for people to do this, even if it does incite people to say 'oh, you're so pretty naturally' just to make you feel good about yourself.

But not for me. There will be no pictures in this blog, mostly because you really don't want to see this without makeup, but also because I hugely dislike taking images of myself, and much prefer to take pictures of other people, or flowers, or animals. Maybe instead of a bare face, something that is entirely unrelated to Cancer, we should be taking pictures of our boobs. Not exactly PG, but it does prove a better point in my view.

Instead of posting a selfie, I will be ding something that I agree with even more. I will be scouring my room to find suitable clothing, books, home-wares, shoes, anything that might be remotely useful, and will donate it all to my local Cancer Research shop, and then I will probably be buying a multitude of books from them. I think I can raise more funds by doing this than by simply donating whatever meagre pennies I think I can afford via a website or my phone.

Then, after all that, I might post a selfie, just to appease you all.

Why driving is not for the mentally inept (ie; me)

I started learning to drive at the tender age of 17, as per usual (in the UK, that is).

I was terrible on my first lesson, of course, having never even got into the drivers seat of such a mind boggling machine before. But driving is hard. And learning to drive has been one of the toughest things I have done in. my. life.

My mind is the type of mind that goes everywhere at once with a single thought. Multi-tasking is difficult for a girl like me at the best of times, so handling a car overheats my brain after an hour or so.

I cannot begin to tell you how much money I have spent on driving lessons in these two years (yes, two) and to be honest, I'd rather not work it out. I think I would probably have a nervous breakdown.

On average it takes a person 40 hours to pass their driving test. For me, god knows how many, but I'd say it was nearing the 100 mark. On the plus side, at least I've had a lot of practise.

It took me five tests to pass. I attribute this large number of tests to my brain, yet again. It seems that I am very affected by the outside world when I drive. The first three times, I was too nervous to concentrate (although I did nearly pass the first time). Unfortunately that near pass made me more nervous about the test as I then cared more about passing it. Talk about your vicious circles.

Eventually I managed to calm myself down enough after my third attempt, where I almost gave up entirely after failing where my twin had succeeded. The fourth attempt was atrocious and doesn't bear thinking about. And on the fifth, success.

I am now the proud owner of a shiny new pink driving licence.

My brain has not yet made a full recovery from the shock of Actually Passing.