Life.

Life. 

It's one crazy ride right? You never know what the next 30 seconds will bring never mind the next 30 years. When you're little everyone always asks "what do you want to be?" Or "where do you see yourself in 10 years?" Yeah you get the obvious career answers or vets, doctors, teachers, football players. But the truth is? No one has a clue. I mean don't get me wrong, everyone has dreams and aspirations and an idea of where they see themselves, but not one person on this entire planet can actually say for sure. I wanted to be a vet when I was in primary school, and now I hate the idea! Life just happens, and you're suddenly in a job that you either love or hate, with different dreams and different aspirations than you had when you were 5. But I think that's the beauty of life. You never actually know what's going to happen in 30 seconds or 30 years. It's just so unpredictable. And sometimes we forget how truly amazing this opportunity we have to live on this incredible planet. 

So if you know me well or just follow me on here or Twitter or anything really, you know I am pretty much summed up in 5 words. 

1) baking-I love to bake! (Obvious I know since this is a baking blog and all that!)

2) Christian. I'm a pretty big fan of that guy Jesus-He pretty much shapes the whole of my life. 

3) gigs. I go to A LOT of gigs, and I mean at least once a month. I have another 5 to go to this year and it's October already! 

4) rugby. I'm a diehard Wales and Ospreys fan! 

5) books. I'm slightly addicted! If I'm not doing any of the above I'm most likely sat in a corner reading. 

These five things all take up my time and energy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. We're all made up of different traits and ideals-it's who we are. This world is so diverse yet we all try and aim for the same goals and the same achievements because we think that's how we succeed-we almost try to be clones of each other. I mean, I know people say that you have to try to be different, to be yourself, but what's the point in trying to be different when the person next door is trying to be different as well? Surely that just makes us all the same? We get stuck in a cycle of trying to make ourselves look better, think better, act better, feel better when the truth is that we don't need to do things better. We have something more than that and it's called being an individual. Being who you want to be and not giving a thought over what the girl next door thinks. Or what the rumours say. Or what your enemies think. Because to be honest, who really cares? Life is way too short man! Way way too short! So start being an individual. Start being you, doing what you like to do, wearing what you like to wear, hanging with who you like to hang with. Then you'll discover just how amazing and diverse life really is. 

As a rugby nut, I've been hooked on that pretty big event that's been happening these last few months called the World Cup. It's a pretty big deal in our house! And I remember that in the 2011 World Cup, I kept thinking to myself "2015 is soooooo far away. It's going to take forever to get here!" And now it's here. And almost over. 2016 is fast approaching! How the heck did those last 4 years go so fast? In that time I finished my GCSEs, finished my A-Levels, did an extra college course and got a full time job. I never in a million years thought that life would have turned out the way it has done in the last 4 years. But here we are. Life went on. The world kept on spinning. And time passed like it does. Time doesn't stop for amyone. No matter how much you want it to or will it to. That's the one thing we can't control. It's both a blessing and a curse-on the one hand time passes and brings with it the events we look forward to, a new year,a birthday, Christmas. But at the same time it carries on going out of our control; sometimes it feels like it controls us. It's true what they say. Time is all we have. You have to choose what to do with it, and you have to choose wisely. You can't get back any time you've spent-whether it be wasted or used well. And do you know what? You'll never know which activities you'll view as time wasted and which you'll be happy you did. No one will ever know without hindsight. So do what you want (as long as you stay safe and go careful!), laugh loud, have fun, party like its 1999. 

Just remember that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Sometimes your actions can help someone and sometimes they hurt someone. So next time your friends are gossiping about that girl? Don't join in, or take the higher ground and defend them, point out their qualities instead of their flaws. 

Give someone a smile. You never know what they're going through. And in my experience, a smile can mean a lot. It's one of the easiest things to do yet so few of us do it. In fact it only takes 17 muscles to smile instead of a whopping 43 you use when you frown! 

So live life. Be who you want to be. Don't regret what you do or what you don't do. Surround yourself with the people who are going to help and not hinder you. And be happy with who you are-you're the only one who is ever going to be like you, look at things the way you do, have your personality, in the whole of history. So be proud of who you are and don't let anyone tell you any different. Don't be ashamed. 

Charley.