Try Something New Thursday: Laughing Like Crazy

Tonight I had the pleasure of going to this comedy show called Laughing Like Crazy, but this isn't just a regular comedy show. Laughing Like Crazy is a show put on by people who have suffered from or are suffering from a mental illness of some sort. The people involved in the show create multiple jokes or sketches based on their own experiences with mental illness and use the comedy as a healing tool. They encourage those in the crowd to laugh at all the jokes even if they think it's not something to laugh at they encourage you to do so because those doing the jokes have come to accept their mental illnesses and want you to laugh with them.

I had honestly never heard of this before and didn't really know what it was about until I got there. But I have to say I am so thankful for going because it was a great experience. I also found that it would be something more colleges and universities should look into if they put on a Mental Health Awareness week such as my school's residence did as it raises more awareness about it. The people in Laughing Like Crazy took a serious matter that most avoid talking about and not only turned it into something to talk about but something they could laugh about. There's a saying that laughing is the best medicine and it truly is! Here is the link to check out about what all it is that Laughing Like Crazy does:
http://www.mooddisorders.ca/program/laughing-like-crazy

Special Feature! Top Twelve Tuesday: Favourite Female Actresses

My top 10 favourite actresses:
1. Michelle Rodriguez: the epitome of beauty and braun

2. Sophia Bush: the fighter to make women feel powerful















3. Nina Dobrev: Canadian beauty

4. Holly Marie Combs: fighter for wildlife defence

5. Kristen Bell: fighting for the protection of children from the press

6. Phoebe Tonkin: created a website about health called YourZenLife

7. Jena Malone: beautiful musician and actress

8. Jennifer Lawrence: a very down to earth actress

9. Lauren German: kick butt girl on Chicago Fire

10. Monica Raymund: partner in crime to Lauren German in Chicago Fire

11. Adelaide Kane: From werewolf to Queen super star

12. Laura Vandervoort: well rounded in sports and a great werewolf; yet another Canadian Beauty

Music Monday: Robert W. Smith

For those of you who don't know who Robert W. Smith is it's him----->
He is in my opinion a brilliant composer and definitely one of my favourite composers. The compositions he has are incredible and I love listening to them. My favourite composition is The Winds of Poseidon because you really get to hear how each individual section of instrument sounds and plays a part within the overall structure of the piece. I haven't been fortunate enough to be able to play this piece of his but if I ever get the chance to I would totally jump at it. From having a French horn solo to a piccolo solo this piece just makes me happy.

Robert W. Smith is a great composer and I love the works that he has done. Another one of my favourites is Into the Storm which is probably one of his more well known pieces and I did get a chance to play a bit of it. I just absolutely love it! Below are links to Into the Storm and Winds of Poseidon that I highly recommend checking out! Happy music Monday everyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hb4fD5LkXI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=051BGEIJRa8

Throwback Thursday: School Yard Fun

Above is a picture of a very young me (like kindergarten young) playing in our little playground we had. To this day I still have no idea what that yellow rectangle with lines in it was meant for but I sure had fun trying to figure it out. I was one of those kids that loved being outdoors and having fun. Whenever I got the chance I would be outside playing either with a friend or by myself it didn't matter as long as I was outside. Now that I'm older I find that I miss being in elementary school but not because I was young it's more because of that is where most of my memories are from.

I loved my elementary school with it's little L shaped building, basketball courts with old nets and of course our tiny gym. As much as people complained about our gym at school I couldn't because it always gave us a great home court advantage for basketball and volleyball. I miss my elementary school but I do still go back and visit every now and then just to see how much has changed since I went there.

Top Ten Tuesday: Places to Travel

My top 10 places I would like to travel:

1. San Fransico

2. Return to Chicago

3. Return to Prague

4. The Netherlands

5. Scotland

6. Rio De Janeiro

7. Rome

8. Greece

9. Ireland

10. Barcelona

Fashion Friday: Featuring Sophia Bush!

Can I just say that even in such a basic outfit like the one in the picture above Sophia Bush always makes it work?  Sophia Bush is one of my favourite female actresses but not just because I think she's gorgeous and has an amazing fashion sense but because she seems to be such a caring person. Sophia is one woman who takes a stand against all the dram concerning the female body image and I find that to be empowering. I was happy to learn that her 'Zero is Not a Size' campaign in the hit television series One Tree Hill was not just a thing for show but she does in fact believe in that and works to promote a love your body and love yourself type of campaign in real life.

No matter what Sophia is wearing I always find her to look stunning and she is definitely one of my fashion icons. I view Sophia's style and personality as inspiration for what I hope to achieve one day when I enter in the world that is fashion.!

Throwback Thursday: Rock Glen and Tire Swings

Throwback Thursday to a long time ago when I was a kid and my mom took myself, one of my friends, my brother and one of his friends to a place called Rock Glen. At the time I remember being so excited because I could find more rocks that I'd be able to add to my rock collection (which I still have to this day). It also helped that my mom said Rock Glen had a waterfall that we could go under and swim around if it was nice that day. But unfortunately when we got there we were unable to that day. I don't remember much that happened that day except for finding some fossils that I still currently have and the tire swings you see in the picture above.

I don't know how long I spent on those tire swings but I absolutely loved them. My friend in this picture with me and I always talk about going back there to go on the swings again and in a way re-create this picture. Unfortunately she went back there not too long ago and as it turns out the tire swings are gone. But with or without the tire swings I still want to go back there and see what memories will come flooding back from that adventurous day!

What's Up Wednesday: The Greek Life!

Today I am pleased to announce that I will be going to my first pledge education class as a pledge for Delta Phi Nu Sorority in Toronto! Since I was a kid I have always wanted to be a part of a sorority and now I finally have my chance! I am literally so excited for this you have no idea. I can't wait to be a part of a life long sister hood and get to gain sisters in my life. Growing up with a brother makes this whole being able to have sisters thing that much more exciting for me.

With being in a sorority it means that I get to go to events, help plan events and just be out in the community. When I told my mom abut it she said it sounded boring but she knows that I live for this kind of thing. I love being able to help people and have a need to always be busy with things, its just the way I am. So excited and proud to be able to be a part of Delta Phi Nu!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favourite Books/ Book Series

Top 10 Favourite Books/Book Series:
1. Children of the Red King Seriesby Jenny Nimmo
2. Night World Series by L.J Smith
3. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis
4. The Vampire Diaries by L.J Smith
5. Dark Visions by L.J Smith
6. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
7. The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare
8. The Secret Circle Series by L.J Smith
9. The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D'Lacey
10. The Forbidden Game by L.J Smith

As you can probably gather L.J smith is my favourite author. I started reading her novels back in high school when I stumbled upon them and found them to be interesting. After that very first book I was hooked and have since found myself diving into many other books by her.

Mental Health Monday: Music cures

This week in my residence we are putting on a mental health awareness week. There are a variety of activities that the R.A's have planned and tonight's was a coffee house and trivia night. Mental health is a cause that is dear to me because I have witnessed the damage that can be done to someone suffering from a mental illness. More and more people need to be aware of what exactly it is that can cause mental health illnesses and how to help those suffering from such an illness. I found myself being very impressed by my residence for deciding to put on such thing as a mental health awareness week.

Tonight at the coffee house and trivia night I had the chance to perform on my flute for the first time in a while instead of opting to sing which is what I normally do. I played the song A Thousand Years by Christina Perri and though that doesn't relate to mental health I find it to be a powerful song that is meaningful to me. I didn't talk about those who I have witnessed and helped through mental health illnesses but to me the song represents how my friends know that I am and will continue to always be there for them in their time of need. Just one call, or one text, or even one message saying you are there for someone can change someone's life forever.

For those of my friends who have gone through mental health problems the thing they all had in common that helped is music. Even for myself and with my own issues I have faced about mental health music is the one thing that helps someone to heal. Music is a cure for anyone who loves music as much as I do and tonight it was proven for those who came together to perform it brought everyone just a little bit closer. We may not have all known each other, we may not have all been that close but in that moment or that song it brought everyone a little bit closer. No judging, no rude remarks just pure positive energy and support for fellow musicians and fellow residents.

Fun Fact Friday: X-Men & Castles in my own Backyard

Today I didn't have class and so my friend and I decided to go on an adventure to this place in Toronto called Casa Loma. I first discovered this castle when I went on a class field trip there way back in like grade four. Back then I never had a huge appreciation for it because I was far too excited to go to the Toronto Zoo instead that day. But as I got older I found a growing need to go back to Casa Loma because 1. I love castles, 2. it's haunted and 3. the architecture is amazing! Today ended up being the day I finally returned and was literally acting like a bouncy little kid all day because I was that excited.

Fun fact about Casa Loma is that it has been the spot for many movies ranging from The Pacifier with Vin Diesel, to Skulls with Paul Walker to Twitches 2 with the Mowry twins to my personal favourite The X-men! I was told when I visited the first time that scenes from the X-men (the very first one) was filmed there and it only aided in why I had to go back.

Throw Back Thursday: Cleveland, Whirly Ball and Roller Coasters

In 2009 I got to go on a field trip with my wonderful music department to Cleveland. Throughout the years I was in high school I also got to go to Chicago and Ottawa with my music department. But out of the three trips that I did I would have to say that the Cleveland one was my favourite. Maybe it was because we went to Cedar Point, and the zoo and got to play whirly ball, maybe it was the people or maybe it was all of the above either way there was something about that trip that I loved. The year that we went I would have only been in grade nine and there ended up being only two grade nines on the trip, myself and my friend Melissa.

Somehow though despite there being only two of us it was a great trip. It allowed me to become really close with the senior music students and when it came time to for them to graduate and leave the music department it made me sad. Luckily though some of the ones I became really close with did a victory lap and I was able to spend one last year with all of them. The music department was my second home, my second family and even now that I'm away at college it still is my second home. Any time I do a meditation thing and am told to picture my happy place I picture the music room, my friends there, the trips we went on, the shows we did and the amazing environment.

Me in the music room on my very last day of high school! <3

Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Movies/Movie Series

Top Ten Favourite Movies/Movie Series:

1. The Fast and The Furious series

2. X-Men series

3. The Bang Bang Club

4.You Got Served

5. Wild America














6. The Covenant

7. Battleship

8. Moulin Rouge

9. The Neverending Story











10. The Chronicles of Narnia

Man Crush Monday: Taylor Kitsch

 From Pogue Parry in The Covenant

To Tim Riggins in Friday Night Lights

To Lieutenant Alex Hopper in Battleship

Taylor Kitsch is an all around great actor! A Canadian from Kelowna, British Columbia he is one of my favourite actors. I think I have seen him in just about everything he's been in and if not then I will get there because he is a phenomenal actor. He plays a variety of roles in television shows and movies but he's generally portrayed as your typical bruting bad boy who can be reformed. I had no idea who Taylor Kitsch was until I stumbled upon the movie The Covenant and from there fell in love with him as an actor and well come on he is rather attractive (at least in my opinion). After that I looked him up in other roles such as his role in Friday Night Lights which has since become one of my favourite television series with some great quotes I refer to frequently.

Taylor Kitsch is most definitely my number 1 in my top 5 attractive/favourite actors. Not only do I think he's attractive and a great actor but just watching some interviews that have been done with him makes me feel like he's a really genuine guy. In one of the interviews I watched (I can't remember the exact words) but he mentions how if you want the paparazzi after you and to be in the public's eye all the time then you go out and do things like party or that kind of thing but personally he stays away from it. I thought that was a pretty cool thing to hear an actor say. Also before he became the great star he is today he had been homeless and it just goes to show that with perseverance and dedication you can go a long way.

Taylor Kitsch is my Man Crush Monday, who's yours?