5 Places you need to visit before you turn 30

 

We all know at some point in everyone’s life they must grow up and become responsible adults’. But before that day it is important that you experience every wonder in the world that you possibly can. These are the 5 places that you owe yourself to visit before you turn 30.

Halong bay, Vietnam

There is a moment when you floating amongst the towering, emerald coloured, limestone islands that you will achieve inner serenity. Whether it is by kayak or an old timey boat you will lose yourself in the moment as you transcend the sparkling oceans from barge to barge. You can arrange to stay on party beaches with dozens of others, but you would be doing yourself a major injustice. The true beauty of Halong Bay can only be found with a couple of close mates, a cool drink in your hand and sublime kiss of sunshine on your face. This is truly the place to find your inner peace.    

Madrid, Spain

There is a level of energy in Madrid that simply cannot be matched by any other city on this list. Whether it is the never ending nightlife, the culinary expertise of the city or the historical sites waiting to be explored. Madrid is something that needs to be experienced in your lifetime to sincerely appreciate, the lifestyle and culture of the Spanish cultural hub of the world. I implore you to see the city for yourself before you turn 30, so you can truly embrace and fulfil everything you can see in the city of life.

Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown in New Zealand is truly the adventure hub of the world. The sparkling clear waters of lake Wakatipu takes a back seat to the shear amount of activities you can do in Queenstown. Ski, Skydive, Bungie Jump, Rafting or even take in the sites of Milford Sound there is no chance you will get bored in Queenstown. Just be warned that no matter how long you plan to stay, you will always wish that you had planned to stay longer.  

Paris, France 

Paris is faithfully called the city of love because of the allure of the lights, food and atmosphere of the city. No where else can you go and feel the sheer sensation of love for the city and the lucky person who accompanies you. Once you get a taste of baguettes, the smell of wine and the shinning city of Paris from the top of the Eiffel tower you will understand the true definition of beautiful.  

Machu Picchu, Peru

Peru is such a wonderful country, with rich history and jaw dropping landscapes. However, it is the breathtaking site of Machu Picchu that makes Peru a must visit country. The inspiring views along the Inca Trail or the rich history lining the the mountains will make you swear that you have landed on another planet. Discover the secrets left behind by the Incan civilisation before the area becomes too commercialised by big businesses looking to alter its natural magnificence.   

Most Anticipated Games of 2016

With the new year comes a new beginning and nothing shouts a new beginning like the most anticipated games of 2016. These games will have you never wanting to go back to work again and you just may not! Here's a look at what's fresh in the gaming world.

• Uncharted 4 A Thief's End

  

We are super-excited about Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. It's an upcoming third-person shooter that adds to the popular Uncharted series, following on from Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception but set three years after that game ended. Drake is joined by his apparently not-dead-after-all brother Sam as they attempt to solve a mystery involving pirates and, of course, hidden treasure.

• Tom Clancy's The Division

Tom Clancy's The Division is one of the most talked about games right now, but the post-apocalyptic shooter doesn't have an official release date yet.

• Crackdown 3

Unveiled at Gamescom 2015 in August, Crackdown 3 is set to be one of the most exciting games on the horizon, showcasing some truly amazing technical advancements that make it stand out from the crowd. Intrigued? You should be

• For Honor

Medieval warfare game For Honor sees players take on the role of a Viking, Samurai or Knight, with each faction offering its own unique abilities. Unusually, players use controller's analogue sticks to control movements and actions in battle, demanding greater accuracy to be successful. 

Chase your happiness

Bad things happen. Sometimes you see them coming, and other times, it'll crash into you like a truck. (You may think this is just a simile but I actually got hit by a truck this year.) (It was the first day of semester 2 and that's when I knew what the following months would be like.) Whether you are going through a messy breakup, had a fallout with your friends, were fired from your only job, lost your licence, failed a unit (or two,) this is for you.

I don't know how many of you will get this reference, but if you wanna know more, watch the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away. ^_^ (although this picture won't be as funny if you had to study it for a year in Japanese Extension for your HSC.)

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. This is one quote someone on askfm two years ago had in their bio, and although it seems like just another cliché, it's true. I've learnt that no matter what happens, you should always get up, dress up, and show up. The best revenge is to move on, get over it, and continue to succeed. You should never give someone the satisfaction of watching you suffer.

Not every day is good, but there is always something good in each day. Maybe you got your winged eyeliner right on the first go. Perhaps the barista wrote your name before you told him. Or maybe you saw a dog. (If that doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.)

I think sometimes we underestimate ourselves and what we are worth. But I believe that the bottom line is, we deserve to be happy... and the first step is to see the positive side, even if it feels like the whole world is against you. You won't feel better if you always complain about your problems or about other people. Focus on yourself and don't compare yourself to anyone. Most negative thoughts are self inflicted. If you can't find anything worth living for, find something worth dying for.

Time doesn't heal if you do the same thing every day. What changes people are experiences, and those they surround themselves with. One day you will fall in love, and it won't even have to mean anything. It could just be with how the sky changes colour in the morning as the sun rises, or with the adrenaline rush when you go to the skate park. And if you hate the thought of feelings, just remember I too used to dance with a different stranger at every party I went to in my first year of uni. There are thousands of books you haven't bothered to read, and new songs coming out every day. Things will get better.

Stay away from vodka and don't re-read old conversations. Don't check your bank account balance, or calculate your GPA - just pretend everything is okay. Did you know scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue? No matter how alone you feel, you always have yourself, and I think that's the most important person. Life goes on. Will you?

Should you trust TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor has become the website to know and trust when making a decision on what to do when on holidays. But with the website become so popular and everyone looking to make sure they get and maintain good review with a good rating, can you really trust the website anymore.

I have been on trips that use of TripAdvisor as their main source of advertisement and I have to say at the end of my time with them I have become more and more suspect of the reviews. Putting aside the somewhat obvious post from individuals who have interests in the company, companies are now promoting everybody to leave a comment detailing their experience. This would not be a bad concept, however it is the notion of the guys running it bribing and blatantly catering their activities for good reviews. There was even one instances where they sat us down with a company after we had finished and politely asked us to leave a response and they would give us an ice-cream after.   

I know TripAdvisor has been looking to crack down on this sort of reviews, but I know that it is something that is just too hard to police. I am not saying that you should ignore TripAdvisor reviews far from it. I am just saying that certain reviews should be taken with a grain of salt. This way you will be able to enjoy your holiday and know that you are doing the very best activities

How to tell if someone likes you

I'm sure by this age you've liked someone, and wondered if they liked you back too. Sometimes the signs are obvious, and other times there can be mixed signals. Snapchat and chill anyone? Haha, so I asked my boyfriend for how he's able to tell if someone likes him. He said "I can't tell, I just get told." LOL but not all of us are fortunate enough to have friends who find out who your crush else likes and feeds you that information. Soooo I came up with a list of twenty signs that might help!

1. They find out about your hobbies and try and gain an interest in them if they don't know much about the topic. If you have a lot in common, they'll be really excited and base a lot of the conversation on mutual interests. They will notice your music tastes and find songs they think you'll like, and apparently it's love if they suggest a book that you like.
2. They call you almost every day and the calls last over an hour. Does anyone even like talking on the phone? Also, sometimes there is nothing left to talk about on the phone but they make no attempt to leave the conversation or hang up.
3. When they introduce you to someone, they don't say "my friend," they just say your name. Because subconsciously, it hurts a little to know that you're still just a friend.
4. Their replies are always fast, and they never give you the seen or unseen. They're always keen to talk to you and don't care if their instant replies are embarrassing, because they want you to know they're interested.
5. They compliment your appearance and notice when you do something different, e.g. straighten your hair or get a haircut. Even if they don't like the haircut, they will comment on it. Just something simple like "you got a haircut."
6. They make excuses to be with you alone. When you want a romantic relationship with someone, you might completely disregard mutual friends, whether it is intentional or not. They might walk you to bus stops when they live on campus, go looking for you when you get kicked out of a bar, ask you to spend the night painting fairies with them when they are perfectly capable of doing it on their own, insist on doing lecture announcements when they don't even have uni that day...
7. They work on something with you but end up talking and laughing most of the time. If they didn't have feelings for you, they would be fully focused on the task at hand and will want to get it done as fast as possible.
8. They don't check the clock. This is a huge sign when they're not even interested in the activity. Oh and even more so if they are usually on time to everything. But yeah, if they are enjoying spending time with you, they won't want to know what the time is, because it'll mean there's less remaining.
9. They lean in to be closer to you, even if they can hear you perfectly. Being physically closer can lead to feeling emotionally closer.
10. They initiate the conversation or approach you first. Orrr they could play hard to get. But usually both of these things are easy to see through.
11. They ask about your past. They want to know what you were like as a child, whether you've dated before and how far you've gone, what hurt you... they want to know you. If you tell them about your past relationships, they can have an idea of what it would be like to date you.
12. They're a bit nervous around you - they'll try to be smooth but they'll probably stuff up a little. Or maybe they're like me and think things through a hundred times before saying them HAHAHA.
13. They remember your birthday. It's something small but big enough that if they didn't remember it, it would hurt haha. There is no such thing as high maintenance. But really, they need an excuse to spoil you!
14. They laugh at your jokes, even if they're not that funny. You know how sometimes you give support likes on Facebook, sometimes girls give support laughs to the guys they like, just to save their ego.
15. They try harder with their appearance. They might start wearing makeup, styling their hair, care more about big brands, and even ask you for advice on what you think they suit better! If they ask you to do their hair for a big event (and they really care about their looks) then they definitely like you.
16. They either stare, are really good at holding eye contact, or can't look for two seconds without blushing. There is no inbetween. Perhaps they like what they see, like the intimacy of extended periods of eye contact, or secretly have this fear that you'll realise they have feelings for you and that's why they have to look away. Who knows...
17. They lose interest in the conversation and zone out when you talk about another boy/girl. I think this one is pretty self explanatory haha.
18. They listen to everything you tell them, and remember the small details. They want to know everything about you, and will want to prove to you that they care by remembering what you tell them.
19. They make time for you even when they are sad or busy. You know those moods when you don't want to talk to anyone? Well, the person you like will always be an exception.
20. They either constantly touch you, or don't move away when you accidentally (or "accidentally") brush your arm/leg against theirs.

Hope this helped! Or at least made things a little more clear. 

~ xoxo Farzana

Relationship myths

I'm no Dr Phil when it comes to relationships, but a few weeks ago, I read a blog post about bad relationships by Emma Chow from 96.1 on Popsugar that deeply resonated with me. As I read each point, I thought "wow that's sooooo true, feeling her sooo hard right now." I thought I would do something similar, but more on myths rather than lessons I've learnt. Can't roast anyone too badly on here haha.



The friendzone.

I've lost count of how many times I've written about this or told people it's not real. But it really isn't. I've had people ask me "weren't you worried that he would never see you as more than a friend? I would never date someone who's a friend" and it shocked me. If you only consider people you just meet, how do you know that the interest (from either side) isn't purely based on looks? Some people don't want others to know their flaws, but you know what's even better than people not knowing your flaws? People knowing your flaws and still accepting you. That's when you know it's real. You can't hide forever LOL. People date friends, and the truth is, if a friend wouldn't date you, it's because they're not attracted to you. It's not "because you're a friend."


Opposites attract.

Initially, this could be true. However, if/once the infatuation dies down (which it probably will,) what are you going to do? If you want to go out to parties and he wants to stay at home playing videogames, would you still go? If you hate mainstream music but she loves Taylor Swift then what songs are you gonna sing along to on your long drives? Would you feel awkward about spending all his money on designer bags he doesn't see the point of? Over time, you'll realise that the list of things you can both enjoy becomes shorter and shorter, and you'll end up relying on your friends and family to stay happy. That's when you know it's time for quits - when you feel happier without them.


They'll change.

If you want someone to change, or if you're having thoughts like "if they ______, then I would be happy" then chances are, they won't change, or even if they do, it won't be as expected. You can't make someone quit smoking. They'll just find ways to do it without you finding out. People only change for themselves. There is nothing wrong with change; personal growth is essential, but it's little things that can end up mattering the most.




by Farzana