minimalist social icons (and an attempt to bring my blog back to life)

i'm a hugely aesthetic person. i get my inspiration from being around things and environments that i find beauty and character in.

which is why for quite some time, this blog has been sitting idle as i've tried to figure out how best to present it, and how to differentiate it from all my other social media platforms. it has occasionally come to life in fits and starts, but like any work in progress, the tweaks and changes have been short-lived. 

today, i'm starting to think i've hit on just the right combination of minimalist simplicity. and i'm getting that little bit closer every day to understanding what makes me me, and what essential non-negotiables i need in order to thrive. 

besides my no-frills writing blog (writing is absolutely THE biggest thing in my life), i needed a space to explore all the other things i'm huge on as well - design, photography, food, travel, and running. 

i prefer not to compartmentalise my life (my time, yes, but not my life in general), and i like everyone i work for, work with, become friends with, or lead to not just get who i am in the context of where we interact, but to get who i am as a person, not a colleague, best friend, mentor, or mentee. my values and personality are inseparable from the way i work or play. 

i bought this blog's domain name as a one-stop address where people could find me, and all the stuff i care about. it's been sitting dusty for quite awhile while my tumblr, pinboard, and wall was buzzing with activity.

(because pinterest is much prettier than blogger's default templates, unfortunately, and i'm only inspired to post in pretty places.)

i've decided it's time to change that, starting with accessorising this space a little with some minimalist social icons. 

and because i'm huge on social sharing and serendipitous discoveries (the internet is a rabbit hole of whimsical discoveries), i'm sharing the original artwork. so for fellow minimalists / hipsters who want something fuss-free with none of those bright colours-busy design-tacky gradient thing going on, you can download them here for use on your own blog. 

DOWNLOAD

life is short. fail and fail fast.

life is short.

too short to wait for that one perfect relationship that will bring you eternal happiness.
to craft that one perfect campaign that will win you international fame and awards.
to hold out for that one perfect job that will rocket-launch you into the career of your dreams.
to produce that one perfect video that will go viral.
to compose that one perfect song that will land you a record deal.

life is too short to wait for one. perfect. shot. at something. at anything.

life is short, and the ones who win at it
are those who don't wait for perfect.

those who admit they don't know it all.
who are willing to explore.
who try as many things as they can.

who are forever adapting, modifying, tweaking, building, revising, adding, subtracting,
working with whatever they've got.

because they know the fastest way to succeed is to fail, and fail fast.

the faster you fail, the faster you discover what doesn't work
and the faster you get one step closer to discovering what will.

these are the ones who discover, as they push themselves out of their comfort zones, that there is no one right answer to life. there is no one fixed path to success.

that sometimes, you end up wanting something you never thought you wanted. and the things you thought you wanted are not really what you want at all.

these are the ones who live each moment and season to the fullest. who drink in the depths of every small victory, but also every defeat, every question, every crossroads, every dry spell. 

these are the ones who realise that the real success is not in what you achieve,
but in how much you enjoy the ride along the way.

so even though they dream big, it doesn't matter so much if they achieve their dreams they way they hope to. they find new dreams in every new dawn, every turn of the page, every bend in the road.

and sometimes, sometimes, along the way, without trying too hard for that one perfect shot, they achieve it.

at the water's edge

morning bled at the water's edge

the city was bringing me down

and my mind was on a ledge

saying who's going to help you now?

without sun we pull what feeds us

from the heat that's in-between us

-Sans Soleil, Miike Snow

Like the flowing river

Recently, I've been reading a lot about this idea of 'flow'. It's the notion that we are created with a unique set of skills and interests for a unique path that we're meant to follow, and when we find that path, when we get into 'flow', things just fall into place and we feel fulfilled, life is meaningful, and get to do what we enjoy doing without it feeling like work. Just like a flowing river, we're not stagnant, but we're vibrant and alive and always moving forward when we're in 'flow'.

It sounds alluring and effortless, this idea of 'flow'. It's where we all want to be.

But we mustn't forget that while 'flow' is a path of constant, deliciously and wildly exciting motion, it is not the path of least resistance.

Just like a river, there are sharp and jagged rocks we'll have to flow over. We're not meant to have a smooth ride over the rocky, turbulent parts of life - but rather, when we're in flow, our efforts and our persistence over time should smoothen the resistance we face and turn it into something beautiful and worth admiring.

When we speak of finding that thing we were 'meant for' in life, we shouldn't fall into the trap of pursuing 'comfortable' and 'easy'. Often the thing that will bring us most joy and meaning doesn't seem appealing in the beginning.

Learn to embrace the jagged edges of life. Instead of running from the ugliness of life, let your life be a part of the river that will, slowly but steadily, smoothen out the roughness around you.

Some rights reserved by Matt Mercer

What Your Big Year taught me

Two weeks. Apprentice-style challenges. 16 of the loudest, craziest, most energetic and driven young people on the planet. Set against the backdrop of Liverpool and its attractions, from the Liverpool Cathedral to the Liverpool Eye. And one unforgettable journey that would forever change the lives of all who embarked on it.

It's been two days since I returned home after the Your Big Year finals. It feels good to be back, but at the same time slightly disorienting after spending a whirlwind two weeks doing things I never would have imagined myself doing. In these two weeks I've been stretched, been pushed out of my comfort zone, and questioned my abilities over and over again. 

I've gotten to know not just the world and the 14 different countries represented in the finals a little better, but I've gotten to know myself a bit better. And I didn't always like what I learned about myself. I learned that under pressure, I can be irritable, short-tempered, and not the best of company. I've learned that I carry a lot of preconceived notions and prejudices against people that are probably not even true. I've learned that I'm still not as good at talking about my emotions as I'd like to think I am. 

But I've also learned that I'm capable of doing a lot more than I thought I could - like delivering an impromptu elevator pitch to Sir Terry Leahy (former CEO of Tesco) without stammering, living together for two weeks with a bunch of strangers and eventually coming to see them as family, and approaching strangers from different cultures on the streets on Liverpool to raise funds for charity.

For a girl who used to tear up at the thought of talking to strangers because she was that shy, I think that's a pretty big achievement. I may not have won the competition, but to make it to the Top 10 out of over 60,000 entrants from over 200 countries, and to fly more than halfway across the world to do crazy things just because I believed the challenge would help me grow? That's already a huge win for me. 

But beyond all that, the biggest win of all was getting to know all of the amazing people at Your Big Year. People who made my world a little smaller, and my perspectives a little bigger.

It's spending every moment from the time you wake up till the time you hit your pillow experiencing the full range of possible emotions with a range of personalities that could not be more colourful or diverse. It’s becoming so completely exhausted that there’s no more energy to keep up fronts or maintain a certain image. It’s about vulnerability and opening up to someone else, and realising that despite our different backgrounds, cultures, experiences, we all share common dreams, hopes, wishes. It’s arriving as strangers... and leaving as family.

My biggest win at Your Big Year was meeting the people who remind me that I'm not alone in this - that there are so many out there who wanted to make a difference in the world - for good. And that we need each other. We can't do it alone.

So wherever you are right now, in all your efforts to make a difference and make the world a better place, don't forget that you're not Superman/woman. You're not meant to save the world alone. Let's do it together.