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The Lightning Strike – An Introspection.

The Lightning Strike – An Introspection.

Miniature blog hiatus again. It’s been a stressful week, and I got sick. so just… yeah. Thanks. This is just an amalgamation of an essay(s) and recent thoughts. This introspection had no point so apologies if it left you more confused than when you started it.

I’ve lost it all, I’m just a silhouette – a lifeless face that you’ll soon forget. – Youth


According to Newton’s First Law Of Motion, an object will remain in its state of motion or travelling with a constant velocity unless a resultant force acts on it, thus changing its path. But to apply that law to people is a completely different case, because although a human being can continue on their path until something changes it; humans are both blessed and cursed with a brain and a frontal lobe. You can change the course of a human being, but that doesn’t mean they forgot where they were going. That is what I feel can be my fatal flaw. The persistence of memory.

In the Snow Patrol song, The Lightning Strike, the first few lyrics always seem to have me encapsulated: “What if this storm ends and I don’t see you as you are now ever again?” Further expanding on my initial statement, I am one of those people who are ever so ‘blessed’ with a memory that retains, often, the silliest of details, such as concert set-lists, the song you were listening to on a plane to New York when you were ten years old, the date someone sent you a life altering message or your mom’s first ever cell phone number, yet can’t remember details like your cousin’s birthday, your mom’s current cell phone number or what day it is. 

But now, thinking on those lyrics again… I can always see you as you were when we first met. That is the strangest thing about memory, isn’t it? It has the most inexorable way of retaining information and the emotions or sensory triggers attached with it. Memories are so persistent, yet equally inconsistent. Think about it: how easy is it to manipulate a memory? For such a clever computer, your brain tends to accept a lie as the truth if it’s presented with the unfaltering information enough times. Your brain isn’t stupid, though, no, no. I can’t convince myself that when I was 12, I went to Japan for a week. Yes, maybe on a virtual online game I might have, but my brain can discern the difference. But I can convince myself that on the 12th of May 2013 when I was waiting outside Soccer City to see Justin Bieber perform live and he drove past me in his Rolls Royce, he looked at me and possibly smiled. And why can I do that? Because my brain is so smart and stupid at the same time. If I have the authentic visuals, I can slip in a bit of false information and repeat it until my brain accepts this as the truth. Kind of like a watered down version of inception.

I sometimes still grapple with the thought that every moment that passes is just a memory. As I type, the ‘t’ I just put down is already in the past. Not so distant in the past, but the past nonetheless – as John Green wrote, ‘Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.‘ There is an infinite amount of microseconds in a second, but there is a larger infinite amount of microseconds in an hour, if you gist. But just like our brain perceives time (which is, after all, a man made invention susceptible to manipulation) differently, so it perceives emotions. 

I have this theory that our minds have a way of amplifying the bad in order for our subconscious to feel like the emotional pain we feel is warranted. In truth, emotional pain only lasts for twelve minutes, thereafter, it is all self-inflicted, but we subconsciously choose to dwell on our short-comings and pity ourselves. We choose to replay the tormenting images of what was and what could have been. We choose to remind ourselves of our pain because we feel like we don’t deserve to be happy. But in order for us to do this for so long, we need to feel like our pain is bad enough. Like the burden is big enough. Like the struggle was painful enough. Because once we realise that we owe it to ourselves to move on with our lives, we feel guilty. As if we don’t deserve good things and happiness while someone else is suffering. Or even worse, once we’ve achieved emotional equilibrium and we see someone else enduring something emotionally scarring, we feel as though we need to rehash our past in order to identify with them. Sometimes, empathy can be a bad thing. This sense of ‘survivors guilt’ is what I believe to be the one thing coming between us and happiness. 
But more-so, the ‘survivors guilt’ isn’t the only thing that debilitates us. Tying in with the concept of The Lightning Strike (the overwhelming feeling of nostalgia and regret over memories that can’t be forgotten in fear of the present changing; the need for someone to be “the lightning in me that strikes relentless.”), regret is probably worse. Why do we regret? Because: 1) our actions allowed free choice without a second thought (YOLO). 2) the outcome didn’t meet expectations because we didn’t think it through. 3) we recall the experience by amplifying the bad and watering down the good. Our mind repeats it over and over again, and can even manifest this emotional duress physically while it distorts the original memory beyond the point of recollection. It distorts time, because “time doesn’t exist, clocks exist.” To even paraphrase Stephen Chbosky, “We accept the time we think we deserve.” So if time isn’t real, are our memories even real? Are they as large a part of our imagination as our dreams are? Are we dreaming now? Are we even real? Perception is reality, but are we all perceiving a different reality? Is this moment even real?
Am I having an existential crisis?

Dinner Party Decor

Dinner Party Decor

See, blogging (again) this week. Progress.



After yet another school week filled with tests, assignments, chemistry and general exhaustion: here I am. The phrase TGIF doesn’t even begin to cut it. Unlike most people my age, I intend on spending this weekend doing one thing: sleeping. But, I digress.
Last night, my school held its annual Netball Dinner, and like most sports dinners, it was filled with coaches, little trophies, and speeches filled with ‘the definition of team’. Last night was no different, but it did have an aspect that left me a little awestruck: an incredible theme of Hollywood. Each team had to decorate their table and dress accordingly and I just thought that a lot of the tables had some really beautiful decor ideas. 
So, without further ado, here are a bunch of pictures of the themed tables – maybe it can inspire you for your future dinner parties 🙂
Masquerade Theme: complete with masks on tables as a name placard, fairy lights for ambiance, chiffon for colour and feathers for a centrepiece.

Snow White: apples for the theme with a cute little blurb, each person around the table can be their own dwarf and roses and apples for the centrepiece.

Despicable Me: a mixture of tissue and minions for the centrepiece and chiffon/other theme colour (predominantly blue and yellow) accessories, like tinsel! By the way, these girls even dressed the part. Goggles, gloves, yellow tops, blue stockings and denim – too cute!

007 – Casino Royale: I really loved the oversized cards for placemats. The poker chips add a nice touch and a roulette wheel for the centrepiece under a platform covered in chiffon.

Grease: a more classy and simplistic approach, using the key colours of black and pink (for the pink ladies and leather, I’m assuming) and pink flowers for the centrepiece.

Twilight: finally, the table at which I sat was Twilight themed. I loved the little little details – name tags in apples, primarily black and white themed draping, candles for ambiance, ‘blood bags’, vampire teeth sweets, syringes filled with ‘blood’ and little bottles filled with the same and the books along with the candles in the centre.

Hopefully these inspired you 🙂 have a great weekend!

The Art Of Selfie Taking

The Art Of Selfie Taking

Note: this is probably the most serious-unserious post ever. But whatever. And also, I literally did my make up in 45 seconds. So just. Yeah.

As the self-proclaimed Selfie Queen (a suitable title, seeing as taking selfies is all I do, be it for this blog [I usually take all the photos myself] or for my Instagram or for a new Facebook profile picture), I sometimes get a bit frazzled when I see people take bad selfies. Maybe I am just rather shallow, but if you’re going to put a picture of yourself onto the internet for all the world to see, why would you choose a bad one? 
So, for the amateurs or 12 year olds who have just gotten their iPhones and haven’t a clue on how to take advantage of the front camera, this post is for you:
 6 Tips On How To Take A Good Selfie
1) Know Your Good Side
Everyone has a preferred or good side, so to speak. Not all of us were blessed with the perfect enough genetics to look good from every single angle. Maybe your left side has a dimple that makes you look good? And for sure, we all have that good eyebrow. Use that to your advantage! 
2) It Is Not 2008. Let Go Of The ‘Peace Out A Town’
Who am I to lie? I did this pose throughout my entire prep school career. It was easy, and it allowed me to do something with my hands. Why get rid of a good thing? Well maybe it’s because it’s 2013. It’s time to let it go. Shh, don’t worry. You’ll find a new go-to pose soon.
3) You’re Allowed To Look At The Camera
Most people have gone through an emo/scene phase (don’t you dare lie you know you did too) and in that, we learnt that we must always hide our faces or avoid direct eye contact with the camera, in hopes that people will never look into our eyes, see our soul and realise we’re not as deep and tormented as we think we are. Whatever the case shall be, though, hopefully that phase died in this new decade, which also makes it okay to sometimes, I don’t know, actually look at the camera when someone takes a photo of you. I know. Shock horror. Let it sink in. It’ll be okay.
4) Beware Of Your Arms
Sometimes, holding a camera can be tedious and strenuous on your arms. With a DSLR, I know the struggle. But whilst taking a selfie, always be conscious of your arms. Sometimes they just get in the way and make things awkward. 
5) You Don’t Always Have To Pout

Seriously though. There are other things to do with your face. I used to be infamous for having the exact same smile in every single picture ever taken of me, but even that, too, can be a bit overboard. Yes, your smile works for you, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Shake it up a little. For example:

6) Good Lighting Is Your Friend
I am an avid believer and advocate for natural lighting. With good lighting, you seldom have to edit your photos because all your blemishes and bags under your eyes seem to be lessened by the lack of flash and the abundance of natural lighting. And always remember the age old photographers motto: The lighting must be behind the camera, not you. It does wonders.

So, that is it from me! Hopefully these ‘tips’ haven’t been completely useless, and if I offended you because you do one/all of these things, ooooops. Another school week up ahead, and hopefully I can blog in between it. Have a blessed week, friends!

Welcome To My Neighbourgood

Welcome To My Neighbourgood
A long overdue post with a punny title – ah, that seems familiar. Very true to character. Very. Anywho, like I mentioned in my previous Street Style post, last Saturday, my sister and I ventured to Braamfontein and the Neighbourgoods Market. Such a happy vibe.

In other news, I went back to school this week, and as anyone can possibly imagine, going back to the daily routine can be strenuous on my blog. It’s been rough – can you imagine, in only four days, we started and completed the diffraction section in physics? *sigh*. So my blog might take a backseat until I can find the perfect balance. 
And since I’m not feeling very wordy today, please enjoy all the photos I took. 

Minimalism

Minimalism

I was trying to think of an outfit post that I can shoot without freezing my bum off (it is winter, after all) and without it being completely black. So this was the best I could do – it’s not totally black, so that’s okay, right?

The outfit actually came about in a weird way. I’ve had this crop top from Mr Price since 2010 and I remember so vividly why I bought it – the crop top trend wasn’t so big yet but I really wanted one to wear with a skirt I had for the sole purpose of posting it on my Lookbook. I never really had the figure to wear it other than with high waisted clothing, so it’s been sitting in my closet… Until my parents went to London and my mom bought my sister a high waisted elastic knee-length pencil skirt (which is all the rage at the moment and it’s similar to this) in the same stripes as this top. But then my mom said I can’t have it so when I went to Mr Price, I got this striped bodycon skirt instead. Even though the stripes are in different directions, I thought it worked. The beanie was from a little stall in Fourways Mall and  I’m wearing my Woolworths creepers again as seen in this post.

P.S. The necklace is actually from my mom’s handbag – I kept looking for a chain but when I saw the extendable strap for her clutch, I thought, ‘Why not?’. The chain actually brought out my inner ratchet circa Miley Cyrus We Can’t Stop meets 2 Chainz (because I appear to be wearing… two chains. Hehe.) And I sort of just went with it. Rocking some gang $ign$. Eating my chain. Hoodrat things. The beanie added to the vibe.

P.P.S. I recently just joined WhatIWear.com – it’s a fashion site similar to Lookbook where you can post your outfits, categorise them by trends with other bloggers/fashionistas, give Style Analyses on your outfits and other people’s outfits and just network! It’s a great site – check it out and be sure to follow me 🙂

P.P.P.S. Just have a good day, everyone 🙂

gang $ign$

Where to next?