One of the two is a girl I've recently become close with from school (ugh, remember that time?) Our friendship started off quite weird - some kind of sassy rivalry in English class toward each other. But that soon passed and we realised how similar we were: we both write blogs (go check her's out ), are obsessed with the same books, the same movies, we have the same interests basically. And love to grab a coffee together and catch up on our latest adventures being "adults" now. [I use that term very loosely because we are both petrified of the word.] (Stella - I know you're reading this… no judgement of how soppy it is okay?) She's just someone I get and who gets me and I just feel like when I am around her I can say anything and she won't be there to judge - only help. In fact, tonight, she messaged me an article about how boys are hot dogs and it was just what I needed. 

Anyway, the point of this is that, tonight after basically my entire (teenage) life being a very unemotional person and someone who tries to forget anything bad has happened and bottles everything up [which results in me just getting angry at myself and punishing myself for not being a stronger willed person] I finally lost it. In fact, this was my message to Stella: "As I sit here, in my favourite lingerie, silk robe, drinking white wine - I finally had my first cry about the whole situation tonight. It just got to me. Like an overwhelming sense of emotions. I hate emotions." I can't handle not knowing how to feel. I am always in control of my body, my emotions, and I never let anything or anyone get in the way of that. But something has finally cracked, something has finally broken me and I don't know what or how to feel about anything. I've been mindlessly watching The O.C. and living vicariously through the character Marissa Cooper who is my all time favourite. Although, I think she is supposed to be everyone's favourite considering she is the protagonist and that was the writers intention but she's just the character I can most relate to. 

Basically, I am broken. Some pipes are broken in my body and there is water leaking from my eyes. I'll get them fixed soon. I promise. 

Xo

(P.S. I realise I may need to explain that message I sent to Stella. The only thing that has been making me feel better about myself recently is lounging around in lingerie, drinking wine and watching The O.C.) 

Isn't it crazy how we can look back a year ago and realise how much everything has changed? The amount of people that have left your life, entered and stayed. The memories you won't forget and the moments you wish you did. Everything. It's crazy how all that happened in just one year. 

- Unknown 

You're not the same individual you were a year ago, a month ago, a week ago. You're always growing. Experiences don't stop. That's life. 

- Unknown 

I owe no explanations for my flaws. I don't have to justify my mistakes, my past or my insecurities. I am growing and learning. Let me live. 

- Unknown 

I am pieces of quotes from my favourite books stitched together by song lyrics and I am glued together by midnight conversations and the sweet taste of coffee and I have this tendency to fall apart suddenly and I need you to somehow be okay with this because I am created by the souls who are brave enough to gather all my tattered pieces and put me back together. And oh God how I would love to be whole again.
- AKR

There comes a time in life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama & the people who create it & surround yourself with people who make you laugh so hard that you forget the bad and focus solely on the good. After all, life is too short to be anything but happy. - Anonymous 

As you can probably tell I have really upped my blogging game in the past few months. Initially, in 2009 I created a blog for myself to document my journey through high school and comment on all the things that happened to me. At this point I was only 12 years old and had just finished 7th grade, I clearly had no idea what I was doing… Do I really know what I'm doing now though?? Anyway, it was a way for my to write my personal thoughts and feelings. It was always a strange idea to me to write in a journal/diary because I could never address myself properly… dear diary?? hello?? So I thought I would write a blog online so maybe a few other teenagers dealing with similar things would find my blog and join with me in logging these memories. (This isn't me bragging, it's me explaining my situation) Turns out, not only did a few other teenagers find my blog but by the start of 2010 so had 15,000 other people including companies. I was terrified!! Unlike a regular person, I immediately switched my blog to private and returned to my hermit life. It wasn't until mid 2013 that I opened the blog back up and started writing again. Until, I started constantly stressing over the new material to write and whether or not people would bother to read it or just unsubscribe. This is when my panic attacks became prominent. Once again, I switched off my blog and decided to go to good old fashioned diary entries. In May of 2014 I decided I wanted to start blogging again, only this time I would start a completely new blog and there is the birth of UnorthodoxSimplicity. I currently have an unfathomable amount of subscribers and readers and have been opened up to countless opportunities. Although these opportunities aren't allowed to become public knowledge yet I couldn't help but share with a handful of people that I am close with. I promise with the New Year will become exciting news for my faithful readers. Stay tuned yeh? 

Tv Series' 

On to another love of mine. Tv series'. This year I have managed to watch countless shows: Sherlock, Doctor Who, GIRLS, FRIENDS (for the billionth time), Supernatural, Once Upon a Time, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, the list goes on. Basically, my love of lying in bed with a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or a glass of wine can be combined with switching off my brain, vegging out and getting cosy whilst watching what starts as one or two episodes and ends up being an entire season. I really enjoyed Sherlock (BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, enough said) this year but there are no words to describe how distraught I am that season four doesn't come out until 2016!!! Doctor Who is always a classic and I am never disappointed when I want to watch an episode (or season) over again. GIRLS is another one of my new favourites. Lena Dunham is a complete and utter genius and I am in compete awe of her. Not only is Lena (yeah, first name basis) a terrific actress but she interviews just beautifully. Only problem is, once I start watching a show I get sucked in and watch it to the very end :-) 

Social Media

I have realised how much this year I've been attached to my phone. Facebook. Snapchat. Instagram. Pinterest. All of it. I went through a very long phase with Facebook when I completely hated it and rarely ever used it but since graduating high school I've been using it more and more to stay in contact with some people (others, not so much). Snapchat is my #1 addiction and I hate to admit it. I am constantly sending and receiving hideous snapchats of myself and my friends as some kind of hilarious inside joke but I completely love it. It's sort of, who can take the most unattractive face in public and not get noticed. Instagram will always be a favourite of mine. I not only like taking photos myself and uploading them as a sort of "cyber footprint" but I love to browse my newsfeed and see the awesome, amazing and incredible photos my friends take and upload. And lastly, Pinterest. The obsession with this started back in 2011 when my beautiful friend Maria introduced me to the world of Pinterest. To date I have pinned 6079 pins and that number increases by about 20 every single day. Whenever I have any kind of free moment I am on Pinterest browsing the latest words of wisdom, new fashion trends or pictures of cats - it's completely addicting. 

Cutting my Hair

As you may have seen in my post about the year my hair has gotten shorter and shorter. I've been known to cut my hair whenever a change happens or is happening in my life and so this year I cut my hair in three different stages. At the start of the year my hair was at about my belly button length or just longer. [In December last year my grandfather passed away and in May this year my grandmother passed away.] In June this year we cremated my grandparents and buried their ashes. Being the only grandchild you can tell I was not only very spoilt by them but extremely close to both of them and this came as a very unwelcomed shock to me. The day we buried them I went to a random hair salon and got almost 8 inches of hair cut off. The next time I cut my hair was my 17th birthday. It was the day before my birthday and the day of my birthday dinner with friends that I was walking past yet another hair salon and decided to go in to get 3 more inches cut off! I don't really know why this moment was "stressful" so to speak in the sense that I got my hair cut once again but it just felt like I needed to change, like I needed to grow up. The next time was the end of October. I was pushed for deadlines (possible hint for what could be coming next year??) and in the middle of school exams so once again another 2 inches of hair was cut off. By this point my hair was just reaching my shoulders and I was beginning to look like the old me. [All throughout primary school I had a pixie hair cut and absolutely loved it but I don't think I have the courage to ever cut it that short again!] The final cut was shortly after I returned from Singapore. A few things were going on in my personal life and I felt like I needed a change. As you can tell, for me cutting my hair feels like the only thing I have control over in these "stressful" times and it helps to alleviate my panic attacks. 

Travelling

I did an insane amount of travelling this year! Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco in early January. Sydney to see the Lion King in late January. Kuala Lumper in April. Singapore in November. Hobart in December. My year was jam packed with travelling and I feel as though I have been either on an aeroplane or in a hotel room for half of the year!! I have become obsessed with travelling. The new experiences, cultures and cuisines are all just the beginning but play such a vital part into my love of travelling. I am currently in the midst of planning a trip to Cambodia/Vietnam, Canada and back to America all sometime in 2015. 

Happy New Year. 

- Emma xo 

This is where venturing out of my comfort zone comes in; I've psyched myself out to live in Brisbane, attend university in the city and be able to drive an hour and a half up the highway to visit family and friends. However, I just haven't been satisfied enough with that thought so I that's when I decided applying to other universities was exactly what I needed to do. At all universities I left the idea of secondary teaching/education behind and applied for a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English Literature and Linguistics. I know that in the long run it might not be exactly what I want to do, but right now it is and it makes me happy. After last nights blog post on things I've learnt throughout this year I realised that I needed to venture out of my comfort zone. 

- Emma xo 

And it's times like these I realise how much of an incredible therapist blogging is. I can just write and write and write whatever I believe with no fear of judgement because this is my personal outlet (that just happens to be public on the internet). 

- Emma xo 

Hey, so I've been perusing the web of late to discover that there are a couple of "writing prompt" questionnaires online for readers to understand bloggers a little better. Since I couldn't think of another topic to write about today I thought why not try one of these so that my readers can know a little more about me, my life and my dreams. Some of these are superficial but some delve a little deeper. Enjoy!

What kind of day are you having, and why?
Today is a very calm and relaxing day which I like to call "switch off" days. Due to my crazy, hectic schedule over the past month I like to have a day where I use very minimal technology (once this post is written the laptop is being switched off for the day), drinks lots of tea, climb a mountain, go for a run and read a lot. So today, that's exactly what I'm going to do.

What's your favourite colour, place, food, book, song and movie? 

Orange (or pink), the top of a mountain, rice, The Great Gatsby (or Jane Eyre), Glory and Gore and The Little Mermaid (or The Breakfast Club). 

What do you like to do? How does it make you feel? 

I really like blogging. Whether it be pursuing other blogs or writing a post of my own. I really enjoy being able to sit down at my laptop with a cup of tea and a blanket and writing whatever comes to mind. I'm the type of person who could write for hours and hours about anything but as soon as I'm given a set task to write about I completely freeze up. I've found that writing is extremely therapeutic for me. 

Where are you happiest? Describe that place. 

Next on my list of countries to visit are Cambodia and Vietnam. 

Hope you enjoyed the changed style of post. 

- Emma xo