First things first, we can all look after ourselves better. I had a little bit of a rocky start to this year, I had some health problems (all of which are being worked on and some are completely under control now) arise and it really taught me how to look after myself better. Looking after yourself seems like such a simple thing to do but in reality it can be tough to do, and at first I didn't really know where to start. I had this image in my head that I did look after myself pretty good but after a little eye-opening experience I realised that I hadn't been in the slightest.


1. Set hours in which you don't work
This one is particularly important for students or those who work from home, personally in revision season I don't work after 9pm so I can have some time to myself, whereas on normal weekdays its 8pm. I also set out hours in which I'll have family time or spend time with my friends. This really motivates me to get my work done and finished so I can have the time to relax and wind down. There sacred to me and they never change.

2. Meditation
Even jut meditating for 5-10 minutes a day can put you in a really good mood and get you ready for the day or even help you get ready for bed. I personally use Headspace (which is amazing and I highly recommend it!) but there are a lot of meditation tips and tricks an tutorials online and on YouTube. Early morning meditation increases my mood and self-awareness whereas meditating at night helps me wind down for bed and relax. Meditating can make you more positive, energetic and happy.

3. Getting enough sleep
This one I struggled with at first. I use Fitbit to help me track my sleep and it helped me to see exactly how much sleep I'm getting at night, and what type of sleep it is (Light, REM, Deep and how much time I spent awake etc.). Meditating really helped me increase how much sleep I'm getting and I've been in a better mood because of it.  More sleep equates to more happiness, better health and improved decision-making and it helps you to detox and recharge.

4. Journaling
Life can be very overwhelming sometimes and I find it helps to get everything your thinking about onto paper. I jot down absolutely anything and everything, from how I feel to to-do lists or ideas I have. It's also really cool to look back on and remember things that happened, it being a good little keepsake.

5. Yoga.
What kind of tips on how to look after yourself better, would this be if it didn't incorporate exercise? I've become a lot more active and I've turned to working out every other day which I never thought would happen. Yoga is one of the easiest ways to reset your mind and body, you can find numerous tutorials on YouTube or an apps such as Nike Training Club.

6. Happiness.
Smile. Smile more. Just do it.

7. Dance like no one's watching.
One of the first things I do when I get home is dance around my room. It helps me de-stress and improves my mood and helps me get out any energy that's going to stop me from doing my work. It can also improve body image, lead to a better outlook and is associated with a lower risk of dementia.

8. Read More.
Reading has been proven to keep the mind sharp as it ages and reading fiction books can increase creativity and a more open mind. It can also increase sleep and make us more empathetic.

9. Laugh.
Ever heard of the phrase 'laughter is the best medicine'? Laughing benefits our mental and physical health, especially when combined with exercise. It can improve our quality of life and help us connect with those we laugh with and help our relationships. I recommend watching Friends.

10. Declutter your life and room.
Did you know that clutter can stress you out? I find it therapeutic to sort through things and get my life organised. Decluttering and organising things can make us more productive, cheerful and calmer.

11. Exercise in general.
We all knew this one was coming after yoga. Exercise is amazing and my new best friend. I love it. It decreases so many things and makes you so much healthier. It's a pretty good mood lift. Exercise goes a long way to reducing stress. Just a small walk will energize you and motivate you for the day ahead.

12. Get off your phone.
In this day and age we use our phones for near enough everything, we always seem to be looking at a screen of some sort, whether that be a tablet, our computer, TV, or our phone. We're living in a virtual world and forgetting what's most important in our lives. Taking a break from social media and our screens can helps us recharge and give our brain the downtime it needs to work at an optimal level.

13. Self-care, self-care, self-care.
We don't tend to set aside times for ourselves in our busy schedules. We tend to forget that we need to look after ourselves too and not just those around us. You can read about my self-care routine here.

TV and film is such a huge part of my life, especially in this day and age where you can binge-watch a entire season of a show in a day, with the help of on-demand, Netflix, Amazon prime, Hulu and of course other not-so well known streaming services. It's at the click of a button, for the audience to consume anywhere, anytime.

I'm known for getting through series very quickly, especially if I'm in love with them and they've become one of my new favourites within a couple of episodes. Hopefully, through this little list you'll find a new TV show to watch. I'd love to hear some of your recommendations to, so please feel free to comment them down below!

PEAKY BLINDERS

Credit: BBC2

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Credit: TNT

If you like Peaky Blinders, then you'll love Animal Kingdom. It has a very similar presence, but more action packed and set in the modern day. It follows the Cody brothers, J and Smurf, in their freelance criminal family. It's lead, Finn Cole, is also in Peaky Blinders as Michael Gray. The show is jaw-dropping in its plot twists and storylines, which never fail to grab my attention.

GREY'S ANATOMY

Credit: ABC

This is the show I seem to cry the most at. Word of warning- don't get too attached to the characters. This show is a roller-coaster of emotions but Shona is an amazing writer who never fails to amaze me with each and every episode. This is defiantly one for those who want a challenge when it comes to binge-watching with 14 seasons currently available. It's set in Seattle Grace hospital and follows the doctors and surgeons face day-to-day problems with some extraordinary cases.

SCANDAL

Credit: ABC

For the fans of Greys or 'How To Get Away with Murder', you'll be interested in Scandal for sure. From Grey's being centred on doctors, and HTGAWM based on lawyers, this one follows the 'fixers'. Have a problem? Call Olivia Pope. In recent seasons they've followed the 2016 election campaign, and its honestly hilarious but dramatic. It's a little bit harder to get into, in comparison to Greys but it is worth sticking with it for the long run.

BLACK MIRROR

Credit: Netflix

Black Mirror is one of the shows that loves to challenge current debates and issues in our society, in a magnificent way. You can watch one standalone episode from any of the seasons, without having to of watched any of the other episodes (though it may help to understand what exactly the show does and its structure). Each episode takes a issue or debate and shows how our world might look like. I accidentally watched season 3, episode 1 first, before realising that there was two previous seasons, so I quickly went back and started from the beginning because I was hooked. This show is defiantly for those who want something new and exciting with each episode, its truly one of a kind.

(Editor note: I wrote this at the very beginning of the year and never came round to posting it until now, sorry!!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope everyone had an amazing last year, and that this year brings everyone happiness, success, love, and good health!!

I always like to reflect on the year when it comes to an end, look back on past achievements, new and old friendships and just sum it all up in a whole. However, I only ever do this in a positive way, the negative experiences I have learned from and I will take those lessons forward with me in my next step, but I don't see the point in reflecting on the negative, as I feel like it holds you back a bit.




Confidence comes when you're happy- confidence is something I've always struggled with, especially once I hit puberty. I used to be confident when I was younger before all the bitchy-ness began amongst everyone once we got to secondary school, I had a much simpler life back then. This past year my confidence has increased a lot, especially in December. Something finally clicked in me a little bit and I feel very different compared to this time last year. Not everyone is going to be pleased or happy with what you do and you can't change that, you have to accept it and move on, always be yourself and have fun! My confidence came once I was happy with who was surrounding me and what I was doing, I'm so excited to see what this year holds for me as I'll encounter a lot of new experiences this year that will most likely change who I am and let me grow as a person as I reach adulthood.



When to be silent and when to speak loud- have you ever found yourself in a position when you are debating when to stay silent and when to speak loud? I have found myself in this position a few times in the past couple of months. I've learnt that sometimes words aren't always needed and that actions do speak much louder than words. I've learnt when to bite my tongue and stay quiet and move on from situations before anything else ensures that isn't going to make any one happy that's involved.




Don't hold yourself back- I've always been a very driven person who has big dreams. This year I released some films that I had been keeping to myself for some time before getting the confidence to put them out. Filmmaking is what I want to do for the rest of my life and the response I got from my three little pieces, has only driven me further, and made me want to work even harder to get to my dream position in life. I realised through all of this that I was holding myself back, so this year I'm planning even bigger and better projects to be released throughout the year to widen my experience and pursue my passion to my heart's content.

Coming is going, and going is coming- I ended this year with only some of those whom I started with. Friendships come and go as you grow apart from people, but the people I have surrounding me now I wouldn't change for the world. Change is normal and it needs to occur in order for you to grow. Plus, it's not always a bad thing!! A lot of change is coming my way this year and I'm very ready for it and see what it has in store for me.



Cherish those that you love, you never know if you'll seem them again- I'd say this by far the most important lesson I learnt this year. You never know what's going to happen or how long you have left in this world. One day you won't be here so you have to make the most of those around you and the precious time you have on this earth. You never know when its going to come to an end. don't ever take those around you or time for granted.

Black Mirror came back with a bang, a couple of days ago at the end of the festive period, and I have to say that it lived up to and beyond my expectations. The fourth series overall was highly entertaining and thought-provoking and once again, made me want to throw away all technology I have in my house and pray that none of the plot lines every come true.

With some of my favourite actors making an appearance ( *ahem Joe Cole), some of the episodes have become some of my favourite Black Mirror episodes of all time.

USS Callister

Credit: Netflix

I loved the Easter eggs that appeared in the episode and I'm sure it will be heavily loved by Star Trek fans everywhere. I was near enough cheering by the end of the episode.

Crocodile

Credit: Netflix

The bleaker, haunting episode of the series was in fact Crocodile this time around. It's something that I can see happening in the future as technology develops, most likely by the government and police forces.

With this episode I was bit stand-offish with, some parts I liked and some bits I didn't. The episode started off slowly and then became more fast paced as her life began to unfold in front of her. I did read somewhere on twitter that the meaning behind the name is that a crocodile with cry when they kill someone, but not because they have remorse. I'm still crying internally for the poor baby who had no reason to be killed in the end.

Arkangel

Credit: Netflix

This episode surprised me a little bit as I didn't have high expectations for. I thought it would be an episode that would most likely find its way to the bottom of my list of the best to worst episodes but it actually did good.

It had similar premises to previous episodes, with a little extra twist. Again, it's honestly a concept I could see happening in the future as technology develops and people wanting to shield their children from all the violence in the world, with censorship growing stricter as the years go on already.

One little bone I have to pick with this episode is, that Brenna Harding does not pass as a 15-year old girl in any way.

Hang the DJ

Credit: netflix

My absolute favourite of all the episodes from this season, not only because it starred one of my favourite actors, Joe Cole, but the whole episode in general was amazing.

Inspired by the ever-growing dispassionate dating rituals of the 21st century, its lives up to San Junipero, with both leads doing an outstanding job and making it by far my favourite episode from the fourth season.

My heart was melting throughout most of the episode, knowing that 998/1000 times they decided to rebel against the system and it did make me wonder, what happened to the 2 tries that they didn't rebel and went with the person who wasn't in fact their true match. It hurts my heart a little bit to think about it actually.

Metalhead

Credit: Netflix

Metalhead was a bit confusing at times and was my least favourite episode of this series. The acting was good but it doesn't come anyway close to its fellow's unfortunately. I feel that the narrative was also too simplistic for it even really be considered a black mirror episode, which led to its much shorter screen time.

A constant chase between a relentless mechanical dog and a woman wasn't what I had in mind for this episode at all. Honestly, I was quite bored by the end of it and kept zoning out while watching, it wasn't nearly as gripping or suspenseful as one would hope for a black mirror episode and was a bit of a let down.

I have one question in regard to this episode, Charlie Brooker, what on earth were you thinking?

Black Museum

Credit: Netflix

I loved this episode!! Moving on from the normal and typical Black Mirror episode formula and instead focusing on small tales interlinked with the main narrative, constructed one of the best episodes they've ever done.

I've always thought that the episodes of Black Mirror all occurred in the same universe, interlinking with one another in some shape or form. Black Museum did just this. It was overall, a very memorable episode.



Have any of you seen the new season or are planning on watching/binging some of the episodes (if not all) before we go back to reality in the next couple of days with school and work and life?