Netflix is used by a variety of people all over the world. There are hundreds of shows and you can watch them for a monthly fee. I had never got a Netflix account in my life and I wanted to see if it really is as good as people make it out to be. So, I signed up for the Netflix subscription and I watched a variety of shows after my GCSE exams. But, was it worth it?

My Experience:

• Firstly, I researched what shows are available on Netflix and also read the blurbs/summaries of some of the shows.
• I also tried to research the best shows for teenagers.
• Unfortunately, many of the shows that were recommended were quite inappropriate and I was not a fan of romance so I decided to stick to shows for younger people.
• I watched ‘Wonder’ which is the movie for a book I already read. It was truly very fun and it was quite addictive.
• I watched ‘The Worst Witch’ Season 1 which I have made a whole review on my website about here.
• I would sometimes watch shows partially and get bored. For example, I attempted to watch Matt D’Avella ‘Minimalism’ documentary but I honestly did not find it very engaging so I stopped watching it.
• I watched the whole ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ by Roald Dahl which is one of my favorite Dahl books.
• I watched a few episodes of FRIENDS, since it is so popular, and despite having good personalities and easy to understand, it is incredibly l o n g and again, the inappropriate jokes would sometimes throw me off.
• Before ending my Netflix subscription, I watched some episodes of ‘Modern Family’ and even though this also had some inappropriate jokes, I found the family tree to be quite interesting and how everyone bonded together in a weird way.

What I Learnt/What Went Well:

• Asking your friends and researching the shows before you watch it is good to avoid unpleasant surprises and also to not waste your time.
• Please check the age guidelines before watching a show.
• Check how many seasons it has. Some shows will take forever to finish unless you want to hibernate in your bed for hours and hours on end.
• I understand that some movies and shows can be quite fun and entertaining to watch.

Even Better If:

• There isn’t such a wide variety of shows as I expected there to be. 
• It can be very addictive and Netflix can waste your time. 
• Everything is quite sexual/inapproprate unless you watch shows for younger people so I was very limited to what I could watch.
• Some shows are again so long so it will take you a very long time to finish a whole show e.g. FRIENDS and it is a waste of valuable time that you could be using for something else.
• Some shows can get very boring (I am more of a Bollywood girl than a Hollywood one).

My Advice:

• Research the shows before you watch them.
• Only get Netflix if you are truly desperate to watch a specific show or if you have lots of time. Because I had so many other activities to do, I genuinely sometimes did not get the time to watch Netflix. So for now, I have deleted my subscription because I won’t have time to watch it and I did not enjoy it as much.
• Try the free trial before paying.

My Rating:

I would rate this hobby a 3/5. 

My Rating System:

⅕: don’t try this hobby at all

⅖: this hobby was not very fun 

3/5: try this hobby for maximum 30 days

⅘: try this hobby consistently for a few months.

5/5: implement this hobby into your life and make it a habit!

The app I used:

https://www.netflix.com/gb/

It is a very simple habit!

I hope you enjoyed today’s article. Comment down below if you love to workout!

If you want to see more advice-related articles, click here.  

If you want to see more of my experiences, click here.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

When many people are asked why they don’t work out, one of the main reasons is the lack of time. However, is it just that you don’t have enough time or you are simply feeling lazy? For my March 2021 monthly hobby for the ‘body’ I decided to do a 7 minute workout every day after school. It doesn’t take much time, allows you to keep fit and allows you to have some me-time. In this article, I will share my experience, evaluation, advice and rating for this hobby.

My Experience:

• Right after school, I would take a rest and then get out my exercise mat.
• I would choose which workout I preferred to do from the different choices.
• I would do this 7 minute workout and listen to some music. 
• Then, I would drink plenty of water and take some rest.

What I Learnt/What Went Well:

• I really enjoyed the fact that it became part of my routine that I could do.
• I felt happy that I was doing something for my health and I knew that 7 minutes of high-intensity exercise is better than nothing.
• I started on the 8th March and remained consistent at it for quite a long time. 
• I managed to do it for 16/31 days. 
• It was quick, fun and easy.
• I liked how I could choose which workout I wanted to do.

Even Better If:

• I didn’t do it consistently for 30 days which is completely fine.
• I wish the music in the app was slightly better but that was okay as you are free to listen to your own music.
• I would want to increase the level of difficulty and the number of calories and possibly do it more times.

My Advice:

• Incorporate some time in your routine to do the workout every day.
• Track your progress every day in the app and increase it regularly.
• If you struggle to find the motivation to workout, have someone to keep you accountable.
• Make your workouts fun by listening to something fun (I listen to music by Ikson).

My Rating:

I would rate this hobby a 4.5/5. 

The app I used:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.popularapp.sevenmins&hl=en_GB&gl=US

It is a very simple habit!

I hope you enjoyed today’s article. Comment down below if you love to workout!

If you want to see more advice-related articles, click here.  

If you want to see more of my experiences, click here.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

During this COVID-19 pandemic, everyone has been told to stay at home. However, where I live, it is still okay to go out for exercise or essential travel. So, for my February 2021 monthy hobby for the ‘body’ I decided to go out for a walk every day. In this article, I will share experience, evaluation, advice and rating for this hobby.

My Experience:

• I would take safety precautions of COVID-19 and go out mostly in the mornings by myself and walk around my neighbourhood.
• In the mornings, when I went out it was quite tranquil, gave me time to think, time to spend in nature and see the sunrise. It was also very quiet.
• If I was going out in the afternoon, it would mostly be with my mother, so I got to chat with her.
• It definitely helped in some ways e.g. change of environment.

What I Learnt/What Went Well:

• I had quite mixed emotions to this.
• I could listen to something outside when I was by myself and when with my mother, I could have my own private conversation with her.
• It lets you be around nature which usually makes one happier.

Even Better If:

• I didn’t do it consistently for 30 days which is completely fine.
• It may have been nice to stick to the same time every day to walk.
• I could have had a certain playlist to listen to when going out.

My Advice:

• Incorporate some time in your routine to go out and add it to your daily to do list.
• Make a playlist so you know what to listen to when you go out.
• Reduce the friction to go out by having everything ready e.g. your face mask.

My Rating:

I would rate this hobby a 3/5. 

It is a very simple habit!

I hope you enjoyed today’s article. Comment down below if you go for daily walks!

If you want to see more advice-related articles, click here.  

If you want to see more of my experiences, click here.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

Affirmations are known to be a powerful tool to build confidence, combat fear and make dreams come into reality. Yet, many people don’t do this. I decided to give it a go and see what would happen. So my February 2021 monthly hobby for the ‘soul’ was to speak affirmations every day.

In this article, I will be sharing my experience, evaluation, advice and rating for this hobby.

My Experience:

• I tried to repeat these affirmations every day.
• The affirmations I said were sometimes different but it was statements such as ‘I love myself,’ ‘I believe in myself’ and ‘I am enough.’
• I remember that while saying the affirmations, I would sometimes feel empowered and really internalise this feeling of belief, confidence and self-love.
• I would sometimes start repeating these statements to myself in times of negative self-talk.

What I Learnt/What Went Well:

• Affirmations are definitely for anyone – everyone has fears, bad days and negativity at some point so building yourself up to be positive is important.
• It taught me the power of positivity.
• You have to really say these affirmations out loud and believe it within you as you say it.

Even Better If:

• I didn’t do it consistently for 30 days which is completely fine.
• It may have been nice to stick to the same affirmations.
• I want to practise saying these affirmations even at times of difficulty.

My Advice:

• Make a list of affirmations you want to read out loud.
• Read it out loud at a specific time each day, even in front of the mirror, and believe in it.
• Try to say these statements even when you are not feeling the best.

My Rating:

I would rate this hobby a ⅘.

I think that affirmations do work – you have to be consistent, believe in it and take action!

I hope you enjoyed today’s article. Comment down below what affirmations you would say to yourself!

If you want to see more advice-related articles, click here.  

If you want to see more of my experiences, click here.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

Cooking is a vital life skill. Many people pass their lives not having learnt a single recipe, while others manage to make this their career or their long-lasting passion. 

For February 2021, my hobby for the ‘mind’ was to learn new recipes that were from different cuisines and learn some precious culinary skills. 

In this article, I will be sharing my experience, evaluation, advice and rating for this hobby. 

My Experience:

• Firstly, I decided to cook with my sister (who is also an amateur at cooking) and my mother (who is a great cook). 
• I got some recipe books from my old schools and my sister and I decided together which recipes we would make.
• For some of the recipes, we then had to buy the ingredients.
• We then started cooking. We cooked on the weekends, so some days we would cook the main meal and then dessert, and other days we would only cook the main meal.
• My mother guided my sister and me.
• In the end, we would admire our food, take some photos and then eat the food amongst our family.
• The main meals I was involved in cooking were: fajitas, tuna and broccoli pasta, savoury rice and shepherd’s pie.
• The desserts I was involved in making: chocolate brownie and apple crumble.

What I Learnt/What Went Well:

• Hygiene is vital in cooking and my sister and I would tidy up as we were cooking to keep our space clean.
• I learnt how to interpret recipe books and also sometimes, how to estimate the measurements of some ingredients.
• I also learnt some culinary skills like cutting vegetables the right way.

Even Better If:

• I didn’t memorise any of these recipes, so I do have to rely on the recipe books still.
• I would want to learn some quicker simple recipes as all these recipes require a lot of ingredients and time, and are more for fancy occasions.
• I want to try cooking on my own.

My Advice:

• For those who want to learn cooking, make sure to get organised!
• Get recipe books or make a playlist of YouTube videos. Buy your ingredients.
• If you are starting out, maybe have someone to help out.
• Never give up.

My Rating:

I did enjoy this hobby so I would rate it a 4.3 out of 5.

It united me, my sister and mother, we tried new foods and I got to learn something new!

I hope you enjoyed today’s article. Comment down below what recipes you know how to make!

If you want to see more food-related articles, click here.

If you want to see more of my experiences, click here.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

Well, there is no need to sulk because, in today’s article of the month, I will be sharing ten things that you can do before the New Year to have that refreshing feeling, but hopefully also one step closer to achieving your goals. 

These tips are subjective and it is your choice on whether to follow them or not :). 

Plan your New Year’s Resolutions

Okay, I know that some people are probably fed up of setting themselves New Year’s Resolutions and failing to complete them within the first week of the new year. However, remember to never give up and keep going. A great example of this is my sister who despite having gone through most of this year, she still managed to lose weight on the last few months which was one of her goals. 

One tip is to give yourself small achievable goals for each big resolution and set yourself up to three or four resolutions.

Organise your room

If your room is looking a bit like an old bird’s nest, it is time for you to clean up.

Cleaning helps to not only make you feel fresh and organised for the year, but it also helps to declutter your room.

What’s more, you can also add some new room decor to give a new vibe to your room.

Spend time with your family

Throughout the year, you may have been quite busy with ongoing tasks. Now that the year is ending, I think it is the best time to reflect on your year and rejuvenate by having a good old chat with your family about anything and everything.

Ask for forgiveness

Starting a new year is like planting a brand new farm ready to grow new trees of memories. If you don’t want that old weed to be stuck in your farm, I would recommend that you forgive people who have wronged you to get that feeling out of your chest and ask for forgiveness to start the new year with healthy good relationships.

You could also eliminate toxic people from your life to begin a year of positivity.

Do one random act of kindness

Being kind gives peace to your soul.

Therefore, do as many random acts of kindness to have that feeling of warmth and happiness in your soul from remembering the person’s smile that you helped. Trust me when I say that it will make you feel good inside.

Set up a planning system that works for you 

Realised that you were quite disorganised this year and drowning in cramming or last-minute work stress?

Not to fear, maybe the solution is to plan efficiently and write to-do lists. Set up a planning system where you will keep track of your activities and write to-do lists. Some examples are bullet journaling, a pre-made academic diary, a simple notebook or even a digital app. Set it up to be motivated to start using it.

Envision yourself in a year

Imagine yourself in a year. Even if there isn’t a drastic difference, you should want to improve yourself as a person internally and externally. Set a few goals of who you want to be and keep them realistic. You could also make a vision board or make a word of the year.

Complete any unfinished projects

If you had any ongoing projects throughout the year, then it is possibly time for you to complete them. For example, maybe you were saving for a bag and after you saved, you never got around to buying the bag. You can now complete that task. 

Reflect on this year

As well as preparing for this year, you must also reflect on this year. What were the positives and negatives? How can you improve? As I always say, there is always room for improvement.

Write a letter to yourself to read for next year at that same time 

This is like a time capsule. Write a personal letter to yourself to read next year. For example, if you write about the whole year on 31st December, keep that letter and don’t read it until next year’s 31st December. It is exciting, personal and fun!

These were ten things that I think everyone should do before the new year. It is your choice if you want to follow these or not and if this list looks a bit overwhelming, don’t worry, it is actually fun! Make sure to share this article with your family and friends if you enjoyed and please check out my other articles:

P.S I just wanted to say that I am so grateful and happy for anyone who has even taken a moment to click on these articles. I believe I have written over 50 articles on this website this year and I have enjoyed doing so. I feel blessed to have gone to so many new places and discovered so much this year as well as having fun!

Thanks to everyone!! 

Thank you for reading, have a lovely day and Happy New Year!