What it means to be happy

I am a firm believer in the old saying 'anybody can do anything if they put their mind to it'. Happiness is my number one goal in life, not money or possessions (even though I would like these too), but true f**king happiness, and this I believe, can only be achieved when all possibilities are explored. I am a wonderer, an adventure seeker, and I will not settle until I feel I have achieved all that I am destined to. The world is such a fascinating place and my mind is truly open. In little under three weeks time, I will be embarking on my next journey, starting off in Sydney Australia and from there, who knows... The world is certainly my oyster at the moment and that one way flight to Australia is my calling.

I have always been destined to travel. I hate the thought of settling in one place. This scares me above all else. Life is too short to settle, to stick with one job and one set of friends. There are over seven billion people in the world right now. How sad is it that we only know a fraction of these, a mere flicker of dust on the earth's surface. My favourite thing ever - meeting new people. I love exploring new cultures and seeing how others live - this excites me above all else.

Time. I never seem to have enough time at the moment. It's like the world is against me. That's another reason I am going in a way - I am getting older by the second! I fear this, and am trying to put off doing the stereotypical things every adult is expected to do at some point - move out, find a partner, get married and have children. 

I have never been as sure as I am right now that I need to get out of here, move on, and 'find myself'. Okay this is the cliché travelling thing to say, but I truly do feel like this is my time. I set up this blog in the hope to share my writing, to make new friends, but most importantly, to keep a sort of diary of things I have been up to. Travel writing has to be one of my favourites now. I love the way one can describe a place, how you get lost in the words almost. I know I don't belong here, and until I find somewhere where I can 'settle' so to speak, then I am going to keep on travelling and never ever look back...

Have you ever been travelling? What does it mean for you to be happy?

Sorry for the lack of posts at the moment but expect many more travel related ones over the upcoming weeks. I would love to hear your thoughts on my next adventure too, so feel free to share these. 

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International Women's day

Yesterday was International Women's Day as you may already know thanks to the the floods of 'inspiring' quotes on both Facebook and Twitter. Described as a 'celebration of women's economic, political and social achievements', this historical event is one that continues to capture our imaginations. I don't want to be one to follow the crowd so to speak, but if there was ever a 'right' time to write a post, it is now, on this hugely uplifting and widely recognised day. 

Women and power. They go together hand in hand. Or so they should. The struggle for women is still evident today, and this is a struggle we feel on a global scale. From those suffering in third world counties at the hands of domineering and destructive men, to the women in parliament who it appears are unfit to be pregnant and withhold a job. Even now, women are earning less than their male counterparts in various parts of the world statistics show. Gender equality. The gap is closing, but it is clearly still an issue. Yes, things have improved drastically from when our grandparents were alive, but it's not over yet...

So why is International  Women's Day important (the clue is in the title)?  It celebrates women in all shapes and forms. We can do anything. Housewives, mothers, career women - you name it. What we don't do so well is celebrate our achievements, and yet, there has been so many. Yesterday was a chance to do exactly that. Although different, all the paths mentioned just now are as worthwhile as one another. I for one wont be getting pregnant any time soon, but this isn't to say there is anything wrong with this. If a woman chooses to have a child at the age of twenty, so be it. We and we only are responsible for creating our own happiness. There is an incredible amount of pressure on women today to achieve, to go above and beyond what previous generations have done. The great thing is, we now have the resources to do so, university being at the forefront of my mind. 

So why not grab these opportunities with both hands? I know I am. But not all women think as I do, and this is where the conflict lies I believe. Nowadays we appear to be competing, rather than enlightening one another, and until this comes to an end, the struggle will be ongoing. No woman is identical so why should we fit into just one category? Yes, there has been a shift from the stereotypical housewife days, but now there appears to be a huge gap between these sorts of women and women in power so to speak. What happens to those in between?

Women and discrimination is still an issue. I have experienced this first hand. The other night being a prime example. One rather drunken male decided to make a rather derogatory comment about the colour of my hair. I laughed this off, but is this something we should be laughing about? It is comments like these that bring these issues to light, and yet, we are surrounded by this sort of behaviour on a daily basis. In the workplace, on public transport and even in the home. Take the new Delhi bus incident which has been dominating the news again just recently. It takes a strong woman to fight back, and that this victim certainly was. 

So here's to strong women, to those suffering, and all those in between...

How did you celebrate on this truly inspiring day? 

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