Everything is about to change.

Hello, everyone!

I apologize for not having written in so long but a lot has been going on in my life and with my schooling. As most of you know, I am now 21 years old and a senior at Middle Tennessee State University. What a whirlwind of a year it has been already! I cannot believe that is it almost 2019 of my senior year of COLLEGE. Even saying that to myself sounds crazy, I swear I was only just a sophomore yesterday.

But Lydia, you may be asking, aren’t you excited to graduate soon and finally become an actual adult? Well, yes and no, I would reply.

Yes, I am excited to be done with having classes every day of the week and to actually get to enjoy my weekends instead of focusing them entirely on work or homework. I am excited to walk across the stage and look back on all the wonderful teachers, memories, and experiences I was gifted by attending MTSU. Soon I will be graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Interactive Media and a double minor in Women & Gender Studies and Marketing.

But no, I am not excited to dive headfirst into the world of adulting. Looking for a job, finding a new place to live depending on that job, bills, etc., not so much. I have already heard that as soon as the “real world” hits me that I will want to be back in school because going to work every day can become a routine and will make me miss sitting in lectures. Although I can tell you one thing is for sure, I will definitely not miss doing online discussion boards. If you’ve ever taken an online class in college, you know what I mean.

But besides me graduating soon, I would like to address something else that I can already reflect on at this point in my senior year and that is . . .

Friendships.

When I was little, and a more expressive child, I was proud to be able to make friends easily over nothing more than liking the same color or playing with the same toy as another kid. But in today’s society, making friends is harder than ever for me as I have changed from a more extroverted person to a more introverted person. Some of you may not believe me when I say this, but I am not as high energy or as loud of a talker as someone may think me to be. But even this far in my college career, I can tell you that no matter what I choose to believe, not all friendships are meant to last. People change their priorities, people move and graduate, and sometimes, people just change and fall apart. Sometimes it’s for the best and sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. But as someone who has been emotionally hurt over having a falling out with a friend, or being dropped and still wondering what all happened, I can still say that this issue is something that I feel I will have to deal with throughout the rest of college and probably for the rest of my life.

However, I am holding out hope that I will find people who care for me as much as I do about them and are willing to stick with me through the good times and the bad, and maybe I just haven’t found all of them yet. It may be a sad thing to say, but for my generation, it feels like trying to find true friends is an uphill battle that many of us continue to fight. We love to talk over social media and look good on our social media, but when it comes to being there for each other and telling each other how we really feel, we all just don’t want to feel rejected or alone.

I hope this catches you all up on how I’ve been doing recently with my senior year and in my life in general. As always, life goes on and I will continue to learn and grow as a person. Thank you for keeping up with me.

As always, be kind and caring to one another. Pet dogs at any time possible, with permission, of course. And I will see you later.

Junior Year: A Review

Well, I did it! I finally made it through my junior year of college at Middle Tennessee State University. Not only did I finish out the year strong, I finish my year by making Dean’s List for the Spring semester! To make Dean’s List, “a student must maintain a current semester grade-point average of 3.5 or above and earn at least 12 semester hours.” I am so proud of myself for making all A’s this semester as well. I knew that my junior year would be challenging, but I am so happy to have pulled through it alright and maintaining my GPA overall.

However, this year was not all smiles and rainbows for me if you know me personally. Several things occurred during the year to knock me off my balance such as starting a new relationship hopeful, but ending up heartbroken because the person didn’t feel the same way about me anymore. Relationships can be complicated and troublesome, and it happens that we just weren’t compatible anymore. I have since moved on and removed this person from my life due to other contributing factors during the course of our relationship. Other issues also occurred this year, but like I’ve said before, some issues are too personal to post on the web so I’ll just leave it at that.

This school year overall started off alright, I felt confident and ready to keep up with my studies, maintain control of the club I’m VP for, and still maintain a healthy social life with my friends. However, once the school year started, keeping up all of my activities while also making sure to take care of myself became increasingly more difficult. I worry about my schooling because I want to do my best, learn as much as I can, and still maintain the grades that I have, but when you’re not doing well in terms of mental health, everything seems a little bit harder to do. Cleaning the dishes? Too much effort. Seeing friends? I’m too tired, and so on. As I’ve expressed on here before, I have M.D.D. or major depressive disorder. Like I expressed before, the beginning of the year was really hard for me emotionally, mentally, and physically. I apologize to anyone who I may have isolated or distanced from me. Sometimes the only way I know to cope with how I’m feeling is to retreat into myself as to not affect anyone else’s life with my problems.

What I’m trying to say is that if you have a tendency like me to push others away in times of hurting, try to actively talk to someone about your problems. If you still feel like you can’t talk to someone, write down your thoughts, keep a journal, or maybe try writing poems to express your feelings. (These are my personal suggestions. Everyone deals with their issues differently. Do what is best for you, and you alone.)

Finishing up this semester was difficult. I had to worry about getting my internship this summer, getting a job to keep throughout my senior year, and having to deal with not seeing some of my friends for the majority of the summer.

I may not be living my “best life”, per say, but I am trying to feel better this summer by working, doing my internship, and trying to be better at practicing self-care. Taking naps, talking to friends when I feel down, and trying to be more in-tune with my body.

 

– I hope to post more on the blog as time goes on. I apologize for not having updated anyone on what’s been going on, and I apologize. I am getting better, but still be patient with me 🙂

Let’s Be Honest with Each Other

We have friends and best friends throughout our lives, some we stick with, and some we gradually grow apart from. Whoever you have in your inner circle, you know they’re there for you and would do anything to make sure you’re doing alright, right?

Well, sometimes and sometimes not. Some of you may or may not know that I have struggled with major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety for a number of years now. If not, well, now you know. But with me telling you this, I would like to talk about simple steps or tips to helping someone you know who is depressed or seems to be going through a hard time. (DISCLAIMER: I am not a licensed health professional, I am merely speaking to my own personal experience. Everyone experiences depression differently, if you know. So here are some personal tips and helpful hints to help someone who has depression, anxiety, or both.

5 Things to Say (And NEVER say) to Someone with Depression

1. DON’T: Ever tell them they’re “too much”:  Being a depressed person is already hard enough as it is, someone telling you that your mental illness is too much for them is like being stabbed in the chest. Most people who feel depressed already believe they can be a burden to themselves or to others simply by having depression at all. People who suffer from depression may already have distorted ideas about how loved and supported they really are and hearing that they are a burden to others just makes them feel even more alone and worthless
   • DO: Remind them how special they are to you: Tell them how much they mean to you, how strong they are, and how even though they may be having a really hard time right now that they can make it through today, even if it’s one step at a time.
2. DON’T- Shame them for being negative:  Depression only allows its victims to see the world through lenses of negativity. Whether that’s putting themselves down to make a joke or thinking only about the bad outcomes of a situation. By shaming them and telling them to “not think like that” or to “be more positive,” this makes them feel like they have an incorrect or wrong way of thinking and may make them feel isolated and then pretend to be positive as to not be called out again on being negative. With the recent “Good Vibes Only” trend, it’s really hard for depressed people to want to vent to anymore for fear of someone not wanting to get down and only wanting positive vibes. 
   • DO – Empathize, connect, and if you’re comfortable, ask them why they feel this way: When I become negative during the course of a conversation or make a particularly dark joke relating to one of my mental illnesses, it makes me feel better when someone either vents or relates to my joke or comment somehow. For example, if I say, “Man, last night was super rough for me because of my midterm, I practically cried my eyes out.” It would make me feel better if someone were to say, “Yeah, that sound rough, that midterm was really hard, but it’s over now. I’m sure you did your best.” Or if you feel comfortable asking the person why they were so stressed out that they cried about their midterm. This could leave to a more one – on – one conversation if the person is comfortable talking about it to you. If not, do not be offended. Some people are not used to being asked about the negative comments or jokes they make and may not want to talk about them yet.
3. DON’T – Constantly offer them advice on how to feel better: I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked if I exercised maybe that would help, or have I tried yoga? I understand depression is different for everyone and yoga may work for some people, but not for all. The more you tell someone how to deal with their depression or anxiety, the least likely they are to ask for your help in the future for fear of getting an earfull of advice again.
   • DO – Ask them what things are you doing currently when they feel down and see if you can help them take small steps towards self – care in rough times. For example, if they say they are so stressed out they can’t even work on anything, ask them if reogranizing their files and homework would help, writing down what they need to get done, or other such ways. The first thing I always try to do is something small like taking a shower, the wonders of hygiene go away for some people if even the smallest tasks seem impossible.
4. DON’T – Tell someone you don’t know how to help them when they’re in crisis: If you’re someone that struggles with M.D.D. or panic attacks, you know that whenever you enter a room, you immediantly locate the closet exits in case of emergency or an oncoming panic attack. If you’re like me and have explained to trust individuals how to help in person, or over the phone in how to help you calm down from an attack, you would think they would remember the plan you told the, but sometimes, you would be horribly wrong. If someone calls you in the midst of a panic attack or tells you they need your help, DO NOT  for their sake tell them you DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY OR DO TO HELP. It’d be like them getting stabbed in a movie and asking you to call for help while you stand there and say I don’t know how to helo you, I’m not a doctor.
   • DO – Remember the plan and how you can help, or until help comes:  I don’t know about you, but when someone remembers exactly how to calm me down from an attack or comes to help me if I cannot control myself alone, it is a special kind of bond. You know you can trust them enough if you’re in crisis to know what to do. Be there for them and be alert and keen to the signs of their triggers or signs they may need assitance. If you see they are shaking, seem on edge or overly anxious more than usual, ask if there is anything you can do, and proceed depending on their responce.
5. DON’T – Tell them you’ll always be there for them if you know you can’t: Being depressed affects everyone with it differently, but for me specifically, I hate when someone tell me they will be there for me when I really need them, but not bother to answer the phone when I try to call them at 3 am when I am crying uncontrollably and I know they’re awake cause I saw it on their snapchat. Depression is irratic and doesn’t have a fixed schedule of when it’ll hit. If you are someone rock in their moment of crisis, or you have a friend you know is going through a rough time, please be mindful of your phone. The worst feeling is in the middle of a panic attack when your fp (favorite person) won’t pick up their phone no matter how many times you call them. DO NOT LIE TO THEM and tell them you’ll always be there for them if you don’t think you can be on call for them when they need you the most. 
   • DO –  Be ready to come to a friends need or be on call for them if you know they’re going through a rough time:  Being friends with someone with a mental illness is hard work, but if you really are a true friend and care for them, you want them to know you can count on them. If you yourself don’t have mental illness but your friend does, try researching the illness, reading about it, and try to understand what they might be going through. It’s hard for a depressed person to put their feelings into words a lot, but listening to them and how they feel can give you some insight on what it’s like to walk in their brain for a day. VALIDATE THEM, and REMIND THEM YOU CARE. No matter how many times my suitmate reminds me that she loves me and she care about me, I must be reminded. Most depressed people, no matter how many times you tell them you care or you love them need to be constantly reminded. Everyone needs to know they’re cared for and loved, but depressed people may need a bit more reminding than the average person.

Thank you for reading. This took some strength to write so if you read this all the way through, thank you very much. If you have any further questions about mental health or personal experiences, feel free to message me.

If you or a loved one is having suicidal thoughts, do not hesitate to call  or text the National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255 

Selfishness: Is Common Courtesy Dead?

As many of you know, living in a small town comes with a certain set of benefits and challenges as does living in any town. More specifically, living in the Buckle of the Bible Belt has its pros and cons such as everyone asking you what church you go to, more people being Republicans than Democrats unless you live in a city such as Knoxville, Nashville, Chattanooga, or Memphis, and not being able to step 5 feet into a restaurant without a cross being hung somewhere on the wall. But religion aside, most southern folks are known for being very caring, giving, and just generally nice, always willing to help their fellow neighbor out.

Lately the United States has been divided over each tweet 45 puts out on his Twitter, if climate change is real (it is, by the way), immigration issues, trans issues, and much more. As Robin from How I Met Your Mother states, “You guys are the world’s leader in handgun violence, your healthcare system is bankrupt, and your country is deeply divided on almost every important issue.” Even though this show was filmed back in 2005, these facts still reign true.

However, my issue with the current state of the world can be answered by one simple question: where did our sense of common courtesy go? When did we start being nice to people based on what we can get from them whether that’s money, power, or a promotion? When did promptly answering an email or text become so hard for people? We all have lives, we are busy with other things, but how hard is it to open the door for someone, text someone and ask how their day is, or give someone a compliment? How hard is it to write a reply if you’re busy or simply to show you received the message, but can’t get to it right now?

Imagine you have a family member or a best friend in desperate need of your help. They are broke, need a ride, or just want someone to talk to about how their day went. Now if I were in this situation, I would do anything I could for my friends because I care about their well being, and I know they would do the same for me. But even if you have such a close connection to someone, some people are still be reluctant to give up their time, money, or ears to someone unless it directs benefits them. We want to be helpful until it comes to us having to give up something in order to help others, then we’re out because it doesn’t convenience us.

So as you go about your day, look around you. Do you think common courtesy has died due to the current status of the world? Or do you still think it’s alive and well? Text your friend back you’ve been ignoring, hold the door for a stranger, or compliment someone on something you like about their outfit or personality. Let’s put some pure kindness back into the world even in the midst of this meteorologic and societal turmoil.

First Day of School Thoughts

Yesterday was my first day of 15th grade, or junior year, as we call it, of college. It felt like any normal day, waking up early, putting on makeup, and driving to school. However, later on that night, I couldn’t go to sleep and couldn’t pinpoint a reason for what was keeping me up this late. Then it finally dawned on me as to the reason for my first-day existential crisis. The reason? My future job.

My current major at MTSU is New Media Communication which has now been renamed to Media Arts. However, this doesn’t help in me trying to explain exactly what my major is or what I want to do with this major. I do want to work with social media. Always have ever since I first got on social media in 2009, roughly. But my problem is, I’m not sure exactly what my title, as a content creator, would be for this job. Secondly, who is hiring people such as me for these jobs, and thirdly, how I can make a sufficient living off this job if I decide to make it my living.

I want to do social media work, but since I am only a junior and am just now starting to take significant classes in my major, I am also keeping the film industry in the back of my mind. I wouldn’t want to be a director per say, but more behind the scenes work would work for me. I am currently taking a Single Camera I class and like I said, I wouldn’t want to necessarily direct a film myself, but I would love to be doing behind the scenes work, and with some knowledge of film, I think it would be a lot of good information to keep under my belt.

Communication is such a broad field and that aspect of my major has its pros and cons. Pros are that I can do a lot of different jobs using this major skill, communication is needed in every type of job and way of life, and there are a lot of different ways I can use these communication skills in my day to day life. However, the cons include, the more people learn how to create such content on their own, the less likely they are to pay someone else to create such content for them rather than making it themselves. Plus, I am not sure what exact salary would be offered for this kind of position, or what companies would be looking for someone such as myself.

What do you think? I do really love working with social media and creating content. I love learning about how social media shapes our lives, how it has changed the way we live and work, and also such silly things as to how certain memes become popular and other such subjects. Plus, the thought of finally being an upperclassman in college is pretty daunting in and of

Also, the thought of finally being an upperclassman in college is pretty daunting in and of itself. This may also be another thought that factored into my existential crisis that has continued since I started classes again. Please, tell me your thoughts or feel free to reach out and give me your thoughts about my position and major at the moment.

Lovely Little York & Durham

First off, I would like to formally apologize for not having updated you all on exactly what’s going on with me and my travels. As many of you know, once you start to travel, the tiredness and the constantly moving gets to you; it’s hard to want to do much but sleep. However, I will try to give a summary of what’s happened since the last time I wrote.

York: Since we only were staying in York for one night, we knew we would not have much time to go out or to really have time to see many sites since we only had 1 evening and one night there. We first got to York around in the evening since we had been in Durham earlier that day after boarding our coach then stopping to explore Durham for a bit. Durham Castle is supposedly where some Harry Potter scenes were filmed, however, the castle was closed for a private function. However, I did manage to get a photo to give you a look which I will insert here.

Later that night after seeing Durham, we drove more on our coach till we got to our hotel in York. York is a really cute town with lots of little shops, restaurants, and even a little wall around part of the city. There was a completely gluten-free and vegan restaurant called El Piano that was marvelous. I got an entirely vegan burger with some vegan chocolate ice cream as well and took it back to eat in my room with my friends Nathan, Rachel, Jaylene, and Caitlynne. I took a lovely little walk complete with a beautiful bridge and a river full of lily pads and lovely yellow flowers. A phrase I have gotten used to saying since coming on this trip is, “Oh look, another church/castle.” They are everywhere and are all beautiful in their own way whether they be big or small.

When I was walking to get my burger and ice cream, I passed a church and what looked like a demonstration was going on with signs about feminism and equality. It turned out to be part of a demonstration by the local theatre about the suffragettes of York and their fight for the right to vote back in the day. I did not get to see this production due to our one day in York, but I’m sure if I had more than one day, I would have been there. Feminism is my stuff.

Going back to Durham for a second, I saw the most dogs I have seen on this trip so far there! I met and pet 7 dogs who were all beautiful and gracious puppers. Seriously, dogs are too majestic. What did we as humans do to deserve them? Their names were Barrett (Whippet), Allyah (Golden Retriever), Molly (White Westie), Charlie (Brown Westie), Bonnie (English Setter), Annie (Yellow Lab), and Connie (French Bulldog.) 14/10. Dogs are the best things ever. I want to pet all of them. If you couldn’t tell I love dogs by now, you may not know me very well.

London blog coming next and I shall try to upload all my photos of my travel, or the best ones, to Facebook as soon as I return home or anytime I can. Thank you all who keep up with me through here, it means a lot!

Till next time,

Lydia, The Dog Lover

Edinburgh Days 1-3: Dogs & Other Happenings

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog!

Recently, as you all know, I went to Australia and New Zealand with my family for 2 weeks to places like Gold Coast, Auckland, Wellington, and other travel destinations. We had a blast and I miss it already with its wonderful food, the lovable abundance of dogs to pet, and meraculous landscapes. However, I am now off on another adventure with EF College Break that takes college or just past college students from ages 18-28 on wonderful adventures overseas.

I started off my day leaving from Tri-Cities airport, flew to Atlanta, then had to run to my gate in Amsterdam due to a delay at Atlanta, finally arriving in Edinburgh, only with one problem… My suitcase wasn’t on the belt anywhere! Needless to say, I was worried. I asked the help desk to send my suitcase to our hostel and gave them my phone number in case they found it. I assumed that it just didn’t make it on my Amsterdam flight due to our quick turn around and my delay overall. I met up with the rest of my group in the hot outdoors, and headed to our hostel via bus. We arrived and had free time until our mixers and dinner that evening. Having worn the same makeup and clothes all day, I wasn’t excited about my suitcase being missing. However, I wasn’t the only one missing their belongings, so I felt slightly comforted. We walked around a Beer Festival with live music and plenty of dogs to pet. I met a wonderful little mop of a dog named Rosy, I forgot to ask the breed, I do apologize. I also do not have photos of these dogs as that would hold up the group as a whole. She was so soft, gave me a quick kiss as we left. We then went to our mixers where I had some delicious wine, along with a wonderful pizza (veggies no cheese) and proceeded to have some lemon sorbet as dessert.

Day 1 was a tiring success.

Day 2: We woke up early, had breakfast at 8, and headed off on a walking tour of the town while Tim, our lovely Scottish tour guide (complete with kilt), toured us around closes, told stories of the town, and told us some witty jokes.  Closes are the back alleys of Scotland where the worst slums weren’t equipped with the latest in hygiene, everything just running through the streets due to gravity and rain. He told us a story about Half-Hanged Maggie the fishwife who came back to life, a carpenter named Deacon Brodie who would copy the rich’s keys and steal from their homes, and also Buddy, the most loyal dog Scotland ever saw. There was a statue of him, and believe me, I definitely booped the snoot. We also went to see Edinburgh Castle and heard the Leonardo DiCaprio had visited in the last year and asked some wonderful questions. I also went on a Harry Potter tour complete with the Elephant House Cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the 2nd and 3rd Harry Potter books. We also visited Spoon, formerly called Nicolson’s Cafe, the inspiration for Lord Voldemort, Hogwarts, and its 4 houses. I got sorted into Slytherin and clarified that the Spoon, not the Elephant, was the “birthplace” of Harry Potter. After the Harry Potter tour, some of us took a long nap before going out for a quick drink with the group. We went to an Ozzie bar, an Irish bar, and our hostel bar.

Day 3: This morning I woke up at 4 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. As we headed down for breakfast, we realized how many people were in line. Only having a few minutes to eat, I packed an apple because snacks are always necessary on exploring trips. We headed up to see Stirling Castle, rode around the countryside, and took a small hike in the Highlands. There I met another dog named Holly who was a black lab that loved for me to throw her tennis ball far out into the water. We stopped at the Scottish Wool Center for some food, shopping, and to see the different kinds of sheep, We also watched Swift, the beautiful girl Border Collie, herd some ducks through different obstacles. Then we headed back on the bus, took a wee hike, chilled on the beach for a minute, and headed back to downtown busy Edinburgh. We are now relaxing and getting ready to leave early tomorrow morning for our 3 and 1/2 hour bus ride to York for one night, then 3 days in London. I am having so much fun, have made a lots of new friends, and have pet as many dogs as I can.

More updates coming soon! Please feel free to message me with any further questions about my trip. Cheers!

Day 3: Currumbin Wildlife and Hello Auckland!

Day 3 consisted of waking up early by 7:30 am, packing our luggage from our Air B&B in Gold Coast, and heading out to get some coffee before heading to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary to see everything from koalas to kangaroos to wombats. If you know anyone who has told you anything about Australia, you may be used to hearing things like this rant that my favorite Youtuber Mini Ladd did a couple of years ago on a Twitter Q&A.

After getting some coffee and discussing plans for the rest of the day such as leaving Gold Coast to fly to Auckland later that afternoon, my sister Emma’s 23rd birthday the next day, and also sitting lazily by 2 adorable dogs and petting them while drinking my iced coffee.

After finishing up our coffee and late breakfast snacks, we drove our rented car to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and walked across the street to the entrance. Plus, with each ticket you bought to come in the sanctuary, your money was donated to the closest animal hospital. As soon as we entered the park, we immediately looked to our right to see the koalas sleeping in their trees and also to the kiosk where you could get your pictures taken with these furry gray teddy bears. We decided to get one family picture and I decided to get another picture with one individually just for me later. All the animals we saw had been rescued from the wild, taken in for medical problems, or other ailments. There were all kinds of animals such as emus, koalas, kangaroos, wombats, Tasmanian Devils, quokkas, lizards, poisonous toads, alligators, and much more. Although I must say that my top 3 animals I got to see where the koalas, the kangaroos, and the bilbies. After seeing all these animals, we went back so I could get a personalized photo with a koala and was told that the long line would only take 10 minutes max; we ended up waiting 40 minutes instead. All koalas have a very distinct smell, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, but in my case, my koala smelled like fresh laundry right out of the dryer. I stroked its fur before letting it go to be photoed with the next person and headed to purchase souvenirs for my two friends, Kim and Maddie.

After a long day of looking at lovely animals, we had to head to the airport to leave for our Virgin Australia flight to Auckland, New Zealand. I must say, security in Australia is a lot more technologically advanced than the security in American airports and a lot faster. I know that to a lot of people being a vegan seems more like a burden than anything, but here in Australia, with a few exceptions, most places are very vegan-friendly.

After taking our flight from Gold Coast to Auckland, which was about 3 hours, we finally landed in Auckland, exhausted and ready to eat and go to sleep. We found a 24 hr grocery store right down the street from our Air B&B apartment and decided to pick up some breakfast food and also some snacks as well. Exhausted and full, we decided to head to bed and ready to wake up for a new day of adventure ahead.

Sincerely,

Lydia

(More updates to come!)

Day 2: Hiking in Gold Coast

Today we hiked at Springbrook National Park and decided to do the Twin Falls hike that was around 3 miles to the falls itself. We ended up hiking further into the rain forest due to the nice weather and the fact that the trail actually extended on past the falls anyways.

We first headed out towards the National Park which was about 20-35 minutes away but decided to stop nearby to pick up some early lunch to take with us on our hike as a sort of picnic. Pita Pit wasn’t open yet so we decided to get Subway instead. I saw beetroots on the menu but was disappointed to learn they actually didn’t have any beets to get. 😦

The difference from hiking in the rainforest of Australia versus say the forests of Bays Mountain were significantly different. First off, the canopy of trees in the rainforest made the temperatures much chillier and had less light hitting the bottom of the jungle floor. Secondly, the change in elevation and terrains including lots of switchbacks was a second striking difference. There were so many different types of flowers, trees, and wildlife in the jungle, but not much wildlife that we got to witness. We saw a sign indicating to not touch the leaves on the edge of the trail because some of them could sting you as a defense mechanism to protect the trees of the undergrowth. However, I, thankfully, did not get stung by any of these said “stinging leaves.” I tweeted during the course of eating my Subway lunch next to the two falls, “just eating lunch next to two waterfalls, no big deal.” Another cool feature of the falls was the fact that you could go behind them and take photos as well as a little wet if you got too close to the second tinier falls. I took tons of photos of the foliage around me and posted a few on my Instagram to show to the great beauty of the hike itself.

Finishing up the hike was a wonderful feeling and so was looking through all the gorgeous scenery photos we took along the hike itself. It was definitely more strenuous than Bays Mountain, but it wasn’t the hardest hike I have ever done in my life.

Sorry for the late upload! More to come!

Sincerely,

Lydia

Day 1: Byron Bay Lighthouse and Palm Valley Beach

Today was a wonderful first day in Gold Coast, Australia! I’m sure everyone must be asking if I am adjusted to the time difference as well as used to the jet lag. The truth is, I am. Besides waking up at 4 am with a pounding headache, going back to sleep was no problem.

We woke up this morning and headed out with our family to Byron Bay and also to see the Byron Bay Lighthouse. This lighthouse is the brightest in all Australia, and the LED bulb inside it cost at least $10,000 dollars. The light was originally made in France and shipped in 445 pieces to Australia. The lighthouse oil lamps used to have to be re-litevery hour and the crack would have to be wound in order for the light to turn. Up until 1989, the lighthouse was maintained by workers but then switched to be all computer run.

After taking the lighthouse tour with my sister, uncle, father, and cousin, we climbed down and started further down the cape to see better views and more of the coast. The cliffs were so steep and the water so blue! Around the lighthouse was particularly calm because no commercial fishing, jet skiing, or boats of any kind are used around the cape because there are no boat docks. Wind whipping through our hair, we continued down the cape and actually ventured off the path a little to get to climb on some rocks and to take more photos. We were constantly going from hot to cold with added wind. We were either taking our jackets off or putting them back on in the shade.

After we drove down from the Cape, we decided to stop and get some lunch in the village below and found a wonderful Mexican restaurant with the most amazing Mexican mandarin orange soda pop and stopped to get some vegan gelato. I got 2 scoops, one of lemon, and one of mango with passion fruit mixed in. Best vegan gelato I’ve ever tasted by far!

Finally, we then drove from Cape Byron to Palm Valley Beach for a little beach and sun despite it being about 65 degrees including the wind. We wanted to stay on the beach until the sunset to get a spectacular picture, but it was getting too cold and we were ready to head back to our Air B&B house anyways.

Day 1 of Gold Coast complete! Wonderful views, temperatures I love (60s-70s), wonderful vegan gelato, and Mexican burritos, what’s not to love about Australia? If I were ever to move somewhere else besides the United States, Australia, specifically Melbourne, would be my first pick. It is listed by The Independent as one of the Top 10 Cities for Vegan Travelers, and I will certainly have to visit there if I shall ever return to Australia.

Sincerely,

Lydia