ANNOUNCEMENT | I'VE BEEN NOMINATED!

Hello my lovelies I hope you're all well and are having a good week. So today I've got some exciting news for you all! So last week I was kindly nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award from the absolutely lovely Mollie Westhead. I'd be so grateful if you could check out her blog guys! Click here. 

So before we actually get into this post, I'm firstly going to let all you lovely people know the rules: 

• Thank the blogger that nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Give a brief story as to how your blog started.
• Share two pieces of advice for new bloggers.
• Choose 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to.
• Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them, providing a link to the post you created.

So with step one done, let's move onto step two. How did I start my blog? 

Well for a long time, roughly 2011-2013, I used my Instagram as a place of where I'd do reviews of some products I tried out, nail tutorials, makeup tutorials etc. And during 2013 was around the time when influencers such as Zoella, Tanya Burr, Nikkie Tutorials etc really started to become popular with teenage girls as it became so easy to learn how to do a makeup look or a hairstyle with the help of YouTube. Which then lead to many other young people wanting to do the same. For the end months of 2013 I debated for a long time whether or not to start a blog and I really leaned towards it. Then one December night in 2013 I thought 'fuck it' let's just do it. And then 4 years later here we are today. 

As for advice for new bloggers, I would say create content that reflects who you are as a person. So for example, when I first made my blog I was mainly into makeup and nails at the time therefore I mainly did posts about that. Which was also what I posted on my Instagram at the time. But as I've grown up over these 4 years, so 16 to 20 I've changed so much and shaped into who I want to be. And even though 4 years doesn't seem like much, I do believe those last 4 years from teenager to young adult are definitely some of the most important years of a young persons life. And I feel as I've grown up, learned, developed, and changed that has reflected into my blog content now. My blog today, of course I still do makeup reviews and tutorials etc, I always will because I love makeup and you guys know that. But in the last year I created my Coffee Chats and Mindful Mondays series which I created to share my opinions and thoughts on things and to hopefully inspire you guys and make you think differently about things. And I created those as a way to talk to you guys, so you could actually get to know me and a place where I can get to know you. And a place where we can talk about real things, real opinions, real feelings, just about life. And I know you guys absolutely love those posts because they always do so well and get such great responses from you. And I love making them! They're by far some of my favourites posts to write for you guys even if they do take me a while. So yeah, create content that reflects you as a person - things you're passionate about because that way those posts you'll be proud of them. 

And another piece of advice kind of ties in with my first point. It's going to sound so obvious and self explanatory but just be yourself. There are so many bloggers out there and each one offers something different. For example, one of my blogging pals and I could do a review on a certain product but those two posts will be completely different because we aren't the same people. You know what I mean? But yeah, just be yourself because that way you'll see more engagement from people and you'll actually feel better about what you put out there with your blog and you'll feel proud of the content you create. 

And finally time to share with you guys 15 of my bloggers who 100% deserve this award. It was really hard to choose just 15 because there are so many that I love. But these guys' blogs I read all the time and I love their content and them to bits. And, these are in no particular order. 

1. Hannah, luxuryblush.co.uk 

2. Emma, tousledblonde.com 

3. Gina, petitefreckle.com 

4. Minding Anxiety 

5. Sophie, trafotoz.com 

6. Emma, beautybyemm.com 

7. Carrie, carried---away.blogspot.co.uk

8. Kelsey, imjustkels.blogspot.co.uk

9. Kirsty, hiitskirsty.com 

10. Bailey, baileyleah.blogspot.co.uk

11. Serena, serenabird.com 

12. Voluble Blogger 

13. Rachel and Lauren, theflowerthatblooms.com 

14. Frankie, frankieelizxo.weebly.com 

15. Abby, whatabbysaysblog.wordpress.com 

Honestly guys if you love my blog then you'll absolutely love theirs. Please, please, please go and check out all of the bloggers mentioned in this post. Their content is absolutely fantastic, they work so hard on their blogs, and they're all absolutely wonderful people who are some of my closest blogging pals and who I adore to bits. So yeah go and check them out and all links to their pages are on their blog names.  

Well my lovelies that is it for this post, I hope you enjoyed and discovered some more bloggers you can go and check out and enjoy. And once again, thank you so much to the lovely Mollie who nominated me as it means the absolute world to me. 

As always guys don't forget to follow me on all of my social media so you can keep up to date with everything I am doing. You can follow me on Twitter @katielouj0hnson, Instagram @katiej0hnson, Pinterest @katielouj0hnson, and Bloglovin' @ Katie Johnson.

Thank you guys so much for reading and I will be back here on Friday for another!

Love,

Katie

REVIEW | Primark's My Perfect Colour Foundation

Hello my lovelies I hope you're all well and have had a good week. You know I'd normally say weekend but I literally haven't spoken to you in a whole week. I'm very sorry for that. Two out of three of these posts you're gonna see this week were meant to go up last week, but I'm gonna be honest I just couldn't find the motivation to do anything last week. I don't know why, mentally I just didn't want to do anything. But I'm feeling more productive now and I think it's because I've planned this week out in my planner. Either way, the most important thing is I'm back and you guys are gonna get more content this week. 

Anyway, as you can see from the title today I am doing another review for you guys of a new product that has appeared in Primark recently. I think it might be apart of a new range they've brought in but I could be wrong. But either way, when I went shopping a couple of weeks ago I went to the Primark in Milton Keynes which is one of my favourite ones to go to. Now I don't know if this range (if it is an actual new range) is going to have more added to it but when I was in the shop they only had foundations and BB creams I think. 

But if you guys want to know if this £2.50 foundation actually works, then keep on reading. 

Firstly, I actually really like this packaging. It's really light weight and easy to fit in your makeup bag which makes it great to travel with. I like the simple colour scheme of black, white, and then the space of the foundation colour and it has a screw top. Plus when you take the screw top off it had a little silver peel back seal which is fab because it means you can be sure that no one has used this or tested it before you buy it. 

You get 35ml in this which for £2.50 is actually insane considering I think the average amount of foundation you get in a bottle is 30ml. It also claims to be perfect finish foundation with medium coverage and has a semi-matte finish with vitamin E. Some strong claims considering it's so cheap, now I think about it I think this is the cheapest foundation I've ever tried. I also got the shade porcelain and I'm not joking they had so many shades from as pale as snow to as deep as dark chocolate. 

second application - concentrated areas: cheeks,
around the nose and mouth, and on the chin

one application - all over the face

 Just a heads up guys, this autumnal makeup look you're gonna see in this post will be coming soon so keep your eyes peeled for that one. But anyway, I applied this with my Real Techniques sponge like I do with all of my other foundations and I used my Benefit That Gal brightening face primer on this day as it's what I've been using most recently under my foundation. 

So I just squeezed a bit on the back of my hand but it took me a while to get it out. It honestly feels like the tube is half full but it might also be to do with the hole that's been pierced to get the foundation out is so tiny. But I got it out eventually and that's all that matters. When it eventually came out I just dotted it all over my face and blended it in and it's got a really nice smell - something sweet but I don't know what the smell specifically is. It's actually a really good colour for my face but as you can see in the two images above it doesn't match my neck that well. I'm having real trouble at the minute with finding foundations that match my neck or go with my neck. As I feel like my face is the same colour as my chest but my neck is a completely different shade. Is this just me that has this problem? Let me know if you guys do in the comments below. 

Anyway, this has definitely got pink undertones in this foundation but I think it's got warm ish pink undertones which might be the reason why it looks so crazy in these two images in comparison to my neck because my skin has cool toned pink undertones. It's not that noticeable once I've done the rest of my makeup but it's just something I picked up on. Also just to note, this doesn't oxidise one bit. 

As for the coverage I was pleasantly surprised. I was putting it on and I was like 'oh damn, that actually covers' and that is just because we know that Primark's makeup has not been the greatest in the past, especially their base products. But I feel like they've really upped their game. It is definitely light-medium coverage but you can build it up to be medium. It covered the majority of my imperfections, i.e. the redness on my cheeks and my nose as well as a few breakouts I've been getting recently. However, it didn't cover the side area of my nose very well or under my eyes that well. But that isn't a massive problem for me considering I always put concealer on those areas anyway. So overall for £2.50 the coverage is not bad. 

Then I just went ahead and applied the rest of my makeup like I would normally do. The foundation did set semi-matte so it might not be for you guys who have dry skin but if you have oily or combination skin like me I'd recommend giving it a go. But everything else I put on top of the foundation sat nicely like it does on any other foundation I've used. So no problems there for any of you guys wondering. And as you can now see, when my full face of makeup is on it matches my neck absolutely fine. 

So this is how the foundations looks after my makeup is finished and then I decided to check back every 3 hours to see how we're looking. 

So this is how my face is looking at 6:00pm, three hours after I'd finished my makeup. There wasn't much change other than my face felt a bit tacky in my t-zone which is where I always get natural oils slightly coming back through during the day, you know like how it feels before you powder it down. So overall, not much change. 

At 9:00pm I took this in artificial light because it was dark outside by this point. But you guys can see that my face has become much shinier than earlier and especially much more oilier in my t-zone areas than before. Where my glasses sit my foundation and concealer etc has worn away but that always happens because I wear my glasses all day long. The area it got most oily and started to break apart a bit was definitely on the sides of my nose and around my mouth, specifically my smile lines. My whole face at this point as well did feel quite tacky but it was mainly my nose and mouth area that felt the worst. I'm hoping you guys can see that as it was hard to focus the camera on.  

And finally at 12:00am (yes I take my makeup off super late) firstly, I am not naked, I have a towel on. And I didn't realise the tail of my eyebrow had come off even though I'm gonna take my makeup off after this anyway. But at this point I honestly couldn't wait to take this makeup off. It was past the point where you could fix this oily mess with powdering with a brush or a makeup puff I think. It felt really oily and wherever you touched it and it left a lot of residue from the oiliness on my finger tips, settled into my smile lines quite a bit, and you could feel that it wasn't set in place anymore. 

BUT...

Before you guys assume what I'm gonna say. Later that week I actually wore this foundation again but this time I used Rimmel's Lasting Finish primer, which is one of my favourite drug store primers by the way. And I sadly didn't get any photos of my face on this day hence because I wasn't really testing it. But I noticed half way through the day (I did my makeup at about 10:00am that morning), around 3:00pm that my face felt much more settled and smoother to the touch, i.e. not oily. I also then noticed as the day carried on that the only places that got a little bit oily was just the sides of my nose and my smile lines which is where I normally get oily the most by the end of the day. 

So overall it goes to show how important primers are in relation to if a product works or not. Benefit's That Gal primer is a brightening primer and it sinks into your skin to give you that inner glow. Maybe that is the reason it didn't get a long the best with this foundation as this foundation is a semi-matte finish. Or maybe the two formula's didn't get on. Whereas Rimmel's Lasting Finish primer is more of a smoother consistency which feels like a layer on top of your skin to blur all of the imperfections, almost like a mask but not thick like an actual face mask. I would say this one doesn't really sink into your skin, just sits on top of it to give you a smooth base for perfect makeup application. Which this foundation loved and got on with much better than the Benefit one. 

Originally when I used the Benefit primer I was going to say this foundation isn't for long periods of wear because of how oily it got after 9 hours of wear. But, after using the Rimmel primer my opinion has completely changed. I don't think this foundation is going to be the one I reach for when I go to a party or on a night out or just when I want my skin to look completely flawless. But, is it good for every day to go to school, work, uni, college, run errands etc. Yes it is. It definitely works and does the job it is supposed to. Is it medium coverage? yes, is it semi-matte finish? yes, and even though it doesn't claim to, does it last the majority of the day? yes. You just need to experiment with your moisturiser or your primer you use it with. It's also worth noting that with both primers, the application looked exactly the same on the skin. It also shows that sometimes high end doesn't mean high quality with every single product. This is also a great option to consider if you need a new foundation and you haven't got enough money to get your usual one or if you want to try out a new one considering it is only £2.50 so it isn't going to break the bank. 

Am I going to use it again? Definitely, I'll use this as an everyday foundation for when I'm at uni or just going out for the day. I love finding things that work when they're such a cheap price. Am I gonna recommend it? 100%, guys go and give it a try as for £2.50 you can't complain at trying a new foundation as it's so inexpensive. And let me know what you think about it in the comments below. 

Well my lovelies, that is it for this post. I hope you enjoyed, I know it's been two reviews in a row but I've been trying a few new things lately that I just had to share with you! 

As always guys, don't forget to follow me on all my social media so you can keep up to date with things I'm doing on my Twitter @katielouj0hnson, my Instagram @katiej0hnson, my Pinterest @katielouj0hnson, and my Bloglovin' @ Katie Johnson.

Thank you guys so much for reading and I'll see you soon for another!

Love,

Katie

REVIEW | Paradise Cactus Soap

Hello my lovelies, I hope you're all well and have had a good weekend! I literally did absolutely nothing all weekend, what a boring life I'm currently living, haha. But on the bright side, I finally tried out my new cactus soap which I bought from Superdrug. 

Now you guys all know how obsessed I have been with cactus' this summer so it's really no surprise that I wanted this. I mean just look at it. The temptation just to keep this and put it in it's own pot and have it sit in my window sill or something, was strong. Who knows may get another one and do just that... 

But anyway, I love the overall look and I really like this packaging. I know it's literally just pink ribbon with a tag that says paradise on but it just gives a little decoration without being too over the top. Plus the colours of the hot pink and the green go together really nicely. 

Once the soap is out of the packaging; just look at it. The attention to the detail is exquisite and I think it needs to be if you're going to make a soap in a specific shape like a cactus. It was the attention to detail that attracted me to this soap in the first place. 

So apart from the gorgeous look of the soap, you get 190g which is quite a lot, so it's going to last you a while. And originally it was £3.99 but I got mine for a 1/3 off which is £2.66 and it's currently still that price in Superdrug as we speak! 

It smells incredible. It's a lime scented soap and claims to "satisfy your senses!" and I think it definitely does. I really like citrus scents because I find they just satisfy my senses and really make me wake up - make me perkier and more alert. As I always find my brain is more active at night anyway. Considering it's shape it wasn't actually too difficult to hold, it only slipped out my hand twice. And with it's shape and size it's easier to just apply the soap straight to your skin instead of using a wash cloth etc. The lather has a bit of colour, a duck egg green/ blue, however that doesn't stain your skin and washes off easily like any normal soap. 

Sadly the deep green colour and ridges detail doesn't last but then what did I expect? It is a soap and soaps do get smaller with each usage. However one thing it did do which I actually didn't expect, it changed my bath water from clear to this kind of tropical baby blue colour and I honestly felt like I was bathing in the Bahamas sea or something. I really liked this little extra feature as it made my bathing experience with this much more fun. 

Overall I do like it. It does everything a soap should do: clean your body and make you feel fresh. I feel like you can't fault it because it is just a standard soap but jazzed up with a fun shape and a colour. The only con I have, if you can even call it that, is the lime scent doesn't cling onto your skin. Which it's not a big deal but it smells so nice that it would've just been nice for the lime scent to cling even just for an hour or two after my bath. 

Would I recommend it? If you use your bath a lot, like fun shaped soap, and enjoy citrus scents then 100% yes. If you wanna check it out and buy your own click here. 

Well my lovelies that's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed! I feel like I don't do reviews that often but I've actually got two more coming up for you within the next week or two. A new foundation and some benefit products! So stay tuned for those. 

But until all of that don't forget to follow me on all my social media so you can keep up to date with things I'm doing on my Twitter @katielouj0hnson, my Instagram @katiej0hnson, my Pinterest @katielouj0hnson, and my Bloglovin' @ Katie Johnson.

Thank you guys so much for reading as always and hopefully I'll see you on Wednesday for another one! 

Love,

Katie

LIFESTYLE | Waterstones Wishlist

Hello my lovelies I hope you're all well and have been having a good week. Firstly I need to apologise for not posting on Wednesday, I was out all day and then when I got home I just wasn't in the mood and my mind has been occupied with other things lately. But I'm back with you today which is the main thing. 

So if you've been keeping up with me on here as well as Instagram, then you'll know that I have completed the two books I've spoken about the most recently. The Stylist by Rosie Nixon and note to self by Connor Franta. Absolutely loved both of those books, would highly recommend if you haven't read them already. But I feel like I really got back into reading this summer and I really do love to read and would love to try and do it more often than I currently do. Now I'm not going to lie I do still have a few books I haven't read (i.e. Gone Girl) that I still want to read but I've been seeing so many new releases come out recently that sound amazing and that are right up my street. So if you guys want to know what's on my Waterstones wishlist then just keep on reading. 

Amber Green Takes Manhattan - Rosie Nixon 

It'd be wrong not to include this first considering I was so obsessed with the first book. I was so happy when I discovered that Rosie Nixon had written a sequel to the first book because so much happened and it was like The Devil Wears Prada but at the same time completely different. If you guys are into fashion and enjoy the film, The Devils Wear Prada you'll love the first book. I didn't see this one in the store but it's definitely online. This one will most likely be one of the new books I buy first to read and I can't wait as I fell in love with the character Amber Green.

'Novice stylist Amber Green is taking on the glittering celebrity world of Manhattan one fashion disaster and wardrobe malfunction at a time!When her TV producer boyfriend Rob announces that he's been offered a job in New York, filming with the infamous Angel Wear lingerie models, Amber knows its her perfect chance to take the New York fashion world by storm.But Amber wasn't counting on unruly toddler photo shoots, clandestine designer handbag scams and a Hollywood star who is determined to wear as little as possible on the red carpet. Until she meets a disgraced former designer who could turn her career around...or leave it all in tatters.Fun, adventure, glamour and high-fashion make this is the perfect feel good women's fiction read.'

Nixon did a fab job at writing the first book and I'm presuming this one will be no exception. Check the book out for yourself here.

Pax - Sarah Pennypacker 

My most recent trip to Waterstones, I actually saw this book on a bunch of different stands and I thought the cover was so rustic and cute which drew me to it instantly. Now this is technically classed as a children's book but the blurb was so beautiful:

'In the still woods, the only movements were bars of sunlight glinting like green glass through the leafy canopy. He stretched higher. There was no sign of his boy.

Pax was only a cub when his family was killed and he was rescued by 'his boy', Peter. Now the country is at war and when his father enlists, Peter has no choice but to move in with his grandfather.

Far worse than leaving home is the fact that he has to leave Pax behind. But before Peter spends even one night under his grandfather's roof he sneaks out into the night, determined to find his beloved friend.

This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their journeys back to each other as war rampages throughout the country. A profound and moving story with stunning illustrations by award-winning illustrator, Jon Klassen, Pax is destined to become a classic in the vein of Charlotte's Web and Watership Down.'

It really reminded me of that film Napoleon about the golden retriever puppy who wants to be a wild dog. That is literally one of my favourite childhood movies. So it reminded me a little bit of that and I just really would love to give it a read as it sounds like a heart warming story. Click here to check it out. 

Broken Sky - L.A. Weatherly 

This is actually a more recent add on to this list, again I haven't seen this in the store but I have seen it online. The cover just really intrigued me, looks a little bit like space or something orbiting around the centre title. I just thought that was a nice design choice. I just think the blurb is also really intriguing. 

'Welcome to a 'perfect' world. Where war is illegal, where harmony rules. And where your date of birth marks your destiny. But nothing is perfect. And in a world this broken, who can Amity trust? From the bestselling author of the Angel trilogy comes Broken Sky - an exhilarating epic set in a daring and distorted echo of 1940s America and first in a new trilogy.'

It gives enough away to make you want to learn more and learn what it's about. But doesn't give all of the basic structure of the story away. I've never read anything fiction wise in relation to 1940s America and I just think it would be so interesting to read something in relation to a different time period. And it also sounds like it's hinting at a parallel universe version of 1940s America and I'm so into parallel universes.  Check it out for yourself here. 

Another Place - Matthew Crow 

You can guess what drew me to this one can't you? If you said the lanterns on the front that always remind me of Tangled then you'd be correct. This cover is actually stunning, I love the colours together. Again, another recent favourite that I've only seen online. 

'A small town. A missing schoolgirl. A terrible secret. And one girl's fight to survive.Sixteen-year-old Claudette Flint is coming home from hospital after an escalating depression left her unable to cope. She may seem unchanged on the outside; but everything's different. The same could be said about her seaside hometown. A local teenager, Sarah, has disappeared. Sarah had a bad reputation round town; but now she's vanished the close-knit community seems to be unspooling. As the police investigate and the press digs around for dirt, small town scandals start to surface. What nobody knows yet is that Claudette and Sarah had a secret friendship. And that the last secret Sarah shared may be the key to the truth.After weeks of focusing solely on herself, Claudette realizes she is not the only part of the world that needs fixing - and that if she can piece together the fragments of Sarah's story, then maybe she can piece herself back together too.Another Place is a novel about lost girls, recovered life - and the meaning of home.' 

You guys can guess why I wanna read this, it's a mystery story, I adore anything to do with mysteries, especially murder mysteries. I find it all so fascinating. The element I'm most intrigued about with this book is what the secret between Claudette and Sarah is and what it means by if Claudette can piece together's Sarah's story then she can piece herself back together. I feel like this would be such a gripping read if you're into mystery based stories. Check it out here for yourself.  

13 Minutes - Sarah Pinborough 

And finally we've got this one. Now this is online and I've seen it in the store and read the physical blurb for myself and oh my goodness, I am already hooked and I don't even have the book to actually read.

'I was dead for 13 minutes.I don't remember how I ended up in the icy water but I do know this - it wasn't an accident and I wasn't suicidal.They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but when you're a teenage girl, it's hard to tell them apart. My friends love me, I'm sure of it. But that doesn't mean they didn't try to kill me. Does it?

13 MINUTES by Sarah Pinborough is a gripping psychological thriller about people, fears, manipulation and the power of the truth. A stunning read, it questions our relationships - and what we really know about the people closest to us . . .'

 To me the blurb sounds like an opposite version of 13 Reasons Why and like it says on the cover, Mean Girls for the Instagram age which think will be such an interesting concept to bring into a story. Again it's another (almost) murder mystery based story. I know the minute I get this I'll be hooked and it sounds like it's going to be so gripping. Next time I pop into Waterstones I definitely want to buy this. Click here to check it out. 

Well lovelies that is it for this post, I hope you enjoyed. Let me know in the comments what is on your Waterstones wishlist or just what book/books you want to read. 

Don't forget to follow me on my Twitter @katielouj0hnson, my Instagram @katiej0hnson, my Pinterest @katielouj0hnson, and my Bloglovin' @ Katie Johnson. Just so you can all keep up to date with me and what I'm doing as I'm always on my social media. 

Thank you so much for reading guys and I will see you all in another post very soon! 

Love,

Katie

MINDFUL MONDAYS | Opinions on ASMR, New Inspirations, and Our Lives on the Universe Scale

Hello my lovelies, I hope you're all well and welcome back to a post that isn't blogust! Haha, it feels so strange not saying "welcome back to blogust day twenty..." etc. But anyway, welcome back though to another Mindful Mondays. I know I haven't done one of these for a couple of weeks and I apologise for that but sometimes I just don't have anything I really want to talk about in posts like these. I have to have a spark of inspiration from something I've read or watched or something my mind has been thinking about a lot recently etc. I also know I mentioned in my last Mind Mondays post about us writing a letter to our past and future selves which I will come back around to, as I'm gonna be honest even I haven't written mine yet. So I promise we'll pop back to the letters next week but this week I actually want to talk about something I watched last night. 

We gotta back up a bit first; recently I've been trying out ASMR which stands for autonomous sensory meridian response and is characterised by the sensation of "tingling" usually starting from the back of the scalp and down your neck. The main reason I wanted to try it out was just to see what it was all about as I'd heard a lot of different things and opinions on it. The main channel I have been trying out is ASMR Darling, click here to check her channel out. I've watched quite a lot of her videos now and she offers many different types of ASMR videos to suit different people, such as role play, treatments (getting your hair or nails done), and just relaxing words to help you sleep. I know a lot of people find ASMR weird and creepy and some people even think it's a sexual thing but I can say after trying it out I don't think it's any of those things personally. I think it's actually a really nice technique to relax, especially when you're stressed. To me it also feels quite comforting because of the way the videos are set up - the creator making the video physically talks to you and even though it's mainly generalisations of things in the video to appeal to a wide audience. The sensations and reactions you as an individual will get from an experience like ASMR will be so different to anyone else's. To me ASMR is another type of meditation which is probably the reason I don't think it's weird. I'm a very open minded person and I believe you can't fully have a strong opinion on something until you've tried it yourself or until you've experienced something similar. If you're open minded or you're into meditation I'd really recommend you guys all try out ASMR and tell me what you think of it. 

Anyway, I was up late last night (what's new?) because we all know by now I don't sleep early. But anyway, so I was chilling and I don't really know how I found this video and this channel, I just did. So I came across a video titled 'Stargazing ASMR' from a channel called Goodnight Moon ASMR. I love being out late a night and looking up at the stars, so I clicked on it and all I'm going to say is click here to watch it because you need to watch it before you carry on reading the rest of this post. So seriously, click it, watch it, and then come back. 

Now if you've scrolled to this next section I am assuming you've watched the video. If you haven't and have just scrolled anyway, what are you doing here? I mean it watch the video! 

Anyway, trusting that you have watched the video. I don't know what it is about this video that made feel so drawn in and connected to it. I think it's just because of the way she talks about life and like the psychology behind certain people. And we all know late night conversations are the best; it just really got me thinking about life on the scale of the universe. I've spoken about this before but this video just re-surfaced those thoughts in my mind of: 

'Why are we here?'

'Why does the universe want me here on this earth in this present time period?' 

'Why am I doing the things I'm doing?'

'How have I become the person I am now?'

'What makes my brain look at things a certain way and have opinions on a certain thing?'

I know we always say "this is your life, you do whatever you want to do" etc but sometimes I do sit and I wonder what if the universe has it all planned out for me already? Like what if the universe already knows where I'm going to end up in the future and what if the universe already chooses your destiny before you're even born and have a chance to think about it for yourself. What if we're all just souls that float in the atmosphere and are eventually chosen to come into this life at a certain point in time. And we may never know the reason why and perhaps we're never meant to. But I just find comfort in just letting my mind wander to the questions that most people wouldn't bother to think about, 

Have any of you also noticed how our eyes look like certain galaxies and nebula's in space? If not go and have look at your eyes in the mirror; it sometimes makes me think that maybe deep down in our souls we're all from space or we all have an association to space and the universe more than we actually realise. I just find that fascinating. Once again, it's a question we'll never know the answer to. 

Another question that stems off from all that is 'What is my purpose in life?' and we all know we've asked ourselves this at one point or another. It's again one of those questions that we may never get the answer to. And maybe some of us don't always have a purpose, perhaps the reason some of us are put here is to enjoy the ride and experience life for what it can be. And maybe others of us are put here to remind others how hard life can be and how not everything is meant to be good or meant to be perfect all the time. And maybe we are here for a purpose and some of you might know what your purpose is and some of you might not and that's okay. Personally for me, I believe I am here for the purpose of making other people happy and inspiring other people because I find great joy in doing that. I love doing something for someone else that makes them smile or doing these types of posts for you guys that hopefully inspire you some way or open your mind to something new. And who knows, maybe our purposes in life change as we get older because of all of the learning, growing, and the experiences we do across our lifetime. 

Also in the video at around 9 minutes and onward's she talks about all of our different perceptions on life and how not one of us is right and not one of us is wrong. It's just based on our perceptions which develop from this period of time we've been born in and how that affects how we are, as well as what we've been brought up to learn and how society has impacted our opinions, and then of course our own minds. You know what we really want to believe. And what I find really interesting is when she talks about how all of our life situations are so different and really picturing ourselves in someone else's shoes. How certain circumstances affect who we are beyond other people's understanding. And it just really made me think about other peoples lives in relation to our lives and how we're all supposed to be in one another's lives for reasons that once again we may not understand or may never really know why. And maybe it's never about finding the "why", the answer to the question. Maybe it's just about finding the "thankfulness", for being able to just live our lives for how long we are supposed to be here for and enjoying the happiness of each day as it comes. Maybe our purpose isn't to have a purpose. 

I am a strong believer in the universe and that it directs you where you are supposed to go and maybe that is because the universe already knows the paths you need to go down in order to get where you need to go. I find people always spend so much time worrying about what they're going to do, for example after uni. Whereas for me, I'm a strong believer that the universe will direct me to the right path because the universe has a funny way of putting things for you into perspective and putting things into place for you without you even noticing. 

I just find thinking about our lives in relation to the universe really interesting and it's really comforting for me. I don't really know why. I always find that my mind is most awake at night which is when all of these types of thoughts enter my mind. 

This has been quite a short Mindful Mondays post which is rare. But let me know in the comments your thoughts and feelings on these things I've touched upon in this post. Also, don't forget to write your letters to your past selves and future selves. I'd love to hear some of them from you guys in the comments or feel free to drop me an email @ katiejohnson10@hotmail.com. 

Don't forget to follow me on my Twitter @katielouj0hnson, my Instagram @katiej0hnson, my Pinterest @katielouj0hnson, and my Bloglovin' @ Katie Johnson. Just so you can all keep up to date with me and what I'm doing as I'm always on my social media. 

As always I hope you guys enjoyed and took something from this post. Thank you so much for reading and I shall see you back here again on Wednesday. 

Love,

Katie