What Inspires You To Go?

*Warning* This is quite a personal one!

This is a question that I have recently been asking myself a lot lately. What first really inspired me to want to travel the World? It wasn't till over this weekend that I figured out what it was that made me really consider it.
I knew that I loved to travel, but it wasn't until this June that I realized it was time to put my dream into action. 

In one of my first posts of 2015, I mentioned about how I was going to go to Norway last August to see the Northern Lights, but because of the death of a friend, I was unable to go at that time. 

While this was all happening, I decided to take it as a sign, that I wasn't supposed to go to Norway at that time. I felt like there was something even bigger waiting out there. And there was. The World. I just didn't know it yet.

The sudden death of my friend Kim hit me harder than I thought it would. I guess it didn't fully hit me at first. But for the next month, it hit me hard. I usually write before I go to sleep almost every night, but for a whole month I couldn't get myself to pick up my book or pen for anything. Anytime I tried to write, I had this sudden panic go through my head, because I knew that the only thing I felt the need to write about was Kim. And that scared the crap out of me, to be honest.

Even though she was 3 years older than me, Kim was a friend to me when I really didn't have that many friends. I was a freshmen in high school when I met Kim and she was a senior. We cheered together. During my freshmen year, things were a little tough in the friend department for me. It's not that I didn't have friends at all, it's just that people were changing. And that's okay, because that's the time in your life when SO much change happens. But I was not at all ready for that. And I think that is okay too. Kim, however, sort of took me under her wing, and became a good friend to me. She also had cystic fibrosis, so cheering was not easy for her at all. But she always pushed through every practice and routine with a smile on her face.

I eventually was able to start writing again, only after I read This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl and her parents (Summary in my 21 Reads post!). It was the best book I have read this year. And it taught me that love is stronger than anything. Even death.

And this is what inspired me to go.

If Kim could do everything she did, with a smile on her face, while having cystic fibrosis; then I can travel the world solo.

Life is too short to watch someone else live out your dreams.

And even in the toughest of times, we must always push through with a smile on our faces. Because not too many people can even think of traveling this beautiful world like we can.

Live to the fullest, live with no regrets, live your adventure, and love.
xx

Breathe Easy Kim xx

21 Reads of 2014

Ah, hello! So, yesterday I was on YouTube just taking in my social media for the day, when I saw a video posted by one of my favorite YouTubers and my book and hair inspiration, Carrie Hope Fletcher. She is a YouTuber and actress who plays Eponine in Les Miserables in London's West End (jealous!!!). She is remarkable! Anyway, she posted a video of all of the books she has read in 2014, and that gave me the idea to count all of the books that I read in this past year as well. 

It turns out that I read 21 books in the year 2014. And now I will share them with you!


2014 Reads
1. Divergent - Veronica Roth
           Veronica Roth is an amazing author. I read the entire Divergent series in a week's time. I wasn't going to read the books at all, I was just going to see the movie. But a few days before the movie came out I decided that it would not be right of me as a lover of books to see its movie without properly reading the series first. Best decision ever. I thought that the film was amazing, but I of course, the book was much better. I feel like I would have enjoyed the movie more if I didn't read the book first, but I'm glad I did!

2. Insurgent - Veronica Roth
       I think you got the point that I thoroughly enjoyed this series .. also I can't wait for this movie!!

3. Allegiant - Veronica Roth
       I'm not sure if the ending of this book was the absolute worst ending of any series ever, or by far the best ending ever possible to create for a series. I won't say anymore so that I don't spoil it for anyone!

4. Four - Veronica Roth
       Four is number 4! I loved that this story is told in Tobias' point of view and that we get to read all about his background and his life before Tris came into it.

5. Maybe Someday - Colleen Hoover
       This book was suggested to me by my cousin and it was one of the coolest books ever because it actually had a soundtrack to go along with it. I know, weird right? Well the author, Colleen Hoover, teamed up with singer/song writer Griffin Peterson to create actual songs that would appear in the book. And the songs are actually good! It's an amazing story line, that has quite the twist in the middle of the book!

6. My Drunk Kitchen - Hannah Hart
       First off, I love Hannah!!! She is so funny and I love her YouTube channel! So this book was an absolute blast to read.

7. Paper Towns - John Green
       This man writes like no other! He is one of my favorite authors ever. His writings just keep getting better and better. AND they just keep getting turned into more and more movies!! Paper Towns was such an incredible book with the most interesting characters. I am a huge Margo fan and cannot wait to see Cara Delevingne play her in the movie. Also, Nat Wolff is the only person that I can ever picture playing the part of Q so, I am highly excited about that! Plus he is a great actor! Give me June already!!!

8. Looking For Alaska - John Green
        Yes, I'm totally aware that I am late to the Looking for Alaska party, but at least I got here! This book was truly incredible. Alaska is one of my favorite book characters because she is so interesting and is so different than many other characters. I had to re-read that last few chapters of this book several times. Also, happy 10 year anniversary of Looking for Alaska!

9. An Abundance of Katherine's - John Green
       While I did enjoy this book, it was definitely my least favorite book of John's. I felt like the beginning was really slow, but once it picked up, I started to like it more!

10. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green & David Levithan
       Ah, yet another gem from John! And also David! I loved the storyline of this book and how two completely different people leading completely different lives have the same name and somehow find each other while looking for something else.

11. This Star Won't Go Out  - Esther Earl, with Wayne & Lori Earl
       This book means the world to me. Esther Earl was a friend of John Green's. The Fault in Our Stars was written for Esther. Unfortunately, she never got the chance to read it, as she passed away before it came out. This Star Won't Go Out is a collection of Esther's journal/blog entries and drawings, and entries from her parents. Reading this book has changed my life forever in a way that I cannot explain. The only way to understand how amazing this book and Esther are is to read this book. It will quickly change your outlook on life..

12. The Maze Runner - James Dashner
        This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire read. It was so action packed and there was never a dull moment. Also, Dylan O'Brien was amazing in the movie!

13. The Scorch Trials - James Dashner
        The second book to this series actually took me quite a while to finish. I found it to be somewhat of a slow read in the beginning, but once it picked up, I was thrown right back into that feeling that the first book gave me.

14. The Mortal Instruments: City of Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare
        The Mortal Instruments series as a whole was just magnificent. And this book, being the final book of the series, did not disappoint one bit! Cassandra Clare stole my heart the minute I started reading City of Bones and continued all the way through this series and The Infernal Devices series. I cannot wait for her new series about Emma and Julian!

15. Identical - Ellen Hopkins
       Okay, I'm gonna be honest, this was the one book that I actually didn't finish this year :x I know, I know, I shouldn't count it as a book that I read in 2014 if I didn't finish it, but I am determined to finish it up! From what I did read, I loved it! It's a very dark and weird book, but in all the good ways! I just got very caught up in life an ended up forgetting about it.

16. Hey, Let's Make a Band! - 5 Seconds of Summer (Ashton Irwin, Calum Hood, Michael Clifford, Luke Hemmings)
       I am a HUGE 5SOS fan, so this book was like heaven for me. And it was awesome because it was entirely written by the boys themselves. It tells their story of how they became a band, what it was like touring the world with One Direction twice, and stories about their lives before 5 Seconds of Summer became a band. For a 5SOS fan, this is the best it can get!

17. One Day - David Nicholls
       I saw this movie about 3 years ago or so and was completely in love. But then a few months ago, I was watching a video of Carrie's and she mentioned it, so the next day I went to the bookstore and got it! The book, as always, was SO much better than the movie. I fell in love with the characters and their tragic story.

18. Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
        This book was one of my favorites in 2014. This love story was so incredible. I love how it was centered around music as well. And Eleanor and Park are both so awkward, but in the best way. Some of the moments were so cringe worthy, but it was because they were so real. I highly recommend this book to every soul!

19. If I Stay - Gayle Forman
        Amazing. Incredible. I could not put it down at all. I saw the movie before I read the book, and I'm happy that I did because I felt like I already knew the characters when I started reading. Adam and Mia's was my favorite love story that I read about this year. The way the book was written was also incredibly clever, with going from flashback to present to flashback and so on. And I have to say, Chloe Grace Mortez is magnificent.

     
20. Where She Went - Gayle Forman
        This sequel was just as good as its first book. What I loved about this story is that it was told in Adam's point of view and we got to know Adam and what happened to his life once the accident occurred. 

  

21. Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending To Be A Grown-Up - Grace Helbig
        Let me just start off by saying Grace Helbig is one of the funniest people ever. And she actually does give some pretty cool advice! I've been watching Grace on YouTube since the DailyGrace days and she has just become more funny and successful as the years go on. This book was such a fun read, with all of her personal stories and even some advice from her mom.

And there you have it!! Every time I read I book, I always like to think about if there was anything that I can take away from the book. And there almost always is. All of these books have stolen a little piece of my heart and have given me a little piece of theirs. It was definitely a successful year of reads for me! I'm hoping 2015 will be even better! I'm already on book number 3, so it's looking good! Has anyone else read any good books this past year?

Some pretty fun travel posts coming up soon, stay tuned loves and thanks for reading!!
xx


*All pictures from Google