Top 10 Songs of 2014

Robyn Stark and I spent a few hours one afternoon compiling this list of our favourite songs of 2014. I hope these titles remind you of some good memories.

Picture from:http://quoteeveryday.com/

1. “Happy” by Pharrell Williams

2. “All About That Base” by Meghan Trainor

3. “Steal My Girl” by One Direction

4. “Boom Clap” by Charlie XCX

5.  “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift

6. “All of Me” by John Legend

7. “A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay

8. “Hey Brother” by Avicii

9. “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen (performed by Idina Menzel)

10. “Try” by Colbie Caillat

My Letter to Santa

Dear Santa

We’re experiencing the backlog of a recent postal strike at the moment so to make sure you receive my letter before New Year’s Eve I’ve decided to post it on the internet (I just hope the elves have installed a modem so you’ll be able to read it).

I’ve been a good girl this year and would really appreciate it if you ensured that the epidemic of Ebola and the fighting all over the world ended – I know it’ll be a bit of a challenge to ensure that I get this gift but I hope you’ll at least try.

I would also like: three teddy bears that I can donate to the Teddy Bear Clinic for abused children; another Rhino SA badge so I can wear one on my school blazer and still have one on the jersey I’d wear after school; a bottle of green nail polish (I’ve never had green nail polish before *gasp*) and a bottle of glow-in-the-dark nail polish because my bottle is nearly finished. Oh and I also want a machine that can make my bed (I can be a bit lazy in the morning).

I hope the elves have tested your sleigh to make sure it’s ready to fly super-fast this Christmas,

Kirsty

PS: My family is going through a Vanilla milk craze so do you mind getting Vanilla milk with your cookies instead of normal milk?

PPS: Can you ask the Tooth Fairy if she collects Wisdom Teeth? And if she does will you tell her I’ll put mine under my pillow as soon as I get them removed. Thanks.

So Much To Do So Little Time

It’s that crazy time of year again and the Christmas carols and decorations are constantly reminding me that I don’t have enough days to do everything I’d like to do. I haven’t even achieved all of my New Year’s Resolutions yet and some people are already planning next year’s ones. That’s pretty scary, I highly doubt I’m going to be able to learn how to drive a boat, perfect a cookbook full of recipes and get my boat license in 24 days. But, I can’t just give up, can I?

So, instead of scrunching up my list of goals I’ve decided to alter the existing ones so they can be achievable in such a short space of time. For example instead of completing my boat license exam I’ll go for one boat driving lesson and instead of memorizing twenty-five recipes I’ll practice following two. If I can achieve these goals then I’ll be closer to achieving the ones they replaced and maybe next year I’ll be able to achieve all of my goals because I’ll know that I need to make them more reasonable so I won’t be in the same position again. After all, December is the month where you can spend lots of time with your family – you shouldn’t be using this valuable time to frantically try and complete your impossible goals. However, if that’s what you plan on doing then GOOD LUCK, I think you’ll need it.

ANOTHER BOOK BIRTHDAY

Today a year ago Escaping Extinction became available on Amazon. Over the 365 days since the first of December a lot of things have changed. For instance, this afternoon the passionate, animal-loving Ian Player died. We will always remember all that he did to save the Southern White Rhino species from becoming extinct in the 1950s. Whilst we pray for his family we also have to think about the 1020 rhinos that have been poached this year. This distressing statistic (last updated on the 20th of November http://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/poaching_statistics) reveals that even more rhinos were poached this year than last year although more anti-poaching measures have been implemented.

I would just like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout my life as well as the people who have read my books and those who enjoy reading my blog posts. You guys are awesome!

Here's the link to my second book if you haven't got it yet:

http://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Extinction-Eclipse-Child-Book-ebook/dp/B00H0IBJ3C/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1417366011&sr=1-1&keywords=Kirsten+A+Everett

Time

“I find you all guilty of wasting time”

That was a quote from Spy Kids 4: “All the Time in the World” and to be honest with you, it went straight over my head the first three times I watched the movie. Then, a week ago I spent one of my study breaks watching a portion of the film with my sister. After hearing this quote I immediately started pondering the concept of time. I wondered who decided that there would be 60 seconds in a minute and seven days in a week.  And, why couldn’t they have chosen there to be four hundred seconds in a minute and eleven days in a week?

The people who chose the amount of days in a week and amount of seconds in a minute were the Babylonians. Whilst, they used the cycles of the moon to create a calendar it was because they liked the number seven that there are seven days in a week (there are seven heavenly bodies: the sun, moon, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn and thus the number seven was significant to them). But, what would have happened if the number eleven was significant to them for some or other reason?

Well, then there would have been eleven days in a week and this, believe it or not, would affect our lives in one way or another. For instance, if this was the case we would probably go to school or work at least seven of the eleven days. Imagine working for seven days in a row! I would be really tired and grumpy when the weekend finally came around and I probably wouldn’t be the only one. However, if there were only three days in a week we would have an entirely different problem. It would be much harder for us to be productive and continue with tasks if we only went to work for two days and then had a day off.

The reason we use the system wherein sixty seconds is equal to one minute and sixty minutes is equal to one hour is because of the Ancient Sumerians (and later the Babylonians). Whilst we use the decimal system these people used a system where the base was either twelve (duodecimal) or sixty (sexigesimal). They knew that it took approximately twenty-four hours for the moon to orbit the earth and so they broke this time down into twenty-four sets of sixty minutes (because they normally used the sexigesimal system when counting) and so because there was sixty seconds in one minute there would be 60x60x24= 86400 seconds in one day.

And, five thousand years later we still use exactly the same system.

From: http://mombizcoach.com/time-focus-money#.VGm68vmUc1Y

I hope you found this as interesting as I did J and if you didn’t I apologise for wasting a few minutes of your time – did you see what I did there? *wriggles eyebrows*

Bibliography:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/20394641

http://www.livescience.com/44964-why-60-minutes-in-an-hour.html

My Celebrity Dinner Party

Dinner parties are quite popular right now, so much so that there are numerous television programmes dedicated to filming them. After analysing a few episodes I began wondering who I would invite if I had a celebrity dinner party. What would I cook? Who would I hire to entertain my guests? What would my theme be? How could I impress them?

Those questions required a lot of thinking but after a few weeks I’ve come up with some great answers.

My guest list:

Most of the dinner party hosts on the TV programmes I’ve been watching only invite three guests and so I’ve had to cut my guest list down to only three people.

Amanda Hocking (Author of the Trylle Series)

Malala Yousafzai (17 year old Pakastani Activist and the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize)

Niall Horan (The only Irish member in One Direction)

An author, singer and an activist? That’s certainly not your typical concoction for a celebrity dinner party. Some people might go so far as to say that it’s a boring combination. But, those people obviously don’t know that my three celebrity guests all represent different parts of me. For instance, during the process of writing and editing my first book I began to admire other authors even more. And one in particular is Amanda Hocking, for reasons you’ll understand when you read a bit more about her road to becoming an author (the link to her website is at the bottom so you can check it out if you have time). I would invite Malala because she is one of my role models. She was strong and brave at a time when she could have been a coward and no one would have judged her. Like Amanda I really admire her and so this would be a great opportunity to chat to her. As for Niall, most of you may know that I’m a HUGE Directioner but what you may not know is that my favourite member of the band is the Irish blonde. Thus, inviting him to my celebrity party is proof that even though I’m an author and an activist, I’m still a teenage girl who likes to have fun and listen to good music. 

After much pondering I’ve decided that the theme would be:

Around the world in one evening, it sounds like a cliché but I think I can make it work really well and it’ll be quite impactful because we’re all from different countries so we’ll all have different stories to share.

Menu:
(PS: I'm going have to make all of that from scratch - I'll have to start practicing already!!)

When each course is served the guests will be asked to guess which country the dish originally came from. The first person to get the correct answer will be given a sweet delicacy from the same country.

Entertainment:

Every good dinner party has great entertainment and to make sure that my dinner party is not an exception I would hire some dancers to teach my guests and I a short traditional African/Indian or a ballroom dance.

As for music I’m open to suggestions but I guess it would have to match the theme so maybe a variety of songs and song genres. If my guests accept my invitation then I’m going to spend some time composing a playlist of songs I could play for them. I’ll definitely add some One Direction songs just so I can hear Niall singing along to them :p


So, now all I have to do is design the invitations and find a way to convince my celebrities to fly all the way here to have a dinner party with me.


A little bit more about my celebrity guests:

Amanda Hocking:

http://www.worldofamandahocking.com/

Malala Yousafzai:

http://freedomcenter.org/voice/young-powerful-and-influential-how-malala-yousafzai-changing-world

Niall Horan:

https://twitter.com/NiallOfficial

Time for a Break

Photograph taken by Daniel Abrams

Photograph taken by Daniel Abrams

I’ve been told time and time again that the air in the city is nothing compared to the air out there where the land remains unscarred. But, when you spend most of your life surrounded by the familiar sounds of cars hurrying to their destinations, you begin to wonder how everyday life could continue in a place without electricity and other such necessities.

So, when I got the choice of which hike I wanted to do, in order to complete the Silver level of the President’s Award, I chose one that would be far away from the goings on of the city, even though it meant I would have to get up before dawn on the first day of my mid-term. But although I was willing to sacrifice a few hours of sleep, I couldn’t fight the nerves that were storming around my body. As the hike grew closer I spent more time wondering if I would be able to cope without the luxuries I was used to (like a proper mattress and a microwave). I also wondered if I would be able to keep up with the other teenagers that would be hiking with me. After all, I wouldn’t get enough time to soak up the forest atmosphere if I was constantly trying not to lag behind.

On the first day of my hike I realized that I shouldn’t have worried about anything. The girls and boys who were with me were so friendly that by the time we got to the first climb of the day we were already prepared to motivate each other. We all walked at a decent pace which meant I had plenty of time to stop and gaze at the wonders of the forest. Thank goodness I did or else I would’ve missed seeing the majestic waterfalls, the beautiful running streams that we had to walk over and the giant Eucalyptus trees that were over 100 years old.

However, after staring at the trees and counting the leaves until my eyes started to hurt, I realized that I still had many more hours of walking before I’d be able to see the next hut. And so, I used this time to make new friends and learn new things. For instance, thanks to one of the boys I learnt how to play Water Polo, which used to be a sport that totally confused me because of the speed the game was played at. But, even though we chatted a lot there were still many moments of silence that stretched between us all and this is when I let my imagination guide me. This meant that I spent an entire hour being absolutely grateful that I wasn’t a snail because carrying my possessions for four days was enough to drive me crazy. I definitely wouldn’t be able to cope if I had to do it for the rest of my life. Especially since that would mean that the only meals I would ever eat would be oats, peanut butter on savoury biscuits and camping food. Although that doesn’t sound too bad, when you have it over and over again the flavours in those dishes start to fade and so after just a few days I was already missing real food. AKA food that doesn’t just need hot water to cook.

But, even though there were some aspects of the hike that were a bit rough (such as my aching shoulders after carrying a bag for so long), I thoroughly enjoyed the hike, made some great friends and got a chance to really appreciate the natural beauty of an area I’d never been to before.

So if you get the opportunity to choose between stressing over exams or doing something completely different, I hope you’ll make the more adventurous decision.



PS: The air really is so much purer away from the cities.

Kindness

We live in a world where thousands of people die everyday. Women and children are hurt for absolutely no reason and some people are so self-absorbed that they forget to be nice. And yet, there are still many people who go out of the way to be kind to others. These people are the nameless superheros that our world so desperately needs.

After reading through twenty quotes about kindness I've picked out my favourite few that will hopefully inspire you to start doing at least one Random Act of Kindness each day. I promise you that you'll feel really good after you've done it. You don't need to spend lots of money, even smiling at a stranger is enough to make a change.


And, just in case you run out of ideas what to do as your RAK over the next few days, I've decided to jot down a few ideas:

• Bake cupcakes and take them to work/school for your friends and colleagues. This will also earn you a few more Brownie points.
• Make an extra sandwhich and give it to a person in need.
• Be extra polite to your irritating boss/colleague/sibling.
• Do something nice for yourself preferably something that makes you smile.
• Phone your grandparents and spend some time chatting to them. They'll love this.
• Laugh at someone's lame joke just to make them feel better.
• If someone says something rude to you just ignore them instead of making a big fuss about it.
• Take your pets for a walk.
• Donate to your favourite charity.
• Phone that friend of yours who's going through a rough stage.
• SMILE! It's contagious and you might just brighten up someone's day by showing off your lovely teeth.
• If you see someone struggling offer to help them even if you're really busy.

You see being kind is not too difficult, and so I challenge you to do at least seven acts of kindness before my next blog post. If you get a chance, tell me what you've done.  I'd love to hear from you all :)

Response to a Letter I Received

Dear Samantha and all of my other readers,

This was a thought provoking letter that began turning the cogs of my imagination. After a lot of thinking I think I may have found two suitable answers for you. First of all, I want you to know that I completely understand your train of thought however, if you look at the situation differently you realize that this film was a very good thing even though it was expensive. This is because so many people were hired in order to making this film a success. As many countries are dealing with reasonably high unemployment rates this is beneficial to society (even if it's just in one country as a large amount of people would be hired).

Your second question was whether it was fair that some people got paid more money than others though their roles in society differ. The simple answer is that life is not fair and as a result seeking fairness in a situation like this will end in dissatisfaction. However, if you want a more complicated answer you need to understand that a person's role in society may not seem too important at a glance but when analysed you realize that they are more valuable than you first thought. For example, you may think that an actor is not particularly valuable in society because their job does not directly affect you. Yet, if all of the actors and actresses were removed from society you would realize that there would be fewer sources of entertainment and thus more people would be suffering from stress.

I hope this helps,
Kirsten A. Everett

A Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity

I love reading for many reasons. One of them is because when you read a book you are able to unlock someone else’s imagination and be whisked away on numerous adventures. Even though this is the same for when you listen to an audio-book I don’t enjoy it as much when I hear someone else tell the story. After all, when this is done I don’t get to hear the tale being told by my own voice (in my mind of course) and when I hear someone else describing the characters I actually find it harder to picture them.

However, when you don’t want to know a certain piece of information it’s easier to ignore it if it’s in writing partly because you can just close your eyes. But, if someone is telling you the information it may trickle passed your blocked ears and into your brain.

So, when I was invited to speak on Jacaranda FM I couldn’t refuse the opportunity. Especially since my voice would finally be able to reach the ears of hundreds of people; that thought alone should have put me under a lot of pressure. Yet, when I climbed up the stairs to the recording studio I felt lighter than a feather. Not an ounce of me was nervous even when I sat down and put the pair of headphones on. In fact, the only time I felt a little anxious was when Martin Bester asked me the first question. Because then I knew that I wasn’t stuck in a dream. My voice was actually being recorded as I shared my passion for rhinos with the rest of the province. And hopefully, after hearing my story they will accept my challenge and join me on the 4th of October for the Global March for Elephants, Rhinos and Lions.

Click here to listen to my interview:

http://www.jacarandafm.com/post/taking-to-the-streets-for-elephants-rhinos-and-lions/

Lessons from a Mountain Biker

16km doesn't sound like a very long distance. In fact, you would probably cover it quickly if you were in a car or on a road bike. However, when the tar beneath your tyres turns into loose rocks and the terrain around you becomes mountainous you know you're in for a challenge. And so, when the hooter screamed and the bikes around me lurched forward I grinned. After all I wouldn't be a true mountain biker if I didn't love challenges.

My legs spun propelling me forward whilst my thoughts flew back a few years to my first cycle race ever. I was young then and not very fit but that never bothered me. Actually, I was planning on sprinting my way through the entire route and thus beat all of the eager boys in front of me. That didn't happen, however, I learnt a very important lesson on that ride:

If you don't concentrate whilst riding through a rocky section then you'll probably fall off of the bike.

I've learnt many other lessons since then. Some of them are obvious like: if you don't clean your bike the dirt and mud will make your cycle less pleasant and another one is that if you don't wear gloves you can't really complain if you fall and lose some of the skin on your hands.

These are valuable lessons however, as I pedaled up the first (proper) hill of the day I realized that I hadn't quite learnt all of the lessons that there was to learn. So, I kept my mind open as my legs tired and my back was starting to hurt. To be honest, the ride wasn't easy especially since I wasn't too fit and so when I got the opportunity to stop halfway up the hill. I took it. I was breathless, my entire body already hurt and frankly I didn't want to go through the same pain again just to do the second lap. But, I bit my lip and carried on around the dam and up the slope past the starting banner. I had eight kilometers left. Eight kilometers up rocky hills and then back down again. It wasn't my legs that got me through that second lap. It was my mind. And that was the lesson I learnt that morning, your mind is your strongest tool. You can get through a race even if you're not too fit as long as your mind is calm and determined, however, you can't even ride half the distance if you're fit but your mind falters and your will isn’t there.

So, if you're tired and feel like giving up just remember "success is how high you bounce after you hit [rock] bottom."

www.chahal.com

Arbor Day

Friday the 5th of September was Arbor Day and so around the world various events were being hosted to celebrate our trees. One such event took place at Johannesburg Zoo where thousands of schoolchildren gathered to hear speeches, explore the zoo and learn more about the world they live in.

Even though the event specifically focussed on trees Rhino SA was invited to have a stand and educate the schoolchildren about rhino poaching in South Africa. My sister and I went along to help Irene Huysamen and Emma-Rae Philipson in spreading the word about rhinos. In the four hours we were there we spoke to around a hundred children between the ages of 3 and 15. It was a very interesting experience for me as I’d never spoken to four year olds about rhinos before and as a result they helped me to be creative in my explanations.

I was honestly surprised at the questions and blank faces that I was greeted with by the older kids though it reminded me how important it was that we were giving up our time to spread the word. I was grateful that most of the children understood the importance of the issue and promised us that they would do what they could to stop rhino poaching.

After standing and speaking all morning Emma-Rae Philipson and I went to the rhino enclosure where we recorded our message that will be sent on the behalf of Rhino SA to the World Youth Rhino Summit next weekend. Hopefully our message will inspire many more people to join the fight against rhino poaching.

Spring!!

So today is the first of September and almost a whole month since I did my last blog post. I hope that everyone has had a relaxing few weeks and is ready to start off Spring with some great goals ahead. I certainly am, but if you haven't and you aren't into the Spring spirit yet then hopefully this pic will make you glad that Winter is officially over!!!

http://ifthislove.blogspot.com/

As you already know I haven't been posting much recently but that's because I've been so busy dreaming up new, inspiring and interesting ideas for blog posts. So, I hope you all have a great Spring and I look forward to posting creative posts for you to read ;)

Here's a Spring riddle from http://www.2020site.org: 

How is the letter A like a Spring flower?

The answer will be revealed in my next Blog post but you can send me what you think the answer is and I'll tell you if it's right :p

Wicky-Whacky Cake

It's nearly holidays for some South Africans and even if you're not on holiday I still suggest that you try out this recipe when you have a spare moment. The cake is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and PERFECTLY MOIST :) It's really easy, I promise *winks*.

Recipe:
Ingredients:

750ml cake flour
20ml   baking powder
500ml sugar
5ml     bicarbonate of soda
18ml   cocoa
Pinch of salt
500ml boiling water
250ml oil
10ml   vanilla essence
50ml   white vinegar

Icing:
125g  margarine
375ml icing sugar (sifted)
15-30ml cocoa
Few drops of vanilla essence

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Spray a 27 x 39cm oven pan.
Sift all dry ingredients together in the pan.
Mix remaining ingredients in a jug and whisk together in pan using a fork.
Bang pan lightly to remove bubbles.
Bake for 20-30 minutes.
Cool in pan.
Ice and serve :)

(Recipe is from the Morningside Pre-Primary School's Cookbook 2004)

TOMORROW

A few months ago I read article after article about how drones were making children scared to look up at the sky. The SKY! How are they ever going to smile when they see a rainbow or appreciate the beauty of the sunrises and sunsets? All it is that I’m saying is that technology is supposed to benefit us. It’s not supposed to kill us. And yet as we all get more and more paranoid we invent cannons, bombs, guns, drones and missiles. Do we not realize that as soon as we do this we’re prompting our enemies to do the same?

Do we not understand that when we “defend ourselves” we may end up killing thousands of other people in the process? Every time when I sit down and start reading a newspaper (yes I do, do that sometimes) I can’t help but wonder why we think we are the cleverest animals out there. After all, monkeys may fight with each other sometimes but I’ve never heard of an ape that spent half of his life building a weapon that he could use just in case someone invaded his territory.

The problem with us humans is that we love ourselves too much. Don’t take my words out of context, because we are meant to love ourselves, however, I do not believe that we were brought into this world simply to kill anyone who tries to hurt us. You see, if we did this then we would never let our guard down. We’d never be able to make friends and in the end only a handful of distrusting people would be left on this earth. So, even though our first instinct is to make sure that we don’t get hurt (which may mean that we have to injure someone else to ensure this doesn’t happen) I hope that the future generation, my generation, will possess the self-control to realize that the easiest option may not be the best option. And as a result, I hope we will be able to walk away from the walls that we are building to keep everyone out. Also to be prepared to lend a hand to anyone who needs it, even though there may be a possibility that we could get hurt in the process. After all, it’s our job to be the leaders of tomorrow, to be even better (if that’s possible) than the ones of today.

www.livingwaters.co.za

5 Pictures I think we all need to save

FROZEN!

This week I have had the privilege of looking after little girls at my Church’s Holiday Club. It was an amazing but challenging experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. Though I have to say I listened to “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” (from Frozen) at least twenty-three times, and I’m not even exaggerating. Yet, as the children asked me to play the song over and over again I started wondering why they loved it and the movie (that I also love) so much. 

www.fanpop.com 

So, why is Frozen such a great Disney movie?

1. It is one of the first animated, kids’ movies that teaches its viewers that they don’t need men to rescue them. This may seem like an arbitrary thing but it is actually very important especially in a society where women and girls are still fighting to be seen as equals to men.

2. The songs. I just have to say that the songs from Frozen were so catchy that the five, six, seven and eight year olds I was looking after were almost always humming one of their tunes. If I had to pick a favourite song I think I would pick “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” even after I’ve heard it so many times I could probably sing it backwards.

3. The animation in this movie was so exceptional that the characters look just like humans. That in the funny characters like Olaf made this film even more memorable.

4. The cool thing about this movie is that it has a plot-line that not only kids but most parents also enjoy.

If you haven’t watched this movie yet I really suggest you do because well if you don’t you will seriously be missing out.

www.hdwallpaper4all.com

TV Time

Yesterday evening I had a brilliant idea for a blog post but on the way to my room I saw the flickering lights of someone watching television. Deciding to take a slight detour I entered the Study and saw my sister grinning as she watched our favourite show. "Just one show" I promised myself. Unfortunately, after that show another one of my favourites was on so I watched that one too, and then the next one.

By the time I managed to drag myself off of the couch I’d seen three shows and I didn’t even remember what I wanted to write about. So, when I finally reached my room and sat down in front of the computer I stared blankly at the screen. I tried and tried to remember but the idea was gone.

However, even after I'd given up trying to remember my idea, I still didn’t hate the fact that I’d watched TV. I didn’t hate the shows that absorbed me or the characters that made me laugh so hard I didn’t notice that my idea was disappearing from my mind. In fact, I was grateful for that temptation that made me sit down because I knew that I was now going to have to be strong enough to resist it, so in the future I would be able to get up after the first show and carry on with what I was doing.

You see, watching TV when you unwind is not a bad thing, nor is lying on the couch and watching movies when you’re feeling sick or viewing your favourite show at 18h30 every night is also okay. It’s just when you spend every minute of every day chilling in front of the television that a problem starts to develop. This is because you start to become a couch potato. You no longer feel like doing homework, chores or even going for a walk outside. In extreme cases you could suffer from depression, obesity and other such problems.

www.unsv.com

                                   

So, in order to prevent this from happening I’ve thought of a few suggestions and I challenge all of you (and myself) to watch less TV this week by following these steps.

1. Pick a few shows you love to watch and try to only watch these shows. If your show isn’t on yet why don’t you turn of the TV and read until it comes on.

2. Limit yourself to one movie a day for most days (with some exceptions of course *winks*)

3. Try to watch at least two educational shows in one week.


Reading through this post again I’ve realised that it sounds like I don’t enjoy watching TV, which isn’t true. I think this invention can be entertaining as well as beneficial as it educates us, helps us to relax and encourages us to laugh thus getting rid of the day’s tension. Without it, watching our favourite sports wouldn’t be as easy and it would be harder to cheer on our teams.

As you can see I do love watching TV but like many things I believe you should moderate yourself in order to stay healthy and happy.

Taking Things Too Seriously

As a teenager I know that we take some things way too seriously. There are days when I hear people stressing about the test that they’ve just written or about to write. Some people spend hours wondering if they said the right thing that day or if they will be able to achieve in the way they would like.

It’s that way of thinking that makes us become stressed and frustrated. This is why I try to remind myself that I probably won’t remember those embarrassing moments or slightly below average marks in ten years’ time. Or if we do then hopefully we’ll either laugh at the memory or use it to become a better version of ourselves.

Let me give you an example:

One day when I was two years old I was playing in the garden with my one cousin. His sister (my older cousin) was flying home from Cape Town that day and I was really excited. After waiting for so long the two of us eventually decided to take action. I grabbed my new wheelbarrow, my doll and backpack and my cousin took my teddy bear before walking through the house to find my grandmother. ‘Can you open the gate please? We’re going to fetch Kayley from the airport.’ I told her not understanding that the airport was just less than 30 kilometres away from her house.

Of course, she didn’t let me go and at the time I must have been angry with her but now I laugh when she retells it. You see, though our problems may seem very huge now we will overcome them and become even stronger than we were before.

Why Perfection is Unattainable

A few days ago I received this note and it reminded me of a problem many teenagers face everyday. The problem: Striving for Perfection.

Hi Casperette,

Thanks for writing to me :)

I wish I could tell you all of the secrets to perfection but unfortunately I'm in the same position as you. There are days when I think I'm really close to being perfect yet I never seem to reach it.

Two months before I got your letter I was daydreaming in my garden. I wondered why my dogs were always so happy and carefree. They weren't constantly fretting whether they were wearing pretty clothes or worrying if they were going to pass their exams. As I thought about it more and more I realized that I lived a completely different life to my dogs (and this is not just because I'm not covered in fur and crazy about dog biscuits). Whilst they spent hours enjoying life I was either worrying or too busy to think. To be honest, I was jealous that my life was so hectic and there's was not. But I couldn't think of anything to do about it so I simply picked up a stick and threw it for them.

My thoughts moved on over the next few days but I never forgot that moment and a week later I realized what was wrong with my life. Before I say it I must admit, I'm a really lucky girl. I have a lovely family. I have awesome friends, I go to an amazing school and I know that God is watching over me. However, when you strive for perfection you don't always appreciate the things you have with you. This is exactly what happened to me. And along with that, I was worrying about attaining perfection.

Ever since I realized this I stopped striving towards perfection, and honestly, I now know that I would rather be imperfect than perfect. Because perfection is different in everyone's eyes and as a result it is unattainable, and when something is unattainable then striving for it will only make you sad, frustrated and angry. So, do what I did, love your uniqueness, embrace your imperfection and I promise your worries will soon fade away.

Smiles,
Kirsten A. Everett

PS: Write again soon :)

World Environment Day

So as most of you know the 5th of June was World Environment Day. I wanted to do something special but because I spent most of it at school and did homework when I got home I decided that I would rather do something on the closest Saturday (the 7th of June). 

When the sun rose on this day I got dressed in my informal school uniform and headed down to the Braamfontein Spruit with my mom and sister. There were many Brescia House School girls there and together we armed ourselves with rubber gloves, gumboots and dustbin bags and began to clean up all of the litter. I’m not going to lie and say that it was easy because it wasn’t. We waded through the river to rescue floating bottles or deodorant cans. We tugged and tugged at all sorts of objects, as we tried to free them from the river bed. All in all, we worked hard and managed to remove different parts of a printer, a carpet, a blanket, many cables, wire and lots of plastic bottles from the river.

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did by being outside and participating in various activities to help clean up our environment. Remember, we are all mighty Eco Warriors and together we can make our world a better place.

Book Birthday

Over the past few weeks I have spoken to hundreds of people about the journey I undertook to become an author as well as my two books. So, I don’t want this post to simply be about me repeating all of those speeches, yet, I want you guys to really learn something about me today. That’s why I’ve decided to show you guys this picture:

http://booksdirect.tumblr.com/post/79238656893/readers-are-often-fans-of-authors-but-i-myself-am-a-fan


It sounds cool but I bet you’re wondering why I inserted this image instead of a photograph of a rhino or One Direction or something like that. Well, I think that this quote sums up one of the most important things I’ve realized ever since I began writing; without a reader your book will just be a pile of words. And that is what Janae Mitchell is talking about when she says that she’s a fan of readers. So, I want you guys to know that I’m a fan of you and I know that without you all I wouldn’t have sold a single copy of my book. I think you deserve a round of applause.


So dearest readers, thank you for reading! And if you haven’t yet read my book I hope you’ll consider it:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Kirsten.%20A.%20Everett

Dreams

This week I've spent numerous hours speaking to people and telling them about my journey to reaching my dream. At first when I realized how hectic this week was going to be I was really nervous. In fact, by the time I reached Monday I was already dreading the three talks, partly because I had a cold so my voice was weird, and partly because I didn't know what I was going to say.

But as the week flew by I tried not to worry about the words, then I eventually realized that I couldn't put it off any longer. I HAD to start planning my speech. So, one evening whilst sitting in my room I let my mind wonder about my journey. I remembered all of the hard work I had put into writing my stories when I was eight years old. I remembered the long afternoons I had spent in front of the computer as I typed my books up one letter at a time.

As I sat there lost in thought I realized just how much I had matured over the years. At first my ideas were about fairies or princesses and my plots were only a few sentences long, but after a while my characters became more interesting and I came up with a few twists and turns for my plot.

My books now contained lessons that would teach my readers more about themselves as well as more about the world. I now used stronger words, and my grammar was much better. Another thing that had changed over time was my writing voice/tone, I was no longer the shy little girl that used to hide behind her mom when she was scared, I had matured into a teenager who was willing to stand up for what she believed in.

So as my eyelids started drooping and my mom told me it was time for bed I smiled, pleased I had come up with a few ideas for what I was going to tell everyone. After all, the best way to inspire someone to chase their dream is by telling them that it's possible because you've achieved yours :)

And I have, thanks to everyone who helped me along the way.

Rhino SA at Yebo Gogga Wits Exhibition

"Everyone is inspired by different things. For some people it is the sun that kisses the morning sky with rays that shine light into all of our lives. For others it is an adventure that they didn’t expect but neither of those things inspired me to write my two books.

In order for you to understand I’m going to take you back in time to December 2012 where a younger version of me was sitting on a game vehicle surrounded by my family. It was half past five in the morning and my eyelids kept drooping as I tried to scan the surrounding area for some animals. I looked and looked but the only thing I managed to spot was a wild dog’s ear which actually turned out to be a rock.

So, being a thirteen year old girl I eventually gave up searching and closed my eyes. My sister whispered a joke and my aunt laughed but I barely heard them. I was snuggled inside my fluffy jacket slowly drifting into dreamland.

But then the game vehicle shuddered to a halt. I opened my eyes and saw two of the most beautiful animals in the world. A rhino mother and her calf posed in front of us completely oblivious to the fact that their species was quickly going extinct. To be honest with you, it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. And more than that I couldn’t help but wonder why these animals deserved to live such short lives. It wasn’t their fault that horns grew from their heads. I racked my brain for an answer but I couldn’t find one. That was when I realized there wasn’t one. These animals didn’t deserve to die and I was determined to make sure that the world knew that. In that moment whilst I watched the rhinos in their natural habitat I decided that I was going to find a way to help save this species and a few seconds later I came up with three words which blossomed into two books.

You see, it was because of those two rhinos that I was inspired to write my books and it was because of them that I started blogging for Nikela. They were the ones who lead me to Rhino SA, an organisation that believes in the same thing that I do, that by educating the youth we can save this species and prevent other animals from landing up in the same situation. 

Me at the Rhino SA stand (I hope you enjoyed reading my speech )

So, let me just introduce myself I’m Kirsten A. Everett, a South African teenager who believes the youth of this country have the power to make a difference through spreading the word about the truth of the rhino horn, and thus I believe there is hope for the rhino species."

Among the organizations that were at this exhibition Rhino SA focused on educating the school children and other people, about rhinos, rhino midden, poisoning rhino horns as well as the current situation where poachers are targeting rhinos.

I learnt a lot as I listened to the speeches that Rhino SA gave. For instance, I didn't know that the rhino horns have to be redye every four to six years in order to make sure that the poachers know that the horns are poisoned. Hopefully the poison and the dye will save these rhinos from being brutally murdered.

There were many people who presented speeches for Rhino SA including Irene, Jolandie (an Askari Game Ranger), Godfrey and Bernard (two members of the Vlakfontein Community Programme) as well as myself. We all encouraged our listeners to do what they could to help save the species.

Girl Power!!

Over the years men have realized that they truly aren’t better than women and that’s why in most societies women are now seen as equal to men. They are able to vote (which they never used to be able to) and are now allowed to work in roles that were originally only for males. So, after years of proving ourselves to everyone us girls will still continue to be the best we can be. And here are some women who truly are/were amazing.

Margaret Thatcher

She was the first woman Prime Minister in Europe and she was also the longest serving British Prime Minister since 1827. Margaret served in this role for three terms and narrowly escaped death when a bomb was planted at the Conservative party conference in Brighton.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/margaret_thatcher

Florence Nightingale
Some think that Florence is the founder of modern nursing. She took thirty-eight women to the warfront where they cleaned up the conditions the soldiers were living in and thus it is suspected that she saved many lives.

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/nightingale/p/nightingale.htm

Amelia Earhart
This adventurous woman set many records by being the first women to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger and by being the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic. She set many speed records as well. She was determined to fly around the world but she never landed in her final destination.

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/earhartamelia/p/amelia_earhart.htm

Helen Keller
When she was young Helen lost both her sight and her hearing but a few years later (with the help of Anne Sullivan) she learnt the alphabet and Braille. Helen went to a school for deaf children and even graduated from college. After that she spent the rest of her life improving education for the deaf, blind and mute as well as working for women’s rights.

http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/kellerhelen/p/helen_keller.htm

Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa (her real name is Agnes) lost her father when she was young. Her family depended on their religion to get through their problems. When she was only 12 years old she heard a call from God for her to become a nun; so at the age of 17 she applied to an order of Irish nuns that did projects in India. It took her two years to become a Loreto nun and after that she received a call to help poor people by living amongst them. She began by teaching children and offering some medical help to their families when they needed it. Soon more nuns joined her and then the Pope granted her petition to form an order of nuns called the Missionaries of Charity.

http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/a/motherteresa.htm

Joan of Arc
This young Frenchwomen heard voices from divine sources when she was little and later went to the king and asked him for soldiers so she can help fight the English. Eventually he gave her what she wanted and she went into battle and the French finally defeated the English. She fought in some battles after that day she was wounded in one and then taken captive before being sold to the English. Joan was brave and refused to deny the voices she had heard so was burned at the stake. Years later she was canonized as a saint.

Marie Curie
As a young girl Marie had to deal with horrible things such as the loss of her sister and her mother to diseases. Though her family was struggling financially and she went through a stage when she felt too tired to do anything, she studied as hard as she could and later discovered two elements that she named “Radium” and “Polonium”. Marie also discovered radioactivity.

http://www.aip.org/history/curie/brief/


Marry Mother of Jesus
Many of us know the Nativity Story and we also know that it wouldn’t have been possible if Mary hadn’t loved God so on this special day I think it’s important to remember this lady as well. Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ in a stable in Bethlehem. From that moment on she supported her son and helped him throughout his life until he died on the cross many years later.

All of Our Mothers
All the ladies I have mentioned were amazing people and there are many, many more that I could’ve mentioned but I didn’t have the time to research every single one of them. So, this Mother’s Day I want to tell all of the mothers out there that we truly are grateful to have you and we wouldn’t be where we were without them. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU - AND HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

www.bocatc.org

PS: If you want to read about 100 great women (including most of these) go to:

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/lists/tp/top_100_women.htm

Fears

Every single person on this planet is afraid of something. Even the people who pretend that they aren't, somewhere deep inside there is a small part of them that's terrified of something. So, like every other person there are things that I'm scared of.

My first fear is of change. That's one of the reasons why I've lived in the same neighborhood for over five years, stayed at the same school for high school and it also explains why I like to go to the same shopping centers and the same restaurants that I've always gone too. But, even though my fear of change makes me indecisive at times I'm slowly learning to overcome it. One step at a time.

And that step came in the form of getting my ears pierced. You see, at first my parents had said that I could only get them done after I turned 12 so I waited. Then, after I turned 12 they asked me when I wanted to get them pierced and I told them that I would rather wait another year. And then another. And then another. Almost four years later a few months before I turned 16 I finally decided to get them pierced. So, it took me all that time to decide that I wanted to have them done, partly because I knew that it was impossible to undo the piercing. Even if I decided to let the holes close up then there'd still be marks where they used to be. But in the end I overcame my fear of change and had them done to prove it.

Another fear that I've started to get over is of spiders. I still remember the one morning when I was on my way to the kitchen when I saw a HUGE rain spider hanging above the doorframe. I stifled a scream and took a few steps back before deciding that I would wait until my dad released the spider into the garden before I would eat breakfast. Thankfully he caught it and soon freed it into a bush, and now a few years later I'm able to walk past a spider and not even flinch. (The key is to pretend that it's not there).

So, if you're ever in a situation where your chest is tightening and your adrenaline races through your veins; just take a deep breath in and know that God is watching over you and you can truly do anything you set your mind too.

Places to go, things to eat and activities to do in Cape Town

I've spent the last few days in the Mother City of South Africa, the home of one of the Seven Wonders of the world and the place where the Two Oceans Marathon recently took place. Cape Town.

So, I've compiled a short list of things to do if you're ever in this city. The first and most obvious activity is a trip up and down Table Mountain in the Cable Car. In order to ensure you don't spend your entire morning standing in queues for the 4 minute ride I suggest you book online. Once that's done you should be able to whizz through the only queue you have to wait in and then enter the Cable Car that will take you on an amazing, (even though it's short) journey. Another quick tip is to not hold on the handles because the floor rotates so you get a panoramic view. 

When we got to the top of the mountain my family and I went for a walk and took many photographs of the beautiful city below and the animals we saw, so don't forget your cameras!

The next thing I recommend is a trip to the Hout Bay Market. I can assure you that you won't regret it. There is a variety of food for you to choose from so whether you go at breakfast time or at lunch you will find something to eat that will make your taste buds sing. And that's not it, you get to weave your way through a variety of different stalls whilst listening to some music. Keep your eyes peeled for the unique features of the market such as the bathroom doors and tyre chairs.


There are many other places I would suggest you go to in Cape Town - such as the Aquarium, V & A waterfront and the Cape Town Eye - but if I had to write about all of them I would end up having finished a novella so instead I'm going to wish you all a Happy Easter and hope that you are having or have had a great day.

Another Interview

Hi everyone,

It's been ages since I did an interview so when Matthew Peters offered me the opportunity I took it. So, here's another interview you guys can read in order to get to know me a bit better.

http://www.matthewpetersbooks.com/blog/

Have a great week and I'll post another blog entry soon.

Kirsten A. Everett

Autumn

The flowers are disappearing, blankets are being bought by the dozen, salads are being replaced by soups and the temperature is slowly dropping. These are some of the first signs that summer is fading away, and soon we’ll be freezing our way through winter.

But, before we get there we have to experience the season in between the two. Autumn. Even though the few rays of sunshine don’t seem to warm us up so we shiver when we forget to wear a jersey, there are some things that I’ve learnt to appreciate about autumn.

One of the prettiest things about this season is the way the leaves change from bright green to a faded yellow, orange or a dark red. It takes time for the colour to change completely which reminds me that I have to be patient because it takes time to do something well.

A while after the colour change is completed the leaves begin to fall to the ground. One by one they leave their tree and gracefully dance through the air. When there is a big pile of leaves I love to jump in them and be reminded of the moments I used to spend playing with them when I was little.

As much as I love eating salads in summer I have to say that there are days when I would rather sit down by the TV and have a warm bowl of soup. There are so many flavours all in one spoonful and I’m instantly warmed up. But, some days when I don’t feel like eating soup I boil the kettle and pour myself a big mug of tea. Even though I drink tea everyday regardless of the season I appreciate it more when it’s cold.

During autumn and winter my family and I play a game every morning that we don’t play in the warm months of the year. So, every morning just before we cross the bridge to get to school we all guess what the temperature is going to be. When we finally drive over it we see what it is and who was the closest. It may not sound like much fun but when you’re cold and wishing you were in bed it’s enough to make you smile.

If you’re in the southern part of the world I hope you all keep warm this autumn and if you’re enjoying spring take lots of photos of the beautiful flowers.

Postcards

Technology has advanced to a point where we can send a message to a friend on the other side of the world and receive her response within two minutes. That’s just how fast instant messaging is. But, though it has its perks I still miss the days when we would send letters and postcards to each other.

A few weeks ago my mom was unpacking an old box and she found a postcard, and then another until there was so many I had to use a piece of string to keep all of them together. When I had finished my homework I pulled them out again and just sat staring at them in awe. There were so many of them.

Removing the string I laid them out all around me and admired the photographs. Without even moving from my bedroom I began travelling the world.

Reading the messages I couldn’t help but gasp at the adventures my grandparents had been on and what they had seen. During the hour it took for me to read every single one I learnt things about many countries that I hadn’t known before. I saw the sights that they had seen so long ago and I smiled at the parts when they wrote about the photograph my aunt had shown them of me walking for the first time. Of course, I couldn’t remember most of the stories they told me when they got back from their various trips but now thanks to the postcards I know what happened to them and what they did.

At the same time as they sent those postcards they had sent detailed emails to my parents but now, more than twelve years later I can’t simply open those emails and read them. It would take hours to locate them and even if they could be found I doubt I would manage to read every single one of them; as unlike postcards they will not explain just the highlights of the trip

So, the next time I go on holiday I’ll buy a postcard because even if I don’t send it to anyone I’ll have proof that I was actually at that place. I’ll write about my adventures on the back of it and then I’ll store it in a box for someone to open years later so my journeys aren’t forgotten.



I’ve heard of people leaving a trail of footsteps but now I’m going to be leaving a trail of postcards.

I Postcards

Canned Lion March

Some South Africans know about rhino poaching but I have often wondered how many of them know what is happening to our lions.

The lion is a member of the Big 5 and an animal that hundreds of tourists look for when they are in the bush in our country and all over Africa. Yet, there are less than 4000 lions left in the wild.

Why?

Because lions are being captured, and taken to places where they can breed. First of all, the females will be forced to have as many cubs as they can before being offered up as a target for trophy hunting or they are killed for bone trade. The young cubs are taken away from their mothers and then played with by people and volunteers who do not know that these cubs are destined to be hunted for trophies.

The tragic cycle begins with cub petting but does not stop there, after a few more steps as when they become mature they are released from cages into small camps, so they cannot escape from their hunters.

This is why I took part in the march to save our lions on the 15th of March 2014.

My mother, sister and I got to Zoo Lake and followed the drumming and singing to where the march was held. There, we listened to the Lion Whisperer, a DA counsel leader and a few other people as more supporters joined us. After hearing the motivational speeches and purchasing t-shirts and signs the march began.

Every single person who took part chanted “Ban Canned Lion Hunting NOW!” and “Save our Lions”. Whilst we walked down the road in time with the drums we all hoped that what we were doing, along with many other cities around the world, would make a difference. We hoped that more and more people would understand that when the trophy hunters claimed they were shooting the lions to help impoverished communities this was not their true goal. They could donate money instead of shooting these amazing animals. Our tourism doesn’t need to rely on these visitors, but should rather focus on conservation ecotourism as this is more sustainable. I urge you all to show your love for lions and say NO to Canned Lion Hunting!

Go to: www.cannedlion.org for more information.