The Stolen Hat

I work in a nursery and when you work with children, you find you have a lot of stories to tell. However, when explained, most of my favourite stories seem so small and simple and yet all those tiny moments make a 38-hour working week so much more fun. 

Recently, one of the most triumphant moments all started with a hat that was thrown up into a tree. The children were playing in the garden when a little girl threw her hat up to catch it, instead a tree branch claimed it and the children where then faced with a problem… how do we get the hat back?

Of course, the first thing they decided to do was to come and ask a member of staff for help but then when they were posed with the question of “how do you think you can get the hat down?” it became a race to see who could think of the best idea first. It started with jumping, trying to push their legs as high of the ground as they possibly could but it didn’t take them to long to realise they just weren’t tall enough – no matter how high they jumped. Then came a line of other ideas, standing on the tips of their toes, using objects like hula hoops to reach, jumping from higher platforms and just generally running around crazily and just hoping it would fall.

Now this story has an underdog, a little boy standing to the side and watching quietly. He had been working out a plan to save the hat, he had watched all of the separate ideas each child had and put them all together. He dragged over a crate and picked up a hula hoop, he stood on it, went onto the tips of his toes and knocked the hat out of the tree.

The hat was saved! The best part? The reaction. Cheers began, all the children and all the staff started to clap and scream and laugh… all the while the little boy stood with the hat in his hand looking at everyone in utter confusion. He handed the hat back to the little girl and ran off to play – like nothing had happened.

And that was the end of that, 5 minutes that would become the highlight of the day and it all started because a tree decided to steal a small pink hat.

I hope you found some joy in my little story,

Lots of Love, Holly x

How to Survive in a World Where You Have No Idea What You’re Doing.

So, if you’re reading this the chances are that you live your day to day life constantly wondering what it is that you are meant to be doing. Well join the club.

At a grand at of 19 years old, I have never walked a day where I have felt in control. Every decision I make is only half decided, every thought I have results in an internal debate and I am forever wondering if I am losing at the game that is life. However, I have also found out that the uncertainty of life is actually the fun bit. So here are my 5 tips (follow them with caution) to help you survive in a world where you have no idea what you’re doing:

1)    Overthinking is the enemy. With everything you will choose to do there will be a hundred ‘what ifs’ but there will also be a hundred ways that it could go well, and the chances are the more you believe that something will go wrong the more likely it actually will.

2)    Don’t underestimate your own abilities. Believing you aren’t capable of doing something is the true killer of potential. Even if 95% of your brain tells you that you can’t do something, it is better to listen to the 5% that tells you that you can – honestly failing at something you know you tried hard at is more worth while then never trying at all. At least that way you can narrow down what your mission on this planet is meant to be.

3)    Block out the haters. The cringest catch phrase on the internet, but that cringy phrase may actually help save your soul. For whatever reason there will always be someone against you, whether it be jealousy, people’s own feeling of entitlement or just plain bitchiness, you will never truly escape the people in your shadows that enjoy trying to bring you down. Therefore, the only thing that keep be done to get rid of the unsupportive is to block them out.

4)    Say yes! Now I don’t necessarily mean this literally – saying yes to everything may end you up in quite a few tricky situations. However, what I do actually mean, is to say yes to every positive opportunity that is thrown your way. Let’s say that you are at school and you are asked to do a presentation in an assembly, do it… why not? Or you are at work and there is a new promotion place open to apply for, apply for it… why not? Sure, most opportunities are scary or difficult and it would just be more convenient to stay at home hiding under a pile of blankets, but the best parts of life don’t often happen when its easy.

5)    And finally, have hope. In the darkest of times, hope is the light at the end of the tunnel. In the words of President Snow (probably not the most inspirational book character I could quote, but he does have a point) “hope is the only thing stronger than fear.”

So, I hope my fairly average advice somewhat helped!

Lots of Love, Holly x