How do we achieve peace?

Today I had a pretty uneventful day but while I was making my lunch there was a movie on in the background which sounded pretty good so I went into the sitting room and paused it so I could watch it when I was finished with lunch. The movie was called "That's what I am". It is based in 1965 and is about a student (Andy) who like most students will do anything to avoid conflict and ridicule from his classmates. But then a teacher (Mr. Simon) pairs him off with the schools biggest outcast (Stanley) on an important term project. Over the course of the movie Andy discovers that the teacher had a reason for pairing him with Stanley. Andy learns that Stanley is a brilliant, kind, tolerant and decent human being who has more dignity that anyone he had ever encountered. It's a heart warming tale about overcoming bullies and being who you are rather than trying to adhere to the social norm. 

But the one thing that will stand out for me is this wonderful quote. Mr Simon entered a competition to win a car. Each participant had to write in 50 words or less how to achieve peace, Mr Simon did it in 5. "Human Dignity + compassion = peace" I don't know why, but that quote really stuck with me more than anything else that happened in the movie. I am usually quite attentive to movies that are about overcoming adversity and standing up for what you believe in because it is tough to do those things. But after this quote came up I couldn't really focus on the rest of the movie. I was just thinking about how amazing that quote is and how easy it would be for people to be more compassionate and have more dignity. If everyone learned from this quote I think we would be taking a massive step towards peace. I highly recommend this movie. It really makes you think about everything that is happening in the world and your own life. Has anyone else seen this movie? If so what did ye think of it? I would really love to hear peoples opinions on the movie, on how we can achieve peace or even just what they thought of my ramblings. 

Stardansheill o7

Reasons why humanity is awesome

So I haven't really being very good at posting on here lately so I have decided to create a new segment where I post about things that make me so happy to be alive and why humanity is awesome. Lately whenever I watch the news or read a paper it is usually full of sad news stories but every so often there is that one story that you read or see that makes you smile and see why people never give up on things. So I am going to post some of the stories and videos that put a smile on my face. These are only my opinions of the reasons why I think humanity is awesome I would love to hear from you guys as to why you think humanity is awesome or even the opposite. Just leave a comment below.

 I decided that the first post I do on this segment will be about a few videos I found by the Piano guys while stumbling around the internet and literally spent a good 2 hours listening to and perusing the rest of their videos. They have written a lot of their own music but they also cover a lot of classical music. But in my opinion this doesn't make them any less awesome because it still takes a ridiculous amount of talent to cover some classical songs.

I decided to include them in the reasons why humanity is awesome segment because they are so passionate about their music and they play because they love doing it. They have spent countless hours of their lives honing their talents as musicians and have probably thought about giving up many many times while learning, but they never did and they are now amazing and have made a career from something they love. Every time I watch their videos I can't stop smiling. I couldn't even in my wildest dreams even imagine being able to do something like that. The skill involved is immense. People like these guys are truly awesome. And there are plenty of them out there. The internet is full of them. All we have to do is look :)  

Expect to see a few more posts in this segment as I am often stumbling upon amazing stories or even just seeing things in my own personal life that restore my faith in humanity and show that humanity really is awesome. I like to remember that no matter how depressing things can get there is always something out there that will put a smile on your face.

Stardansheill o7

New idea

So I have been working a lot lately to try and save money for college, a new laptop and other stuff. In the last week I bought a new phone because I decided to treat myself and I have not had a good phone in about 5 years. So I bought the Sony Xperia U which runs on Android. Personally I prefer the Android operating system because it is open source and anyone can create applications on it without having to pay for a license like on Apple. I have had 3 or 4 android phones since they started coming out but they have always been lower end models so they don't work with all the applications and that annoyed me lol.

But anyway back to the reason I am writing this post. The phone does almost everything I want it to do so I am in love with it. I amn't one of these people who pretends to know a lot about technology, because that would be far from the truth. But I try and learn when I can about stuff like this. I love technology and am kind of a nerd. I was thinking about doing an app review section on the blog where I would download a new app I haven't used and let the people of the internet what it's like and what I think. Or people could ask me to test out an app and review it so they can find out what it's like with no effort on their part lol. What do people think about this? I would really appreciate any criticism people can give me about this. There are some many free apps out there to try and I have been trying a new one nearly everyday just to see if they are any good and a lot of them are but you get a few that are not so great. 

Stardansheill o7

Progress report

So it has been two months since I posted something, oops. I did not realise it had been that long. I fell behind when it came time to study for my end of year exams and then I was working after that and other stuff came up and I just stopped writing. I have failed my new years resolution to do something new ever week for the year, but I still have other ones to do and I will think of other things to write about. I just thought I should post something on here to get myself back into the swing of things. Thank you to all the people that have contacted me to make sure i was ok since I have been gone for so long. I will catch up on what I have missed and get back to writing ASAP. But for now I am just going to post a song that I recently discovered that I think is excellent. It is about not letting people push you around and always standing up for yourself. Really made me think about my past and how I used to be and how I have changed since then. Still some changes to make but I am getting there :)

Stardansheill o7

New things week 18

Ok so I am like a week late with this because of exams and stress and just blah, but trust me when I say that I did this on time. I am still doing one new thing every week and for week 18 I decided to work on some self improvement. I started a swear jar to help me stop swearing because I felt the amount I swore was getting out of hand. I don't want to stop swearing totally, but I want to get a grasp on how often I swear because there are things I do in my life where I am in situations that it is totally inappropriate to swear. So every time I caught myself swear I would put 10c in my swear jar that I am going to donate to charity. Over the week I ended up putting nearly €10 in the jar. I found that the idea of having to put money in the jar helped me swear less.

I decided to be less critical of things around me. I tend to judge to quickly sometimes and don't like that about myself. You never know what something or someone is like until you give it/them a chance. I also decided to just do things instead of arguing with my mother. It saves on so much time and it makes life in general a lot easier. I used to argue with her a lot because I am the eldest and my brother always manages to weasel his way out of jobs and I end up having to do them. But now I realise that I am better off because of all the things I learned to do growing up because of my Mother asking me to do them and my brother wont be as able to fend for himself when he moves out. I know that is a small thing, but it can make a big difference in overall household mood.

I decided to start reading more and watching less television because I used to read a lot and miss doing it. It is also better for my brain. Your brain is a muscle as well and if you don't use it, it will become weak. I always say that I never have the time to do it anymore, but if I watched less tv I would have loads of time. I love to read because it teaches you about loads of things and it expands your imagination, vocabulary and writing ability.


I have an awful habit of not getting up early. I could stay in my bed forever if it were possible. I really love it. So I decided to get up at 8 every morning for the next week at least, and we will see how I get on. I actually got a lot done. All be it I didn't become functional until about 9 when I had breakfast and tea in me. But after that I got a lot of things done. I got all lot more reading done and I also got a lot of the things I needed to do that day done.

Stardansheill o7

Thursday's for Nostalgia

Since it's exam time I decided to procrastinate by listening to some music on Youtube. I decided that since I was studying I would listen to some good auld 90's music. It all started with a bit of Blur Song 2. I decided to take a look at the suggestions to decide what to listen to next and they were all pretty much awesome so I stuck with Blur for the next song and went with Parklife. I moved on to Bohemian Like you by the Dandy Warhols, Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus and Creep by Radiohead. There was a lot more after that, but too long to list. Basically more Blur, some Feeder, The clash and Linkin Park. All these songs bring back such fun memories from growing up. I would often listen to them and more on long journeys or outside during the summer when we were messing outside. Put's me in a nostalgic mood every time.

After a very long procrastination song, I decided I should probably actually do some study so I put one last song on and got down to the books. I decided on Just a Day by Feeder, because it is definitely one of my favourite songs from growing up.

The video says it all. I'll be honest and say I have jumped around and sang along to this song in my room more than once. It's just one of those songs that puts me in a good mood every time I hear it. Anybody else have one of those songs? Needless to say I had a very productive day of procrastination. Not a lot of study done, lol. I don't think I will ever stop listening to the 90's and earlier eras music. In my opinion it's a lot better than a lot of the stuff nowadays, but that's a rant for another day.

Anywho, I still have exams so I am going to wrap this up by saying, anybody got any classic songs they would like to recommend to me. I love finding new songs to listen to. Much appreciated :)

Stardansheill o7

My Song of the Week

So I was thinking I might start posting one or two songs a week that are kind of the theme song for that week or day. What do people think? I been thinking about this idea for awhile and I have seen that a lot of other bloggers do this, so I was hesitant incase people thought I was copying their style and didn't like it.

But anyway, I am currently doing end of year exams in college so I am posting my "exam" song. This is a song that I have listened to before every exam I have sat since my Leaving Cert and I class it as my happy relax song. It's the song Somewhere over the Rainbow by Israel "IZ Kamakawiwo'ole. A few years ago my grandfather suddenly died and I found that this song always reminds me of him and makes me smile. I am in no way religious, but this song always makes me feel like he is looking over me and keeping me safe. I have this ritual that must be done before every exam and it hasn't let me down yet so I am going to keep it up for the rest of my life. Don't fix what ain't broke. I hope people enjoy the song and it makes them think about happier times in their lives. And for anyone doing exams or going through anything hectic in their lives at the minute, I hope this song can help you like it helps me :) Aloha nui loa

Stardansheill o7