Liebster Award

The Liebster Award

Thank you to StyleSpirit for nominating me for this award!

What is the Liebster Award?

The Liebster Award is given to new bloggers with less than 200 followers and therefore helps promote and support those bloggers nominated.

The Rules:

-Nominees must link back to the blogger who awarded them.

-If nominated, write '11 Random Facts' about yourself!
-Answer the 11 questions the person who nominated you wrote for you.

-Come up with 11 new questions to be answered by 11 new nominees.

11 Facts About Me:

1. I recently dropped out of school
2. Before dropping out, I was studying psychology, english, accounting and media
3. I have a passion for music theater
4. I'm 1/4 Cypriot
5. I am in the middle of creating a YouTube channel where I will post videos similar to my blog and weekly vlogs about my life
6. I've performed at The Royal Albert Hall in London
7. I only learnt to swim properly last summer
8. I can't ride a bike
9. Zoella inspired me to start a blog
10. My accent changes depending on who I'm talking to
11. I plan on touring LA by myself in a few years

Questions from StyleSpirit:

1. Who is your inspiration? I get inspired by a lot of people if I'm honest; I find everyone has a way of inspiring someone. I am inspired hugely by Darren Criss though. Anyone who knows me, knows of my huge love for Darren and I truly find him to be an amazing person. He brought out my love and passion for music and performing again and has helped me through some incredibly tough times.

2. What is your favourite fashion brand? I wouldn't say I have a favourite fashion brand, but I do love Top Shop clothing.

3. What is your favourite make-up product? I have a few...

Collection 2000 Perfect Finish foundation in Vanilla

Rimmel London Glam Eyes liquid liner in Black

2True Twist & Line Eye Definer eyeliner in No.8 Black

The Body Shop Skin Primer Matte It

Revlon lipstick in 085 Ruby

Revlon ColorStay lipstick in 300 Succulent Berry

4. What is your biggest fashion fail? 

I have on my night dress, a denim jacket and bright pink wellies... Admittedly I was only 4 years old haha!

5. What tip would you give to other people? I recently came across this quote and I found it really funny and something I'm going to live my life by from now on... 

"If someone rejects you, dedicate yourself to getting cuter, make them fall in love with even cuter you, then marry someone better than them"

6. What is your dream job? I would love so much to be in the performing business. To be on stage or screen would be a dream come true!

7. How would you describe your style? I wouldn't say I have a set style. Depending on my mood, or who I'm with my style can go from girly to grungy to tailored to boho to"hipster", it changes all the time.

8. What is your favourite movie? My recent favourite movie Pitch Perfect, but Brokeback Mountain, The Grinch, The Cat In The Hat and The Emperors New Groove are my favourite movies of all time.

9. What skincare products do you use?

Beauty Formulas

Cool Moist Cucumber Refreshing 2 in 1 Cleanser & Toner, Cool Moist Cucumber 3 Minute Clay Mask, Deep Cleansing Nose Pore Strips

DermaVio Q10 Innovations Deep Cleansing Milk

Johnson's Face Care Daily Essentials

Gel Wash and Gel Exfoliate

Johnson's Face Care Daily Essentials Moisturiser and Soap & Glory Youth 6 in 1 Super Boost Moisture Lotion

Sudocrem 

10. What fashion item do you despise?

Every time I see them in the store I'm just like "why?!"

11. What can't you live without? I honestly cannot live without wifi, I just can't!

My Nominees:

1. StyleSpirit
2. Abbie Attard
3. Charlie Rose
4. BetterThanToday
5. Bits And Beauty Bobs
6. The Life And Times Of A #TwitterLad

My Questions:

1. Why did you start your blog?
2. What is your biggest achievement?
3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
4. What is one thing you couldn't live without?
5. All time favourite song?
6. What's your typical Saturday night?
7. Biggest pet peeve?
8. Dream holiday?
9. Who is someone you couldn't live without?
10. Favourite movie?
11. What is/was your favourite subject?

Lauren xo

My Favourite Photos

I recently went on the search for photos of when my family and I were younger for a birthday present I'm putting together for someone very special. On my search I found some of the funniest, cutest and weirdest photos I have ever come across, so I thought I'd share some of my personal favourites...

My cousin Georgia, Me and my cousin Alex - 1996

We're a typical Cypriot family in that we are all very close and Georgia and Alex are like sisters to me.

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Me, my Pappou (Grandad) and Georgia - 1996

Little did we know that 15 years later, Georgia and I would be in the back of his car drunk trying to act sober in front of him...

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My parents and Me - 1996

Can we just all take the time to appreciate my little face here please!

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Me and my Dad - 1995

My Dad honestly looks about 12 years old in this photo and not 26! I love this photo compared to this photo of me and my Dad a few months ago...

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Me, Georgia and my auntie Nom - 1996

This is probably one of the first photos of Georgia and I. A lot has changed since then...

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Me and my Mum - 1995/1996

There are barely any photos of me and my Mum together, but look at the difference now...

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Me and my Dad - 1996?

My Dad is looking very Cypriot is this photo, that's all I can say...

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My parents - 1994/1995

My mum is pregnant with me in this photo and my parents just look so cute and happy together. They still do on my 17th birthday...

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Me, my Dad and my brother Harry - 2001

This was the first time that Harry and I had ever been to Cyprus and this is the three of us 11 years later living here...

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Me - 1997?

I love this photo because if you read my last blog post you'll know how much I love "Alice In Wonderland" and whenever I used to wear this dress my Nana would call me Alice.

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My Dad, Me, my auntie Dimi, Alex, my auntie Nom, Georgia - 1996

I love this photo because everyone looks so mental. My Dad and I cannot take a photo to save our lives anymore, but we've somehow managed to look the most normal out of everyone!

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Harry - 2005

We went to Thorpe Park for Harry's 5th birthday and I love this photo so much because his little face is so cute!

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Harry and Me - 2000

I love this photo purely because Harry looks slightly like a frog haha!

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Me

My Dad is a huge West Ham United supporter and I've grown up being one too. I used to be really into football and would go watch West Ham play at Upton Park with my Dad. A few years later I may not be as into it as I used to be, but the Hammers spirit still lives inside me...

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Me and my Dad

I don't have much to say about this photo other than I think it's super cute!

I had so much fun looking through all the old photos that we have and couldn't believe at how much we've changed. There was literally hundreds of photos and a lot of them were of my little brother naked in the bath when he was younger...! Anyway I hope you enjoyed having a little look back into my past :)

Lauren xo

Lauren In Wonderland...

Since I was young I've always had a love for "Alice In Wonderland" and anything to do with it. I used to watch the video I had of it and would be sit in bewilderment at all the amazing colours and characters on the screen. I think I also used to love it so much because I thought I looked like Alice, with my fair skin, my blue eyes and my long blonde hair.

It's only been recently that I've realised why I really love the story of Alice though. Escapism.

Everyone wants to escape from their day to day life now and again, but no one as much as me. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a plodder. I plod through life, not doing anything exciting, not really trying and I hate that. So the thought of waking up in a whole new world, full of colour, characters and opportunity, just like Alice did, is something that excites me so much.

Imagine waking up somewhere completely new, completely away from your old life and surroundings. Imagine walking new roads, seeing new things, meeting new people, having new experiences and memories. Imagine being able to be whoever you wanted to be as nobody knew you before. Imagine being able to do whatever you wished and doing things you didn't think possible. Although it could be scary and you may be uncertain at times, all these new things will shape you into being a better person.

In someway my move to Cyprus was my "Alice" moment and Cyprus is my "wonderland", although I may not always find it so wonderful. There may not be any white rabbits, mad hatters or walking playing cards in my wonderland, I've made a whole new life here. I'm miles away, mentally and physically from my old life. Alice may have only dreamt her wonderland, but I'm living in mine.

Like I said before, I may be in my wonderland, but I'm still plodding my way through life and want this to change. This is why I've come up with a new project for myself called "Lauren In Wonderland" - original I know. For the next month (Jan 21 - Feb 21) I will do something new everyday. This could include talking to someone new, wearing a new outfit, listening to a new band, eating something new. People may think this is stupid, but this is something I'm going to be serious about and think it could be a good way of helping me stop plodding. I'd also love it if you left suggestions for what you think I could do each day.

Lauren xo

Decoding Anxiety

In my last blog post I said that this post would include a more in depth "about me", however I decided to address a more serious topic, but a topic that is still heavily about me.

Anxiety.

I feel as if people can treat anxiety as a bit of a joke. People with an anxiety disorder (and yes it is a disorder) can be seen as either mental, over dramatic or attention seeking and not seen as someone that needs help. Or then there's the other people who think saying they have an anxiety disorder is "cool" or "quirky" and the "in thing". Do you think sitting alone breathless and shaking because you're too nervous to do a simple task is "cool"? Do you think cancelling plans with people because you just can't face leaving your house and being around other people is "quirky"? I can tell you now that it is neither "cool" nor "quirky" it is serious and life affecting for everyone involved.

Before I carry on, I want to note that I am not speaking for everyone with an anxiety disorder, everyone is different, but what I say is from my own experiences and other people I know who suffer also.


Things we can't help but do all the time:

• Worry
• Second-guess ourselves
• Have difficulty trusting people
• Worry
• Take everything personally
• Have difficulty accepting compliments
• Worry
• Obsess over how we're being interpreted by people
• Fumble our words
• Worry
• Make a huge deal out of small things or situations
• Be suspicious of a persons intentions
• Worry

Things you should remember:

• It's an actual disorder
• Telling us "not to worry" won't stop us from worrying
• Telling us "worrying is silly" won't stop us from worrying and it'll only make us feel silly
• We're scared of everything
• Social interaction is in no way fun for us
• We're constantly worrying about worrying too much
• We try to protect ourselves in every way possible
• We don't intentionally act distant or rude to people - we just have a lot of protecting layers
• You can't "fix" us

Things to do if you know someone with an anxiety disorder:

• Talk to us - not necessarily about our anxiety, just in general
• Stick around - we may act as if we don't want you around, but we do really
• Make sure we are comfortable with our surroundings and situation
• Give us a chance

Things not to do:

• Force us to be social
• Take us being distant or rude personally
• Force us to do things that may trigger us
• Tell us to "calm down"
• Tell us "not to worry"
• Ask if we're "getting help"
• Tell us we "should get help"
• Ignore us

What to do if someone with an anxiety disorder has a turn:

• Stay calm - the last thing they need is you beginning to panic
• Be patient
• Sit with us - knowing we have someone by our side fighting with us can be enough to calm us down
• Take us away from the surroundings or situation that triggered us
• Remind us to breathe
• If they have medication, make them take it
• Distract us
• Engage in a simple conversation - if we can talk, we can breathe

If you have an anxiety disorder:

• Everything will be okay eventually
• It's okay to be scared
• You are not crazy
• Having a built up armor is okay
• There is still someone underneath it all though
• No one is making you take it off
• You are not alone

My Anxiety

I've been anxious about everything my whole life, but it has only become a real problem within the past year. I personally think what triggered it was moving country and having to settle into a whole new life and culture. I find meeting new people in Cyprus incredibly stressful, because I can't speak Greek and even though the majority of the time they speak English, I still feel uncomfortable and embarrassed and am often triggered. Being part Cypriot myself, I have a huge Cypriot family and even though they are family, I always feel constantly anxious whenever I see them. They are incredibly traditional and I am expected to act a certain way and do certain things that are just not me so I am constantly on edge that I might do something wrong. Due to this my Christmas was an incredibly stressful event. Starting a new school is not nice for anyone, but starting a new school, in a new county and not knowing anyone is incredibly triggering. When first starting at my school I found that in my accounting class I was constantly in a panic. I would sit alone at the back, not understanding the lesson, not understanding the class, being the only English person in the class and in constant fear that whenever anyone actually did talk to me they were making fun of me. Now that's not a nice feeling and I was constantly alone in that lesson, with none of my new friends there and the only person who made me comfortable was miles away in England.

I've been prescribed medication for my anxiety, however because of my anxiety I don't like to take it. I feel embarrassed that I have to take medication and as I can't swallow pills whole, I often need to get someone to help me crush it which then makes me embarrassed because I can't even crush it myself. After I've taken my medication I do feel a lot better (apart from one time, but that's another story) so if you too have medication, do take it, as embarrassed or as uncomfortable as you are, it will help, trust me.

I am however lucky enough that the people I surround myself with do understand and are patient when I need them. I've never shown them the full extent of my anxiety, I'd rather deal with that myself, but what they have seen, they've been supportive the whole way through.

I know this was a very serious post, but I felt like this was something I had to include within my blog. I don't do "serious" often, so this did actually make me incredibly anxious when writing it and this post means a lot to me. If I've upset or angered anyone with this post, it was not my intention, this was just my thoughts on a subject that is close to me. :)

Getting To Know Lauren...

I kind of realised that not a lot of people really know me so I thought for my second and third blog post I would introduce myself to everyone and the internet. For this post I'm going to keep it pretty short and just answer questions about myself that I found on the internet (I'm tired shh). So let us begin...

Name: Lauren Papa-Green... kind of
Age: 17 going on 18

Nicknames: Munch (thanks to my parents) and Grinch (thanks to a very good friend and we still don't know the reasoning behind it)

Country: Originally from England, but now live in Cyprus

Nationality: Just British right now, but soon I'll be dual, being British/Cypriot - yay!

Job: Part time model

Languages: English, German and I can ask for beer and ice-cream in Greek and that's all I need to know... - I kid, I know a lot more Greek than people give me credit for

Single/taken: lol single

Drink: Indeed

Smoke: Na

Siblings: I've got a younger brother called Harry

Been in love?: I think everyone thinks they've been in love with someone, but in reality I think people are in love with the idea of love, at my age anyway.

Best friend: Jodie and Becky <3

Fears: Birds, the dark, vast amounts of water, small spaces, flashing lights - you name it, I'm probably scared of it

Phone: A very broken Blackberry Curve

Favourites

Band/Singer: So much love for You Me At Six and we're basically best friends...

Song: Top 5 that I can think of right now...

1. M83 - Midnight City
2. Foo Fighters - Everlong
3. Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
4. You Me At Six - Crash
5. Spring Awakening Cast - Touch Me

Movie: My favourite movie I've watched recently is Pitch Perfect, but Brokeback Mountain is my all time favourite movie

Colour: Pink or teal

Ice-cream: It's all about banana or mint choc chip

Food: From frozen onion ring - I could eat plate fulls of them!

Animal: SPIDER MONKEY! I get emotional over my love for spider monkeys, I love them so much and have asked three different people for one for my 18th birthday!! I'm also proper digging camels right now... (hi Chris)

Actor: Heath Ledger, Darren Criss, Sasha Baron Cohen, Johnny Depp

Actress: Anna Kendrick or Helena Bonham Carter

Comedian: Jack Whitehall, Russell Howard, Noel Fielding, Tim Minchin

Superhero: Iron Man

Sport: To play it would be rugby but to watch it would be football

Word: Fuck

Musical: Spring Awakening

Possession: My ticket from when I saw Darren Criss live in London

Favourite photo of you: I feel like this photo just sums up me and my life, laughing at my Mexican BFF...

Favourite photo you've taken: My favourite photo from when I saw Darren Criss live because it shows how close to him I was...

Last...

Kiss: Sunday lol

Hug: Earlier from my brother

Film: Pitch Perfect

Song: Freelance Whales - Ghosting

Book: Brokeback Mountain

Show: Lie To Me

Cried: Yesterday after I fell and nearly knocked myself unconscious again for the second time this week...

And this has been a post.

What A Year 2012 Was...

2012 was the year of many firsts, some good, some bad, but all very important in their own way.

I started the year as I had ended 2011, alone. Since moving to Cyprus in August 2011, I had found it very hard meeting people and making friends as I was yet to start school and spent most of my time in my bedroom. I was really quite down and didn't feel happy at all with what was going on around me. I had grown up in Surrey, just outside of bustling London town, I had friends that lived a short walk away and was always surrounded by people. Now however, I was stuck in a small, quiet Cypriot village, not knowing anyone, not being able to speak Greek and a half hour car journey away from town. I was stuck and hated it.

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I then met a girl around my age. She was a lovely girl, funny, bit mental and we got on really well. She introduced me to new people from school and we would hang out together in town. I finally felt like I had a life here in Cyprus. I had some friends and I was now attending a theater group with people of my age. I've always loved the theater and acting so I really enjoyed taking part in it all every Monday evening. It was also a good way of building my confidence in this new country. I've always been a painfully shy girl and to suddenly be thrown into a whole new life was daunting to begin with, but I soon got through it.

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Through this girl I was introduced to Madison's Modeling Agency and was signed upon meeting with the owner. Since I was young I was always told by my parents and people that I could make it in the modeling world, but me being the painfully shy girl that I was never believed them, so having this chance really opened my eyes. My first job was doing a catwalk show for L'oreal (yeah they didn't start me off easy!). It was a very nerve wrecking, but overall amazing experience. I was treated like I was famous of something! I had my hair and make up done by professionals, was fitted in the most amazing outfits and the food was to die for! I met some really lovely girls that day too and I was incredibly lucky to take part in something so awesome!

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By now it was summer time and what a summer 2012 was. I can honestly say that Summer 2012 was the best summer I've ever had and it was all down to the people I shared it with. Living in Cyprus is worth it for the summers, with it's hot weather and amazing beaches. I spent the majority of the summer months sunbathing on the beach and playing in sea, something I never thought I'd do as I'm scared of vast amounts of water!

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My summer was made extra special with two of my cousins and my auntie from England coming over to visit. Being a Cypriot family we're all very close and my cousin Georgia is like a sister to me so having them here really meant a lot. Of course Georgia and I got into fair bit of mischief during the two weeks she was here, which involved a lot of drink, a lot of laughing and a lot of dancing on bars...

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Not all of summer was good however. I had been suffering from shortage of breath for a couple of months, but hadn't really thought much about it. During the end of summer though I went to doctors to make sure it was nothing serious health wise and I was told it was down to anxiety. Thinking back to when I would get short of breath, it was when I was feel anxious or nervous so it definitely made sense. I suffer from anxiety attacks a lot more now and it gets me down because I will have to leave what I'm doing and get some air and calm down and it can be sometimes be very scary if I can't get my breath back quickly. I have medication for it, but I see this as something that will take a while to get over and used to.

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I hadn't been to school since April 2011 after I did my GCSE's and now it was September 2012 and time to go back to school and do my AS Levels, sigh. As much as everybody hates school, I was actually really excited to go back and meet new people, join new lessons and attend a school that was so different from my old school. I was so lucky to be accepted straight away into the school. I've made friends with some of the funniest people from every place imaginable and they've made me feel so welcome (hi Chris). It's been a lot to get used to, the new people, the new subjects, but I think I'll be a-okay.

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Something happened in early September that could have changed my life drastically. This certain thing is something that only a few close friends know about and they are the only people that will ever know. This being said, the situation I found myself in is something that will most probably affect me for a very long time. It showed me that being careless in life can cause a lot of trouble and that little things can change everything very quickly.

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There was someone I met at the very beginning of 2012, who basically sums up my year. Like I said I met this person at the beginning of the year, but we only really became friends around the summer time. I've mentioned how shy I was and I've always put on some kind of act around people, you may think this makes me seem fake, but this is how I've always coped with my shyness and my anxiety. Anyway, with this person however I never had to put on an act, I was myself, the "real Lauren" shall we say, the whole time I was ever with them. They made me feel actually comfortable with them and myself, something no one has been able to do before. I had a whole lot of fun with them and they made me smile constantly. Certain situations made it impossible for that all to carry on and although things may not be as great as they once were, I will never regret that time and it has in someway, as cheesy as it sounds, shaped the way I act and treat myself now. They will always be dear to my heart, no matter what happens or how far away they are.

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The year opened on a low and in a way ended on a low too, but that doesn't matter; it's a new year now and things can and will change. I have a whole lot to look forward to in 2013, turning 18, learning to drive, earning money, learning Greek and drinking and dancing on bars again. Thirteen may be unlucky for some, but I hope 2013 is lucky for me.