My car broke down last week, so I've resorted to catching public transport for an hour or two each day in order to get to university.

First of all, it usually takes me 20 minutes to get to school. That's the same time it takes me to walk to the nearest bus stop... and I have long legs and walk pretty fast.

Secondly, the bus fare for a part time student is $3.60 per ride. I catch 3 busses to uni. On a student's wages, this is a very expensive way to travel.

So.. I spent 20 minutes walking to the bus stop, ten minutes waiting for the bus (which of course, was late), and then had to endure the painful stopping and starting of the public transport. With jazz music in the background, and daft people.. musty rose scented old ladies, and swearing bogans at the back, I finally made it to the interchange.

My first step into the graffiti and gum stained interchange had me really wondering whether the one hour tutorial at school was worth all of this agony. I stepped onto the next bus, where the bus driver gave me one look and asked for my student card. I sighed, put down the three (very heavy!) textbooks I was holding and spent the next few minutes digging through my bag to find the little plastic card that would prove that I'm a student. I'd left it in my other wallet at home, so I showed him my old, expired high school card which he miraculously accepted.

I spent the 40 minutes on this bus. In that time, the driver ran 3 red lights, and was on his mobile phone the ENTIRE time. Not only was I tired and completely over the whole ordeal, but I felt uneasy with a strange hundred year old man, talking on his phone whilst driving at least 30 people around. I felt unsafe as we zoomed through red lights, and went well above the speed limit, weaving in and out of cars.

To show my frustration at this bus driver, I made a pact to myself, NOT to thank him. As my stop neared, and my frustration grew, I collected my things and made my way to the front of the bus. As I was walking off the bus, I struggled NOT to say thank you to the driver.  I left the bus without looking in his direction, or saying a word.

I could not concentrate on school that day. I kept thinking about my ill mannered behavior of not thanking the driver...

Trust.

Today, I was told that I couldn't be trusted, based on my age. I've never been dishonest. I've never lied or cheated. However, a woman took one look at me and suddenly decided I was untrustworthy.

Trust is such a huge deal. Trust in yourself, trust in your partner, your friends.. and sometimes even complete strangers. How do you know who to trust? That inkling that you get? Is that enough to put everything on the line? To someone you barely know?Is it possible to rely on a complete stranger?How do you trust again after someone has broken your trust? When another person's actions have completely shattered your ability to trust, how can you trust again?The way people treat others is a great indicator of how they will treat you. If a person tells you someone else's secrets, they are most likely to tell someone else all of yours.

To trust can be so hard.. so how do you become trustworthy? You know that people should be able to trust you... but they still don't want to. Perhaps this is based on a past experience they have had, or that their trust was broken before. But that doesn't mean that they can't trust you. So how do you appear trustworthy? So that people don't look at you and immediately think you're no good?

WELL... i googled the subject and.. there's not much you can do. Except love yourself and what you do. Do what you say and say what you do. Have good intentions. Be confident in yourself. Have good results and outcomes in what you do.

hmmm. In other words, BE YOURSELF and don't care what other people say or do on impulse. No matter who you are, or what you look like, some people just won't bother getting to know you. And that's their problem. Not yours.

New Years!

Hope everyone has an amazing New Year - thanks for all your support in 2011 - you've all really helped save people's lives and I hope together we can save a few more in 2012! Wishing you and your families all the best for the New Years!

xx

MudLove Bands!

http://www.mudlove.com/mudlove-bands

Everyone should buy one of these! Each one bought helps give African communities fresh drinking water! - Infact each $5 spent can give an African clean drinking water for a year!

The whole mud love ranch includes Bands, Necklaces, Rocks and T-shirts!  - personally I think they are so CUTE! and for a good cause too! xx

Chrissy!!

I hope everybody has a safe and Merry Christmas and New Years!!

And it's that time of year again. ..

What is Christmas REALLY about?

The huge electricity bills as the streets shine with colourful blinking lights... the side walk lined with plastic manikins and fluffy Santas on the roofs.

The long nights wrapping pathetic presents that will just get shoved in the back of the closet, and never looked at again?

Or maybe the shopping centres crowded with people and not very jolly christmas songs ringing in your ears.

For me, Christmas is about family. It's the end of the year, and a time to reflect what the previous 12 months have taught you and how you've grown..

But as each December falls, the Christmas spirit seems to turn into a frenzy of stressed people rushing to make everything perfect for yet another year.

The thing is, who really cares about the fancy cutlery and the carefully sliced turkey? Christmas shouldn't be the most stressful time of the year, it should be the best.. and as society grows, the christmas spirit seems to leave us, and I hope that one day, it will come back.

I think one of the scariest things about finishing school is the decision of what to do next.

For me, It's working part time and uni part time..

But what about moving out?

The first question is where?! A cheap apartment? A townhouse? Rent with friends? Rent by yourself? Go on campus?

Then its the expense of it all... not only the rent.. and the food.. and the electricity bills.. but also, i'll need all my own furniture. When I think about what i actually own.. what's actually mine.. I can hardly furnish an apartment with it!

So the first step for this coming year.. is to buy as much furniture as I can - expensive I know, but it has to be done.

So my christmas wish list this year.. is for useful things.. like a microwave and a kettle, as well as cutlery, bowls and plates, a cookware set, towels and bathroom accessories, a laundry basket, a tv, an armchair...and the list goes on and on and on...