"Your Joy is Your Job"

Hello Everyone :)

A few weeks ago I stumbled across this video (from 24:40 onwards is what I'm talking about) whilst I was planning for a small group that I lead, and it had some very interesting points in it that really made me think...

One of my goals for this year is to be happier and a more positive person and to just enjoy life. So when I watched this video, I decided that I needed to make some changes in my life and in my thinking.

Steven Furtick (a Christian speaker), says in part of this talk that we need to "own our emotions", and stop looking for someone else to blame for our state of minds. So we shouldn't be blaming others for the way that we feel, or for "putting us in a bad mood"...come on now, even I'm guilty of this!

Rather than just letting everyone and everything get to us, we need to own our emotions, and say to ourselves that "our joy is our job"...

This simple saying struck a chord in me and really challenged me because so often I rely on others to make me happy and to bring me joy. But in reality, people will always let us down because no one is perfect. We are all flawed. So if we want to have joy in our lives, it starts with us! We need to make a conscious effort to be more joyful, to fill our lives and our thoughts with the things that make us joyful.

We can't control what happens to us in life but we can control how we react to it. There is a famous quote by Charles R Swindle that says "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.... We are in charge of our attitudes". And I 100% believe this! There are so many situations in life where we can go off the handle and flip out at others or ourselves, this sometimes being the easier way out of things. Or we can choose to ride out the storm in a calm, collected and joyful way.
Now, I'm not saying that this is super easy and that it will come naturally to everyone, because let's be honest it won't. But that's ok!
Good things take time :)

After 2 months of this type of thinking, I feel so much happier and a lot more positive. And sometimes it won't be something that I notice on a daily basis, but more when something challenging arises and I don't feel stressed or anxious, because my way of thinking has changed and I know that those feelings won't get me anywhere. But feeling positive will! 
So, give it a try...

I'll leave you with this thought "Happiness is dependant on self-discipline. We are the biggest obstacles to our own happiness. It is much easier to do battle with society and with others than to fight our own nature".

If you've got the time I would really encourage you to watch the video! And let me know what you think... Are there any motivational quotes that help you to keep your joy? Leave me a comment, I would love to read them!

Have a great week!

Jess x

January Round-Up... The Month of New Beginnings

Hello Everyone :)
January is always seen as the month of new beginnings and the month to start new, and healthy habits, and it is for that reason why January is one of my favourite months! I know, I sound crazy, like come on who actually enjoys January?? 
But I love the idea of trying to better yourself and trying to make a better life for yourself. And this is what this post is all about.

I worked out EVERY day in January.
This is something that I never thought that I would ever do, because I'm quite a lazy person haha! I normally start working out and then give up before the month is over. So this is quite the achievement for me!

I used the January 2017 Blogilates Work Out Calendar (which you can find here, sign up to the newsletter to receive the password). Here it tells you which part of the body you'll be working on and what videos you need to do to complete the work out. Each work out is around 30-40 minutes long each day and it works you HARD!
I wanted to do it because I wanted to tone up all over my body, and this is something that I've wanted/needed to do for a while. I would always find some sort of excuse as to why I couldn't work out and complete the calendar. But this month I finally did it!

I drank 2 litres of water EVERY day in January.
Drinking enough water in your day can help with a lot of things! The right amount to drink in a day is around 2 litres, and whenever I thought of this number it would terrify me because it sounds like a heck of a lot of water!
But with the help of this bottle, I found it 10x easier! You can get them here and in all sorts of cute colours and with different motivational quotes on them.

Drinking more water has always been something that I've wanted and needed to do, so when I got this bottle for Christmas, I decided it was the perfect time.

Since I've started drinking 2 litres every day, I've found that my skin is a lot clearer and is glowing almost. Now, if that isn't reason enough to drink more water, then I don't know what is! I'm also not as tired during the day and I seem to have more energy, which is always great!

So I would recommend anyone to try and drink more water, it really is the secret to a good life.

I kept a thankful journal EVERY day in January.
Thankful journals have been something that I've kept over the last year, but I've never really stuck it out for very long, but then life gets in the way and I'll forget all about it. But as January is the month for new beginnings, I told myself that I would try to keep it up!
I wanted to do this because I want to be more mindful of things, I want to be more grateful and to think differently about things.
It's a great way to start off the day as well. I list 3 things that I'm thankful for, I then sit and think about these 3 things and then get started with my day. It has changed my outlook on life, and makes me look for the positive in things.

I planned....a lot!
I also planned for a lot of things that I will be doing in the months to come of this year. 
Me and one of my friends wrote a whole list of all the things that we want to do together this year, and let me just say that I have some very exciting things coming up, if all goes to plan!
I also planned out the itinerary for my Amsterdam trip in March, which also includes a lot of fun things to do.
And finally, I GOT ED SHEERAN TICKETS!!! So I'm going to see him in May at the O2 and I cannot wait! 
This is going to be one great year.

Looking to February...
Already, my February is shaping up to be pretty darn exciting! 
I'm going to see Busted on the 13th, in my hometown woop woop! Which will be a very exciting night, and from looking at the setlist, I can tell that my 5 year old self will make an appearance.
My church is then holding its annual 'Winterfest' as well, which will make for an amazing weekend.
And finally, it's my friend's birthday towards the end of the month and we're doing a cocktail making class, which is on my list of things to do this year! So that will be a crazy and fun filled night.

What exciting things did you get up to in January? Do you have anything coming up in February that you just cannot wait for? Leave me a comment :)

Have a great week!

Jess x

Time To Get Organised

Hello Everyone :)

One of my goals/resolutions for this year is to get organised and to STAY organised for the WHOLE year! Most years I say that I want to get organised and get my life together, but then I usually fail by the end of January...if I even get that far!

I knew that I had to do something differently if I wanted to keep it up this year, so for Christmas I asked for THE most amazing planner/diary so that I can keep a check on what I'm supposed to be doing and when I should be doing it. I also got The Happiness Planner, which is something that I've wanted for a very long time! 

So with the help of both of these things, *I'm hoping*, I will have a very productive and organised year!

This planner/diary is incredible! As soon as I laid eyes on it, I fell in love...and I never thought that would happen to me...with a diary.

But anyway, this is called the Ban.do Sunshine Academic Diary 2016-2017, and it is glorious! I can't say enough good things about it, so I thought I'd write it all down...

I got this planner from John Lewis, after looking for SO long to find it in a UK shop and at a reasonable price, which I finally found here. It costs £26 (which I thought was pretty reasonable as it literally plans out your whole life for you) but you can find it on their own website here as well.

The main focus of this diary is to get your life in order and to make it a whole lot easier. Each month has a "month to view" section, kind of like a wall calendar, and then it splits each week down to have a week on each page. There is plenty of space to write in all the stuff that your busy life entails. But one of my favourite parts about it is that THERE ARE STICKERS!!!! 

These stickers just make this diary a lot more fun! They are so beautiful and well made and are in a wide range of designs; from aeroplanes to nail appointment stickers - whatever you're doing in life, there is a sticker for it (there are also additional stickers that you can buy, if you run out or need some extras).

My favourite part about the whole diary is the colourful design and how easy it is to use! I get a diary every single year, but this by far has to be my favourite one I've ever had!

So to any of you looking to get organised this year, or at least look like you're getting organised (haha!), then I would say that this is the planner for you! It's easy to use, has stickers, and is a nice and usable size (in a5).

Now, this is my favourite thing I think I have ever been given in my whole entire life! This is The Happiness Planner!

I got given this for my birthday last year, in August, but I was waiting for the right time to use it; like a significant thing to happen in my life, or the start of a new month. But with each new month came new challenges and I soon forgot all about this bad boy. However, as it is now 2017, I thought what better way to start off the year than by using my Happiness Planner.

You can get one here, and they have many different designs to choose from, you can also decide the length of your diary too. So you can go for only 100 days (like my one), or you can get the 365 day one. But they are all beautiful. The prices vary, depending on which one you want, which website you get it from, and what country you're in, so make sure you do your research before you buy one!

The main focus of this planner is to "focus on what makes you happy". The whole idea of "do more of what makes you happy" and all that jazz has always been something that I've tried to focus on, so this planner is absolutely perfect for people trying to make the most of life and getting all they can out of it.

The planner starts with "The Happiness Roadmap", where it asks you 13 questions about how you feel right now, about the things that make you happy and unhappy, what you want to get out of this planner etc. Filling these out really helps you to analyse the things that trigger your happiness and unhappiness.

Before starting the 100 days of happiness process, it asks you to rate how you feel, with a scale from 1-5; 5 being the good feelings, and 1 being the bad feelings. Then it begins...

Each week starts with a weekly plan, so you can see what you're up to this week and so you can prioritise your time wisely.

Each day has a quote to start off, for example "The best investment you'll ever make is in yourself. Never stop exploring, learning,experiencing, and becoming a better person every day" - Mo Seetubtim. This is such a great feature as it gets you thinking as soon as you open the page!

You then fill out what you're excited about for the day, what your main focus is, what your exercises are (still not sure if this means physical exercises or mental exercises, but anyway), and what your meals are for the day. This again, just helps to plan out your day, and keeps you organised.

It then asks you to fill out your schedule and make a to do list.... Now if you're anything like me and you LOVE to make lists then this feature is incredible! I just love the feeling you get when you cross off all things you have on your to do list.

Then at the end of the day it asks you to fill out the good things about the day and what you hope for tomorrow, already making you excited for the next day - I love it!

At the end of each week there is a weekly reflection page where it asks you to rate how you feel again, what the good and bad things were, what you learned, what/who you're thankful for and what you want to improve on for next week.

I just can't say enough good things about this planner! It has changed my perspective and my thinking on life in such a short space of time. It just gets you to focus more on the positive parts of life rather than the negative, and gets you to work on the negative parts so that they don't always have to stay negative!

It has such a fun and beautiful design and makes every day a joy. I wake up excited to write in it!

I would recommend this to anyone who is wanting to make the most of life and is wanting to increase their happiness - this planner will definitely do it for you!

Are you planning on getting organised this year? If so what planners/diaries do you recommend for doing so? Leave me a comment, I would LOVE to know!

Have a great week!

Jess x

2016 Review

Hello Everyone :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
So this is the first "official" post of 2017 and it feels good. I'm so excited to get going with this blog again, and I have a lot of exciting things coming up this year that I can't wait to write about.

2016...
What a crazy roller coaster ride of ups and downs, eh? So in 2016 I started off not living at home (I was doing a 1 year theology course), I got discharged from physiotherapy (and all things knee related WOO HOO!), I had 3 jobs, and I also moved back home in July. It had it's share of good and bad moments and really made me grow as a person and learn a lot about myself.

It's always good to start with the highlights of the year, and this year had a fair few of them!
So I saw 5 Seconds of Summer for the 5th time on their Sounds Live Feels Live Tour back in April. And they were incredible (as usual, what else is new?!). They create such an amazing atmosphere in the arena and everyone has the best night of their lives and just forgets about everything else that they've got going on. And that is why I love concerts! I also brought one of my best friends with me, and it was her first concert! So it was super special to be able to share that experience with her too!
I also saw Busted this year too, on their Pigs Can Fly Tour in May. I had been looking forward to this night for quite some time, as some of you might know that I was meant to go see McBusted in 2015 but couldn't go because I had my knee operation (which you can read about here). So when I heard that Charlie was coming back to Busted and they were touring again, I just had to go! It was an insane night! It brought me right back to my childhood, and they sang all of my favourite songs and all of their lyrics came straight back to me. I saw them with my sister and we honestly had THE best time just acting like we were 5 years old again and jumping around our living room. It was all VERY exciting! I am also seeing them again this year in February.
The final highlight of this year was when I moved home in July. Don't get me wrong, I loved living away from home, getting to be semi-independent for a year and living with my best friends. But after a year of doing this I was more than ready to get back home to my family and back to normality, of some sort.

Now for the lessons...
This year I faced some pretty big challenges in my life but it meant that I learnt a thing or two about myself. 
Firstly, I learnt that I am capable of a lot more than I think I am, and that I am stronger (not in the "do you even lift bro" sense, but mentally) than I thought I ever could be! This became clear to me as I was completing my physiotherapy sessions. I used strength and determination that I didn't know that I had, and when I felt like giving up; I would find that extra push from somewhere to keep me going! And that is something that I will keep within me for a long long time yet!
The other thing that I learnt this year is that when you get knocked down, you have to get back up and be stronger than you were before. But a piece of scripture that I read during a hard time this year really kept me going. And that was "Don't worry about anything: instead pray about everything" (Philippians 4:6), this really reassured me that everything was going to be OK and that God is for me, not against me and that He is on my side.

My hopes for 2017...
Now I didn't enjoy 2016 all that much, but instead of sitting and complaining about it, I'm going to make some changes and set some goals for this year so that I don't make the same mistakes.
My number 1 thing this year is to JUST HAVE FUN!! To not take life so seriously and make the most of every single day. Along with this I want to try and be a more positive and happier person, even when things don't seem to be going right or when times get hard.
My final hope for this year is that I can just be myself and just do what I want to do, and not worry about what other people will say or think about me. I've been thinking about this goal for a while now, but I finally feel like I'm in a good place in my life for me to finally take this seriously. It's the start of a new year and I am ready for what life has in store for me!

A Canal in Amsterdam

Finally, my plans for 2017...
This year is going to be great, and I believe that if you declare it, it will happen!
There are a few things that I am pretty excited about, one of those being that I am going to Amsterdam in March - which is going to be AMAZING!! I'm going with one of my best friends and I haven't been on holiday in about 4/5 years, so it's going to be great to explore a different country and get to experience new things.

Another thing that I am excited about this year is that I'm seeing Busted, and in my hometown too WHOOP WHOOP! Along the lines of music, there is also going to be new releases from some of my favourites in the music world this year; from the likes of Ed Sheeran, The XX, and John Mayer. And I cannot wait for those, and from what I've heard already, it's going to be a good year.

I hope you're all having a good start to 2017, and that it will continue throughout the whole year!
What are some of your resolutions/goals for this year? Leave me a comment and let me know what they are.
Happy New Year everyone!

Jess x

MY ACL STORY: The Week When I Finish....

Remember this!

Hello Everyone :)
Week 13:
I've actually done it.....
I've finished college for good.....
I had my last 2 exams this week, and they didn't go too well but I'm just so thankful to finally have college out of the way - especially after the year I've had! Now I am free to spend my summer as I wish (which will consist mostly of sleeping).
Recovery wise things weren't too great this week, but I'll explain later on in this post why.

I started at the ACL class this week. This is a special class where all of the ACL patients at my physiotherapy place come together for an hour and work on their recovery together, whilst listening to some "hype" music. The room is set up with 10 different stations, ranging from the cross trainer to balance boards and all that comes in between, and we then go round in a circuit spending 3 minutes on each station.
However, because my physiotherapist was ill this week, I was left with another physio who ran the class too - but he didn't know what I was good at or what I struggled with. So he basically just observed me the whole time, rather than helping or encouraging me. So I didn't really enjoy it too much as I feel like I work better with a bit of encouragement.
Also my knee was super wobbly this week. No matter what I did it just wobbled like crazy! It was incredibly frustrating, especially when it came to doing the jumping from side to side and then balancing on my operated leg on the trampette as it was too wobbly to even balance. Also when I was doing the step ups and step overs on the step box my leg wobbled and ached so much. The physio seemed to think it was because my knee was tired which would explain the wobbling.
After this session, I had quite a lot of pain in the muscles around my knee and it ached really bad. Hopefully next weeks session will be better because right now I'm not too keen on this new class. I'm not sure if it's just because I don't like change (and this is a big change for me), or because my knee was tired, but I'm really hoping this feeling goes away for next week.

This is going to sound so random, aha, but this week I had a dream that I could run - like a full on sprint! But when I woke up and I still couldn't run I was so so upset :(
It'll happen soon, I just wish it would hurry up. I haven't been able to do it for around 10 months (since I first injured my knee). It's funny because before the injury I was never that fussed about running, but I think it's that thing of whenever someone tells you that you can't do something, and it just makes you even more determined to do it. I think running is like that, because I'm not able to do it and now I would do anything to be able to.
But I will get there!

My scars poking through my ripped jeans aha ;)

So this week was another boring one because I spent a lot of my time revising and trying to get my last 2 exams out of the way, but now they are so hopefully I'll start being a lot more active and fun aha ;)
This week I also wore jeans for the first time since the operation woo hoo! I probably could have started to wear them a while back but I love my jeans to be super skinny, which then requires the skinny jean dance (girls, you know the one...) But I finally did it, I'm getting back to normal, slowly but surely!
If you would like to read my experience of my other weeks post-op, then you can find those blog posts here. 
Feel free to leave me a comment if you've been through this (because I could use all of the advice and knowledge), or if you just feel like leaving a comment :)
Stay positive and keep on being you x

The 5 Seconds Of Summer Experience

The fab 4

Hello Everyone :)
(If you haven't read about my experience at Wembley Arena leading up to the concert, then I suggest you read that one first here - also the show I went to was the 12th of June 2015)

WOW OH WOW
I think this is the most excited (and nervous - I don't know why ok?!) I've been to write a blog post ever ;)
Just to give an overview, 5 Seconds of Summer are the most incredible performers and you can tell that they give 110% into all that they're doing and that is so refreshing to see, despite them having performed these same songs night after night.

Firstly I would just like to start by saying that 5 Seconds of Summer create such an amazing and hyped up atmosphere before the show has even started with the songs that they play in the arena. With songs such as Back in Black by AC/DC, Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley and The Final Countdown by Europe, it helped to build up all of the excitement that every single person was feeling in that one place.

The support act "Hey Violet" weren't really to my taste, but I will give it to them, they got the crowd going and extra excited for 5SOS. I think they're just not for me - but each to their own :)

AND THEN IT WAS TIME

As soon as the lights went out and the countdown began, the arena erupted into a sea of screams and excited faces (me being one of them). Countdowns at concerts always add to anticipation - after waiting 337 days for this concert, we're now down to the final 60 seconds and nothing else matters in this moment apart from this.
And then that first guitar strum was heard and I've never heard screams like it.... And then the first drum beat was heard...... And then Ashton appeared..... And then the other boys did too..... And then fireworks and pyro started going off left right and centre..... And then they started playing End Up Here and everyone lost their chill.....

The first few songs were full of energy (such as the oldies but goodies Out Of My Limit and Heartbreak Girl), and the 5SOS lads' enthusiasm completely matched the crowds' - we built each other up and it was a beautiful thing to watch!
Then came the new song "Permanent Vacation", and I swear in that moment I had never been so hyped up. During this song 5SOS like to split the crowd into 3 different sections to get the chants and claps going. My side was Michael's section, with him calling us "my babies - my children", the middle section was Luke's and the other side was Calum's. Together, we were one mighty noisy beast.

Little Lukey

After a few more songs came Long Way Home, which is one of my personal favourites from the album. For this song Luke came forward to the little bit of stage that comes out - and the other boys were in complete darkness, it was little Lukey's time to shine! Here, he got the crowd to help him sing the opening of the song, which he then stopped singing and just let the crowd sing. And the look on Luke's face was so special, he looked so proud of the crowd for helping him out.

Rejects comes next, and if you are familiar with how a 5 Seconds Of Summer show goes, you will know that this is the part of the show where they bring a fan up on stage to play guitar. So someone from the floor section was chosen and she took Michael's guitar and began strumming. She claimed it was meant to be "You Give Love A Bad Name" by Bon Jovi but I would have to disagree haha! Although it was very entertaining and made me extremely jealous when she got a sweaty hug from all of the boys :(

Then after my all time favourite 5SOS song (Heartache On The Bug Screen) came the emotional section.... This section included Wrapped Around Your Finger, Amnesia, Beside You and Everything I Didn't Say.
The first time I ever listened to Wrapped Around Your Finger it was raining heavily outside, I was laying on the floor and then this song started playing. And I just started crying out of nowhere, and ever since that day this song has been one of my favourites and I always hoped that they would add it to the setlist AND THEY DID! This song was probably the one I was most looking forward to hearing live because of the emotion it has, and the guitar in it is so incredible. When doing it live, there are also a few note changes (my personal favourite coming from Luke) which add to the hype of this song, and also Michael's guitar solo is one you must pay attention to!

The muscles *insert heart eyes emoji*

Amnesia was also one of the songs I was most looking forward to hearing live because I feel like it sounds so much better live. I find that I can't even listen to the studio version of it because it just doesn't live up to the live version and I'm left disappointed (but I do love the song!). During this song, the crowd typically put the lights on on their phones and hold them up in the air and it creates the most amazing atmosphere. The crowd were also insanely loud at this show so they sang the lyrics back wholeheartedly! They kept stopping singing to just listen to us sing their lyrics back to them. It must be the most insane feeling.
And the harmonies in Beside you and Everything I Didn't Say were enough to make my whole body feel like jelly. Also Calum's bass solo in the beginning of Everything I Didn't Say was the most adorable thing because he just looked and sounded so vulnerable.

Also, Pizza happened....... That is all.

The 5SOS lads also did an awesome cover of Green Day's American Idiot. It really shows off all of their musical talents individually, with drum, bass and guitar solos. I don't think I've ever seen a crowd as excited as they were during this song.

Next was Kiss Me Kiss Me which is a song that I was never too keen on from the album (I know, shoot me). But hearing it live has completely changed my opinion of the song, I can easily listen and enjoy it now and that is the power that hearing a song live has! Just before the breakdown of the song, or as Michael described it "We're about to go full metal on your ass", Michael also told the crowd to jump and go crazy, and asked "can you do that?". But with me being crippled for this concert, I screamed back "NOOOO" and I recorded it and it makes me laugh every time haha!

Then came She Looks So Perfect, which they tried to make out was their last song, and some people did believe this as they attempted to leave but then they came back out aha!
This song is always a goodun live because it's the one that everyone knows and everyone gets involved with, and it's just a great environment.

Encore time!
Good Girls came first and it was just as energetic as if it was the first song that they had performed of the night - that being extremely energetic!
Finally, the song that everyone had been waiting for was performed which was What I Like About You. Honestly, this song is the most lively song I have ever seen live! Everyone just went crazy and partied like there was no tomorrow.

The final bow :(

Then it was time to come home :(
And everything sounded like it was underwater and I couldn't talk just over a whisper as I had sung/screamed so much, but that is when you know that you had a great time ;)

Michael doing his thing

And here are just a few added extra details for you all; this show was filmed for their DVD which added to everyone's excitement as we all wanted it to be the best show possible (even though Calum still forgot the lyrics to Don't Stop...).
Niall from One Direction was at this show too, but I found this out when I got home, and he was stood like directly under where I was sat, but it still made me happy because he loves 5SOS and they love him - it's a beautiful friendship!
At one point in the show, Ashton asked everyone to hold up their banners and "art" as he called it. So I lifted my knee/leg into the air and waved it around because my surgeon did a damn good job on sorting my ACL out and I wanted them to know hahaha, I am so weird.
Finally, at so many points during the show Michael would look out into the crowd with so much love and awe in his eyes that it made me feel so proud of him. It was almost like he couldn't quite believe that this was his life, and that made me feel really happy because we (the fans) had put him on that stage and had made him feel that way. It just makes me feel good :)

So I had one of the best nights and it was all thanks to the lovely lads that are 5 Seconds Of Summer. They just put so much effort into each song and it makes everyone in the crowd so pumped and ready for the next song.
This is my experience of my 4th 5SOS show, you can leave me a comment about your experience of seeing 5SOS, or if you're going to see them soon leave me a comment of when your date is, I would love to hear from you :)
Stay positive and keep on being you x

A Concert With A Knee Injury

The limited edition poster for the
Wembley shows

Hello Everyone :)
For the readers that are familiar with my blog, you will know that I had knee surgery in the last 3 months, but for those of you who aren't too familiar I'll give a little bit of background information.
So about 10 months ago I tore something called the ACL. This is the Anterior Cruciate Ligament and it basically prevents over-rotation in the knee, and allows you to be able to run, jump and change direction suddenly. After an accident at gymnastics, I tore this, and 3 months ago I had surgery to fix it. The rehab process is rather extensive and takes around 9 months to just about get back to normal - so going to a concert, I was obviously very sceptical!

5 Seconds Of Summer are one of my favourite bands ever and they've put on a damn good live show every time I've seen them - which is 4 times now ;) They are just so energetic and excited on stage that the audience vibe off them, and have the best night ever!
And this time was no different....

Ahead of my attendance at the concert, I emailed Wembley Arena (where it was being held) about potentially moving my seats. This is because my seats were incredibly high up in the arena - and as I was going to be on crutches, I needed lots of leg room, which would not have been possible in my original seats.
They got back to me and told me that I had to print off the email and then on the day of the concert report to the Box Office to see what they could do. As this was left on rather an ambiguous note, I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I knew that I obviously had to go!
I left that whole situation alone as there was nothing more I could do for now, so I started to prepare for the concert!

My VERY excitable countdown ;)

Once the day had arrived (the 12th June 2015), it was like a dream come true! After 337 days of waiting, the day had finally arrived and I was very blooming excited!
I spent the day in and around London as I had some time to kill and the weather managed to stay dry *hooray* so that was a bonus. Although the tube was rather difficult at rush hour and with me being on crutches, people weren't always the kindest...
But this couldn't dim the amount of excitement that I had for what was to come.

Wembley Arena :)

On my arrival at the venue (which is bloody beautiful, may I add), we headed straight to the Box Office - I got there about 1 hour before the doors opened just to give myself enough time to sort things out. Here, I showed the woman the email and she took my old tickets and exchanged them for brand spanking new ones.... WHICH WERE MUCH CLOSER THAN MY OTHER ONES AND I HAD LOADS OF LEG ROOM, HELL YEAH! We were also at the front of our section, so it meant that no one would be in my way of seeing the 5SOS lads if I needed to sit down. I was honestly so so thankful that it actually worked out for the best, and I'd be able to get a better look at 5SOS ;)
All hyped up and happy, I then crutched my way over to the merch stand (which was outside), where a woman who worked at Wembley told me the queue inside was much smaller and it may be easier considering I'm on crutches. So inside I went, and I got all of my merch and whatnot, then me and my sister sat down until the doors were open.
Once we had sat down another woman who worked at Wembley approached us and asked us if we wanted to go up to the Rewards/VIP lounge for free as they had some upgrade tickets left, and it may have been more comfortable for my knee. So of course we said yes! This woman was super nice and she showed us where we'd have to go in to the arena, and was asking us about 5SOS too and how to pronounce their abbreviated name aha ;) The lounge was super nice and comfy and it was great to be away from all of the madness!
Then 6:30 came along and it was time to take our seats in the arena....

Living that VIP life ;)

Ok this post turned out to be way longer than I anticipated, so I'm going to split this post into 2 halves ;) This half is more of an appraisal to Wembley Arena as they were so lovely to me and really catered for my needs so that I could have a great night. I'm honestly so thankful for their service and kindness! But the next post will include LOADS more about 5SOS and the actual show itself, so look out for that!
Leave me a comment if you've been to see 5 Seconds Of Summer before, or if you're going to see them because I would love to hear about it.
Stay positive and keep on being you x