Music Monday

Hi Everyone! So I just thought that I  would share with you a few tunes that I have been listening to a lot recently. Each song has its on meaning to how i have been feeling recently, the lyrics of each song really stand out for me. Just take a few minutes to listen to each of the songs and see how you relate to each of them.

1. Girl In the Moon - Everly

I never really listened to this song much, until one day it came on shuffle with my ipod. Couldn't help be stop and actually listen to the lyrics of the song. Now it is one of my favourite to listen to, when I'm driving in the car.

2. Solider - Gavin Degraw

When I was in North Carolina and getting to meet the cast of One Tree Hill, Gavin was on set one of the days. As his music was going to be in the final episode, with loving one tree hill. We all know Gavin music is great. I had never heard him and just being on set that day watching him sing, made me love his voice more than I already do. This is that song I got hear him and I just love singing along to it.

3. Hold On - Taylor Warren


So I know have much about the story of the person in this video. One day when I was on youtube, I came across this artist and had to listen to his music. Growing up with my disability and having spent times in hospital, could really relate to the lyrics of the song.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed my Music Monday. Please feel free to leave me and comment, let me know what music has been in your life recently.

Zara :)

Wheelchair Wednesday

So everyone knows I am a big fan of Bethany Joy Lenz. I  totally LOVE her wardrobe Wednesday entries that she shares with us on her blog. Lately we haven't got to see that many of this entry and I'm REALLY missing it. I  thought it would be a fun idea to try out my own version of wardrobe Wednesday with a difference.
If you have been reading my previous entry or have even noticed the title of my blog, well then you know I have a disability. My disability causes me to be wheelchair bound, I DON'T let that stop me in my everyday life. Always when I meet people and talk to them they are very interested in the style of wheelchair I have, as it is a lot more fashionable than the wheelchair to see in shopping centres, hospitals or the ones elderly people use to get around.

Over the years I have had many different wheelchairs. As I grow I  need a suitable wheelchair that will suit my size and is manageable for me to get around in on my. Usually a lot of the wheelchairs you see around have handles on the back for other people to push them. I don't have that on my wheelchair as I like to do as much for myself as I can. So here is the wheelchair I am using as my everyday wheelchair to get around in.

Kuschall R33

Also when I get talking to people, I ALWAYS mention that I play wheelchair basketball too. Which brings them on to asking to I use the same everyday wheelchair when playing or do I have another wheelchair for sports. The answer would be NO, I have another wheelchair for wheelchair basketball and it is very different to my everyday wheelchair. Depending on what sport you play, each wheelchair is designed differently for that sport. As it has to be a lot more light weight to move faster on the court, the wheels are at a certain angle to help with the speed. You can tell from just looking different the two the structure of the sport wheelchair is different to. Here is a picture of what the sports wheelchairs, like the picture above this isn't the exactly wheelchair I use in basketball. As mine is purple and yellow, the structure is the same.

Basketball Wheelchair

Well I hope you enjoy my Wheelchair Wednesday update. If you have any questions please feel free to write me a wee comment.

Zara :)

Music to live by

So you all that I'm a big fan of One Tree Hill. It has taught me some many life lessons over the last nine years. As I have grow up with the show, each season as shown more and more new music. There has been times that I have felt that the music speak more to me than the actual storylines in the show.

I thought it would be fun to share with you a few of the artists that I come to love over the years. Who have also helped me out over years, depending what mood I have been. Here are some of my favourite songs from the show.

1. Bethany Joy Lenz - Halo

This lady has one of the most amazing voice and I could listen to her non stop.

2. Kate Voegele - Wish You Were

Another girl with a great voice, who was an inspiring to so many young singer through her music.

3. Laura Izibor - If tonight was my last night

An Irish girl with a great voice

4. Enation ft Beathany joy Lenz - Feel This

A fun rock band with good music

5. Gavin Degraw - I Don't Wanna Be

You haven't learnt anything from One Tree Hill, if you don't love this song.

I do have a lot more this is just a little taste for now. Feel free to share with me some of your favourite music from the show.

The year of Sports

This year in the UK  and NI  is quickly becoming the year of sport, as the olympic and paralympics will be held in London this summer. I know a lot of people think there is not a lot of sport out there for disability people, actually they are wrong. Sport for disabled people, may not be as popular as it is for abled bodied people. It is starting to become a lot more known by people across the world.

I myself actually play a lot of wheelchair basketball for my local, due to medical reasons and school I had to take sometime off. It has now been three years, since I last played a proper game of basketball. Just recently i have got back into thinking about starting to train and play again. I know that it will take a lot of work to get my fitness back to where it was. I'm looking forward to building myself up again and playing, even if I never make it playing for any big teams, its always a sport I will enjoy playing.

So this year if you decided to watch the olympics please take the time to watch some of the paralympics later on in the summer. It may not be for everyone, at least if you take the time to at least watch 5 minutes. You may gain a little more knowledge in helping any disabled person you know get involved in sports.

Here is a little clip of me in action, hope you all enjoy it.

Zara :)

Busy Bee

Hi Everyone

I hope you all had a wonderful christmas and having a great start to the New Year. So I haven't updated recently, I have just been super busy. Really going to  try my best to make time and get back into blogging again soon. Until that time, if your looking for some fun blogs to read. Please check out the following:

www.bethanyjoy.com

www.theambersweeney.com


Happy Reading :)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

Christmas has always been my favourite holiday since I was a little girl. I loved the idea of receiving gifts from Santa, watching the hustle and bustle of people doing their Christmas shopping. There was always a special feeling in the air at this time of year. So Christmas has always been a magical experience for me.

As I got older I started to understand the true meaning of Christmas, why we actually celebrate it to begin with. When I was able to completely understand this, Christmas became all that more important to me. Although everyone has their own believes and some don’t believe in or celebrate Christmas. Being brought up in a Christian family Christmas has become more of time about thinking the lessons of the bible and giving thanks to God. Instead of thinking more about Santa and the gifts, although there still is all the traditional activities I enjoy related top Christmas time.

There are many different family activities I enjoy at this time of the year. Each different one has its own special meaning for me related to Christmas. So I thought it would be a nice idea to share some of them with you.

1.       My first favourite activity to do is sit on the sofa and watch all different films. This film may not be very Christmassy; it is always on television this time of year. So my favourite film to watch since I was little is The Secret Garden. If you haven’t seen it already, I definitely suggest you rent it out to watch.

2.       Christmas isn’t Christmas if you don’t decorate your house and put up the Christmas tree. Ever since I was little we had the tradition of always putting up the tree on the second Saturday in December. This is always an eventful experience, as I years doesn’t go by that we argue about how the lights or meant to go or if there be a star or an angel on the top of the Christmas. Once everything is said and done, it does give the house a Christmassy feel to it.

3.       At Christmas there is always great music played with wonderful songs showing the true meaning of Christmas. Recently I have been really into playing the Everly Fireside Christmas album, so if you haven’t got it already it is a must order. Mostly I love going to my local church and going to the Carols by Candle light service.

4.       The most important part for Christmas day for me, is going to Church on Christmas morning. Spending the rest of my day surrounding by family, giving and receiving gifts from one and other. Getting the time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas with the people I love the most in my life.

Those are just a few of the experiences that make Christmas so special for me. If you celebrate it or not I hope its still a special time of year for you to spend with your family, before we are bringing in the next year together. Whatever you are doing this Christmas time, I hope you all have a great Holiday Season.

Merry Christmas

The World is full of magic

Over the past nine years I have grown up watching One Tree Hill, since it started it was always my dream to go to Wilmington and meet the cast. For a lot of them years I felt like this was a totally impossible dream and with all the magic in the world it was never going to happen. So in some ways over the years that dream started to die out. I still watched the show and started to see the cast as my role model.

One of the characters in the show Haley, played by Bethany Joy Galeotti seemed to always stand out for me. As the years went on she very quickly became my role model, it was more than how she played Haley in the show that made me like her as an inspiring role model for myself. I started to take an interest in her and wanted to see what she was like as a person outside of her character. I started to follow her music and follow other projects she was doing outside of one tree hill.

Just from listening to her music and seeing the different projects Joy was involved in, I knew that I had picked a great role model to inspire me. When listening to her music I love how you can feel the message she is trying to put across and making the connecting of helping us all to look at the bigger picture in life. For me I loved that her music was channelling made me think about the deeper message. The music for me was a way to relax and get away from the outside pressure of life and just have some fun.

More recently Joy started up a blog and her own band Everly with one of her great friends Amber Sweeney who is another great role model for people. Together these ladies created great music that I have developed a great connection to and help me at different time in overcoming different experiencing in my life. When it came to Joy’s blog, I loved getting an insight into her world and seeing how she liked to view. For a while I was having a lot of bad experiences with friends and getting the feeling like they never really wanted to accept me as there friend. I knew that joy blog was always something that I could turn to and make me feel better in the darker days.

Last month my world changed and I got the chance to go to Wilmington and meet the cast and crew of one tree hill. It was the best experience of my life. All the people were so kind and welcoming, just for a week I felt like I was part of their big family. Getting the chance to meet my role model Bethany Joy Lenz was an unforgettable experience in itself. Joy is an amazing person. It was a pleasure to meet her and spend time with her on a personal level. She made my trip so special for me, showed me how to feel normal even with my disability.

I feel so honoured to have such an amazing role model, to be inspired and encouraged by every day in life. She is the most down to earth and caring person I have ever. Her attitude and outlook on life our amazing, I have seen first-hand how great a mom and friend she is surrounded by family and friends. I hope she knows just how great of a person she is to inspiring so many young people like me. Through sharing her own life experiences she has definitely changed my life, made me understand with the right attitude and the right amount of faith the world is full of magic.