Z = ZEST

Zest is the kind of way I wish to live my life. I want to take the bull by the horns. I want to get up each morning and live life to the full, like it is my last day. I think sometimes we need that, a new or renewed zest for life, just to keep things in perspective. Though this might be the end of this challenge, let us take on our lives, or our blogging with the kind of energy that is fitting of a tornado. Lets keep going and striving forward and have nothing stop us, not until we decide to stop. 

Y = YOU

It is not selfish to sometimes put your needs ahead of others. There needs to be a balance and being led to believe that spending any time on yourself or by yourself is selfish, then so be it. There comes a time when you need to be by yourself in order to regain your focus and your energy. It is good to be kind to others, but it is equally important to be kind to yourself as well. It is okay to put yourself first every now and then.

X = XANTHIPPE

This word refers to any nagging or irritable woman and if I was not in some desperate need to find a word starting with x, I would never have found it in my dictionary. Whenever I meet a new male person, whether they are a colleague or a possible new friend, they always ask me what kind of woman I am. Whether I was just like all the others or whether I was different. I think most men have had a run in with a woman with Xanthippe like qualities and many times they possibly messed with that particular woman on the wrong day. But just for the record, not all women are like that. We as woman have to lift our opinions and be heard, but not to the point where the males in our lives want to strangle us. I know it is hard, but for the sake of keeping the peace and all that…

W = WILDLIFE

There is no life without all the creatures on this plant, even the creepy and crawling ones. Everything was created and placed on this earth for a reason. Why anyone could think they have the right to destroy it, I do not know. The very idea of knowing how terribly our wildlife is suffering all over the world and the common perception that it is not our problem or that it is okay, sickens me. We cannot simply kill and neglect life and think that it is okay. Yes, we are human, we are supposed to be the most advanced and intellectual life on this planet, but why can we not protect? Why do we have to associate killing our own wildlife as part of our human survival and existence? Why can we not leave a wonderful legacy of natural life for the upcoming generations? Why are they not allowed to see a rhinoceros or a lion in the wild in the next 20 years?

We are so great and so wonderful yet we are killing the world and most things in it, the irony. Though, I am well aware that not all of us are the ones doing the damage. 

V = VIOLENCE

Violence is a terrible thing, especially when it is directed towards you. I know for a fact that I wish most days that there was a lot less of it in my country and all around the world. I wish people could change and realize that it is not a way to live. But, having said that, I am not beyond it. If anyone dared to hurt me or anyone I love and thought that I was simply going to stand idly by and watch, they are sadly mistaken. Violence is also a last resort when and if you need to defend yourself or a loved one. I have been placed in situations in the past, where people thought it was okay to do to me what ever they pleased and I have simply had enough. A little violence is needed in certain situations to defend, but not to solve an issue.

Though, most days I just wish that there was a pill out there in the world that could take all the violence away and make it unnecessary to have the need to ever defend yourself. Would it not be great if we could all just get along? 

U = UNHAPPY

When most of us are unhappy, we have this tendency to suffer in silence. I tend to be silent about certain things, but then again I am more than happy to complain about others. But instead of simply accepting our unhappiness and the factors or people that cause it, why do we not change things? I have made a few changes and though I am not completely happy about everything, I at least am no longer unhappy. So, instead of suffering in silence with your unhappiness, why not do something about it, and improve your quality of life. I know that I have many more changes to make, to live the life that I want. 

T = TOUGH

When I speak of the word tough, I don’t mean that you have to go to the gym every night. I am talking about a certain mindset that you need when things get rough. If you get a rejection letter from a publisher or an agent, let’s take that hit on the chin and keep on going. We need to be tough during certain experiences in life and though it is not necessary to be tough while handling every situation, it is a great quality to have in reserve when the occasion calls for it. I know that I have to toughen up a bit myself, as peoples words still have too much of an impact on me sometimes.