Category: Life

I’m Choosing Happiness in 2026

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I usually hate when people say things like this but this year I am trying to embrace it – I am choosing happiness for 2026.

I have been inspired by a friend who has started sharing her journey online of doing something every day that makes her happy. It sounds silly but she said she has never known true happiness due to her upbringing. And while I have not been in this situation, I feel like over the last year, I have been very negative and have not had a great time with my mental health.

So at the end of last year, when my mental health was at its lowest, I started going to therapy. This helped me massively because it helped me deal with issues I had unknowingly been struggling with for a long time, as well as helped me with my short-term issues, which caused my mental health to dip in the first place.

Along with that, I have decided to take a work sabbatical. These two things weren’t really about choosing happiness; they were more about choosing my mental health over a shitty situation. But I am including them here because choosing your mental health is part of choosing happiness. If you are not in a good mental space, it is hard to see the positive in things and be happy, so it’s important to work on it.

As I am now in a better mental health space and I am looking forward to my upcoming time off work, I have decided to prioritise my happiness for 2026. I think last year I was too busy trying to make it through work so I could get to my big holiday at the end of the year that there was nothing else going on. Even when I did have time off work, I wasn’t really resting or taking time for myself; I was doing other things.

So this year, I am taking things a bit slower. I am trying to focus on leaving work at work e.g. not thinking about it after I log off for the day and trying to take time to myself to enjoy things that I like to do. It’s not that I wasn’t doing things I enjoyed last year, I think it was that I was so burnt out I wasn’t appreciating any of it.

Obviously, I cannot control how hectic work gets which causes the burnout but I can work on setting boundaries with it and trying to restrict how much it impacts my day-to-day life. I think I got so caught up in the idea that work was everything when it’s really not. I mean, yes, I care about what I do and want to do a good job but at the end of the day, that is not all I am.

So I am focusing on my life outside of work and nurturing it. Leaning into my hobbies, prioritising seeing friends and family and just remembering what it was like to not care about work 24/7.

I know it’s not always going to be as easy as doing something small that will make me happy; life is difficult but at the same time sometimes all it takes is a small thing to make the day a bit brighter. For example, I have been appreciating the days when it has not been raining because it’s been super rainy in the UK this year. The small bit of sunshine we get does wonders for my mood. So I need to soak it up as much as possible.

I am being more intentional about the choices I make to ensure that my life is fulfilled outside of work and trying to decide how I can be more fulfilled in the job I have. Which is mostly why I decided to take a work sabbatical, to take a step back and try to plan out what’s next for life. I appreciate not everyone can really stop working to do this but it’s an opportunity that I have and I am going to take it.

So yeah, that’s where I’m at. Thought I would make a blog post to share the journey I am taking and maybe it will inspire someone else to do the same. It’s so easy to dismiss self-care when there’s so much else going on in the world but it’s okay to take time for yourself and enjoy a little peace when you can. Especially now, more than ever, I feel like everyone needs a little joy in their lives.

I Want to Write Again

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Today I have taken the notion to write again. So here’s some backstory: I used to write fanfiction. It was 2010, I was obsessed with twilight and while looking stuff up online about Twilight I found fanfiction.

This was my gateway into creative writing and I fell in love. I was writing non-stop for a solid 2/3 years and it was amazing.

Then came real life and responsibility and creative writing went out the window. I went through a couple of periods where I wrote a few things here and there, the most recent one a few years ago. It fizzled out within the year and I was sad. I was wondering if I would ever get the drive back to write.

Cut to 2026 and it’s here! I guess it never really leaves you. But the real question is, now what am I going to write?

The answer is: I don’t know. I really like creative writing, but I feel like my blog is not the place for it. Also, I like the idea of being more anonymous for that writing, so I will have to find a space for it. Previously, I was writing on Wattpad and fanfiction.net but I have not visited those spaces in years, so I am not sure they are the spaces for me anymore. I also had a stint in posting some stories on Tumblr but again, I am not sure if that is the space for me.

I am also not sure if I will stick with fanfiction. I like the idea of writing my own book. I always have. When I was 15, writing fanfiction, it was novel-length. So I feel like I could write something real, but at the same time, it’s a lot of work to write something good, and it would take time. Would I ever publish? That’s the dream to have people read your writing and relate and enjoy it. But I don’t know if I would bother. I have considered Amazon publishing in the past, but I don’t know if it’s for me.

So ideally, I’m just looking for a place to share bits and pieces I’m writing, fanfiction or not, I feel like I need a place. Because the thing with writing is that while I do write for myself, I do enjoy sharing it. It meant so much to me when people used to read my stories and like what I had to say, so I feel like it’s something I’d always want to share with people.

If anyone has any suggestions, let me know, but until then, I will do some research and find a good space for it. If not, then I guess I can always create another blog lol.

Rewatching the Twilight Saga in 2025

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

This year, Lionsgate has done us a solid and re-released the Twilight Saga in the cinemas, and I being a former major Twihard (Idk why we called ourselves that, who came up with that??) absolutely had to go. And naturally, rewatching something I love, I have to share some thoughts, so here’s how I felt revisiting these movies again. I actually did a rewatch of the movies with my friends last year, but it’s so different taking the time to properly watch them with no distractions.

Twilight

First of all, I have never seen Twilight in the cinema until now. Call me crazy but I didn’t actually fall in love with the saga until New Moon came out. I hadn’t seen the first movie at all before going in blind to a midnight premiere of New Moon my older sister invited me to. So getting the chance to see Twilight in the cinema was unmissable. I needed this experience in my life. Suffice to say it was a very different experience than the one I imagine I would’ve had in 2008.

Continue reading “Rewatching the Twilight Saga in 2025” →

How I Used My Hobonichi When Travelling

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

The last video related to my Australia travels – of course it’s about my Hobonichi. I am obsessed with this journal and was excited to see how I would use it when I was away. Turns out it was easy for me to carve out some time to journal when travelling. Don’t think it will be the same on all trips but glad I had the time to do it this time, especially because I was away for so long!

Just because this is the last video I am making, does not mean I won’t have more content. I do still have some blog posts I want to write, not sure when those will be done but we’ll see. I have high hopes still about that so stay tuned!

What I Packed for Australia vs What I Wore!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Before I left for Australia, I knew I wanted to make a video like this. I thought it would be interesting to share what I packed for going on such a long trip! Plus, I think it’s important to share we aren’t all influencers with a million pieces of luggage and endless clothing options so ya know #KeepingItReal lol

If I was more organised I would’ve probably shared clips of me actually wearing things and such but who has time for that on holiday?

Still I hope someone out there finds this somewhat useful in the future.

My Australia Adventures! (with a pitstop in Dubai) | 8th September – 3rd October 2025

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I am so excited to finally share some of my Australia adventure in vlog form! Since I have come home from my trip there is so much I want to share about it, especially on my blog, I feel like I could write so much about what we got up to but I also do not want to get sick of talking about it. So I will do my best to spread out my content and hopefully, I can bring informative and interesting things to you without getting burnt out. So enjoy this vlog as it’s only the beginning!

Why I Blog

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I saw these prompts on WordPress when I started getting back into blogging earlier this year and I have yet to answer one. I think it’s good to check them out for inspiration. And it’s been a while since I made a blog post so here we are.

I started blogging in 2007? I was 10 years old and I discovered the blog tab on my Bebo page and I didn’t know what it was. I remember asking someone in my family and they told me blogging was like talking about your life. So one day I sat down to write my first blog. Obviously memories change and are often romanticised but what I remember was I started blogging quite regularly. I think maybe every month or so for as long as I had my Bebo account. I guess it was short-lived because soon I was on Facebook and there were no blogs on Facebook pages.

But originally I started blogging because it was kind of my foray into journaling, it was just on a public platform. Don’t ask me what possessed me to start telling people about my life on Bebo – like I can’t even remember what I talked about at the time. School? My friends? I don’t know I just know I probably took it too seriously.

Continue reading “Why I Blog” →

I Made a Ko-Fi

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Just wanted to make a little post to announce that I have opened a Ko-fi. I actually opened it a few months ago I just wasn’t sure if I should advertise or not but here we are. I am not expecting a lot, if anything at all to be honest. I know that a lot of people who make ko-fi accounts are in far worse off positions than I am.

But at the same time, I might as well take a chance and put it out there. Maybe someone out there likes what I do and wants to support me. I put it out there because while I do blog and make YouTube videos as a hobby and don’t expect money for it in return I might as well put the option out there.

I once tried to do the YouTube monetisation thing back when I was 18 but it never amounted to anything. I definitely was swept up in my content creator fantasies back then lol.

Anyway, yeah that’s literally it. If you enjoy reading my blog or watching my videos or anything then I just wanted to put the option there. Obviously if I did get any donations it would mean a lot, it’s pretty cool to get paid to do things you like but not everyone has the option/desire to do what they love for a living. But earning anything, even if it’s small means a lot.

My Trip To London | 4th – 8th July

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I went to London last week for Sabrina Carpenter at Hyde Park and I thought I would share some of the other things we did while we were away. I did do a little vlog but thought it would be good to do a corresponding blog post with some more info.

Borough Market

So this one was not a planned activity, we ended up in the market because we were waiting to eat at the Breakfast Club. The Breakfast Club is a chain of restaurants in London which serve breakfast, we went to one for the first time a few years ago and loved it so wanted to go back. The one we chose was near London Bridge and while we were waiting we walked through Borough Market because it was nearby.

It was a really cute market! I think it would be nice if you lived in London and went there to pick up things for a dinner party or something. Definitely a place I could imagine being a lot if I lived there, very influencer vibes.

We got a fresh juice from one of the places and it was really nice and if we weren’t waiting to get food I’m sure we would have tried something from one of the stalls there.

Continue reading “My Trip To London | 4th – 8th July” →

Hello Kitty Island Adventure First Impressions!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I got Hello Kitty Island Adventure back in March and I have to say I was not that impressed. I even tried to make a blog post at the time but I felt it was just very negative and not accomplishing much, so I’ve decided to give it a second chance. i.e. I played the game a few times in March, wasn’t a fan and haven’t played it since. Until last night when I picked it up again and now I want to keep playing lol.

So I’m going to give it another shot at writing my first impressions. A lot of what I thought in March still stands but I’m now more intrigued to keep going compared to before.

The first thing to point out is I find the game overall a bit clunky. The way the character moves, the controls, the menu navigation. It’s not my fave, and it really put me off in the beginning. Like do I really want to be navigating through every single collection menu to clear the red dot everytime I pick up a new item? No. But I try my best to ignore it and try to clear a bunch of them in one go lol. The same goes with achievements. It’s just annoying to have to manually clear them otherwise the red dot does not go away.

I also think it’s hard to get used to new controls in general, like X to gift items, Y to use tools. These are not common controls for me on Nintendo Switch and so it’s taking some time to get used to. Also switching tools is not the best, but I think maybe it’s just something I need to adapt to.

Continue reading “Hello Kitty Island Adventure First Impressions!” →