Friday, 15 July 2016

GOMO - What's It All About?

So, if I'm right in thinking, most of you reading this post right now have probably looked at the title in awe, wondering what in the world 'GOMO' is supposed to mean. Well, that my friends, is what today's post is all about.
The whole concept of 'Going Out More Often' was originally brought about by Eventbrite, which is possibly the largest self-service website, where you're able to plan, organise and manage events, sell tickets to other people and also find various events in your local area that you may wish to go to at some point. The general idea of it is that they are hoping to wipe out 'FOMO', which essentially stands for 'Fear Of Missing Out'. Their aim is to encourage people to spend their money on making memories and experiencing new things, rather than wasting it all on materialistic items that won't last in the long run.
During this day and age, it's far too easy to become cooped up inside, watching episode after episode of Pretty Little Liars, whilst eating buttery popcorn and drinking endless supplies of fizzy coke from your nearest McDonalds takeaway. Trust me, I've been there and done that!
Summer time is quickly rolling in and it doesn't hang about for anybody. Before you know it, the 6 week holiday that you have been waiting for ever since last year has been and gone in a flash and you're left wondering why you achieved so little during that time.
This is where I come in to help you out and act as you're knight in shining armour! Well, okay, more like your blogger with all the bright GOMO ideas, but we can just roll with it anyway..

So, whilst brainstorming my ideas for this post, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to talk about some of the charity events that I've been to recently and also the day trips that I've got planned, which are currently in the works until I break up from school next week!
Over the past few months, I've been to 2 charity based events. Now, that may not sound like a huge amount to you, but considering the fact that I'd never really been to any before, it was a big deal to me - and besides, even one extra person turning up and getting involved could make all the difference!
The first event that I went to was held in a field that's local to myself and a few of my best friends, so as one of them invited me, I knew instantly that I wanted to go. Her older sister knew of the young man that the event was being held for and so I felt that it was much closer to home than I could have imagined. We didn't really know what to expect at first, but me being me, I did my research and found out as much as I could prior to the day that we actually went. The family of the young man were trying to reach their target of £50,000, so that he was able to get treatment out in America, as the surgery that he needed unfortunately wasn't funded by the NHS. He was only 23 years old, but he had a rare cervical chordoma, which is essentially a tumour that wraps around the spine. A music festival was held, where there were acts up on the stage, various different stalls and areas of entertainment, photo booths, refreshments and everything else that you would typically find at a local, fundraising event. Even though I wasn't heavily involved, myself and my friends still went and contributed to the day, because we felt as though we needed to do our bit for our community. As heart breaking as it is to say this, the young man passed away a short amount of time after the event. I couldn't believe it and I was absolutely devastated when I found out, because even though I didn't know the man personally, myself and so many others within the local county had hoped for a miracle, as we had all managed to pull together and raise enough money for his treatment. Life is very cruel and sometimes even the effort of thousands of people isn't enough to save someone, but it certainly is an experience that I shall never forget.
The second event that I went to was one in Clacton. For those of you who don't know, I live in the South-East of England, in a county just outside of London, so Clacton is about 1 hour to 1 hour and a half away from me in the car. I'd actually never been before, but I'd secretly always wanted to go, so I was overjoyed at the fact that my friend invited me and to go to a charity event whilst we were there. In my opinion, it couldn't really get much better than that. As someone who struggles with anxiety on a regular basis, it can be very difficult for me to step out of my comfort zone and go to places that I wouldn't normally go to. I get scared when I'm not used to a certain place and then it causes my brain to go into overdrive, thinking of all of the possible things that could go wrong or all of the unpleasant, scary situations that I could find myself in, whilst so far away from home. This time, it was an event that was held for a little 5 year old girl, who had cerebal palsy and who needed financial support for a variety of different reasons, in order to make her life better and more comfortable for her as she grows up and gets older. The main attraction was a football match, which included some celebrities and professional footballers, as they played to raise money for her. As I've mentioned briefly, I went with one of my best friends, because her birthday was the day before and she was allowed to bring someone along with her for the day, so she chose me, which I didn't expect at all!
Although there wasn't really that much to do there, as the main focus was on the football match, I did really enjoy it none-the-less and the important thing was that we were showing the little girl and her family that we had a heart and that we cared, so that was really what we went there for. Afterwards, we went to the pier and we went on some rides and despite the fact I was nearly sick afterwards (I've decided that heights and rides shouldn't be something that I go on quite so often..), I'm really proud of myself that I managed to get out and even enjoy myself whilst I was at it. You shouldn't ever turn down opportunities, because you never know what they could lead to and 9 times out of 10, you end up feeling really good and satisfied afterwards, even if you do have a little blip whilst you're there, because it's always 110% worth it, regardless! Well, it is in my experience at least!
As well as going to both of those charity events with my friends, I also have some other day plans that I hope to sort out during the summer holidays. I have already been to Camden for the day with my mum and stepdad, which was also something that I had been wanting to do for ages, but yet again, anxiety is partly to blame for the fact that I put it off for as long as I did. I really did enjoy my day and even though I did get anxious and I did also get lost, it was still 110% worth it, because I did it and I had a laugh. So, all I can say is screw you anxiety! You will not beat me and ruin my life. Not now, not ever.
Another thing that I hope to do soon is to throw a garden picnic with my best friends. After seeing Zoella's video and blog post relating to her DIY picnic idea, I decided that it was something that I wanted to get involved in too and once mentioning the idea to some of my best girl friends, they agreed that it sounded like it would be a lot of fun! We're all planning on having flower crowns, making our own ice lollies, decorating the garden with candles and tea lights and fairy lights and blankets! I want to bake them some treats from Tanya Bakes too! We all got super excited just by thinking about it, so if and when it happens, I'm definitely going to be blogging about it and including lots of cute, tumblr inspired pictures! Spending time with your loved ones is so important, especially when you're growing up, because you can become so consumed by school that you forget who the most important people are and trust me, you never want to do that! Summer is the perfect time for you to all have some fun and make the most of the freedom that you have got while it lasts. Don't let your anxiety or fears stand in your way! Face those fears and make this summer the best by doing your bit in regards to GOMO. I think that we should all be trying to wipe out FOMO.. What do you reckon?!
If you're interested in checking out the Eventbrite website, then you can do so here and find out all of the relevant information that you need to make this summer the best yet! Maybe you can even create an event of your own! The choice is yours!
Share some of your plans for the next few months in the comments below! Why don't you do your own blog post all about GOMO? You would be mad not to!
Lots of love always,
Jade xo 

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