Once When I Was Little

"I could dream more then. I could believe more then that the world could only get better"

When you are little you can believe whatever you want. No one has clouded your thoughts with the 'reality' or 'normality' of life. I think that this is when we are completely ourselves. I think it's sad that we believe that our dreams could come true only when we are young. If only we could grow up with belief in those dreams then maybe the world would be a different, magical place.

"We could build a rocket, fly to the moon. Leave Tuesday morning, be back for noon. And there wasn't nothing, nothing that we couldn't do" 

James Morrison portrays this so beautifully in his song 'Once When I Was Little'. If you haven't heard this song have a listen, hopefully it will bring you back to your childhood dreams like it did for me. And if you are young and still believe in your dreams, then hold onto that for as long as you can because truth is, we all grow up too fast.

- Nicole Marie Ranz

Insomnia.

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Sleep is one of the most wonderful things we do as human beings. When we are asleep we are in a state of calm, where no one and nothing can hurt us. We are just there, comfortably lying still for hours letting our body rejuvenate. But now I begin to wonder, why is sleep such a struggle if it is so good for you? Just like why do we struggle to exercise regularly if it's so good for us?

Lack of sleep can be enough to singlehandedly make a person go crazy. And I am saying this, lying in bed at 2.13 am trying desperately to go to sleep. Me writing this shows how much I am failing while simultaneously going insane.

To some degree I think everyone will experience some form of insomnia in their lifetime and the question is, what causes our insomnia?

Personally, I go through spouts of insomnia. I have a few good weeks of going to bed with no problem whatsoever. That then moves onto not being able to sleep without reading a book for half an hour before hand. This then evolves to being unable to sleep even with hours of reading. This is the stage I am in right now.

But why does this happen?
There is an endless list of possibilities.
For me, it's probably my anxiety.
For others, it could be something as simple as drinking too much caffeine too close to bed.

Yet here I am, 2.17 am, lying in my bed with my laptop and a grumbling stomach trying pass time until the sweet escape of sleep takes over me.

You know what they say, 'Sleep is like a time machine to breakfast'.

- Nicole Marie Ranz

The Great Ocean Road; Victoria

I'm sure most Australians have heard of the Great Ocean Road but if you haven't, it's basically a long road that follows the coast of Victoria (for the most part). Recently, I went on a family adventure along this road and was amazed at the whole experience - both in a positive and negative way.

Let's start with the positives.
The atmosphere around the whole road was an amazing experience and something that I will remember forever. Most of the towns that you will stop off at are quiet and small, creating a much different feel than the city life I am used to.

The view was beautiful. There is no doubt about that. Australia is known for it's beaches and these definitely did not disappoint. It is a once in a lifetime experience to see these views and I 100% recommend. I will, however, point out that if you have driven down Highway 1 in California then this won't be all that different.