Walk Beside Me

[saramkdaly]

Toronto Zoo

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven’t posted in awhile, I’ve been super busy.

I do have some pretty cute pictures to share with you guys though because I went to the zoo today!

In saying this, I would like to share some of my favourites with you!

Now, for this first picture, you might need to look very close. It might seem as though there is nothing there, but I assure you, there is something hiding in plain sight...

Have you figured it out yet? If so, congrats! If not, thats okay. Its a tricky one. The animal hiding in this photo is actually a... HIPPO!

Here is the hippo after coming back up the the surface. Fun fact - we actually waited a little over five minutes to get this picture. The hippo went under water as soon as we walked over, so we decided to wait for him to come back up again. After about two minutes of waiting, we looked up how long hippos could hold their breath for. Turns out they can hold their breath for five minutes or longer. The more you know.

Some little Meerkats that I thought were absolutely adorable.

Here we have a cool little Chameleon buddy just hanging out. (Which I also think is a super cool picture).

Last, but certainly not least, Tigers. My mom’s favourite animal of all time. Fun fact #2 - her nickname is actually Tiger, thats how much she loves them. I don’t blame her, tigers are gorgeous creatures.

I wish I had more pictures to share, but it happened to be raining all day, so I didn't get too many. And some of the ones that i did take ended up being bad quality. So, apologies for that! I hope you enjoyed the ones I did take though. :)

Thank you for reading!

[saramkdaly]

Favourite Things - Then vs Now!

Hey guys!

In order to come up with an idea for my blog post today, I went through some old scrapbooks for inspiration!

Ever since my sister, Emily, and I were born, my mom has kept scrapbooks for each of us that she has filled with memories. I’m so glad she did, because they're one of the best ways to look back and reminisce. They never fail to put a smile on my face.

While flipping through the pages and sharing stories, I came across a certain page that caught my eye. This page was the “12 Things That Make Me Smile!”

Thats when the idea for this post sprang into my mind. I thought I would share  8 year old me’s list and then create the list for me now, at 18 years old, and compare them!

Now, 10 years later, here are the 12 Things That Make Me Smile.

1. My family. They’re always there for me, I would not trade them for the world.

2. My pets. I have 5 dogs. I know, its crazy. They're crazy. But I love them so much.

3. My best friend. I love her with all my heart. She never fails to make me smile.

4. YouTube. Whenever I’m feeling down, I can always watch my favourite YouTubers. YouTube is my escape from reality.

5. The Arts. Whether its music, drawing, acting, or performances, its guaranteed to make me smile.

6. Looking back at old photographs. Just like looking through my scrapbook, looking at and reliving old memories can be a boost to anyones mood. Recently I’ve been trying to make sure I take loads of pictures so that one day I can look back on them and smile.

7. Blogging. This blog has been really fun for me. During the day, I feel more attentive. I’m always looking for something interesting to share on here!

8. Making others happy/doing nice things for others. Seeing the sparkle in their eyes makes me super happy. 

9. Learning new things. I can never get enough! I always want to know more and to expand my horizon. 

10. Reading a good book. A book so good that the universe consumes you.

11. Being fortunate enough to have a roof over my head, food on the table, and a bed to sleep in at night.

12. Long drives. Recently I’ve really enjoyed long car rides. It gives me a chance to take in my surroundings and sing along to the radio.

So, there you have it! I really enjoyed making this post. It was cool to see some of the differences/similarities in myself within 10 years. I would definitely like to do more of these! I’m going to jot down some more ideas from the scrapbook and save them for a rainy day.

Thank you for reading!

[saramkdaly]

Time to Adventure!

Hey guys!

I hope you’ve had an amazing weekend!

This weekend, my family and I decided to go out and explore some of my Grandpas properties and hopefully get some photos. We climbed into our can-am’s and headed into the back fields to see what we could discover.

We were driving our usual route when my mom suggested that we go explore an abandoned house just a few fields over. Naturally, we all jumped on the offer and took off towards the house. 

On our way towards this house, we came across a different one that we didn't know existed.

Other than a mattress on the floor, some glass shards, and markings on the walls, this place was completely empty.

After thoroughly exploring all this place had to offer, we hopped back into our can-am’s and drove off.

It wasn't long before my mom realized that we were in the wrong place, hence not finding the house we were looking for.

A sudden intermission interrupted our adventure, but soon enough we were back on the right path. Literally.

After a few minutes we were in the right place. I was so excited to see what we could find! We ended up having to go in through the basement because the front porch and the side entrance porch were caved in and unsafe to walk on. As soon as we got in the house, it had the creepiest vibe. The walls were covered in very vulgar graffiti and phone numbers to go along with it (most of which I will probably blur out), and there was a noose on the bathroom floor (which I certainly hope wasn't used). 

Honestly, it was the scariest place I’ve ever been in. It still was pretty cool to see, but I felt uneasy the whole time and decided to get out of there.

Next we went to a barn that was right beside the house, I found that place to be a lot more interesting. And a lot more settling.

Just outside the barn, there was a cassette radio. Which I thought was pretty cool.

Once we got inside there were some pretty awesome things just waiting to be found.

To end off our journey, we found an old Dodge truck that seemed to have crashed in the nearby forest.

After this last picture, we got back in the can-am’s and drove home!

I apologize for the very long post, there were just so many pictures that I wanted to share with you. There are still a lot more pictures, but I’ll save those for another day.

As a quick little side note I just wanted to say, I don't condone trespassing at all. All these pictures and places we explored were on my Grandfathers property, and we got permission from him to explore!

Thank you for reading! Stay safe.

[saramkdaly]

Hello, World!

I’ve decided to start a blog.

Well, technically, this is a school project. 

But, I have been wanting to explore more ways to express myself. I have so many things I want to say, but I don’t necessarily have the confidence to say them. I feel like this project is a push in the right direction for me.

For many people my age, it’s a lot easier to hide behind a screen. Some take advantage of being anonymous and use it in harmful ways, but for me, I think this will be a great place to let out some of my inner thoughts and share things I’m interested in. For others with the same interests, this can be a safe place for you to come to as well!

So, on this blog, I’m going to share my thoughts and interests, and it would be awesome if you would walk beside me on this journey.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post! It will be the first of many. I’m not exactly sure how to end this, so I will leave you with a quote. 

“You were born an original. Don't die a copy” - John Mason