Ok, so maybe I failed...

Maybe also might be an understatement.

When I started this month, I had no idea what a crazy month it was going to be. Obviously, I knew that the commitment of blogging every day was going to be a difficult one but I figured I could manage. I was wrong.

But you know what? That's ok. A little bit of failure never hurt anyone. That's something that I've learned a lot this year. When I was younger I was always so focused on being perfect. I needed to get the best grades and be the best at everything I attempted. But it wasn't until I relaxed a little when I started college that I realised, I don't need to be perfect. I can just be me.

Yes, I've made mistakes this year, but I've learned from them. Hell, I've probably made mistakes since I woke up. But the important thing is that I've realised, that's ok. Yes, I failed a module in college last year, but I passed by compensation and had the most amazing time in a musical making amazing friends. Now I'm just even more committed to getting better grades this year. Yes, I failed BEDA but the posts that I did make were always responded to by my friends and I loved them for it.

I'm not going to be afraid to try things, just because I might fail. Sometimes, failing is half the fun.

Until next time,

Love

Shauna

<3

Darren Criss and my future.

Before you jump to conclusions, I promise I'm not being a creepy fangirl who insists that Darren will marry me or something. I'm just watching a livestream of his concert in Chicago right now and he's very distracting when I'm trying to blog. That's why he makes it into the title.

Continuing on from earlier, it's weird. I feel at the moment that I'm at some kind of crossroads in my life. To say this summer has been lifechanging is an understatement. It doesn't seem like a big deal but I conquered so many fears this summer, from heights when I went on a high beams course with my college friends, to flying on my own across the atlantic and even surviving flying through a thunder/lightening storm on my way home (although this is definitely not something I would like to repeat. Ever.). When I hear about my friends all moving out and starting college, it reminds me of how scared I was about all of those things last year. Now, I haven't actually moved out but starting college was really scary for me. I was petrified. But so many things that have scared me, have turned out to become the most amazing opportunities. I guess I just feel that I don't have to be as scared anymore. I can do whatever I set my mind to, and that's an amazing feeling.

Now I don't know how many of you have been paying attention to the LeakyCon social networks in general but to me, it seems like they're hinting for something big. Whatever happens, I'm getting myself to America next year. It would just be even more amazing if I could do it with LeakyCon involved too. And I know I can move out next year and live in a different country. Yes, it's scary, but sometimes we all need to do things that scare us. They can turn out to be the best things we've ever done.

Until tomorrow,

Love,

Shauna

<3

I need to remember things...

Like BEDA. BEDA is important.

So today will be another two posts day. This one is catching you up on yesterday and tonight I'll catch you up on today!

So yesterday I went babysitting for four kids that I used to mind earlier in the summer. That was actually really nice. They're really adorable and I was happy to get to see them again!

After that I came home and Mum had decided that we were cleaning out our attic room. This proved to be much more traumatic than I would have thought. Then again, it reminded me of just how much stuff we have that we think is SO important but when it comes down to it, it's just taking up space. Don't tell Mum, but I'm pretty sure in the next few weeks I'm going to start clearing a whole bunch of junk from my room.I attempted this at the start of the summer but now, now I feel a NEED to do it. A lot of my American friends are all packing up and getting ready to leave for college and it's kind of inspiring me to figure out what I own that's important to me. I DEFINITELY have too much stuff. Definitely.

Yesterday evening, I went to the cinema with two of my friends. We went to see Super 8. Now, before this movie, I had seen nothing. I knew nothing. No trailer, no reviews, no summary. It was actually a really different experience, heading into a movie with absolutely no expectations. Now, the movie was good. LOTS of jumpy moments, I am not a fan of those. But I did enjoy the movie by the end. It was really well done and the main character was adorable and I really loved the plotline. Just maybe, less jumpy things. That's my only criticism.

And so I will leave you because I must go to work. I shall return later to update you on today (even though there is no guarantee for how interesting that day might be...).

ALSO, I really love reading the comments that Madeleine and Kelly are leaving. I'm guessing there's no way to directly reply to them? I am tempted to start a replying to comments section at the end of these posts... Thoughts?

Until later,

Love,

Shauna

<3

Fandom Power.

So after my trip to America last month, I thought that the Harry Potter fandom was literally the most amazing thing I had ever experienced. Until my trip I had never been able to experience something with so much power.

Now nothing will ever come close to what LeakyCon meant to me, but tonight I was shown that there are other fandoms that I am a part of that can do just as amazing things. Many people look at the Glee fandom as a pretty cutthroat place. Ships wars, bashing each other, I knew Darren before he did Glee, the usual. But tonight, in the name of Darren Criss, Starkids and Gleeks put aside differences and became Darrenkids.

And we raised over $8,000.

The OT4 (Andie, Brad, Colfer and Murphy) stayed up for a 24 hour ustream during which an auction was held and dances were danced, slushies were made and thrown, an album was released, sleep deprivation became the norm, puppet shows were performed and we all discovered Brad's beautiful voice. Now I did not spend the entire 24 hours on the stream but I did spend quite a few there and I also donated two songs to the album and some money to the project. Those hours showed me that no matter what the fandom, people are good and people can band together in the name of good.

Even though it sounds silly, things like this gives me hope for what our generation can achieve. At LeakyCon we raised over $120,00 in the name of Harry Potter to benefit the HPA. Tonight we raised over $8,000 in the name of Darren Criss to benefit the Trevor Project. I am so proud to be part of fandoms like this. This is why I am proud to be a nerd.

Until tomorrow,

Love,

Shauna

<3

Part Two!

And so today's blogging continues just so that I can feel accomplished at the end of the month. It will be done.

So today was actually lovely. My two little cousins came up to visit today and I got to spend the day hanging out with them and I took them to my work (which is a children's museum). Apparently I'm a super cool cousin now. This makes me happy.

It's nice though. I don't get to spend nearly enough time with my cousins. Some of them live in different countries and some of them in different parts of Ireland but all of them live just that little bit further than I'd like. I'm not sure how it works in most families, but in mine the cousins are all very close. When I get days like today to just hang around with the kids and play and just be silly and have fun, those are the best days I could ask for.

There's a lot of things going on in the life of Shauna right now, many of them I can't share with the general interwebz, but it's days like today that remind me of the better things in life. If I can make my little cousins day by climbing through a climbing frame with her, then I will climb through a million of them. Being six for a few hours can really make you think.

Until tomorrow,

Love,

Shauna

<3

Ooops

So seeing as I failed terribly yesterday I shall possibly write two blog posts today. I hope everyone is ok with this. Well, all three of you should be :P

So this blog will be a round up of yesterday methinks. Yesterday was really nice because Kathy had stayed over the night before and I love having her around. Even if I crush her arm in my sleep. Sorry about that... But yes, so breakfast with Kathy during which we had both cereal and cookies and then I walked Kathy to the Luas whilst we filmed a little bit of my neighbourhood for my first video as part of the follwthebutterflies collab channel!

The collab channel is something I'm really excited about. It really upsets me that I can't see my amazing LeakyGirls without an ocean getting in the way so this collab channel is the next best thing to getting to hang out with them on an almost daily basis. They're such a lovely bunch of girls and I really think that this project is going to be SUPER awesome even though we are all crazy busy what with college and all of us doing either BEDA or VEDA. All part of the fun, right?

Once I got home I went out shopping with my Mum and my youngest sister and we went to my favourite café for lunch which made me extra happy. Then home to film and then Skyping with Kathy and Emily. Emily is one of my best friends even though I've never actually met her. She lives over in NY and I am so glad to have met her through Tumblr. She had a headache so I attempted to sing her better. I'll let you know how that went...

All in all, yesterday reminded me of the power of the internet for good. Not only have I seen things like #OperationCupOfTea, I've made the most amazing friends and can keep in touch with these amazing friends, all because of some very useful wires. The internet can be a dangerous place, but it can also be an amazing one. For example, tonight Darren Criss fans are beginning a 24 hour livestream in order to raise money for charity in Darren's name. I am so proud to be a part of that and if anyone want to check it out i suggest going here: http://darrenfanscharityrockout.tumblr.com/

Until later,

Love,

Shauna

<3

Kathy is amazing.

Sooo again, I'm definitely pushing the deadline on this one but TECHNICALLY I haven't gone to sleep yet and so, it is still today. Even if I'm 11 minutes late. I will not fail. It's still yesterday in at least half of the world. Deal with it.

So today, I was home from London for less than 24 hours and had to dash off to work. Did not want. But I went. And we did a Musical Theatre workshop based on Beauty and the Beast so it was a pretty awesome day. That and I got the job of cleaning the giant climbing frame. Like I saud, good day.

Then once my work day was over I walked to the Luas stop (The Luas is a tram for anyone who doesn't know) and met KATHY. Kathy is my favourite person in the whole world and she is currently lying on my bed reading Mockingjay as I type this. She will also read this later. Hi Kath.

Our evening was full of food and attempting to teach Kathy strumming patterns on the guitar. Unfortunately it turns out that I am a terrible guitar teacher. Oh well. We're getting there. I then introduced her to my fabulous new unicorn Rainbow and after a bit of Tumblring I remembered BEDA and here we are!

The only bad thing about today is gearing about the riots going on right now. After just coming home from the most amazing weekend in London where everyone we met was so nice and we spent the whole time talking about how pretty London is and what a great city it is, it's sad to see that a minority of violently minded people can cause such havoc in a city that so many people call home.

I'll keep hoping that tomorrow will be better.

In happier news, tomorrow is the day when I will make my debut in follwthebutterflies on YouTube. This is SUPER exciting to me because now that the channel is starting, I get to see my LeakyGirls every day! And that is yet another reason why today is awesome.

Until tomorrow,

Love,

Shauna

<3

Last Day in London.

The pathetic fallacy right now is ridiculous. It is pouring rain outside and the grey, waterlogged streets completely reflect my feelings on having to leave London.

It's been an amazing trip. This morning started out like the others, breakfast at half nine and then we prepared to leave for the day. Because it was Sunday we headed off to mass. Unfortunately Mum got the idea in her head that she wanted to go to a Latin Mass today. Now, don't get me wrong, I actually really liked the singing by the choir, it was beautiful and I do think that the solemn celebrations add to the importance of the whole thing, but we weren't exactly prepared for the length of the thing. Seriously, there's only so much kneeling and standing in a different language that one can handle. Still, it was an experience and I'm glad that I went.

After our Latin adventure, we made our way a little further down the road to Harrods, the giant, luxury department store in Knightsbridge. Harrods is always an interesting place to be, even when you don't buy anything. My favourite part came just as we were taking the escalators downstairs. Thinking that the opera music playing in the background was lovely, I was humming along to it under my breath. It was only when my parents turned to me and told me to look up that I realised that the singing was actually coming from a woman perched on a balcony overlooking the escalators. Wouldn't that be a fabulous job?!

Once we left we stopped at a cafe for a little bit of lunch/cakes and by the time we were done, the rain had hit. We dashed across the road into one of the cute London taxis and arrived a little damp at our hotel.

Now, we're just waiting for our taxi to arrive and take us to the airport. We have a tiny bit of downtime so we're just hanging about the lounge and I thought, what better time to do BEDA today? I have lots of exciting things to get working on at home but I'm still not thrilled about going back. One good thing is that Kathy is coming over tomorrow after work and Orla, who has been adventuring off in Canada for the summer, will arrive home tomorrow too. That's the good thing about August, no matter where everyone has been off adventuring for the summer, they all have to come home at some point.

Until tomorrow,

Love,

Shauna

<3

Legally Blonde is TOTLLY AWESOME!

Ok so this blog post comes to you whilst I am still on a complete high from Leagally Blonde The Musical so forgive me if I'm rambly or make absolutely no sense. That's always a great start to a blog post...

Ok, so London day two got off to an early start with breakfast at 9.30 and then off to adventure the streets of London. We made our way to Hamleys first, which you may or may not know, is the largest toy shop in the world. Or at least it definitely was. Either way, it's the best. During my hour and a half there I fell in love with a little unicorn called Rainbow and I also found the Harry Potter section and found the most amazing movie artefacts collection boxes. Unfortunately I was only able to buy one but regardless, I am SUPER excited. I'll detail it more on my return.

After Hamleys my family and I went across the road to the Apple Store which was intensely cool. I'd never been in one before and they really are cool places to shop. I approved. After that we parted ways and my sister Kayela and I started on our London clothes shopping. Many pounds later we met up with Mum and went back to the hotel.

Five pm we left the hotel again for a trip to the West End. Gosh, I love that place. The whole area just screams musicals and I love the bustle of it all. One day, I will be there. Trust me. We had dinner at a delicious Italian restraunt outside the tube station and then headed down the street to the Savoy Theatre. We knew we'd found the right place thanks to the giant sparkly signs outside and I think Dad paled a little when he realised what he might have gotten himself into...

Still, even he agreed that the musical was fabulous. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it but it is HILARIOUS and there are many jokes about Ireland that my family and I were laughing especially hard at. For those of you who've seen it, the dance number near the end with Paulette and the UPS guy?I was literally crying with laughter. Seriously, I would really really recommend this musical to anyone who has seen the movie, or even if you haven't (although if you haven't, where have you been? Under a rock?) it's definitely worth the ticket.

Tomorrow we'll get up and go to Harrods and then to mass. After that, who knows! We've to leave for the airport at 5pm which is sad. I wish I could stay longer. Still, this trip has been amazing and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I had almost forgotten how much I loved London after getting so caught up in the whirlwind that is America, but this trip has definitely reminded me that there are amazing places close to home too and plenty of adventures to be had there too.

Until tomorrow,

Love,

Shauna

<3

London Baby!

And so I continue BEDA with a post direct to you from the fabulous city of London!

So let me tell you all about today. First I woke up at 4.15 after only falling asleep about 1 to get to the airport on time. No regrets. Then we very groggily made our way to the airplane and off we went to London. It was at this point that I realised that after flying through a thunder and lightening storm on my way home from America that I am much less scared of flying thatn I used to be. I'm going to take this as a positive.

Once we arrived in London we hopped in a taxi (I'd forgotten how cute London taxi's are) and got to our hotel. The room that my sisters and I are staying in wasn't ready yet so we left all of our things in my parent's room and set off for the London Eye.

Now my Dad and I are not a fan of heights or enclosed spaces so we decided to sit this one out. We dropped the girls at the giant wheel and headed for some McDonalds. Before you say it, it's NEVER too early for McDonalds chips. Deal with it. While we were walking along I thought I was seeing things when I spotter a guy walking along in a Gryffindor robe. Naturally, wearing my Gryffindor cardigan. I was intrigued. It turns out that the Museum of Film is right beside the London Eye and they had a Harry Potter section there. IMAGINE. It was super. Dad and I made friends with one of the ticket sellers and promised to bring the whole family back once they were finished on the wheel.

True to our word, we arrived back about 40 mins later and we went into the museum. This was actually a REALLY good place to be, and not just because I love any place that has to do with Harry Potter. The exhibits were all really interesting and I even found the Tardis and some Daleks in there too. I think the best part was the exhibition on Charlie Chaplin which included some of his films which are actually really funny. I'd never actually seen a proper Charlie Chaplin film before and I was pleasantly surprised!

After that we headed to McDonalds (again, I know. I had neglected to tell Mum that we'd already been for fear of being reprimanded for eating chips so early. Therefore I got to eat chips again. No regrets.). Next we headed on the tube to the Tower of London which was actually really interesting. We went on the guided tour given by one of the Yeomen or "Beefeaters" and he was hilariously entertaining. We got all of the grisly details and I actually learned a lot. We also stopped in to see the Crown Jewels which are AMAZING. Then, exhausted, we made our way back to the hotel where we discovered our ENORMOUS room and I made my way to le free computer/internet in order to keep BEDA going.

Tomorrow should involve shopping and also a trip to the West End (Legally Blonde - SO. Excited.) and apart from that, we have no huge plans. I've heard that there's a Doctor Who experience somewhere around and if I can convince the family to go then I will be ECSTATIC.

But for now I must go and attempt to rest before we leave again for dinner.

Until tomorrow,

Love,

Shauna

<3

It's too hot.

I'm aware that I live in a rather cold place. I'm aware that I've experienced much more heat and humidity than what I'm currently experiencing but right now, that doesn't matter. It's too hot and Hank Green's song of that nature is running over and over in my head.

But yes, Dad's birthday went really well yesterday. And by really well I mean that I ate waaay too much food and chatted with my relatives. It was nice. I'm not sure how Dad is feeling about being 50. In some ways I think he's still a little bit in denial but that's what I love about him, he's never really going to grow up. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I also finally unpacked the end of my suitcase today. It was sad. I disliked taking all my memories out of it and it put such a feeling of ending on my whole American experience that I really detested doing it. Although I suppose in a way it makes me more determined to go back. Come next summer I plan to leave Ireland and go on a bit of an adventure to America and then stay there for college the next year. It's a plan I've had for quite a while now and assuming I manage to save the money and get the grades, I can see it happening.

It's strange to think of me having adventures. When I was younger, I was very shy, very inward. I was sick for a few years and I think that made me a quieter person simply through lack of energy. But ever since I got involved with internet fandoms such as Nerdfighteria and Tumblr not to mention the immeasurable Potterheads floating around the interwebz, I have managed to become a little more of the person I've wanted to be. I'm louder, I write music and people listen to it, I've tried fanfic (and pretty much failed but I tried), I've made amazing friends and I made my way alone across the Atlantic to meet some of the best people in the world and found the first place outside of my bedroom where I could be completely myself. That is something I can never explain.

Why do I end up getting so muchy in these posts? Seriously, I am not a mushy person, I promise. It's just that the internet makes me thankful and is full of such awesome people that I have to express my love to as many of you as I can. In the spirit of Esther, I love you.

Until tomorrow (when I will be in LONDON),

Love,

Shauna

<3

Horse Shows and Birthday Fun.

So currently my legs feel like they're going to fall off but it was all for a good cause, The RDS Dublin Horse Show.

Now every year the horse show is a big deal in my family. I have many the horse-centric aunt and uncle and even my youngest sister has been bitten by the bug. Even though I barely ride anymore, the Horse Show is a staple to every summer and this August was no exception.

This year was even better as my friend Orla was attending the show for the very first time. I had so much fun showing her around and catching up with her. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to convince her to come again. Wednesdays are not the most exciting days of the show, those are found further on in the week, but seeing as my family and I are heading to London this weekend, we all headed off today.

It's lovely getting to the show. You see a lot of people you know and not to mention the beautiful horses everywhere. The jumping is always my favourite and today's Speed Trials were the highlight for me. We also got to watch some Ukranian Cossacks doing crazy horse stunts as well as checking out some classes for Connemara Ponies which I find particularly adorable.

So this evening, partly because we've family from all over the country up for the show and partly because my dad turned 50 today, we're having a party in my house this evening. There'll be extended family and we have balloons and cakes and all the nice things that parties entail. I am super excited and I'll be sure to report back about it tomorrow!

Until then,

Love,

Shauna

<3

Current Song: Days of Summer ~ Starkid (Yes, PPD is hitting me hard.)

Current Book: Dear Mr. Potter (This book simultaneously makes me laugh and cry) and Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (I am very impressed. Only one quarter to go!)

Yorkie bars eaten this month: 1

Day Two and I'm already behind...

I mean really, how hard is it to remember to write once a day? I worry about me sometimes...

I'm going to assume that this counts because somewhere in the world it is still Tuesday and so I feel better.

Today was nice. I was completely exhausted cleaning out my aunt's apartment for her but the good thing was that I got to spend the few hours with my friend Christina. We hadn't had a chance to spend a decent amount of time together for a while so even though we were tired and disliked cleaning, we made it fun.

After that it was a rush home to quickly change and head out to my friend Katie's where I sat around with a bunch of my school friends and ate way too much food and watched a very good movie with Sandra Bullock. That one where she's a lawyer and Hugh Grant is the billionaire? It's brilliant.

The best bit about today though was that spending time with people I've known for so long reminds me of what good friends I do have and how easy it is to spend time with them. It makes me so happy to know that I have friends who've seen me through my awkward teenage phases and are still willing to stick around even after I spent a year singing Wicked songs at them. For some of them, that takes a lot of love and I'm glad that they have it.

Of course then there's my new friends. It's amazing how, when you get older, you can find people and just instantly click with them. This definitely happened for me most obviously at college and at LeakyCon. These friends are also the kind of people who completely get me, even when I'm not fully sure who I might be. When I met the college girls, we just gelled together straight away. I worry to think how different my college experience might have been had I not found them. And the same goes for my LeakyGirls. LeakyCon just wouldn't have been the same without them. My entire experience would have been different and I wonder if I would have had as much fun. Although, it would be pretty impossible to not have fun at LeakyCon. Still, I maintain that those girls were the best part of the entire conference, just like the college people are the best thing about college and my school friends are the best thing about school.

Experiences are made better by people. I'm just so lucky to have met so many amazing people in my life. Here's to meeting lots more!

Until tomorrow,

Love,

Shauna

<3

And so it is August...

You know what that means.

I'm pretty sure that I won't make it through this month.I will certainly attempt it with every fibre of my being though and I have some SUPER people keeping me company (you know who you lovely people are) and I fully expect them to kick me in the shins lest I fail at this task.

And so August hits. I was at work today which was exhausting but fun.I've just finished three full days and as wimpy as it sounds, I'm wrecked. Tomorrow I'll be getting up early to clean in anticipation of my mother coming home. The house always has to be spotless for her arrival. It's the law.

It's been weird this summer, not having my family around. I suppose that's all part of growing up. I'm not sure I like it. Yes, it's lovely to have freedom and independence and not have so many rules, but my house feels empty. Even when there's one or two family members dropping by, it's not the same as when the house is full. Everyone's coming home tomorrow though, which makes me happy. It's Dad's birthday on Wednesday (note to self: buy present...) and then on Friday we adventure off to London!

I am SO excited for London. We're going to go to the Tower of London and see Legally Blonde and do other London-y things. Maybe I'll stop off at King's Cross. I have a huge attachment to that place now. To be honest, I have a huge attachment to anything Potter related at the moment. Post Potter Depression is hitting hard. Maybe a trip to the train station will ward off the homesickness for a little while.

And now I'll end this ridiculously rambly and nonsensical post. I do plan to actually talk about interesting things but for now, I'm running on far too little sleep and I need to collapse into bed. Proper blog posts will arrive in due course.

Until then,

Love,

Shauna

<3

Bigger Commitment Issues Than I Thought

Honestly, I really fail it this blogging experience. I always try to start this, again and again, but to no avail. Still, I'm determined. I'm a new person now and I plan to keep it that way!

My main incentive for this reincarnation is to both document LeakyCon 2o11 and also to keep in touch with the amazing people I met there. If you by any chance happen across this otherwise, Hello and welcome! I'm not as mad as I appear. I'm madder.

It's currently midnight and I'm still attempting to fight off Leakyflu so this will be a brief post, but I felt it was best to ease myself in and get used to writing more often. Come tomorrow the real documenting experience begins...

Until then,

Love

Shauna

xxx