This blog is Najwa’s personal writing, recommendations, analysis, trope discussions, opinions, stories, reviews on books, music, TV shows and movies.

Thursday, 29 February 2024

Taylor Swift Eras Tour Sydney

Where do I even begin? I have been a fan of Taylor Swift since reputation and when she announced she was coming to Australia, I was ecstatic. I managed to survive the Great War in the first general sale in June. I was really lucky and I was so grateful that I managed to get two tickets, one for me and one for my mum. She played four back to back shows, from Friday to Monday, and I got the best day, which was the second night, Saturday, at Accor Stadium in Sydney (it was also the first one to be sold out). I can not believe I got to go to the Eras Tour, dressed in the Lover Era and my mum was dressed in the Red Era.

Sydney Olympic Park was really ready for Taylor's arrival and everywhere you went, you could either see some swifties or some posters of tay herself. I forced my parents to arrive really early because I knew the place would get packed really fast. My dad dropped us off and we immediately got in line for merch. It took us a solid hour to just get to the front and they had already sold out of many small sizes. I ended up getting the navy crewneck in a size M (because they had run out of size S). Because we had a lot of time to kill, me and my mum hopped into another merch line and had to wait ANOTHER hour before we made it to the front. This time, they had more size S's and I got the white tour t shirt. 

We had about two hours before doors opened so we found a shady spot and ate some lunch. Coincidentally, Blink 182 also had a show in the arena next to us (Qudos Bank Arena) and I knew my best friend was watching the show so I actually met up with her as she got her merch (spoiler: it did not take her an hour). We also heard the opening act, Sabrina Carpenter soundchecking Feather! 

When the doors opened, we found our seats and I was actually surprised how close we were. I managed to get C Reserve so we were in the stands but we were Row 19 so it wasn't that bad. Then Sabrina started her performance and I love her. There was only a handful of girls standing, I was one of them and the outro was killer, iykyk. 

Then of course, after another wait, the countdown came on and then when Taylor came on, I was screaming so loud. I remember every detail of the past shows I have been to but I kid you not, I really have to focus hard to remember that night. I would film the start and the bridges of songs (while singing) and then turn my phone off in the middle so I could just sing and be in the moment.

My surprise songs were: Should've Said No x You're Not Sorry (guitar) and New Years Day x Peace (piano) and when she started to mash up Peace with New Years Day, I felt my soul LEAVE MY BODY. I can't even begin to express how much those two songs killed me and I'm glad she finally got to hear all the Aussie says 'naur'. 

This is a video of New Years Day x Peace and if you listen closely, you can hear me losing it:


I can't even rate this experience. You just have to know, it was the coolest one ever and I'll probably remember it forever. I only got about 90% of my voice back TODAY.

To everyone who went, I hope you all had a nice nap and the post concert depression doesn't hit that hard for you after.

Saturday, 20 January 2024

A rant from a writer

Hello,

I thought I would come on here to give you some exclusive looks on how my book is going. I'm nearly at the finish line but I haven't hammered down a release date yet as I haven't sorted out the next stages after the editing progress but we are getting very close on my end :) 

To describe what my days have been lately, I've been working in the mornings, trying to aim for 1000 words everyday (writers count in words not pages). The skeleton of the book is complete and I've been focusing on ironing the details, making sure there are no plot holes, which is why there is a lower word count. I work for a solid three hours before I have lunch and the majority of the word count would have been completed in this time. In the afternoons, I either continue to edit (while watching a few shows because I am also a teenager guys) or if I've done a considerable amount of work in the week, I just clock off entirely. Sometimes I do pick it back up in the night. I've learnt that I gain the most inspiration at night and my words always flow the best so its a great way to end the day. 

Writer's block is a big issue that a lot of people face and it has been an obstacle for me. On days where I feel that I'm not flowing as well, I will do 20 minutes of solid work and then 5 minutes of just scrolling through my phone. Its a nice reward and when I start to write, I always feel more refreshed and it just works better. This doesn't mean you get to spend however many hours you want on your phone, I only stick to five just to stop my brain concentrating so much. Or I just grab a snack. I would read a book, except that I know I wouldn't want to stop reading and then I wouldn't write. If my mind is in a better place then I'll keep writing but if I'm continuing to struggle, its nice to take a longer break. The world won't end if you don't get your daily word goal, it just means you work harder the next few days. But I would like any writer to know that everyone goes through writer's block and it really helps to just take a break and think about something else. You might get inspiration from someplace else!

Speaking of shows, I've really been getting into Drive To Survive on Netflix and I've gone into an F1 deep dive. I definitely recommend the show, just be aware that a lot of the rivalries they try to portray aren't all true and you should go watch interviews of them on YouTube and I assure you there is NO tension whatsoever between the drivers. And I've learnt the rules very quickly but don't ask me to list every world champion because I'm not that deep into it.

I was trying to give you insight on my day but that did turn into a rant. If you did make it to the end, thanks for reading and be on the lookout as I post more updates!

Sunday, 7 January 2024

Sunday, 31 December 2023

New Years Resolutions for 2024

Well 2023 is nearly over and 2024 is nearly upon us. I've gained a lot of new experiences, achieved some goals and made some new friends this year. With the New Year, resolutions are always at the forefront of our minds. We always plan to achieve some goals, whether they be professionally, academically or just small things to strive for. By the end of the year, most of us may have accomplished a few, may have forgotten about a few or just thrown out the list altogether. Here are some of my New Year Resolutions:

  • Publish My Solo Book
If you've continued to read my blog for the past few years, I have shared a few tidbits of me writing my solo book. I am still writing this book but its nearly finished. I hope to publish it in 2024 and you'll be the first to know of a release date or a preorder date. The process has been very long and I've been working very hard to get it into your hands.
  • Goodreads
I have been noticing a few of my favourite people to watch on social media, mainly BookTubers, have been participating in the Goodreads Wrapped, which is basically Spotify Wrapped but for Goodreads. I do have a Goodreads account but I never really updated it. I essentially only have a list of books I want to read that is not organised and consists of mostly Tiktok recs. Next year, I want to actually utilize Goodreads and maybe even review a few books on there, we'll see how we go :)
  • Senior Year
I'm heading into my first year of senior year which means I'm in the big leagues now. What I do academically this year truly will have an impact on my future. All along, I have just been studying the night before and I want to try and start studying a few weeks before to better prepare me. I do say this every year so we'll see if I actually stick to this or not. 

  • Start Writing More
I want to start using the tools I have around me and start developing more stories. This blog has been a very fun, recreational activity but I want to try and write some more although that may be hard when I'm balancing senior year as well.

  • Stop Caring About My Reputation
As any teenage girl living in this modern society, our reputation holds a very important part of our lives. Who we are seen with, who we associate with and especially what we seem to be to other people. Everyone has a very different version of themselves they present to certain people and while that will never go away - intertwined into our very core as a human being - I suppose I want to stop caring what other people think of me so much. A lot of people dropped out this year, leaving us with a smaller group of students. Most of which I will never see again. This is definitely the year to start trying.
  • DRIVE
This isn't so much of a resolution but a goddamn fact. I am the youngest out of all my friends (yes, ALL of my friends) so they all have their license and I can't even legally take the test to get mine. The element of surprise is also ruined because I am so desperate to have it that they would all expect me to get it as soon as my birthday is over. Some of my friends have had birthdays passed and they haven't taken the test so fingers crossed, there is a 1% that I may get it before them. 

This is literally all I have for my New Years Resolution. I always only do a few anyways so I don't feel like I'm restricted because I HAVE to accomplish these. Maybe that's what should be on my New Years Resolutions next year. Have more resolutions...