Why we should remove toxic people from our lives

Why should we remove toxic people from our lives? 

The word 'toxic' says it all. Toxic kills. 

We have different phases in our lives and throughout these phases, we meet new people. Sometimes these simple acquaintances develop into friendship or if you're lucky enough; a relationship. But not everything has a happy ending to it. We all have a group of friends we hang out with or even if it's just a friend. We meet in school or work, we laugh over lunch, we chill out after school/work and sometimes, we have the best times of our lives with these people. However, as they always say; time will tell. 

I, too, had my fair share of episodes. I've learned so much from all that was thrown at me and what I had to single-handedly and independently take in. At the beginning, I was afraid. I was so afraid of making mistakes, making wrong remarks, pulling off the wrong impression. I was afraid to be wrong. For a long period of time, I was living in someone else's shadow. I was always trying to be the best I can towards everyone I meet or with anyone I hung out with. I was 'the other friend' for most of my teenage life. 

You see, when you're living the life of the shadow for so long, sometimes you won't even notice how obnoxious some people can be, just because you feel that it's better to laugh it off and be neutral. You won't realise the people who you thought was good for you, go behind your back and try to take you down. Because you think that being the "bigger person" will make you "cool" to be with. The truth is, you're only the bigger person when you start stepping up. You're only the bigger person when you start realising that you are your own hero. And when that happens, you will naturally start removing these toxic people from your life. 

Toxic people are like drugs. You consume them because it feels good. Then they consume you because they have the higher power when your mind is under their control. They can do whatever they want and you'll still not revolt because you think that you have to do what they tell you to so you can be the "perfect person". 

Well, has anyone told you that drugs are the best things for you on this freakin' planet? 

My point exactly. 

Why would you allow yourself to be ringed by people who would only take away all that self love and sense of self? Why would you allow yourself to be unnerved by people who doesn't give two hoots about you and only have themselves in their self-absorbed minds all the time? Why would you allow others to not be kind to you? 

We are human beings. We were brought into this world to live, not to survive. There's a vast difference between these two factors and if you can't tell them apart, it's about time you do. Everyday of our lives, we learn something new. We make mistakes and we fall. But all we gotta do is stand up, dust off all that dirt off ourselves and take another step forward. Nobody in this world is flawless because that is scientifically and theoretically impossible. 

Live, not survive. 

REMOVING toxic people is like going on a detox diet. You take in all the delectable and healthy greens, fruits and all that fancy protein stuff, and out goes the...well, shit. After a crash course of a detox diet, you're a new and improved human with clean intestines and a fast moving metabolism because you got all that shit out of your system and you're now ready for a new healthy and junk-free lifestyle.

My other point exactly. 

We deserve to be surrounded by people who genuinely care for us, people who love us unconditionally and we love them back just the way they do. We deserve people who encourage us and support us of our life decisions. We deserve people who will welcome us with open arms no matter how bad our day has been or no matter what mistakes we've made. Because everybody needs a friend. Everybody needs love. Everyone needs valuable moments in their lives to cherish because that's what life is all about. Be the blessing that that someone needs, and soon enough, they'll be yours. 

Love, 

Louisa 

Travel. Travel And Never Look Back.

I'M BACK FROM ONE OF THE HAPPIEST PLACES ON EARTH and these are just a couple of visuals from my trip - taken by my new baby - Sony A7. I absolutely LOVE the out come of the pictures! :) Melbourne was such an eye-opening experience for me. The city was beautiful, the outskirts were equally beautiful, the people are beautiful. It was just beautiful. 

Well, June is gonna be one hell of a month but that only means my next trip will be coming up real soon! I'm so stoked for this holiday because I've got so much planned out and I really can't wait to share it with you guys! Soooooooooo STAY TUNED!

Instagram// @louisakan

Twitter// @louisakan_

Love, 

Louisa

Has technology take over our lives?

I may be one of the slowest at this, but recently I've been out shopping and walking about spending time with my loved ones and I can't help but notice how almost every single person, including strangers, is/are so glued to their phones. Well, I wouldn't deny that I love browsing through social media apps on my phone or iPad too. But I personally feel that if we have company, shouldn't we be spending time to catch up and bond with one another rather than have our eyes stuck to our devices most of the time? It's kinda sad, really. :/ 

I was having dinner with my parents at Ichiban Sushi a couple hours ago and of course, my folks just came back from a yacht trip and I was excited to hear about their fishing and snorkelling adventures. We were just chatting for a bit, until I realised that most of the people around me were on their phones - even those who were eating. There was a family of 3 and the parents were texting/checking emails/browsing apps while their 3 or 4 year old kid was sitting there staring into space. That makes me kinda sad. They looked like a healthy family, but definitely not a happy one. 

We're a blessed generation to have the luxury of smart phones and all kinds of electronic devices and I'm thankful for that. However, we shouldn't take it for granted. We surround ourselves with family, friends and loved ones, and we should use all the time we have with them to show affection, love, care and interest. Because to be honest, we never know when will be the last time we will ever see them. We really shouldn't allow technology to live our lives for us. Us as humans have to do more than just survive, we have to live to the fullest. :) 

So try it out! Put down your devices and pick up a book or even take a walk in the park and enjoy nature's beauty. Meet up with old friends over coffee, have dinner with your family as much as you can. Life will be so much more interesting and colourful if only we step out of the world of technology for a bit, and start appreciating what we live for. 

Love, 

Louisa 

Always Remember ♥︎

My friends always ask me, "Hey Lou, how do you do it? How do you pick yourself back up from all that negativity and move on?" Well, I was never a happy-go-lucky girl. Growing up, I faced many similar issues with most people. I was never 100% confident with myself, I was picked on in school and I was severely outcasted by the 'cool kids'. Don't we all have that phase? Unfortunately, for some of us, this 'phase' follows us all the way to our 20s or maybe even the 30s. But many do not know that it's never too late to change that. :)

I'm not blessed with the best fashion sense and this affects my confidence every single time I step out of the house. I'd always feel a little left out by the society because every corner I turn to, a girl would have better hair than I do or better make up or nicer clothes. Even as I scroll through Instagram, I'd feel like a little ugly duckling because just look at all the beautiful girls strutting their stuff and workin' it so effortlessly. I've also been in positions where I get outcasted and/or picked on by the people around me. I would not go to school because I wanted to hide my face from everyone, feeling extremely depressed. I didn't feel a sense of belonging nor loved by the people around me. Finally having a major meltdown was my turning point. I finally realised that I'm only human. I will make mistakes, I will have flaws. I will never have an extremely clear and symmetrical face, my hair will have its' greasy days. I will still have an oily face on bad days that act as an acne breeding nest. I will never have the perfect smile, or the warmest laugh. I will never be able to make every single person living on this planet happy. I will meet people who will walk out of my life eventually, but there will also be people who comes into my life by accident and stays on purpose. All in all, I know that as long as I surround myself with positive people and they love and accept me for who I am, I'll be a very lucky human being.

So if you're ever feeling like there's a dark cloud over your head, always remember that the only reason why people are hurting you and trying to bring you down is because you're already at the top. Always remember that God has pieced you together to make you who you are. Always remember that every individual is as amazing as the next. Always remember that as long as you are kind at heart, good karma will always come back to you. Always remember to be yourself because wanting to be someone else is a waste of time. Always remember to flash your brightest smile because there's more to life than to worry about what others think of you. Always remember that mistakes make you human. Always remember that being goofy and silly makes you real. Always remember to believe in yourself.

Always remember to be you.

Time heals all wounds and scars are a beautiful reminder to you that you're a fighter.
So start today, and I promise you, you will shine so bright, even the Sun is jealous. 

Love, 

Louisa

Being an artist...in progress.

Hello fellow readers! Today I'll be talking about the different perspectives people have on artists (singers/dancers), art students, bloggers, public figures, etc.

First of all, y'all gotta know that being an art student isn't easy. Well, I'm from the performing arts program so this post will be based on personal experiences, but I'm sure it's the same for the visual art and design students. It's really annoying having people all day everyday around you being like "You singing one ah? Singing can study meh?" or "Chey, so easy. Just go school sing song can already." or "You go arts school ah? Your O level confirm very high one right?"

Ugh gosh the amount of disappointment I'm feeling
just by writing this blog post :'(

UM NO.

1. BEING A PERFORMING/VISUAL/DESIGN COLLEGE STUDENT DOESN'T MAKE US ANY LESS SMARTER THAN STUDENTS FROM THE POLYTECHNICS, JCs OR ITE. (BEFORE YOU JUDGE, YES I DO INCLUDE ITE BECAUSE I DON'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE STUDENTS THERE. THEY ARE CLEVER AND PROMISING PEOPLE TOO.) 

It really doesn't. We're just doing what everyone else is doing - pursuing their interests. We take pride in what we learn and what we do in school. We don't just go to school and sing/dance/act/draw/do hard labor work and lighting (if we're from the theatre production management course.) We're 100% dedicated to our job. I was a dance student in LASALLE College of The Arts before I switched over to the music course. Being a dance student was probably the toughest phase of being a student for me. My classmates and I had to deal with being in school by 8am everyday and finishing school at 11pm almost everyday (when we're working on productions) AND balancing our studies all together. Yes, we do study. As in we do touch our stationeries and learn the history of dance, arts, write essays and study about the understandings of the human body - basically biology. I only decided to change courses because I was getting injured a lot due to my old injuries from dancing when I was younger and I figured that I wanted to do music as a future career instead.

*Fun Fact: I started ballet, modern, tap and jazz dances at the age of 5, completed my Grade 6 examinations for all dances and did 2 years of Intermediate Foundation Ballet classes when I was in Grade 3. I'm also an international competitor in Latin American Ballroom Dance.

So please don't ever say that we're not as smart as the students of other schools because life isn't always about aiming to be doctors, lawyers or engineers. As the aspiring and growing young generation, we should all have the freedom to choose what we want to do for our future. 

PS. For those out there who make fun of art students for only getting 25 points and above for our O levels and have nowhere else to go, I have school mates who are 12 pointers and BELOW or have already completed JC and decided to join the school because they want to pursue their dreams. So please re-evluate yourselves. Thank you. 

2. HARMFUL WORDS CAN HURT WORSE THAN A BULLET TO A HEART. (Well... not really but you get the point.)

What if that happens to you? How would you feel?

 People always think that being a public figure is all about the glitz and glamour and worst - they are expected to be perfect. It's true that almost all public figures have to set a good example to their followers but hey, nobody is perfect. We can't just TAKE IN harmful criticism just because we are EXPECTED to. Like come on, have a little respect for one another. We, as artists, are just doing our job (and most of us love our job) and are making the best of it. 

Yeah most of you reading this must be like, "Why is she using the term 'We'? She's not even a true public figure." Mmhmm, that's true! But for some of you who have known me for awhile now, you will know that I was involved in 'The Final 1' season 1. Slowly making my way up to the Top 8 before I was sent home was a really fun, friendship-making and self-discovering journey, but at the same time, the shit thrown at you by the public, especially those who dislikes your singing, can be a real pain in the ass. I had tweets, questions/comments on ask.fm and comments on random forums say things like: 

1. Louisa doesn't deserve to be among the Top 10. She can't sing. 

2. Louisa uses her parents' money to earn votes because she's rich. 

3. Louisa is a waste of space.

4. Louisa's voice is so mediocre. 

5. Louisa is so boring and she's ugly/fat. 

and the most childish one of all,

6. Louisa is a bitch. 

As I was only at a tender age of 17 and also my first time being on a national live television show, there was a lot of stress to handle but I guess I learnt from it. To me, the not-so constructive criticisms didn't matter as 1. I couldn't do anything about it and 2. I would rather focus on the productive and constructive comments that can help me grow to be a better performer.

But it really sucks to see public figures and friends in this industry who get slammed hard in the face just because they're "too good-looking" or their opinions "insulted the viewers" or they're "wanna-be(s)". Okay first of all, I don't think there's such a thing as people who are ugly or "too good-looking". I only believe that there are lazy people - people who don't work for it. It's true! In life, you'll have to work for everything. Nothing good ever comes miraculously. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. No matter how sharp your features are, how curly your hair is or how thin your lips are, etc. Every single living soul on this planet is beautiful. If you can love your idols for who they are, then you should learn to accept the figures who you don't really look up to, too. Wouldn't the world be so peaceful if we all just spread the love? ❤️❤️❤️

I also don't believe in wanna-be(s). I believe in people who aspire to be others. I think that's great because good influence should be practised amongst us. But of course, just like your parents or grandparents tell you - "don't learn the negative habits!" It has the same effect as "Don't take candy from strangers."

And lastly, if any vloggers insulted you with their opinions in their vlogs, then just let it go...let it go...can't hold it back any-   No really. Just let it go. 

I sincerely apologize for this extremely wordy post but I guess I just have so much to say about the constant miscommunications of being an art student and (trying my best) to defend the awesome public icons. I'm sure some of you out there can relate! So before I sign off, I would like to say, just learn to love and respect the life/career choices of others, no matter how different it is from yours! Start everyday with a ray of sunshine and be kind to one another :) Life will turn out a lot less gloomy, trust me X

Harry agrees!

Love,
Louisa

Life is short, don't take it for granted.

Hello there ;)

I haven't blogged in YEARS so please forgive me if I happen to bore you to death even with a 'Hello'. Haha! Anyway, today I woke feeling grief as Singapore's founding father has passed on. I may not be at the age where I have witnessed what great things Mr. Lee Kuan Yew has done during the world war, but I am definitely old enough to know the many fascinating stories and history that Mr. Lee has made. It's kinda weird how I feel like I've lost a grandfather. I guess it's because growing up, I've always respected him as a leader and an inspiration to (almost) every Singaporean.

Living in a world and country where money matters the most, people often complain about how inconvenient or costly public transportations are, how expensive road taxes are and how high the living standard in Singapore is. I wouldn't deny all of that, but personally I feel that with all of these complaints buzzing around the country in circles, people forget that we are living in a place where we can comfortably call 'Home'. We may only be a little island, but we are strong as a nation. We live in a safe country where nobody can harm us. We live in a place where many different races come together and be harmonious as one. Singapore may not be a place for me or some of us to live the dream, but we definitely have countless of opportunities to chase them and that is just one of the many things I'm grateful for. Many of us grew up in a beautiful city, easy transportation excess, colourful and clean environments - and because of that, we don't know how to appreciate hard work, we don't know what suffering really means and we sure as hell have no idea what it was like to live during the war. So thank you Mr. Lee, for giving all you've got to protect this country, to keep us safe. You've dedicated your entire life to build Singapore to how it is today, and allow us Singaporeans to be powerful and to be grateful for one another.

As of today, God has gained another angel by His side. May you be with your loved ones if there's an afterlife. Rest In Peace.

Love,
Louisa