sorry I was away for awhile... + 5 tips on staying positive in a negative situation

HEY Blog Readers! 

It's been a long time since I've posted on here so if you keep up with my blog regularly - apologies :)

April flew by for me! My mum visited me over the Easter holidays (yay) and then I moved apartment!! FINALLY!!! :)

I know some of you may have caught on to the fact that I was very unhappy in my old living situation = absolute nightmare! I had great hopes for it at the beginning... it was right by Runyon and I love to hike and do yoga so that was a huge plus! but lets just put it this way: what is having a beautiful home if you live in an absolute nightmare and ultimately a prison like situation of eating in your room to avoid negativity..but the energy would seep through anyway it could and it was ridiculously draining and horrible to live in! I would go to set happy and find myself crying on the return home and shaking with anxiety. I can honestly say I have never felt evilness towards me like I did over the past few months of being in that living space. For now I don't want to reflect on it too much because it was one of the worst experiences of my life and I'm still not fully over it.

I'm not really a believer in "everything happens for a reason"... I used to be but with time and loosing loved ones too soon etc.. it can be difficult to believe in that saying! However, what I will say, is that perhaps "some people come into your life as blessings while others come in as lessons" and for that maybe everyone who enters your life does come into it for a reason - be it good or bad! I am out of pocket thousands of dollars due to maliciousness + the move itself however I do believe that sometimes it is better to cut your losses and walk away...which is what I've done. I believe in Karma and also that the money I lost will come back to me in abundance. What I can say is that I am finally back to myself! It was only after the move that I realized I hadn't been myself in a long time as I was being drained daily with the stress of returning home. It's a difficult one to explain in writing especially when I don't want to go into it too much right now: I'm sure my posts over the past few months have been very confusing because on one hand I absolutely love LA and professionally things have been flying for me!! Actually, personally as well! Life could not be better in so many ways but I had this one negative thing in my life that was impossible to ignore because I was living in the situation! So it really was a time of Black and White!

ANYWAY!! I am glad to report that I am now in such a better headspace and I am back on my A-game! I moved from the Hollywood area to the Beverly Hills area and no offence at all to anyone who lives in Hollywood but I am seriously loving BHills and the West LA area so much more! My reason for this is as a young female from another country my new area feels so much safer and also a lot more community orientated which is what I am used to from home! I grew up in a small town and while I love the big city life I felt Hollywood lacked community and everything was very spread out.
I think it's easy to get stuck in one area and even one building! I had been coming to LA since 2012 and I always stayed in Hollywood - so it was what I knew! The building I moved into in October had a roof top pool with a great view and a gym so they were huge selling points for me and I thought I wouldn't find anywhere else to match but it just so happens my new place also has a rooftop with a great view + a much bigger pool, Jacuzzi and gym! not to mention my apartment is about x5 the size (as is my walk-in!) I am beyond HAPPY :) I also feel a lot stronger and wiser! perhaps I've learnt a harsh lesson about life and people that I needed to learn in order to make myself more capable at handling the big bad world that we live in! Life is good again and I'm excited for the future!x!

In other news.. 

 I'm trying to start daily meditation. A friend recently told me about an app called 'headspace' which is basically guided meditation and the idea is to start with 10 minutes a day for 10 days! I've always liked the idea of meditation but I truly had no idea how to do it as my mind is on constant over drive at all times! so I believe guided meditation is definitely the way forward for me! I will let you know how I get on with it! I told my mum about it and she's been giving it a go and seems to really like it!

I went to Vegas for my birthday at the end of April! I was invited on a comped-weekend at the SLS hotel & casino: It was AMAZING! we had a group of 35 girls and we had an absolute ball!! it was the best way to spend my birthday!x! We ate dinner at Katsuya (OMG I'm a sushi convert!mmm), partied at Life and Hyde nightclubs(at Hyde we had THE best table in the house with a backdrop of the famous Bellagio fountains(amazing) and attended the Foxtail pool party. I love going away and celebrating somewhere new for my bday! It started with London for my 21st and now I think I'll make it a yearly thing! As they say "possessions have a price but travel and experiences don't".

Last week I worked on a video for rapper Hopsin - I'm ashamed to say I didn't know his music beforehand but mannn I've had him on repeat ever since: serious talent! so If you're like me and have been living under a rock look him up ;)

Pics from life recently... (Pstttt follow meee @ShahiraBarry on instagram, facebook and twitter)

Finally to end this blog I'm going to give you guys 5 tips on staying positive in a negative situation (these really helped me when I was in negativity)

1. Have a positive support group! 

It is so important to find a positive support group to help each other through difficult times! It doesn't matter if this is 100 people, 5 people or one person! Surrounding yourself with positive people will help you to stay positive when in a negative situation! I have made some lovely friends here in LA who I feel very fortunate to have met but three people worth an extra mention are Kelsey, Shane and Yasmin (all of whom just so happen to be Irish, lol) but when I felt I couldn't bare my old living environment anymore they took me in while my new place wasn't ready and kept a smile on my face the entire time! I was really lucky to have them and don't know what I would have done without them! of course there was(as always)also the support of my mum and sister! My mum actually flew to LA to help me get out of my old apartment! now that's love! even though this visit did slightly stir the pot and put a fire under the situation - it was ultimately a good one because it led to me getting out of there permanently!

 

    2. Express what you are grateful for! 

Even in the worst of times there are always things in our lives to be grateful for! Voice those blessings! Actively acknowledging what you are grateful for will help you to always have a grateful mind and heart even when bad things happen. I say at least three things I am grateful for from that day to myself every night before I go to sleep! some days it's harder to think of things but there is ALWAYS something so don't overlook it!x!

     3. Retrain your mind! 

It can be easy to let negativity consume you but the more you let that happen the more it will become a part of you! Instead practice the power of positive thinking! If a negative thought enters your mind replace it with a positive one!

      4. Exercise your body and mind! 

We all know that exercise is good for our bodies but it is also great for the mind! It's no joke that it releases the "happy hormone". It helps our body to release endorphins that make us feel better! Exercise truly has physical, emotional and mental benefits! It can be hard to find the will power to get up and do it but once you do you'll be so glad you did! I also like to add yoga to my weekly routine to help me focus and relax.

       5. Accept and find solutions

Many of us are resistant to change but we must learn to accept that change will happen. Remember "the only constant in life is change". If you are unhappy with something see it as an opportunity to make a change.

Lots of Love

Shahira Xo 

If your company would like a review or specific blog-post on a product, treatment, service or any other item to appear on www.shahirabarry.com email info@shahirabarry.com with the details.

HEY sorry it's been awhile!

Hey Blog Readers! :) 

I'm so sorry it's literally taken me forever to get back to blogging - the last couple of weeks have been so HECTIC you'll just have to forgive my absence! ;)
Anyhow, If you follow me on facebook/twitter/instagram/youtube or anywhere at all for that matter, ha, you already know that I had been planning to move country for quite some time now... and by quite some time I actually mean AGES!!! SO... I've FINALLY DONE IT!!! 

I've had an obsession with 'Hollywood' / 'Los Angeles' ever since I can remember and in 2012 I finally got the chance to visit for a holiday. I spent two weeks here and fell in love with it! so much so that I decided I needed a longer trip... I booked to come back for three months in 2013 to get a feel for what it would be like to live here! YUP it was just as I thought it would be...my love grew even more within that three months! I even balled my eyes out crying while on the plane on the way home to Ireland! so I knew as soon as I landed back I was going to start saving and researching into how to get a visa so that I could live and work in the USA for a couple of years :)
I can count on less than one hand how many times I went out over the next 11 months after my return to Ireland! I stopped spending careless money and I just challenged all of my energy into saving and planning for my move. I talked about it so often and had different dates in mind that I guarantee more than a couple of people questioned whether I was ever going to leave?!! lol! Anyway!.. it wasn't an easy process by any means (in fact it was ridiculously stressful and difficult) but last month: on the 4th of August 2014 I FINALLY DID IT!!! I Packed my bags, visa in hand and headed for a new beginning and adventure in LA!!

What a lot of you didn't know was that my mum traveled with me for the first month! (BEST MUM EVER!x!) She wanted to make sure that I got settled and on my feet - so we set out on the tedious task of car and apartment hunting! both proved terribly difficult! especially when we didn't have a car to get around in the fist place! I mean it's hard to find reliable, trustworthy "car sales" places as it is - without being two females with Irish accents that just scream "we're new here and haven't a clue about cars!" There's also a lot of paper work etc.. and nitty-gritty things that goes into moving abroad - such as getting a state ID, a social security card (so you can work) etc... to say moving is a long process is an understatement!

My Mum :)

COUGH! My mum said to add that her shoes are dirty because the trail in Runyon Canyon is a dust/dirt path ;) and not that she always wears dirty trainers ;) LOL!

me and my mum at Santamonica Pier

Anyway when the time came for my mum to leave it broke my heart into a million little pieces! For anyone who doesn't know: me and my mum are SO close - she's literally my best friend and I love hanging out with her! in fact I pick and have picked hanging out with my mum over friends on numerous occasions because I just genuinely enjoy her company and think she's the best person in the whole world! at the end of the day nobody has your best interests like your mum and my mum is simply a fantastic human being!
All of my energy had been so focused for so long onto firstly getting the visa and secondly making the move that I never really had the time to stop and think about how difficult it was going to be when the day came that my mum had to head back to Ireland! The day before she left I started panicking - although we had tried to get everything sorted and me settled before she left to make the process easier of course it didn't really work like that! The morning she was returning to Ireland we were both in a state and I could not stop crying! I cried for 2-3 days straight! I wondered how I was going to survive so far away from my mum, my sister and my pets! My mum and my sister are the most important people in the world to me! Those first few days here were very hard and didn't seem to run smoothly at all!! it was one obstacle after another!

It came to a stage when I just had to smack myself  to wake up and think 'This is what I have prayed and wanted for so long! I have one opportunity here so I have to give it my all!'. I dived straight into work and I've worked almost every day since she left! I was even working earlier today: which is a Sunday(as I type this but I'll probably post it tomorrow, Monday)! no rest for the wicked! Once I'm kept busy either working or hanging out with friends I feel a lot better and I am feeling good and positive about my decision to move here now! I joked about homesickness before but it is really a horrible thing to feel (now that I experienced it for a few days!). I know that there will always be ups and downs in life so my aim is to take it one day at a time and go with the flow!

 

Feeling homesick really wasn't a very nice experience at all! but now that it seems to have passed I think if things keep going the way they're going then moving to LA could possibly be one of the best things I ever did for myself and growing as a person! Every day I face fears I didn't even know I had and it feels liberating! Maybe this is what growing up feels like?! ;) lol (but I did fairly throw myself in the deep end!ha!) For anyone considering a move abroad or to a new city I think the article 'Why you should move to a new city...' (click here) is an excellent read and eye opener! 

What I've been up to
Since I've been here I've worked on music videos (Marron5, Avicii, Magic!), played the lead girl in a SMOSH episode! (coming soon) worked at Warner Brothers and MTV, auditioned for Warner Brothers/various music videos/acting roles/singing. Tomorrow I'm working on the set of Dancing with the Stars and on Tuesday & Wednesday I've a small part in a new Zac Efron movie 'We are your friends'! I've also been back/forth at my favourite hangout-The Playboy mansion! and attended the Mid Summers Nights Dream Party!(FAV), started yoga in the park, watched American football for the first time, bought a car, found an apartment, showed my mum around LA, went to the beach and I've made lots of new friends along the way!
The opportunities that have come my way so far I wouldn't have had at home so I feel extremely blessed to be here, to be chasing my dreams, to be busy with work opportunities/bookings and most importantly to making a living from doing what I love to do and being a part of the entertainment industry and all it's craziness!

I do really miss my family but I'm going to keep going and see where this journey takes me for now.. one day at a time!! :)

Ireland is 8hours ahead on LA so the time difference is difficult, especially as the majority of my regular blog readers are Irish but I hope this is the beginning of my return to regular blogging! If you have any blog requests message them to me on my public facebook page... just click here to visit! 
I'd love to hear them and requests make blogging so much easier for me because it gives me an idea of what the readers of my blog want to see on here :)

I realise it may be too late as summer has come to a close and many are done with their holidays but I wanted to add that I got these 'Air-o-lite' suitcases in Penney's (50quid for a large one!) and they are seriously excellent for travelling and staying under the weight restrictions! I used them to move all of my stuff from Ireland to the US! not only are they SUPER light and manageable but they have great pockets and compartments for storage! a 5year guarantee and they are expandable yet sterdy!  If they still have them in Penneys I'd recommend stocking up for your next trip abroad! from only 1.4kg they are the world's lightest suitcases! and they come in a variety of colours and sizes! #MondayMustHave ;)

  

Also I'm waiting until I move into my permanent place (it's being renovated/things are complicated!lol) before I return to Vlogging for my YouTube! but below is my last video incase you missed it! and again if you have any Vlog (video blog) requests send them my way on facebook!

Also Just before I left for the US I reached 10,000 likes on facebook!!! WOW-Thank you so much to each and every person who dropped by my facebook and pressed like!x! I really appreciate each and every one! Ye're AMAZING :)

If you haven't pressed 'like' yet what you waiting for +10k others have ;) lol :) x

Love you guys! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Thanks for being patient with my lack of blogging... 

I'M BACK! ;) 

Lots of Love, 

Shahira Xo 

If your company would like a review or specific blog-post on a product, treatment, service or any other item to appear on www.shahirabarry.com 

email info@shahirabarry.com with the details.