I met the QUEEN

June 2016 I traveled up to the UK for the Queens Young Leaders residential week and award programme. 

The entire week was AMAZING but the highlight of the week was meeting her majesty the Queen. It is not everyday we wake up thinking - I will go meet the Queen today. The winners from the Queens Young Leaders programme are indeed privileged to be among the those selected individuals who have the honour of meeting her majesty. And it was worth the wait.  
She is such a sweet lady! She spoke to each and everyone of us when we walked up to receive our awards and this is a moment we will cherish for the rest of our lives. 

(Official photo from the Buckingham Palace) 

At 90 she is still walking around on her and took out the time to speak to each and everyone of us for a few minutes. 

I am now among the 120 Youth from across the Commonwealth who have received their medals from her majesty, in recognition for the youth work we do in our respective communities.  I cant think of a better way to leave behind a legacy then by investing in the youth to carry forward the leadership and social causes. 

Earlier that day Jacob and I were asked how we were feeling about meeting Her Majesty that evening. Here is what we had to say :-)

And later that day we had one hour to get dressed so I tried to motivate my fellow QYLs through this video. 

About the outfit: I stitched my outfit to wear for awards function :-) Kept it simple but put in a little bit of thought into it. So the salwar kamiz highlights my Indo heritage (ancestors from India) and the woven shoes represent my Fijian heritage (Fijian - Nationality). Woven mats are symbolic to Fiji and the Pacific communities. My brother-in-law printed a Samoan design on my veil so I could also share my extended family heritage. I was very happy to receive compliments from so many people on the outfit. I must add - all the QYL's looked amazing in their respective outfits. JOB WELL DONE guys!!! 

(photo from Google)

Its only upwards from here... 

Until next blog. 

40 days to QYL 2016

Let the countdown begin!!! 

40 days to the QYL residential week; 2016. 

40 more days my dear QYLS. Do you have all your documents & visas sorted??
TIP#1: scan all relevant documents and keep in email copy (just in case).
✔passport name page
✔passport page (s) with visa stamped
✔birth certificate
✔ QYL letter
✔QYL document of the programme
✔contact details of QYL team
Keep photocopies of these documents in a file and keep in your hand carry.

FOLLOW the blog for more updates. 

Until next blog ....

Think Tank Journals: 2016

As 2015 narrowed to an end I had some leave days and wanted to do a DIY project. Naturally it included drawing, doodling and colouring type of features. 

I love journals, notebooks and activity books. Keeping these in mind I decided to design a Journal. 
Because I use my journal to capture my thoughts and ideas I wanted to be a thought collection journal. But I didn't like the sound of a 'Thought Collection Journal'. Scribbling for a little while I stumbled over "Think Tank' and woohoo!! The Think Tank Journal was born. 



I designed one cover and loved it. I coloured it in and I was so happy with the end result. I went looking for a small notebook to put this cover on. This is when I realised that we don't have very many note-book options here in our book shops. We get the usual 'exercise books' that we use in schools but the hard cover note books (A6, A5 in size) or the fancy-full spiral note books. 

What happened to the book shops???? 

All the scavenging lead us to find very few note books. The search for the note-books were hard enough, the prices of notebooks gave me a mild heart attack (figuratively of course). Anyways I purchased a few different types of note books and brought them home. I covered them with my colorful designs and set to fill up the inside. 

What do you write in a THINK TANK JOURNAL? 

1. Let's begin with Goal Setting. So in the first page I have allocated space to list three goals I want to achieve this year. And of course let's just be realistic. None of the 'New Year, new me' nonsense. 
2. Inspiration quotes. Google helped to search for some quotes that help to inspire and motivate us. I jotted down a few of the quotes on random pages. 
3. Fun Activity. I love doing little activities and documenting the results. So on a few other pages I listed down activities for FUN. Some of these activities include; (i) Take a silly selfie; (ii) Listen to a song from the 90's. 
4. Doodle Colour Time. No journal of mine is complete without some colouring fun time, so I draw some doodles for me to colour when I reach that page. 

And that is how the journal was completed. a friend saw the journal i completed and wanted to purchase it. This got me thinking, would other people like to buy this? I took a photo of the journal and posted it on a Facebook group. Orders have been pouring in. I love the fact that others are loving this Journal idea :-) 

So if you would like to purchase one; hop on over to the MisMatched Company to place your order. I would love to see the results of your activities and coloured doodles. Share them on social media using the hashtags; #MisMatched #ThinkTankJournal and #RoyalBano 

You can follow me on twitter and instagram and tag me there as well. Or you can post your results on the MisMatched page.