So I finally went to see the most talked about movie of the moment yesterday, Me Before You. A friend invited me to see the film and I was so excited because the trailer looked amazing and the interviews with the cast really made it seem like it was the film of the year.

I haven't yet read the book, so I didn't know what all the controversy was about at first, but now that I've seen the film I completely understand. It's a sensitive topic which I'm not going to get into at the moment, but I can say that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that completely, even if I don't agree with them myself.

Anyway, back to the review. For those of you who have neither read the book or seen the film, it's the story of Louisa Clark (played by Emilia Clarke, aka the mother of dragons in Game of Thrones) a clumsy yet colourful character who lands the job of Will Traynor's carer (played by Sam Claflin), a once successful banker who now lives with his parents in a castle after a motorcycle accident left him paralysed for life. The meeting of these two characters is awkward and tense at first, Will coming off as a snob and Lou as a happy-go-lucky soul who doesn't know how to cheer him up. The relationship and chemistry between the two characters is so tangible that it is well perceived on screen and we are immediately attached to the characters and believe their journey.

There are various funny and witty moments throughout the film, which are enjoyable to watch along with the quirky facial expressions Lou makes throughout the film. Lou's character is truly my favourite, she is the sweetest and kindest person in the story and it makes me wish there were more people like her in the world. Her cuteness makes you 'aw' along with her flamboyant sense of style which reminds me of Ugly Betty's wardrobe once upon a time. Lou's boyfriend Patrick (played by Mathew Lewis, aka Neville Longbottom) is a fitness fanatic who wants nothing more than to run all day. He is not the focus in the story, but he does add a slight bit of tension to the love triangle developing which is entertaining to watch.

I will definitely not try to spoil anything from the story, as I really want you guys to experience it for yourselves. But one thing I will say is that it has now become one of my favourite movies and that you will need at least 5 packs of tissues when you go and see the film, because you will cry a river. At least, my friend and I did... as well as the entire cinema.

The turning point in the story hits you like big yellow school bus as it's so shocking and of course controversial that you really hope things will change by the end of the movie. You get so attached to the characters, that I am still thinking about them now, as they are so unique and wonderfully complex that I wish they were real people. You leave the cinema feeling sad, but really valuing life and wanting to do the most of it as you never know what circumstances you can run into which could turn your whole life upside down. It's inspired me to write more things on my bucket list and to actually try and tick some of them off.

But be warned, this isn't a feel-good movie and it will feel as though your heart's been ripped from your chest, but it is so worth watching.

Now, I'm off to read the book.

I'd love to know if any of you have already gone to see the film and what your thoughts were on it?

Until next time! xo

[100happydays, Day 9]

This is a personal post I am writing here about the awful thing that happened to me yesterday. It was the last day of May and the weather was horrendous. I had gone out with my mum to help her run errands when she looked at the time and realised my brother was going to be home any minute and he didn't have the keys to the house, so she told me to make my way back home to let him in. I then left her at the post office and was rushing back home, pulling my hood down so I wouldn't get wet, when I was crossing the road and a car hit me.

In that moment, everything felt surreal. I honestly felt like it wasn't me getting hit by the car and me rolling over and landing on the floor. I remember going through a moment of complete immobility wondering quickly if I had died. I was in complete shock hearing pedestrians shouting at me to see if I was alright, and not being able to take in what was happening. It didn't feel real. It felt like I was another person living through a really bad dream.

The driver then pulled over and rushed over to help me up and started asking me if I was alright. I was in complete shock and couldn't stop crying. I didn't have a phone, my mum wasn't with me and I felt completely vulnerable and unsure of what do. I began moving my legs and touching my arms to see if I could move and see if anything was broken. My left hand had scraped on the floor and was bleeding and the back of my leg felt numb and painful.

I began shouting at the driver, asking him why he hadn't seen me. He told me that it was because his windows were all fogged up and the rain was making it impossible to see. I then told him that he could have killed me and he began apologising. I then knew I needed to have my mum by my side and asked him if I could use his phone to call her. At first, she didn't respond and I kept praying for her to answer. I tried again and she did and then told her that I had just been hit by a car but that I was okay. I could hear her voice was agitated and shocked as soon as she heard what had happened and soon came to join me. The driver's wife also came as he was supposed to pick her up around the corner to where the incident happened. They kept telling me to sit in their car because it wouldn't stop raining, but I kept telling them that I wasn't going to get in their car. I then kept looking at his registration number and was trying to remember it because I didn't know what else to do.

When my mum arrived, all shaken up and worried she began asking what had happened. The driver then told us again to get in his car so he could take me to the hospital. At first, he wanted to give us money and call a cab for us, but I didn't want him to get away. My mum then told him that the hospital wasn't too far from where we were, but if he could first drop by our house to get my brother. We got in the car, my leg becoming incredibly painful, and I could see that his windows were completely steamed up and couldn't see where he was driving. When he got to my house, I realised that the air conditioning switch wasn't even placed properly and told him how to do it, but he couldn't understand me very well as he didn't speak much English. In fact, he had only been in England for 7 weeks. I was then very surprised he was even driving as he didn't even know how to work the car or even manoeuvre it properly, as when we made our way to the hospital he nearly collided with another car and even went over the pedestrians' footpath.

I rushed into A&E with my mum and the driver's wife, while my brother stayed with the driver to find a parking space. The nurse at the reception then told me that I had to report everything to the police as it was a traffic accident involving an injury. At that moment, the driver joined us and became incredibly nervous when I told him we needed to report it and I could see that he was scared of what the police would do. He kept telling me that I was fine, and I told him that we needed to report it otherwise he could get into trouble if we hadn't. He kept nodding, but I wasn't sure he even understood what I was telling him as he kept asking what was going to happen.

I called 101, the police non-emergency number, and told them what happened. The driver then wanted to speak to them so I handed the phone over and they spoke for a moment. When the phone was handed back to me, the police officer told me that they were going to come down to the hospital within the hour in order to officially report the accident.

The hour felt eternal, my leg was really hurting and the driver was in deep thought pacing up and down. When the police finally arrived, one began talking to me, while the other spoke to the driver. I could hear from the other officer that the driver was very nervous at retelling what had happened and was even changing the story. I stuck to the truth and had no idea what the driver was saying to his police officer. Then, his police officer told him to leave. They had gotten his statement and he was now free to go. But the driver wasn't leaving, he kept saying that he needed to talk to the police about what had happened and the police officer began to laugh because, "I am the police!" he told him. Eventually the driver and his wife left, apologising to me one last time before the police officers then told me they had gotten what they wanted and would now investigate the driver. They hoped I'd get better soon and then left.

The nurse then called my name and began checking to see if I had fractured parts of my body, which I thank God I hadn't. They X-Rayed my hand and the results seemed all fine. I kept thanking God I was  alive, and that my injuries weren't severe.

This awful experience has made me more aware when out on the road, and has made me value life more. You never know what could happen or when life could reach its end.

But I learnt some things that I hope you guys will consider:

- Look before crossing the road. And I mean really look.
Even if the road seems deserted and no cars are coming, still look both Left and Right to be completely sure.

- When the weather conditions aren't great, take extra care.
Having your hood up can prevent you from seeing clearly, so make sure you stop and look around before crossing the road.

- Always carry a phone with you.
You never know when you may need it.

- Don't be distracted when crossing the road.
Try to be completely aware of the road when crossing it, and don't let your phone or anything else distract you. Cars can really appear from nowhere.

- If driving, make sure your windows are all clear.
Find out what all the buttons in your car do and mean and use them if necessary. Remember, that you should put your fog lights on if visibility drops below 100m.

That's all guys. I know it was lengthy piece of writing, but I really wanted to share my story to make you all more aware of the sudden dangers that could happen.

Remember that police numbers are: 999 (if it's an emergency) or 101 (if you want to contact your local police).

Laila xo

For the whole month of April I decided to become a vegetarian! It was an idea that arose from a speech I heard in one of my modules at university. The module was called Consecutive Interpreting, and it consisted of giving speeches and then interpreting them back to the class. The speech itself could be about absolutely anything that intrigued us; mine varied from why Leonardo DiCaprio had to win an Oscar to why it was important to save the polar bears. But the vegetarian speech I listened to really made an impact.

First of all, I'm a huge animal lover and so to hear about the way animals are treated really makes me mad. However, I must admit that this never really stopped me from eating meat before, as I do love meat and can never have a sandwich without any ham in it. But, the speech really made me reconsider.

So, I made a calendar for the month of April and encouraged my family to write comments on it to encourage me. Each day that I went without eating any meat, I crossed it out. I'm proud to say that the whole month was filled with crosses.

When April began however, I really dreaded the thought of cutting meat out completely. The first couple of days weren't too hard though, as I have gone days without eating meat before so they weren't too bad. But, by the sixth day, when my mum decided to make steak for dinner, I really was tempted to break my vegetarianism and have some as the entire house smelt of it; but I did not succumb to the cravings. I stuck to my tuna steak -which was absolutely delicious- and carried on.

I learnt that there are many benefits from becoming a vegetarian. These are:

1) Animal Welfare

If more people decide to stop eating meat, then the demand for it will decrease. Some farming methods are absolutely inhumane, and animals are usually confined in tiny cages for their entire life.

2) Environmental Issues

Eating meat and dairy products contribute to global warming. If you simply cut out the meat from your diet for one day a week for a whole year, it could save about a ton of water.

3) Weight Loss

It's true! Not only because you're eating more vegetables, but cutting red meat out from your diet helps you lose weight.

4) Health

There are studies that report that red meat can increase the risk of cancer. Meat that is bought from supermarkets isn't 100% fresh. The animals raised in factories are given various chemicals and growth-promoting hormones in order to respond to the high demand and so the meat we eat isn't pure.

However, these are only a few benefits mentioned in the speech that struck in my head along with a few others that I researched myself. But there are many other reasons why going vegetarian is a good thing.

I only went vegetarian for a month, but the experience has made me more aware of the food I eat and the products I buy. I actually don't eat as much meat as I used to, and in fact, I have opted for the vegetarian option when out in restaurants.

I'm going to try going dairy-free next time!

I'd love to find out if you guys would ever consider going vegetarian? Maybe you're vegetarian already; what made you switch?

Until next time!

LAILA

Pets bring such joy to a person and you form an indescribable bond with them that when they pass away, it feels like a part of you has been taken away with them.

You grow to care for the tiny things, you play with them, feed them, watch them with fascination because they do the most curious things sometimes, you laugh with them, laugh at them, talk to them, cuddle them, and even cry with them. They are always there beside you no matter what.

Albus, or Albus Dumblepurr -as was his full name- was the first 'cat' pet that I ever had. I always had dogs as pets when growing up and hamsters and rabbits and even ducks, but never had I a cat of my own until my dad's friend gave away his cat. I remember the night I first saw him; he was in his little cat basket and I was getting ready for school and almost bumped into him in the living room as it was still dark. My dad had woken up with me, and told me that the cat was given to us. I literally bursted into tears because of how happy I was to have him. He was about 8 months old and he was mostly white with a black coating on his back and tail and tiny bit on his head - he was so cute and handsome I'm sure he drove all the female kitties in the neighbourhood crazy. There was a black female cat opposite our house, who used to come to our garden every time Albus was there. They would smell each other's muzzles to which I assumed was kissing, so I thought he would father some kittens but unfortunately my baby was neutered. However, they must have had a little romance going on, that's for sure.

On the first day, he hid inside the wardrobe of my brother on top of his shirts and curled up in a ball refusing to come out. It was natural that he would do that, he didn't know us and once we brought him to the living room he again tried to hide and rushed underneath the couch and stayed there. After hours of trying, we finally convinced him with little food so he would slowly step out of his hiding place and meet us. I pulled the small bowl slowly further and further away so he would walk a step or two to get to it, until he was finally out from underneath the couch. That was the last time he did that. Albus began to get familiar with us and finally grew to trust us.

His original name was Messi (like the player) but I never really thought it suited him, so I changed it to Albus and he grew to respond to that name. Every time I called him, he would snap his head towards me or move his ears and meow; even when he was asleep, he would wake up and answer to the call. It melted my heart when he did that.

Other things he did that made my heart melt like honey, were when he used to trick us. Albus used to love to jump on furniture, and especially on beds. My mum (of course it had to be the mother) hated that, so she would refuse Albus to get on the bed because 1) he had long hair and so it fell everywhere and sometimes it was hard to get rid of, and 2) because once Albus grew to love spending time outside fleas found refuge in the thick coating of his fur, so they would obviously jump on the bed and bite us. (Which we did experience, but not from the beds, but from letting him sleep on the sofa.) However, when he tricked us was when he would stare at the chosen furniture he was planning to jump on, and stare at it for a while. We would immediately tell him 'No' which he understood perfectly as whenever we said that word he would stop what he was doing. But he was a clever little cat, so clever that whenever we used to say 'no' he would pretend he didn't want to jump on the furniture and so he would 1) meow as in telling us that 'why can't I jump, it's not fair' and, 2) he would go over to a different place to which he knew we would also say no to. He was so stubborn that he knew he would get his way in the end; anyway, he would try and jump on the second chosen furniture and ignore our 'no's', then when we took him down he would slowly walk towards a bedroom as we thought he would jump on the bed, so we would rush to stop him and as we got closer to him he would turn and run to the first furniture he chose to jump on in the first place. He would jump and sprawl across it and even pretend to be asleep so we wouldn't get him back down. He was such a clever cat and I miss his little tricks so much, you wouldn't believe.

Ham was his favourite snack. Every time we opened the fridge, even if he was fast asleep, he would spring down from his chair and rush to the fridge door and start meowing at us to give him some. We eventually ended up buying him his own packet, as he would finish ours, because we could never say no to him. How could you refuse your cat's pleas, anyway? He was so cute, I felt so bad whenever I denied him something.

The day he passed away, he actually woke me up. I think he wanted to say goodbye, because once I was by his side he had stopped meowing. I am crying right now, as I remember that night. It was the most dreadful and heart wrenching experience I have ever gone through; I loved him so much. I still love him, he was my little baby and he knew I loved him. I remember holding his little head in between my hands and forcing a smile, and telling him it was okay to go. That it was okay, because I knew his suffering would end. His eyes looked at mine, and they were just searching for an end, and I wanted to cradle him in my arms, but whenever I tried moving him, it seemed to hurt him because he would meow in complaint. So I left him on the carpet, and simply put a rolled up towel under his head and sat by him, caressing his gentle paw and whispering to him that everything was going to be okay and that I loved him so much.

I think about him every day. We buried him in our garden, and each morning, I go out and make sure to say good morning to him and place a kiss on his resting place. I still cry when I see his pictures, and remember him. But those memories also bring me joy because I know they happened. He taught me to be more responsible, to love harder, and to enjoy life because you never know when it will be taken away from you. No one knows when one will die, the future is untold.

We gotta live each day as if it was our last.

Rest in peace, Albus. Mummy loves you.