Sunday 27 March 2011

Quick update Darlings!

Dearest Devotees,

I'm doing ScriptFrenzy, this month long competition to write a 100 page long script in 30 days. It starts on April 1st and ends on the 30th. I'm so excited and already have my screenplay idea all set and rearing to go. If you're interested in joining (it's not too late) go here to sign up. And if you do sign up let me know, we can be Frenzy buddies!

Love you all and Stay inspired,



P.S. My Social Media Sabbatical is going really well. I'm currently off of Facebook, Twitter, and have drastically reduced my time spent on Youtube too. I have never had so much free time, and the space this has created in my life is allowing me to spend time developing my offline relationships, interests and skills. I do miss you all, though and hope that I will be ready to return to the blogosphere soon, rejuvenated and reborn.
Friday 4 March 2011

So this is goodbye...



Darling Devotees,

It's been almost two years now, since I've been writing this blog and while I love all of you and I love writing, I am currently changing so quickly and in so many ways that I am no longer sure of who I am anymore. The more I change the more my sense of self fades away and if I don't have a strong enough sense of self, I can not truly pour myself into my blog. This blog represented an important part of my life, and I feel like I'm no longer there in that point in my life. It's really hard to explain, except to say that I feel like continuing to write here as if nothing has changed would be a disservice to myself and to you all. So as of now An Ordinary Girl's World: Fashion, Love, Life is now defunct.

Whether I will blog again, under a new blog title is entirely unknown to me as of now. If I do, I will let you know. Right now, I just want to focus on getting my feet on solid ground again, and finding out where God wants to lead me too. It's been great engaging with you all in the blogosphere. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey and being the wonderful people you are.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

Saturday 19 February 2011

Reasons for My Smile: Sunny Days, Acts of Kindness and Dodgeball games :D


  • Enjoying high 50s weather and beautifully sunny days. Yesterday I wore a t-shirt to class. A T-shirt!!!!
  • Taking tango with about 7 of my friends weekly- My first class ended with me practically in stitches. So much fun should be illegal. The last class we had (on Valentine's day) ended with all the guys in the class surprising us girls with roses!! So sweet!!!
  • My Class's Valentine's Day Modern Dance routine. It was just so cute! It has a cupid-like movement with arrows, a whole bunch of heart shapes, and even ended with a hand-blown kiss combined with an Arabesque stance. It rocked!
  • Seeing a lovely old man skiing on a patch of snow on my way to Mass. He looked like he was having the time of his life and that made me happy.
  • Seeing some college students enjoying what they perceived to be their last couple of days of winter by having a final snowball fight.
  • Discovering (or rediscovering I guess) Regina Spektor's song Samson.
  • Going for a retreat and making a few new friends :D
  • Watching the latest episode of Being Erica! It was soo good!!!
  • Having a sleepover party and watching 13 Going on 30 again with my gal pals.
  • Working on organizing my life- one step at a time.
  • Seeing these three college age/young adults bring cupcakes a trolley and other stuff to a homeless woman on the street and wishing her a happy birthday.She was so happy!
  • Being able to grab a lovely breakfast at the dining hall despite having gotten there 20 minutes after it should have closed. It's the little things in life.
  • Having an epic dodgeball to the death match with my friends last night. So much fun!
  • Realising that I am truly blessed to have all these people who love me so much and whom I love so dearly. I Love you all too my darling devotees!
Love you all and Stay inspired,



P.S. So let me know what you think. What made you smile this week? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.
Friday 18 February 2011

Dear Devotee: How to unleash your creativity and begin your creative journey


Dearest Devotees,

I got an email from one of you wonderful people who take out time from your busy schedules to read this blog of mine asking me how to unleash their creative mind. She wanted to know how you begin to explore your inklings and how to find your home art form and was wondering if I could give her a list of references and things to explore and aid her in her journey. First of all, to that lovely devotee, I'm really flattered that you thought to ask me about this. I think it's great that you are making this effort and seeking help in it as well. Secondly, I thought it would be a great idea to write a post on my list of references since I know that a lot of you are here because you have beautifully artistic and creative spirits as well and may like knowing of some references to strengthen your creative side.

  • Join online/offline community projects like ScriptFrenzy, NaNoWriMo, Art Everyday Month, 365 day challenge, etc. These are great ways to get involved in the ever growing online creative community as well as a wonderful way to kick yourself out of a rut and to create with abandon for a while.
  • Have a Creative Genius Day/Night: This is a wonderful idea I got from Jenny's post on her blog Life After College. It involves setting out blocking out some specific time in your schedule to create a day or night just devoted to creating and engaging your imagination. Think of it as a really mini artistic retreat.
  • Get out and try random stuff. There are so many different forms of art out there, so many different experiences just waiting to happen. Just get up and try stuff until you find something that you find interesting. Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised at what you may find.
  • Engage in Artist Dates or an Artistic Retreat: Engage your creativity by feeding the desire to have new experiences inside you. If you don't have much take some time to see that new movie you've been dying to see, or if you happen to have a free week coming up (spring break anyone) why not commit yourself to exploring different inspiration sources through an artistic retreat.
  • Read and work through books like The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron and Art and Soul by Pam Grout. They are wonderful for overcoming the initial feelings of apprehension.
  • Creating a regular time to create and partake in artistic exercises weekly , if not daily: Make your artistic pursuits an official part of your day by giving them a specific time slot in your day. I know it may sound obvious but you would be surprised at how much of a difference it will make to your level of artistic output just by giving them an actual time slot instead of waiting until you are free and feeling inspired.
These were just a few of the suggestions I would give to any friend seeking to begin their walk down the more unconventional path to the discovery of your inner artist. Whether you are new to the concept of artistic self exploration or whether this is a path you've been treading for quite a while now, I would suggest looking into the suggestions above to help you take the next step in your journey.


Love you all and Stay inspired,



P.S. So let me know what you think. What would you recommend to those seeking to unleash their creativity? What advice would you give to them? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.
Thursday 3 February 2011

Love is the BuzzWord: My New Year Non-Resolution




Darling Devotees,

This year I am not making any real resolutions. Instead, I am going to commit myself to one particular buzzword that I will strive to live by all this year and for the rest of my life. The word is “love”. I am going to strive to keep this as the key concept that keeps me rooted this year and from now on. I plan to take the whole idea of following your heart to a whole new level by letting love guide me in everything that I do. I am going to let the idea of doing the things I love, or doing things for the people I love to guide me in all the decisions I make, and goals that I pursue this year.

I've heard it said that if you live the way you want to be, someday you will be the person that you long to be. When I think about the woman I aspire to be some day I can and have made a list of all of the things I would like to have accomplished and the life I would like to lead, but after looking over the list I've realized that at the end of the day accomplishments, goals, awards and rewards are not what will make me happy. In fact, the person I aspire to be will not be happy, because of all of the things she has done, or all the places that she has seen. She will be happy because she has let love fill her up and radiate from her being onto all the people that she meets. I want to be someone who loves completely and unabashedly and who lets this love for God, family and friends, interests and life to be her driving force. That's the kind of woman I want to be, and that's the kind of woman that I will be, starting from now. From now on, when making decisions I will let these different forms of love dictate whether I say yes or no to a commitment.

  • Love of God who is my rock and foundation and who loves me so much.
  • Love of family
  • Love of friends
  • Love of vocation
  • Love of myself as a beautiful daughter of God.
  • Love of people
  • Love of life.

If I cannot say I am doing truly doing something because of the love I feel for one or more of these categories I will not do it. It's not going to be an easy thing to do, because by nature I am always going to want to do it all, this is who I am. However, since love is a strong and passionate word, I am hoping that the passion behind the word will help me decide when I hit murky waters. In times of difficulty, I hope that the thought of love will spur me on. May the light of love light our path and fuel all our desires.

Love you all and Stay inspired,



P.S. So let me know what you think. What are your resolutions? Do you have any? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Friday 21 January 2011

Life's Little Lessons: Just Smile



Dearest Devotees,

Pain, disappointment, hurt. These are things that no one can avoid in this life, no matter how charmed their existence may seem to an outsider. Sadness and difficulties are all parts of the path that we must tread. I imagine there is no one who is successful, happy and fulfilled who has not had to face some sort of hardship to get where they are, because it is how we face whatever difficulty that is put in our way that makes us great.

January is the month of New Year's Resolutions, goal setting and ambitious planning. For many, the start of a new year brings a sense of revival, a feeling that the slate has been swept clean and a renewed sense of purpose. We believe that we can do anything that we set our minds to and that the sky is within our grasp, and we continue to feel this way until we encounter our first hurdle. A lot of the times, this first hurdle is the most difficult because it breaks the illusion that we are infallible and forces us to realise that just because we've started to work towards our goals doesn't mean that everything will come easily from now on. It is during these trials that we have to remember that nothing good ever comes easy. If it did, there wouldn't be so many clichéd sayings about the need to "pay your dues" and how "quitters never prosper" :) .

During these trying times, these quotes don't necessarily help me but what usually does help is remembering to smile constantly. I can not count the number of times I've felt better after laughing off an unfortunate mistake in my design or shrugging off a painful jab at my work by ignoring the jabber and spending quality time goofing off with a close friend. At first it may seem fake but after a while the fake smile fades away and a real one with real good feelings takes it place. Trust me, taking some time away from your path to nurse the wound caused by your first fall, will stop you from falling into the dreaded cycle of negativity and doubt and will ensure that you can come back stronger and more assured of your ability to persevere until you succeed. So the next time you encounter a perilous bump in your path to self-fulfillment, step away from the melancholic music, cancel the pity party and smile through the pain. You'll feel better for it.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. Have you ever tried smiling to cheer yourself up when you feel like things aren't going your way? How did it work and what other methods do you use to pick yourself up when you're down? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Sunday 9 January 2011

Seeking Inspiration: Visualise




Dearest Devotees,

Last semester in my Modern Drama Literature class, we spent some time talking about the importance of the scene and setting and how in some plays, the scene is so important that it can even be thought of as a separate character. Outside of art, everyone knows how important atmosphere can be to our mental, emotional and physical states. This is why some people take walks by lakes and sit in candle lit rooms with aromatherapeutic oils when they are feeling stressed. I find that when I'm feeling creatively blocked atmosphere matters a lot. To overcome my creative blocks I usually:

  • Make sure I'm working in a clean, airy, well-lit (preferrably sun-lit) room.
  • Make sure that all technological distractions are set to a minimum- that means no facebook, twitter or tweetdeck, and that my phone must be on silent or vibrate. To prevent my computer notifications from distracting me I use programs like Concentrate and Ommwriter to turn all my notifications off as soon as I start working until I'm done.
  • Surround myself with inspiring quotes, pictures and works of art.
  • Have calming music and sounds playing in the background, such as Ommwriter's nature soundtrack, and some of my favorite classical pieces like Yiruma's The River Flows in You and Maxene Cyrin's piano version of No Cars Go.
If I'm still feeling stuck after all of this, I try to get my mind moving in the direction I want to go by using the visualization technique. I believe that all art tells a story, and therefore has a plot, themes and a setting. Perfect chemistry between characters and the setting is vital to the creation of a good story. With the visualization technique, all you have to do is to imagine the setting or scene that corresponds to your work and mentally place yourself in that setting. It could either be a literal place such as a clearing in a forest, or a figurative place such as a world in which you are the best version of you. After imagining yourself in this place, feel free to explore it and allow yourself to get to know the place better. Imagine the little details, and think about how your interactions with the space could influence your actions (or those of your characters). Using visualization in this way helps you to have (almost) firsthand experience of the place you are trying to portray and could lend believability to your work.

Another way of using the visualization technique is by thinking about the message you would like to get across, imagining the effect it would have on the lives of you or the desired audience and figuring out what it would take for you to get that desired effect. For example, let's say you want to get across the message of what it means to truly love yourself in a song you are writing. You've written about half the song, but you are not feeling pleased with what you've got because it feels too preachy to you. By reminding yourself of the reason you are writing and thinking about what you would need to do to get the message across to your particular audience, you would be able to understand your audience better and therefore write a song that would appeal to them.

Finally, visualization is not just a technique that can be used by artists in a creative block. You can use visualization to reach any kind of goal that you are having difficulty with, be it creative or not. People use visualization to help them reach academic, physical, spiritual and life goals all the time. Being able to imagine yourself somewhere can help you rekindle the flame, when fear and intimidation may have snuffed it out and can help you get back on track when you're feeling derailed.

***Seeking inspiration assignment***
Create a work of art (it can be any kind of art, dance, music, design, poetry anything you want) that represents the story that you think is being told in the picture below. Or visualise your favorite place in the world (it doesn't have to be real). Explore the place and create a work of art that best depicts this place.



Links I've Loved Lately

I know this has nothing to do with anything but this little boy is just too cute. Plus laughter and smiles are great for creativity.

If you are lacking inspiration and have never heard of this search engine- Go. You're Welcome :)

I love TED talks! I recommend that you check out the talks given by Isaac Mizrahi, Elizabeth Gilbert, but really you can just choose a topic and search for the talk or look for a person that inspires you.

Okay. This video is probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Love Steven Johnson for it. The full talk is on TED too and is totally worth watching.

I love being made to think by videos like this.


Love you all and Stay inspired,



P.S. So let me know what you think. What's inspired you lately? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.
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Welcome!

"Come with me,
and See this World,
Through the eyes
of an Ordinary Girl"

An Ordinary Girl's World is a blog for stylish and artistic teens, college students and young adults, creatively finding their way in this world. Its about expressing yourself through your personal style, your lifestyle, your relationships and friendships.
This site will feature articles on fashion, love and life in general, with topics ranging from the latest trends in fashion, beauty and lifestyle, personal style, artistic inspiration pieces and real life survival guides.
Email address:
aury4eva@gmail.com


About Me

Frannie
Hello! I am Frannie a.k.a Frances Anne and I am a 21 year old Catholic Missionary. I am Nigerian but have lived all over the world and I currently live and serve in the U.S. I love God, others and life in general. I bubble over with joy everyday and would love to share my joy with you.
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