Day #332 Sewing

   I've started feeling a bit better, the cold is still making me have headaches from time to time, but overall I feel so much more well than I did in the beginning of the week. I've managed to do the dishes and some studying today, which makes me feel even better. I tend to go a tiny bit crazy if I can't do anything for long periods of time, and I'm forced to just lay in bed.
   But today's (or technically yesterday) positive note isn't that. It's sewing. I haven't been able to sew for quite a while, and today I finally did it. For those of you who don't know, students at my university has a tradition of sewing patches onto clothing worn during informal events (the more patches you have, the more parties/gatherings you've attended). I think it's really fun, though the sewing takes a really long time and since it's such a rough material, you often cut your fingers on the rough end of the needle. Or maybe that's just me and it turns out I suck at this.
   No matter why I constantly stab myself by accident, I'm really glad I got around to doing some improving. Also, I had lovely company while sewing, which made it a lot more fun!

Aliens

   (If you haven't yet read the first review, you can click here)
   As Ripley and her cat return to Earth, she's informed that they have been in stasis for 57 years. While Ripley fights for the people owning the company she works for to believe her knowledge about the alien attack on her crew, she is informed that a colony has been formed on the rocky planet which her now deceased crew landed on. The colony has been put there to terraform (a.k.a. make the planet livable to humans) the rock, but as the colony's communication is cut off a new superior creates a team to investigate the disturbance, making Ripley join. As she lives through the horros she experienced 57 years ago, she also has the opportunity to save an orphan, and once more, do what's right for the people surrounding her, save a small orphaned girl, and maybe even take out the aliens for good.
   After a seven year break. Aliens (the second movie in the Alien franchise) was released in 1986. The movie's technology shows a large improvement compared to the first one, the story has a smaller amount of plot holes and a larger variety of characters. As the three dimensional character of Ripley is built on, the movie evolves with her.
   Definetly a lot better than the first movie, however I would really recommend you watch them both.These are total classics, and I would recommend this to everyone who's old enough to not get scared.

Alien

   This horror movie is a real classic as most of people have already seen it, but since I haven't reviewed it yet, I figured I might as well.
   Ripley and her space crew are on their way home as they are interrupted by a signal that could lead them to intelligent life. As the head of the crew decides to go investigate with a small part of the team, they land on a small rocky planet. But when the party arrives back at the ship, they bring something with them, something that's attached to one of the members. The alien life form escapes and seems to die on the space craft. However, Ripley and her team are in for an awful surprise as the crew realises something is still on board.
   If you're able to look past the 1970's special effects and the awfully forced android prescence, this movie really is great. The plot has a few questionmarks here and there, but over all they movie's great. I've seen it a couple of times by now, and I love it every time.
   It's also an amazing look back on the way technology has evolved and made the movies around us improve. As Alien was a gateway movie to the entire space-related genre is also an amazing fact, and it was a great way to begin the genre!

Day #331 I'm Writing a Journal

   After a break of about a couple of years, I started writing a new journal. I have always found that I can write my feelings here, out loud, on my blog. But as certain parties joined the crowd of readers, I no longer felt comfortable sharing them online. And then, I started letting my thoughts being just that: thoughts. Turns out, I'm not good at keeping stuff rattling around my brain for too long, it kinda makes me more stressed and crazy and anxious about things.
   So I got another journal. I kept one all the time when I was younger, and it was just now when I stopped sharing them publically that I realized how much I missed sharing my thoughts. I've been writing in it for a couple of day now, and I love that I started doing that again.
   I really like to have my thoughts and ideas written down somewhere, it makes for a fun overlook and it makes me feel like I have things more under control.
   I also love how it looks, it has such a simple look and I love the texture: when you look at it from the front, it's this dark grey blackish color, but when you look at it from an angle, it has this rainbow glow. It's awesome.

Birthday Boy

   Yesterday I pulled myself together and treated my boyfriend to some pizza, something I was too sick to do Sunday. I had promised him we would try out this pizza place, but as I had a fever on his birthday, I actually felt kind of bad about it (even though it wasn't my fault), so I was really happy I was able to do it yesterday instead. I had promised to spoil him on his birthday, and I really think I managed to do that. Everyone needs to get spoiled from time to time, everyone deserves it.
   Theo had something called a "Hot Pizza" and I had a Mexicana (making it one of the days I made an exception to my pescatarianism). They had amazing pizzas, if you live around here you should definetly check it out: Pizzaway. The service was also absolutely impeccable.
   I don't think I've been this happy to celebrate someone's birthday before. The first birthday in a relationship is always really special, even more so when someone enjoys your company, and I don't think I've ever enjoyed someone's company the way I enjoy his. He always makes me smile, no matter how I'm feeling. He's such a positive energy to be around, I don't think everyone has made me feel the same way as he does.
   I'm already looking forward to the next birthday of his when I get to spoil him some more. Happy birthday, darling! I hope you can put up with me for another year!

The Boy

Greta Evans, a young woman from Montana, is hired as a nanny by an elderly couple. For all she knows, it's a normal job, and as she needs to get away from Monatana and her abusive ex, but as she arrives, she's surprised. The couple introduces her to Brahms, who turns out to be a boy, the size of a four year old boy. The couple insists that's their son, and after hearing the tragic story about their child dying in a fire, and agrees to take care of him anyway. However, as the parents leave, the doll starts behaving strangely. It moves by itself, and Greta starts hearing the voice of the doll, calling for her. However, Greta will realize that something much strange than a sentiet doll is at work in the old house.
This movie is absolutely one of the stranger ones I've seen. The film itself is scary, the doll is creepy, and everything works. But the ending (which I will not spoil here, don't worry) is such a strange twist and it makes close to zero sense to me. I would recommend you watch this movie, if only because of the twisted ending that follows it.

Day #329

   Today is my boyfriend's birthday! He's turning twenty one years old, and I can't belive we're already celebrating his first birthday while together. It feels like such an amazing privelege to spend so much time with such an amazing person. Sadly, I'm not feeling all too well today, so I won't be writing a lot about this, but know that I love you so much, honey, and happy birthday!

Donald Trump and Roy Moore

   If you, by some miracle, haven't heard this yet: Donald Trump is currently supporting Roy Moore's progress in politics. Someone tell me why I'm not surprised...
   Roy Moore has been accused several times for misconduct against young women, and according to Donald Trump "he completely denies it, we need to listen to him too". How strange, that another man that's been publically disrespectful to women his entire career, even during his run for president, would support a man that's been accused for the same things as he has.
   What really fascinates me, is that part's of Trump's advisors directly told him to not show his support of Roy Moore in public or on social media, which is exactly what he's done. Now parts of Trump's team has turned against him, and I find that absolutely hilarious.
   I will never understand that there are Americans that this doesn't bother. Not this particular situation, but Trump in general. I don't care about your personal beliefs and thoughts, even if they agree with Trump's and that's why you don't mind having him as a president. But your president, who has been your president for almost a year, is acting like a pouty, orange child. How are you going to have a president who acts like a two year old brat?

Day #328

   In the pursuit of more enchanting writing and drawings (which I've actually started doing again, believe it or not!) and perhaps finding some new motivation to do so, I got some new pens today. I haven't bought new equipment in several months and felt it was finally time for some new stuff, mostly because a lot of my pens are running out of ink at this point, and my pencils are becoming shorter and shorter by the day. I decided on a cheap pack of coloring pencils (adorable colors, and surprisingly good quality compared to the price I payed for them), some really cute metallic gel pens (partly because I've always really loved those, and never really had any on my own, and a set of regular pencils, labeled "pencils for time optimists" (speaking of, I'm writing this at one in the morning) which had adorable texts on them, such as I'll have it done by tomorrow, I have plenty of time, I'm just fashionably late and I'll be hoe in time for dinner. They're adorable, not to mention their colors are soo cute!
   (Side note: if you've been wondering why I've been gone for a while, I've been sick for quite a while now, but now I'm back, still kicking!)
   For quite some time now, I've wanted to take up drawing again, mostly because I always found it very relaxing, I really don't have any real talent in the art of drawing. I've always enjoyed it as part of my hobbies, but lately the amount of time for that has been lacking. I know getting new pens and pencils will not change my inspiration just like that, but I hope that they will give me a bit of a nudge in the right direction. My inspiration have peaked in the past few days, which I consider really good (however, there won't be too much time to put it to use, since I still have a ton of work to do before I get to go home for the holidays and use my time as I please).
   I also included a closer picture of the pens, if you're interested in reading the text on them. They're really quite adorable, aren't they?

Day #327

Yesterday was spent with a visit to the local museum. I've always loved taking trips to museums, I love walking around and watching history and art surrounding me, for example, look at this detail in one of the works of art that were shown in the upper section of the museum.

Day #325

   I love baking, but there's rarely time for that anymore as I do a ton more things at once, but today I decided to change my pattern and actually get some baking done. I quickly picked a recipie for cupcakes and used the regular one for cheesecake.
   I had forgotten how relaxing it is to spend time in the kitchen, and I'm very happy that I took an hour out of my day to complete these two desserts. I feel like I should take some more personal time and do different things every day instead of just doing the same things over and over again. In light of this, I'm going to go out for coffee with my best friend tomorrow, I really look forward to it, because I love spending time with her, and tomorrow will be spent mostly with studying for the test on Friday. I still have some stuff to memorize.
   The baked goods also turned out to be a pleasant surprise for the boys when they got to the apartment after their lecture.

Things are looking up

   I don't know if you know, but I'm currently having classes belonging to two different faculties; chemistry and the liberal arts. I have classes in organic chemistry, a class in linguistics and one class in scientific philosophy. I find all of them fascinating, but I also find that these three clash a lot (which makes me feel a bit stressed, since I can't be in two places at once), but I've decided to view this as a personal challenge. I've also got an exam on Friday, and another one on Monday. Those don't stress me out as much, since I feel like I at least sort of understand the subject. After that, I'll have a bit of a break when it comes to exams, but only for about a week, before the chaos starts up again.
   I'm not sick anymore (which is awesome, because I can leave the apartment without feeling faint) but I still feel tired all the time. I'm not sure if this is because the lack of quality sleep due to stress, me still being a bit under the weather or because I haven't gotten much exercise in the past few days. I should probably start moving around a bit more, so that the feeling of not having slept properly in a week hopefully can go away.
   Otherwise, everything is great. There's a lot to do, but it wouldn't be university if there wasn't. I'm trying to make things fall into place so that I can go home for Christmas as soon as possible, and I'm getting a lot of reading done. I'm soon going to be finished with a collection of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, but more about that later.
   At the moment, life is awesome, and everything seems to be looking up for me. I'm still busy as a worker bee, but all the things happening right now are good, and I couldn't be more thankful for all my progress!

Family Guy

   As a person who grew up with watching the Simpsons with my family and cousins, I fell in love with Family Guy the second I started watching the show. I always enjoy adult cartoons of this kind.
   If you didn't already know, the show depicts the adventures of the Griffin family; Peter (the irish drunk, overweight dad always getting into shenanigans), Lois (his loving wife), Meg (the angsty teenager in the family, hated by everyone around her), Chris (the chunky child of Lois and Peter), Stewie (the slightly murderous, very intelligent baby) and Brian (the family dog, the "intelligent" one in the family and an aspiring author), and the lives around them. Most episodes features Peter's odd adventures, often caused by pure stupidity and alcoholism.
   Building a show on stereotypes, the cartoon gets me every time. I've watched the entire show several times, and will probably watch it several more times. Although heavily inspired by the Simpsons, Family Guy is a refreshing show that comes up with fresh material for every single episode and features many musical numbers (which are all amazing). The show also features travel episodes, the main character changes from episode to episode and there is a lot of so called "buddy comedy" between Brian and Stewie.
   My personal favorite characters are Stewie and Brian, mostly because they work so well together and have amazing character chemistry. They end up in hilarious situations as they sometimes travel the world, once enjoy the presecence of babies and often bursting into song.
   (Picture source: twitter.com)

5 Favorite Cartoonists

   As I spend a lot of my time scrolling Instagram (actually an embarassing amount of time), I figured I would share a couple of my personal favorite accounts, both because I thought some of you might enjoy knowing more about the artists I admire and follow on social media. I picked cartoonists, who I find to be the most entertaining (on the entire app actually) and decided to present five of them to you.
   I've always enjoyed looking at the work of other artists as I sometimes draw myself and enjoy the craft. Besides, who doesn't consider cartoon strips hilarious and enjoyable? I think it's amazing, and what's even more amazing to me is that there are people daring enough to post their art on the Internet.
   I think these five people are hilarous, and if you're like me and spend a lot of time on the app, or are generally just bored, feel free to go look at these. I think all of them deserve more attention and recognition online.
   My personal favorite of these five is @straycurls, although her comics are mostly aimed towards the audience with curly hair, I find her comics very relatable and most of the time, absolutely hilarious. She also has an amazing artstyle which I admire a lot, and I think her personality is amazing and her humor impeccable. This Thor and Loki comic is one of my personal favorites, and it's made me smile every time I've looked at it. Her comic's characters vary a lot and adds an enjoyable amount of different approaches every time she posts.
   I recently, just a couple of days ago, found the account @bestie_thecomic which is also absolutely hilarious. It pictures the adventures of two roommates, and it makes me both laugh and smile. The style is different from all of the other artists I'm showing you, with very unique facial expressions and a nice color palette. I've only read a few of the comic strips, but I'm already completely in love. The style of drawing is actually unlike everything else I can remember I've seen before which, of course, is another nice detail about this artist.

   The next artist is someone you probably have heard of before, @chrishallbeck which is known all over the internet for his comics and his light drawing style. His drawings, with only a small amount of detail and the colorless drawings still manage to create an enjoyable reading experience. His jokes are unique and his storylines are refreshing. I've followed Chris Hallbeck for several years now, he's been one of my favorite artists for quite a while, and I doubt that will change any time soon. If you haven't yet heard of Chris and/or his work, I highly recommend that you check it out, his drawings are amazing. He also seems to have an amazing personality and he always makes me laugh. He's also the person producing the most content out of all the artists I've included on my list, updating his Instagram about every other day with new, enjoyable comics. Chris is also the one of these artists that has the largest following on Instagram.
   After following @artbymoga for almost a full year, I realize that she is one of my abslute favorite artists ever, and she always amazes me. Her ideas are unique and fresh, her cartoons are amazingly relatable for everyone who has ever enjoyed drawing and a lot more people. Her work often features her boyfriend and her friends, and are full of positivity and humor. She inspires me more than anyone else on this list, and I always love the colors she chooses for her comics. If I got to recommend just one of these artists that deserved a bigger audience, I would definetly say it's her. I love her style of art, and how she's not afraid to joke about herself and her own experiences. She seems like an amazingly kind, confident and driven person, which are the three characteristics that are the most important to me when I decide if I like a person or not.
   And last, but definetly not least, I have decided to feature @adamtots on this list of amazing artists. Because not only is his work inspired, funny, creative and enjoyable, he also has an awesome sense of humor (for example, this year's Halloween he dressed up like @artbymoga for Halloween), a nice personality and of course, a really nice beard. His style of art varies a bit, as illustrated in this comic on the right, which is part of the reason I chose this one to show his talent. His color palette shows a lot of variety and you know I love colors. He also has a tendency to use more shadowing in his work than the other featured artists on this list, and the jokes are often based on things that are happening/have happened in his life. We all know jokes based on the teller's own experience often generates the largest amount of laughs.
   I've been following him for about a year now, and I have no intention of stopping. He always makes me laugh and smile and his comics never disappoints.
   So, there are the five artists I decided to show you today, I hope you enjoyed them and seriously consider checking out more on their work. All these are cartoonists are found on Instagram.

Tear Us Down, Build Us Up

   When reading this quote today (on @feminine.fire on Instagram) I realized something. This quote is actually very true. No matter what a woman does, the things she accomplishes never gets the most attention.
    A female neurosurgeon is going to get asked what it's like to be a woman in her field more than she's congratulated for saving a life, a woman getting a Nobel prize is going to be disliked for what she wore to the ceremony more than she gets praised for her accomplishments in literature, a female athlete is going to get asked if her monthlies interferes with her training. This is something I've been thinking about a lot over several years, and despite this partly being a matter of sexist comments from men, it also happens a lot from other women.
   For some reason, when another woman accomplishes something, other women around her will instantly tear her down. "Oh, she won a Nobel prize? And she wore that to the ceremony?" "She got a perfect score on that test? Doesn't matter, I heard she's a complete B-word!" Let's face it, you've all seen it happen. Most women talk crap about each other all the time, and for absolute no reason. This is something I've never understood, and will never understand. I don't talk shit about other people, and I never will.
   Whenever I talk, I try to ask myself three things: Does it benefit me? Does it benefit the person/the people I'm currently talking to? Is it good for anyone else? If the answer is No to one of those questions, I usually don't speak at all about it. I just don't see the need to waste my energy on gossip and harsh talk about other people.
   I just think the world would be a lot better and a lot more productive if women stopped talking complete crap about each other and started building each other up instead of tearing others down.

Day #323

   Yesterday was a special one, marking me and Theo's first half year together, time well spent in great company which has generated a lot of laughs and great memories. And which will lead to a lot more positive experiences. We decided to celebrate small, going for dinner and drinks (asian food and a couple of appletinis).
   We went to Kiinanmuuri, a place with great asian cuisine and both of us had some amazing Kung Pao chicken (I have really missed asian food). We had also been thinking about trying the restaurant for quite a while, as we've walked past it several times. We were not disappointed, the portion sized were great and the food was really tasty.
   We then left right before they closed, and steered towards the centre of town, where we decided to go to one of my personal favorite bars.
   I had never had an appletini before, neither had he, and it did not taste the way I had imagined (I had imagined a lot more of apple taste, and a bit less lime) but it was actually pretty tasty, although very sour and the lime was a bit overwhelming. I liked it, but it's not a new personal favorite, and I doubt I will be drinking it very often, however I don't regret trying it. I had actually been curious about the drink for quite a while, since it's mentioned so often on tv, in movies and in books.
   We also decided to play some Trivial Pursuit Globetrotter edition while at the bar (also total sidenote: how awesome are bar games? I think it's an absolutely amazing idea), and we realised that our geographical knowledge is actually quite lacking. It made me realize that I really do want to travel and learn a lot more about the world that surrounds me, and that I should read more stuff about other countries and their cultures, since I really know a lot less than I thought I did.
   I had a lot of fun celebrating, and I look forward to spending many, many more months with him and creating more pleasant memories and experiences. It made me realize how lucky I am to have a partner who stands by me during everything I go through, who's proud of me when I accomplish things and who cherishes me and supports me, something that a lot of people don't have.
   I'm so grateful to have someone like him in my life and to have his support. He makes me laugh and relax, even when I'm stressed and under a lot of pressure. I enjoy myself more when I'm around him, and we're close enough to be comfortable around eachother even when we don't share an activity, and I can for the first time in a long time be comfortable enough around someone to actually just be quiet around them.
   I also for the first time in a long time see no reason for a relationship I'm in to end. We don't annoy eachother, we like the same kind of music, and we enjoy the same kind of things. We want the same thing in our future, to evolve our relationship and grow together, travel and experience the world together. I feel happy and secure whenever I'm around him.
   I'm so looking forward to spending more time with him, getting to known him further and evolve with him. I have yet to meet a person whos company I enjoy this much.

   Enjoy these pictures from yesterday evening, portraying us, our food and the drinks, and of course, the Trivial Pursuit game.

   I look forward to creating a lot more, equally amazing memories with you, honey. Here's to a lot more half a years to come!

Half A Year

   Today's very important to me. It marks exactly half a year since me and Theo officially became a couple, and while I don't like to celebrate small milestones all the time, celebrating half a year together is something else altogether.
   I had never imagined that I would date someone like him, and through we're still pretty new as a couple, I don't see any reason that our relationship is going to end. Everything is going extremely well, and I don't think I've ever been this happy in a relationship before.
   I hope that I'll be able to spend a lot more time with him. Here's to many, many more half years to come!

We Can't Say Anything

   We currently live in an age where we can't say anything, think anything or do anything. If you're a Christian, you'll get rude snarky comments from those that are atheists ("How could you be stupid enough to believe in a God?!) and if you're the atheist, you'll get a comment saying that you're cynical because you don't believe in a higher power. You'll get called stupid for being a feminist, you'll get called stupid for not being one. There's no way around it, no matter how much you try or what you believe, you'll get called stupid. Oh, your favorite color is pink? You're an asshole, blue is obviously the best color, how dare you say otherwise? Are you stupid or something?
   Because having an opinion different from someone elses, is no longer disagreeing, it's a straight up insult. Because of course, only your opinion can be the right one, and if someone dares say anything else they're either an asshole or they're just stupid. This is especially true on the Internet, where people face close to no consequences for calling eachother stupid, an asshole or just generally disrespecting eachother. You can't share anything that's meaningful to you on the Internet, because people will pick on you no matter what you say.
   This is partly because of the Internet as well, because the Internet gives everyone a voice, and the right to voice their opinions, making other people believe that their opinion is the only thing that matters. How many of you have ever witnessed an argument about the stupidest things online? I once got told that I have to do whatever my future boyfriend/husband tells me, because men have the right to force women to do whatever they please. This is just one example of a completely ridiculous statement.
   Why is it so hard to just treat eachother like humans? Since when are our own opinions more important than other people? And maybe the most important question of all: what is going on in your life that makes you think you are so important that you can treat people like they are somehow less tha you?
   I've said it before, and I'll say it again: everyone's opinion matters, and everyone has their right to voice theirs. But not doing it in a respectful way, and sometimes even attacking a person because their values differ a bit from yours and they're not hurting anyone, is something I'll never understand. What makes a person so cynical and awful that they have to talk down to everyone around them that dares to think for themselves? Because of course, people have no right to share their own opinions and share their voice, because the only thing that truly matters, is what I think about and what values I have.
(Image source: Brighter Kashmir, Tumblr)

Taking a Break

   Every now and then I need to take a break from everyone. Just a couple of days, all to myself, all alone. Some people drink coffee, take powernaps or take an afternoon drink to gain their energy again, this is my way of re-charging. During this break, I don't talk to people, I stay away from social media, and eat a lot of garbage food. However, this weekend it happened to coincide with me being sick, I had a fever of about 38.5 on Saturday, and Sunday was a bit better. Today's also better, and I feel more energized (however, I slept over an hour during the day and still have a fever).
   After my little break from everything, I'm trying to make up for all the time I lost by studying for an exam and reading some more Edgar Allan Poe short stories. I'm still taking it slow however (because
   I really do want to get well as soon as possible, and I'm scared of getting more sick, because I really don't have the time to stay sick), sitting in bed for most of the day with my books and taking breaks to rest my eyes. I'm also eating a lot of C vitamins and a ton of other healthy foods to make sure it doesn't get worse. I, for example, am eating cucumber slices for a light before dinner snack as I write this. My boyfriend has been really nice to me too, taking care of me as much as he can, making sure I eat and drink properly.
   I have two upcoming exams, and I've been studying as much as I can for the both of them and taking a few breaks along the way. I consider my break from social life over, and I'm going out for a beer with a friend on Wednesday (if I manage to get well enough before that) and I have a lot of fascinating classes to attend.

Day #313

   Today I was surprised by something I actually thought I'd never think I would think so positively about. I had my first lab session in almost half a year, and as I remembered them being very draining and making me feel like I didn't accomplish anything this spring.
   However, now I felt useful and like I actually new what I was doing, free to bring out my ideas into the space. I'm not sure if it's because if I'm more experienced now, or if it's in the change of lab and lab partner. But no matter what caused it, it's amazing that I actually managed to feel better about working in a lab. I also had quite a lot of fun during the lab, a lot of people I know made their way into the lab at the same day I did (we had four days to choose from) and so I count myself very lucky to get to surround myself with such nice people, working around them.
   I also count myself lucky to have the opportunity to study something that I'm so passionate about and fascinated by that I don't mind spending 8 hours a day on.
(Image source: Trans Millenium Peptides)

One Person

   "All it takes is one person who believes in you." It's a very common thing to hear, and even to say, to read on social media. But sometimes people don't realize that people can actually be you. You need one person to believe in you, that person can be you. Just make sure you find the right cause to motivate you, something that you love and are passionate about.
   Your one person, can be you. When you fail, you can be the one to pick yourself up. When you lack, you can be the person who will push yourself further. When you doubt, you can convince yourself. You can make absolutely everything happen for yourself, without the help of anyone else. You just need to be focused, dedicated, passionate and not let people around you bend your will. This is something that I have always believed, and probably always will believe.
   Having people who support you is fine, but I think everyone can make their own happiness and make their own dreams come through without having someone else to support them and pushing you. I've always believed the best kind of accomplishment you can make, is one you've made entirely on your own without relying on anyone else.
   I have thought about this alot. I have a lot of people who support me in everything I do, my family, my boyfriend and my friends are crazy supportive. But I always belive that even if no one else believes in you, you're going to have to have the strenght to pick yourself up and push yourself to accomplish your dreams. And you have every kind of opportunity to do so, even without people who support you.
   You can become everything you want to be, you can accomplish everything you want to, and if you want to, or need to, you can be the only person you truly need.

Day #312

   Today has been insanely busy. I've taken notes to four classes, read two short stories by Edgar Allan Poe (slowly rekindling my love for his work) and stockpiling posts for my December break. I feel like I've really gotten stuff done, and knowing tomorrow will be really busy with school stuff. I have a ton of things to do as well.

Life Update

   November and December are going to be the two toughest months of the year yet, and I am so thrilled. I have a lot of things to get done, including a ton of tests, books and Christmas shopping to do. I'm actually looking forward to it, I like staying busy. I've always loved it, because it gives me the feeling that I'm actually working towards something and accomplishing things, and being short on time is one of my biggest motivators. Besides, all the things happening are positive changes and improvements in my life.
   I ´have a ton of classes to take exams in, and I need to pass them all to keep myself afloat. But, I'm not worried. I have no doubt in the fact that I'll make it. I've always known that I perform my best under pressure, ever since I first got told that the essay I wrote in twenty minutes was excellent by one of my favorite teachers. I'm actually thrilled and viewing this as a personal challenge. Besides, it's just a few classes and a few exams, what's the worst that can happen?
   I also started new, amazingly fascinated classes. Both in language and philosophy, and the lectures are amazing. Sadly, the philosophy class on thursday clashes with my organic compounds classes.
   I have a lot of plans for the blog as well, and a couple of ideas for youtube videos to be recorded for this incoming months. I'm still working on two different, personal projects (writing of course what else?). I'm really fond of both, and maybe sometime, I'll find the courage to share them with you.
   Meanwhile, enjoy these pictures of the castle I took a couple of days ago when I went to see it. It's beautiful in fall, don't you think?

Pastel Queen

Hi guys! I have exiting news for you!
I have teamed up with Pastel Queen, a new, exciting clothing company, to bring you amazing fashion. They make clothing fun, their prints are adorable, the colors are amazing and best of all, they ship worldwide!
   These clothes are perfect for the pastel parts of you, longing for adorable clothes and pretty colors. They also have several things in black, and are perfect for those of you who are interested in pastelgothic clothing (here are a couple of personal favorites (of which I'm adding Horror Movie and Chill to my personal wishlist for Christmas (*hint* *hint*, people who know me), taken from their instagram, as you can see the clothes are absolutely adorable!) And the best thing: I have a code for you to use, to get 15% off your order! Awesome, right?
   Other than clothing, this company offers you unique phone cases, and amazing, decorative pillows with adorable looks. These other products are also shipping all over the world.
   To get to their website, simply click here and begin shopping! And remember, to use my code for your 15% off, which is (of course): Myspotfordreams

Feminism & Why I'm a Feminist (Vlog)

Another post/video about feminism, I know you've heard it all before. But feminism is important, and like all other important subjects, we should never stop talking about them. In my video, I meantion my wishes for strict gun regulation in the US. My thoughts go out to everyone who's been in any way hurt by the tragedy. I hope that you find the strenght to carry on, and to fight for a change which might hinder future instances of mindless violence.
We need to continue calling out for change for change to happen to actually make the people around us spring into action.

I'm So Proud!

   I'm so thrilled to tell you about something that makes me insanely proud. My boyfriend made an app. It's been in circulation for a while, but I wanted to recommend this to you as well. If you enjoy playing pidro, you need this app!
   It's simple, easy to use and very clear. I use it myself, and it's amazingly handy when you don't have a pen or paper nearby. (Also, as an environmental biologist obligatory environmental comment: save paper, save trees!) I also really like the soothing blue color.
As you can see, there are two versions of the app, one that contains adds and one that doesn't and costs 0,99€. The adds are discrete and don't take away from the handiness (or even the aesthetics of the app. They are both available in the Google play store.
   It's easy to think that I'd be partial to like the app because my boyfriend made it, but I'm actually completely honest. I really do like it, I'd never advertise a product I didn't care for, even if someone I like made it.
   Here are links to the apps if you want to further check them out: With ads and Without ads

Day #310 A Concrete Example

   I always talk about how busy I am, so I figured I would give you an actual example of my To Do-list, so here it is! This is what I need/want to do today. I'm, as usual, writing two blog posts, and as I'm working on several projects at the moment, I'd like to write at least 4000 words to further progress my work. I'd like to finish reading a book for Briljanta Böcker and review the same.
   As it is Monday, I need to record a video, and publish according to schedule. I have classes to take notes for, and a class to attend in the afternoon, scientific philosophy, which I'm very much looking forward to (I remember the last lecture I attended to be absolutely spellbinding.). As I'm also stockpiling I need to make two posts for December when I'll be taking my vacation. I have also planned a bit of exercise and will be taking a walk sometime in the afternoon or evening.
   As my boyfriend's birthday is coming up, I'm looking forward to start working out all the things regarding his present. I already have an idea, but a lot of details have to fall into place before I can consider myself happy with it.
   As every day, I also have a whole bunch of emails to send, reply to and read. I've recently reached out to a company regarding a possible collaboration, but as nothing has been decided yet, I won't be telling you anything about that now.
   So as you can see, this daily for me. Being busy has become a rutine, and I love it!

I'm an Addict

   I'm an addict. And before you say anything, I am well aware that there are worse addictions out there. It's not like I'm addicted to meth, cocaine or even cigarettes. But these are, however addictions that actually do affect my daily life.
   I'm addicted to sugar. The kind of sugar doesn't really matter. Chocolates, fruit, juice... Everything containing something sweet is my personal drug of choice. I have, however, gotten better at eating fruits and drinking juice instead of having candy (although I still always have a bag nearby, said bag now lasts me days, even if I share with my boyfriend), because I tend to eat a few pieces when I study. I had a much worse time a few years ago, when a whole chocolate bar easily could disappear in one night.
   I'm also addicted to my phone, which comes as no surprise to you (basically everone who is on social media is a bit addicted to it). I always have it with me (even if I'm leaving the apartment to go get my mail). I have started thinking about my phone as a portable safe zone, and if I don't have it on me/near me, I feel very strangely unsafe. I also love the convenience of always having your phone. Bored? Look at cats on YouTube. Waiting for someone? Text them in seconds to know where they are. Can't find your way home? Just use an app. But despite my clear addiction to my phone, it's a comfort to know that I'm not alone in this. Most people under 25 are more or less addicted to their portable screens, and why wouldn't we be? We, literally, have the means to explore the entire world in our pocket.

Day #308 Pescetarian

   I have decided to, once again take up my pescetarianism. For those of you who don't know, when you're a pescetarian you don't eat meat, only fish. People do this for many reasons; moral and health being the most common ones. This means I'll be replacing my protein with other sources, such as eggs, beans and nuts.
   However, as I don't do this because of moral reason, just simply because I want to and because of the health benefits of doing this, I have decided that I am allowed to make exceptions (for example, I will be having Christmas ham in a few months). This is something that I've done before and would have done again sooner or later. I've been thinking about if for quite a while, several months in fact, and I would like avoiding meat a habit for myself. I view this as one of the first steps to make my life a healthier one, and I look forward to it.
   I did this for almost a year, and it was amazing. I did not miss the meat, though I sometimes craved it on an odd day. I hope to be able to keep to it this time, especially due to making a couple of exceptions every now and then. I've also read that meat is very globally strenious to produce, and I hope to minimize my impact on the world that way.
   I've already been on a pescetarian for two days, and have yet to realize why I gave it up in the first place. I don't miss the meat at all actually. I don't plan to follow this strictly however, as I said, there will be exceptions to my habits of not eating meat. I've also started to gradually introduce vegetarian food to my boyfriend and his roommate when I cook for them, but only every once in a while. I refuse to be the kind of person that forces my habits on someone else.
(Image source: slimshortcut.com)

Day #307

Here are a couple of pictures from my little walk yesterday. I'm still sick and hence don't have the energy to do a lot of blogging or work in general, so I decided to post this to keep somewhat of an upload schedule. I'm still plagued by headaches, but I feel a little bit better.

The New Phone

I've been needing a new phone for a while now, the old one having quite the large amount of troublesome qualities. After my apps started closing whenever they wanted, stopped responding and I needed to rely on luck to be able to do the simplest things, like answering messages. So, when deciding to get a new one, I was thrilled.
My dad and Theo helped me pick out a phone within the student budget, that still manages to do all the things I need it to. I decided on a Honor 8 lite, a blue one. I finally bought it yesterday, and I have yet to regret it. The screen is so smooth compared to my old one, the camera is about ten times better, and it's so nice to work with something that doesn't take every opportunity to work against you. I have, however, decided to keep my old phone, just in case this one breaks and I need a spare one (something that I noticed I actually need when my phone screen broke this summer and I could no longer use it).
So far, I'm really pleased with my decision, though I haven't gotten much use out of it yet. After all, I've only owned it for about two days. I also really love the color, a kind of dark navy blue. I also got a flip cover, partly to protect it, partly because it's so handy and I like having one (my last one was in a flip cover for two years, so it's become quite the habit). I really like it, at least so far!

Halloween

I've always loved Halloween, although it's not celebrated where I'm from. So of course, when I heard about a get-together one of the groups at school arranged with Halloween as the theme, I couldn't help but partcipate!
I decided to dress up as a corpse, and even went so far as to buy contacts (partly because of Halloween, partly because I've always wanted a pair and partly because they were absolutely gorgeous) and a black wig. I did some quick, cheap makeup (that honestly could have turned out a lot better, you know I'm awful with everything that comes with a brush.
The dress I already had in my closet, as I've used it before (I actually care for it quite a lot, I think it's gorgeous, especially the lace overlayer), but I thought it fit the purpose nicely and decided to wear it together with a pair of high boots with a little bit of a high heel.
The evening went amazingly, I had so much fun and had a lot of nice talks with some amazing people. I also realized I should meet more people, go out more often and that going out with the beginning of a cold in your system is never a good idea (because today I have an awful cough and my chest hurts along with my legs). I don't regret going out though, I had a lot of fun and if I could make the choice all over again, I'd make the same one.