hello all you lovely people! i arrived back in berlin this afternoon. i love traveling and really enjoy staying in hotels or at friends' homes, and i am quite good at making myself at home - i have also learned i have this strange ability for figuring out a kitchen (where everything goes) in .5 seconds. but, it is always such a refreshing and relaxed feeling, coming back to your own flat after traveling. it is that feeling of immediately knowing where everything is, and having all the little luxuries you hold dear right at your fingertips. everyone places different emphasizes on what is essential in owning and maintaing a home, so i suppose that what i mean by the little luxuries. for me it is coming home knowing i can take a relaxing bath tonight and light some candles. and, as trivial as this may sound, it is always really relaxing to know i can rifle through my closet and choose what i want to wear at will, instead of from a limited amount of wrinkled items from a suitcase. still there is something to be said about suitcase living which is really do enjoy.
in anyway, sweden was absolutely amazing. i am sure my stay there was a bit colored by the fact that i was surrounded by awesome people, but i really do find the swedes as a people kind and open. but more on that in my next post. right now i thought i would take to the great task of coming up with my resolutions for 2013.
6 active 4 mental
Active:
1: make more music - there is something you may not know about me: i sing and play guitar. i am quite shy about it, but my goal this year is to devote more time - both in hours and regularity - to practicing and writing music. i also want to be more adventurous and play at least one open mic and busk at least once in the new year. it's time to cast aside my fears! i would also like to finally start a regular music youtube channel without chickening out - stay tuned because i am sure i will eventually post them here on this very blog :)
2: increase my photography skills - something else you may not know about me: for many years of my life, i have dreamed of being a photojournalist. this dream was sort of put to a screeching halt when i decided that a goal of mine was to one day raise children and have a home and husband of my own. i wanted to travel the world and capture it all, but i realized it would be too much of a danger to put myself at that kind of risk, and worry my loved ones at home. however, my dreams have been reawakened as of late, especially because documentary photography is a lot broader than just war coverage. i have not shared this branch of photography with you all, as my blog is fashion and lifestyle, but i am hoping to put together a website for this as well as become better technically.
3: take this blog to the next leveel - this sort of goes hand in hand with my photography, as i want to get better and more regular at photographing my life as well as outfits. i want to work on the layout and content of this blog to make it both the most reader friendly and representative of me as possible. i also want to practice my writing skills as well to write in a way that is communicative and also better expresses my personality. also working on possibly implementing video to my blog as well - i had talked about it before but i realized my skills are not really there yet but i will be practicing and hopefully starting video in the new year as well
4: get moving! - motivation is what i am talking about, and on all fronts as well. i am dong well in university but i want to do even better. i want to be working on my papers and research every day monday-friday and sunday. i am starting a new job as well, so i want to really be able to give my all for both my academics and professional life. more generally - taking care of things when the idea pops into my head: doing the laundry more regularly, cleaning more regularly for example. i am not any lazier than the next person (and trust me we all need time for being lazy, it is our right as a human other wise we really really crash and burn) but i get burned out really easily so i want to work on being more consistent and having less burn outs for all things!
5: be healthy! - it has been difficult fitting exercise into my schedule with university taking up most of my time at the moment, but it's a goal of mine to start going to the gym regularly again. i also want to start eating a more well balanced and healthy diet. most importantly, that means knowing when to stop! i tend to overeat a lot, so i will be trying to watch this - everything in moderation! cutting down on smoking is also on the list.
6: leave my flat more often - this sounds like a really weird/lame resolution, but i often get a bit cozy in the evenings and have a hard time getting myself out the door on the weekends. i love going out and having a good time, but once i am sitting cozy on the sofa watching a movie i tend to cancel any previously made plans of going out and just spend the rest of the night there. it is the most difficult in winter, since the thought of venturing out into the cold is not so fun, but i am going to try to beat the urge to stay in. along with this i would also say, WORK ON BEING ON TIME!
Mentality:
1: let go - bottom line - don't sweat the little things and your life can only become more positive. cutting out negative energy is actually extremely beneficial which even sometimes (sadly) includes people who are not good for you. this doesn't mean you need to get into fights with people - drama is never fun - but distancing yourself from things that do not really make you happy is something i find important, because otherwise you will just make yourself miserable. we are in control of our own happiness and i find there are times we need to be sad and reflect on what hurts us, but no one wants to drink coffee with a perpetual debbie downer.
2: acceptance, faith, forgiveness - this goes along with number one. accept things, events, and people for what they are. this does not mean you have to be okay with every outcome or friends with everyone but just have faith that negative situations and people will turn themselves around and forgive. everything is a result of something else and everyone reacts for a certain reason. even if you do not agree, forgive and let go, with the idea that people can and will change for the better.
3: don't sweat it - they say your harshest critic is yourself, and in my case this is very true. this year i will be working on loving myself more and not re-hashing every potentially stupid or awkward thing i might have done, because it's counterproductive, and negative! i don't mean to forgo self reflection as self reflection leads to growth. but remember that time that you met that new person, and said that really awkward thing? yeah they must really hate you. so let's dwell about it all afternoon and conclude that no one could possibly want to be your friend. see what i just did there? yep, none of that.
4: be a fair person - i tend to feel really guilt about things really fast, but i think it is actually a really bad idea to try to be the "nicest" person on earth. it leads to getting walked over by lots of people. obviously no one wants to be bffs with a grinch either, which is why i think the best and most respectable thing one can strive to be is fair. it's great to say yes, but it is also totally okay to say no. a bit confusing, but i am pretty sure you guys are picking up what am putting down.
these are my resolutions for the coming new year. what are yours?
lg, rae