It's my birthday!

I was never that person, who loves having birthday so much they start a countdown a month or two before. I think it's because I don't like being the centre of attention and having a birthday forces me to socialize with people I don't know very well, so I feel anxious. Part of me believes I don't deserve having a special day, dedicate to me because I'm not important enough, I don't believe people will remember or care that it's my birthday and when they do I'm never sure what to do.

But since high school started I can't get away with pretending I don't have a birthday and frankly I don't want to anymore because my friends always make sure I feel all bubbly and happy. 

This year's birthday started as usual. I woke up way to early for my liking, got dressed and headed to school where people I know wished me happy birthday and were extra nice because that's a thing to do when it's someone's birthday.  A lot of people from other classes I never in a million years expected to know it was my birthday, came up to me and wished me all the best and wrapped me in a heart warming hug. I think on that day I lost the right to say I have no one who would care about me. 

But the best part was yet to come.

At the break my schoolmates showed up with a bunch of pastry they baked themselves and sushi that had birthday candles on top of it. (I don't know if I ever stated on my blog how much I love sushi, but the fact I got it instead of cake says a lot.)

Look at all the food

A friend who was sitting next to me at the time laughed when she saw everything they brought me then suddenly got up and disappeared.  I didn't think much of it because during a break she usually hangs out in a special room where they choose song to play on the speakers around the school, so it's like a radio of some sort. But she returned a few minutes later with a gift bag full of Japanese candy she got for me while she was visiting Japan during summer. She actually thought what to get me two months before my birthday. If that doesn't scream effort in capital letters, then I don't know what does.  

Delicious Japanese candy

Two days after my birthday I got a call from two of my best friends who told me to meet them outside my door. We don't go to the same school and our schedules are so different we rarely get together, so I was really happy to see them. They bought me Zoella's book Girl Online which I have already started reading although I should be studying for my maths exam. 

Expect a review soon!

Later that day I invited my schoolmates over to my house to celebrate and they brought me the most amazing, sentimental gift. They made me this wooden panel with pictures of them and me and they added some quotes. I'm planning on putting it on my wall as soon as I can so I can look at it every day and it will remind me how blessed I am to have the best friends in the world.

There's not one good looking picture of me on there

If I were to mention all the lovely texts and calls I got from my other friends as well this post would be endless so I'm finishing here.

Let me know in the comments what does your birthday usually go like! Are you looking forward to your birthday or is it just another ordinary day in your life?

The food market

If you live in a capital city there is always something happening, there are always different events taking place. I’ve been living in capital city since I was a little kid and I’ve been oblivious to those events most of the time. When I got slightly older, slightly more interested in the world around me, I came to realise that maybe going to these events wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. 

One of those events is Open Kitchen which is basically a food market that takes place every Friday from mid-March to October. People who’ve been there speak very highly of it and the place is always flooded with people so on a Friday morning I decide it’s time to give it a go. In school I convinced a few of my friends to join me, so as soon as our classes ended we headed downtown where the Open Kitchen takes place.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and you could feel a little breeze now and then, so naturally the town was filled with teenagers who were happy that the weekend was finally starting, the tourists that were easy to spot with their cameras and people who simply came to enjoy the sun. 

We headed towards the Open Kitchen where we walked around, looking at the stands and deciding what we should eat. Let me tell you that it wasn’t easy to choose, but once we narrowed it down to a few options and considered the prices we went for a burrito from BurritoLoco. I’ve never had a burrito before, to be honest, but I love Mexican food so I decided to give it a try and I wasn’t disappointed. 

One of my friends leaded us to a quite place under a bridge nearby because at the Open Kitchen you can’t really sit down and enjoy the food. For a few moments we enjoyed the silence and the taste of food in our mouth before we started to discuss what it tasted like and what we thought of the whole experience.

Overall the food was good, I was in great company and the weather was nice, so I think I’m definitely going back next Friday if I can afford it. I saw couple of things that I really want to try and I don’t have much time until the season of Open Kitchen ends, so there’s a possibility that you will see a similar post in a following month.

Meeting Eva

It all started with a simple email about two weeks ago. I was absolutely thrilled when I opened it and read that Eva (click on the name to check out her amazing blog) wants to meet up and do a collaboration. 

I’ve been following her since I first started using blogger, so you can assume that I didn’t think twice about the preposition she made before agreeing to crab a cup of coffee and discusses our blogs. 

On a day we decided to met I didn’t know what to expect given this was my first ever collaboration. I was slightly nervous, but above all excited to meet someone who shares same interests as me.

It was rainy, dull day so Eva was easy to spot in her colourful outfit. I have to admit that I have so much respect for people who manage to dress in colour and look stunning because I am the worst when it comes to colour coordinating which is also the reason I dress in black and white most of the time. And let me tell you that Eva knew very well how to pull off that outfit. 

We found a cozy spot in a coffee shop that was fairly empty when we got there, but in the next three hours we spent there a decent amount of people came to enjoy their cup of coffee. 

At first out conversation was a bit awkward, but when we realised we share opinion on variety of topics, the fact we only knew each other for about ten minutes didn’t matter anymore. 

Eva made me feel like we’ve known each other for years. It was like talking to an old childhood friend that you can trust everything with. We discussed things like blogging community, school, living abroad, movies and series. I learned so much about her, her goal in life and she is a true inspiration. 

In three hours I was lucky enough to get to know her and enjoy her company, I realised she isn’t only a great blogger, but amazing person as well. 

At one point Eva mentioned that in her opinion blogging brings good and bad things into your life, but that a list of good ones in considerably longer. I know that from the day I met her I have one more thing to add to the list of good things and that’s meeting her.

Things that inspire me

In life setting a goal for yourself is not always enough. There are obstacles on the way and we often lose motivation when we have to face them. Because of that we are always looking for things and people that inspire us, who keep us going when we want to give up. 

I think we all know that feeling too well. Because school year is slowly starting and we will need more then just a dash of random inspiration, I wanted to show you things that inspire me and make me feel ready to take on the world. 

My biggest inspiration is my diary. It’s a flowery notebook, not much at the first glance, to be honest, but that’s why they always say not to judge a book by its cover (although, let’s admit it, we all do it). 

I used it as a diary at first, but eventually I turned it into a notebook where I keep quotes, stories and poems that touched me and make me want to be better. 

Also I find writing very relaxing so whenever I feel stressed out, I sit down, search for few quotes on Tumblr and write them down. 

There is only one problem that I seem to have. When you read a quote hundred times over and over again it usually loses its power to affect you. When that happens I reach out for a good movie. 

Movies about sports and milestones in history are the ones that do the magic for me. I recently watched Remember the Titans which really motivated me. I love the fact that it’s not only about football, but also about racial discrimination that these boys are put through. Coach Carter is another great movie I would recommend if you love sports movies as much as I do.

The next source of my inspiration is kind of cliché, but it’s also the most common. I get great amount of inspiration from people around me. From my family and friends to complete strangers on the street. 

Next time you are in a crowded place I dare you to look around, and I guarantee you, you will see someone you envy. If you have the power to look at that person and see inspiration instead of competition, you have already won because now you have unlimited source of inspiration. Now, you can walk around and see someone that makes you want to dress better, read more, be more sociable etc. 

Those are things that inspire me, but I want to know what inspires you. Let me know in the comments!