Winter wonderland

I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but I love snowboarding. Winter is my favourite season - yes, I know most of you summer lovers want to stab me right now - and snowboarding is my favourite winter activity.

There's something so breathtaking about mountains and snow and the feeling of freedom when you are on the ski slopes. 

We went skiing/snowboarding in school last Friday and I enjoyed it so much. We had the perfect day even though the snow wasn't as good as I hoped it would be and my knees started to hurt at the end because of it, but overall it was my idea of heaven. 

I was in good company, doing the thing I love and that's always great, isn't it?

I think when you go skiing the most important thing is to go with people you like, because raiding a chairlift can be boring at times, so you need someone to gossip with.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with people that I usually don't hang out with and I can honestly say that there's something about freezing together on a chairlift that really forms a bond and makes you talk about personal issues or things you aren't as confident saying otherwise.

And that why I consider skiing the most quality time you can spend with your friends.

What's your favourite winter activity? Or are you more of a summer person?

How to reduce stess

I am a very nervous person and dealing with stress can be quite hard for me. When I am really stressed out, anything can fire me up and when that happens it can go in two directions.

The first one includes me picking a fight with someone, usually a family member, and yelling my lungs out until I decide I've had enough, storming into my room then shutting the door with a band loud enough for the neighbours to hear.

The second option is better for people around me, but not as good for me. I tend to stay quiet and take it all in, until I feel this pressure on my chest which makes it hard for me to breath. When this happens I need to either get out and walk around or sleep it off.

When you have a deadline you have to meet, none of this options seem very welcoming so I've worked a lot on how to deal with stress and I want to share this methods with you.

Put situation into perspective. This one seems to work great for me when I am under a lot of pressure when it comes to public speaking or oral exams. The stress I feel in those situations is caused by the thought of being embarrassed in front of larger group of people. The thing that makes me calm is putting the whole thing into perspective and telling myself that in a week or two no one will remember what I said or didn't say. People all have their own problems to worry about and although they may laugh when you say something stupid, most of them won't put much thought into it.

Don't procrastinate. I know procrastination is something hard to deal with, but the absolute worst combination is having a deadline and not being able to stop procrastinating. Believe me, I know. You have no idea how many times I catch myself watching a series or a movie and stressing out about the exam I have the next day. The only thing that will help you in those moments is to have enough self discipline to open a book and start studying.

Eat healthy. When I get stressed out, anxious about something I tend to nibble on whatever snack I can find in the house. Usually it's something sweet that will give me an energy boost and made me feel more hyper than before which is definitely not a good thing when you're trying to reduce stress. Now I replace chocolate with a glass of water or cup of tea, so I keep myself hydrated while studying, but also to stop myself from eating everything I see. Is any of you a nervous eater as well?

Take a day off. You can't keep going. No one can. So whenever you have some spare time, whenever you have a day when you don't necessarily have to rush anywhere, I advise you to take a day off and relax. You will never run out of work, because there's always so much that still has to be done, but you can very easily run out of energy.

I hope any of these helps you, or I hope that at least you found that interesting in anyway and if you made it that far, right to the end of the post I'd like to thank you for taking a moment out of your day to read this. You'll hear more from me at the end of the week.

Stay relaxed! ;)

Ruling out colleges

I know it's Wednesday (or it was when I wrote this) and I usually post on Sundays, but as you may noticed I didn't post anything this weekend. I was in a bad mood, without an idea for a blog post and overall incapable to force myself to write something for you.

The fact I started watching Supernatural didn't help either, but we will talk about the series some other time, if that's fine with you.

Let's catch up on what's been going on, shall we?

This weekend was quite a handful to be honest. Each year in February there is a weekend where you are able to visit colleges and high schools to decide where you want to continue your studies. Every school in the country puts an extra effort into making their school stand out with representation, so they attract as many students as possible.

When I was choosing high school I didn't put much thought into it. I knew where I wanted to go, and choosing high school isn't that big deal after all. Of course some schools have more to offer than the others, in means of sport program and science projects, but the educational program is the same for each school.

Choosing college, however, is stressful and for me a very unpleasant experience so far.

I have already decided what I want to study, and I am probably going to stick to that decision, but I am interested in so many things it's driving me insane. I don't want to have a job in one field for the rest of my life, even thought that's probably going to happen, and I am afraid that I am going to be bored and miserable for the rest of my life, if I make the wrong decision now.

So instead of choosing the right college and career path, I decided I should rule out the ones I am not interest in.

Why would I need to do that if I already choose the college I want to go to?

Because I am influenced a lot by the series I am currently watching or a book I am reading, so I get carried away sometimes. For example, a few weeks ago I read a book where the main character was in love with a vet and I started idolising the job. A week later my dog got sick and I had to take him to the vet.

Guess what happened?

I remembered I have a fear of needles when the vet took a needle out of his drawer and I wasn't able to watch what the vet was doing, because I was feeling sick.

Because I know myself well enough, and I am sure I would convince myself I am able to do a job like that, once I got my hands on a similar book again, I decided to make a list of colleges I shouldn't consider going to.

You know, just in case, I get some great ideas that would turn out not to be that great at the end.

 How did you choose what you want to study? Or are you still figuring it out? And if so, how's that going?

Making history

I have grown up surrounded by football and I always used to play it with my cousins and brother. I was quite a tomboy when I was younger, and it meant a lot to me that they allowed me to play it with them.

So naturally, when I first got to high school, I applied for a girl's football team. At that point I've gown out of my tomboy stage, but still had a burning passion for football. I liked playing it, and I took every opportunity to do so.

When I say I applied for the girl's football team... It wasn't a big deal. There wasn't a selection or anything, and it wasn't all that serious. We had self-organised trainings, but it was more or less just about getting to know each other and playing for fun than actual trainings. Then at the start of the February we had matches against other schools.

We lost all of them. Well, technically we won one match, but that was only because the rival team didn't show up.

A year later a lot of girls applied and a professor decided it would be a good idea to have two separate teams. A good one and a little less good one. That was the year we all went to trainings because the professor would mark down who was training. Girls who were on all the trainings would make it to the good team.

We scored a goal that year, yet we still managed to lose all of the matches with both teams.

This year the girls who started the whole girl's football team went off to college and honestly, I thought the whole thing would just go down the drain. They used to do this funny little posters at the start of the school year to attract more girls to join the team and this year there was none of that. We found out there was supposed to be trainings on Fridays, but none of my friends bothered to go. The truth is we finish school early on Fridays and we didn't want to stick around for another hour or two for the training.

A few months just flew by, and we kept saying to ourselves: "We'll go next week."

We never went and before you know it, it's February. That meant we were supposed to play against other schools.

We went there knowing we were going to lose. I mean, we didn't train, we hardly knew people from the team. It was like a recipe for a disaster.

You can imagine how hyper we were when the ball went into the opponent's goal for the first time. And then for the second time. It felt like Christmas all over again.

I think this might be the first match the girl's team from our school has ever won. I'd like to think I contributed to that at least a little bit, because now I'll be able to tell my grandchildren that I was on the team when we won for the first time.

Now cross your fingers because we have another match coming this week!

My bucket list

I started writing bucket list two years ago. I remember feeling down, hopeless and devastated when I decided to make one, so I'd have some goals to achieve in the near future. I called it "To do list 2014". 

When I was making the list I remember searching the internet for some ideas. A year later when I made a new list I didn't need the help of the internet. I knew what I wanted to do and I put that down. 

It's time for me to do another one for the year 2016, so I decided to share the things I put on that list in the past, and how I achieved some of the goal and share some new ideas as well. 

First thing I do, when writing a list, is I put down all the goals I haven't achieve last year, which is most of them, but I'm a strong believer in the saying better late than never. Then I add some new ones. 

So here is a list of things I came up with in the past two years. As I mentioned before I haven't achieved a lot of them, but the ones I did have an explanation besides them. I can tell you it's a very satisfying feeling when you can cross something out.

To do list 

35 good deeds - I did 4. I know it seems like I'm the worst person ever, but in two years I helped 4 random strangers whom I never seen again and I think 4 in two years it's, you know, pretty good

Put soap into public fountain

Say yes to everything for 1 day

Have a food fight

Find a taxi and tell the driver to follow a random car

Learn how to play the guitar - I started, but I gave up quite soon, so this is still on my list

Write a book

Send a message in a bottle

Sleep under the stars - I slept on the beach. It was uncomfortable but it was amazing watching the night sky before falling asleep. I even saw a few shooting stars

Go skydiving

Make someone wish come true - I really wanted this to be a big deal, but my mum crossed it off when I cleaned my room, saying that her wish came true with that action.

Fly in a helicopter

Have influence on someone's life - A friend of mine crossed this one off when she was visiting and I haven't even notice at first, but then I saw it was crossed off and her initials were written beside it.

Learn how to cook properly - My goal was to make at least five dishes because all I knew was how to make some pasta and eggs and pancakes. 

Learn how to meditate

Throw a coin into the wishing well - I did that while I was in Rome and although I can't remember the wish I made, I feel like these event holds a special place in my heart.

Build a treehouse 

Go skinny dipping at midnight

Win a lottery   

Go on holiday with friends - we went to a friend's holiday cottage for a few days, so I crossed that off the list, but I am planning to go to a proper Eurotrip with my friends

Have a picnic in a nearby park

Maybe you can do one of these yourself?

Best quotes of 2015

Everyone has a chapter they don't read out loud.

Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in reader. Not the fact that it's raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.

Sometimes it's the people no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine.

I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me.

I said I'd go to hell for you, but I didn't expect you to leave me there.

You won't remember the test you failed, but you will never forget the person you were with the night before when you decided not to study.

There are two mistake someone can make along the road to truth. Not going all the way and not starting.

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.

Just because someone looks happy doesn't mean they are, because even a white rose has a black shadow.

Knowing when to walk away is wisdom. Being able to is courage. 

Love when you are ready, not when you are lonely.

We are trying to kill time while time is killing us.

He has his own war to fight in, yet he dresses me for battle every day.

I admire people who choose to shine even after all the storms they have been through.

Do not became small for people who refuse to grow.

I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible and when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are names after people.

Stop drowning for people who won't even get in the damn water for you.

Credit for idea for this blog post goes to Eva who did a similar thing a few weeks ago. I love quotes, so I just had to do a post about it myself. What is your favourite quote?

Can't believe it's already January

I've completely ditched December and start of January when it comes to my blog post, but the truth is there wasn't much to write about. It was chaotic and I could barely find some time to sit down and relax, let alone write a blog.

I'm grateful all this madness is over. I have two weeks of pure relaxation in front of me and I'm greeting them with open hands. Of course I have school to attend, however for the next two weeks it's going to be stress free because we don't have any exams.

Since I've been finally able to do something other then study I decided to clean my room. Cleaning my room led me to a discovery of a notebook which I used during summer to write down stuff when I got bored. In it I found a page with a title Things that make me happy.

From what I remember I wrote down an alphabet then decided to name one thing that makes me happy for each letter.

Here's what I wrote

Art - I like going to all sort of galleries, watching the exhibitions. It inspires and relaxes me.

Books - They always been my getaway from reality.

Creativity - I don't know how I could possibly function without being creative and expressing myself.

Dogs - I can't even explain my love for those creatures. I mean, look at them! They are like a furry ball of happiness.

Eating and Extreme sports - I've always been enthusiastic about extreme sports although I don't always have the courage to do them. And do I have to bring up my love for food?

Family and Friends - I'm grateful for all of those who stand beside me in good and bad, without those people I'd be completely and utterly lost.

Graffiti - I've made an assignment about graffiti once and ever since I can't walk past them without a huge smile on my face.

Homemade cookies - What's better than baking? When a smell of fresh baked pastry fills the room it's like Christmas and birthday combined.

Interior design - I like wondering around Ikea and picking out small bits and pieces for my room.

Jokes - Who doesn't love a good joke? The one that makes you laugh so hard your stomach hurts.

Kisses - A kiss on the cheek from someone I care about can literally make my day.

Ladybugs - I found them so elegant and pretty.

Movies and Make up - I am a big movie addict and I can't go a day without watching a make up tutorial.

New clothes - I don't necessarily love shopping, but having nice new comfortable clothes it's a dream come true.

Opportunities - Opportunities that challenge me are my favourite.

Paintball - We used to go to paintball a lot. It was the best place to celebrate a birthday. I remember loving the rush of adrenaline and the feeling of victory when my team won.

Quotes - Scrolling through Tumblr, reading quotes is the best relaxation time.

Rainy days - Don't you just love the sound of rain against the windows? You can snuggle into a blanket and spend your day reading good books with a cup of hot beverage by your side.

Swimming, Stars and Sunsets - I used to train swimming so my love for it is understandable. Stars and sunsets make me happy because usually the only time I get an opportunity to enjoy them is when I'm on holiday. So for me they symbolize freedom and calmness. 

Travelling - New places fill me with excitement. There's something comforting about going somewhere where no one knows you, where every step is a step into unknown. 

Unicorns - Who doesn't love the idea of unicorns???

Volleyball - We play volleyball in school all the time and it grew on me.

Writing - Do you need to ask?

X-men movies - I am a big sucker for all superhero films. I only discovered X-men about a year and a half ago when I was obsessing over James McAvoy and saw that he stars in them. Since then I they've become a proper obsession. 

Youtube - Youtube has been a huge part of my life and I can't imagine not being to watch all the youtubers. 

Zoella's videos - She's just a sweetheart, isn't she?

Here's a picture of my little ball of fur that makes me extremely happy

To be honesty with you some were really hard to come up with, so I challenge you to make a list like that yourself! If you do post it on your blog, and make sure to comment under this post, so I can check it out.