Most wanted

 Who is this guy? It was love on first sight for sure, but seriously,

shouldn't I know who my prince charming is.

Let me know if you have any idea (:

I must, I have to, I should

There are some things in life you have to do, people around you obligate you to do it. Some other things should you do, and last, there are things you must do. Once in English class I learned the difference, I don't know if it's correct but I remember that I learned that you use must to say that you find it important to do it and you obligate yourself to do it. In that case, I think the must do's are one of the most important things in life. Like last time, I finally decided to delete someone from my life. I don't know if I made the right choice, but I was sick of all the problems he caused. I have been thinking a lot about that action, questions like: 'Should I just do it?' kept on popping into my head. But I must say, that I think I made the right decision now, maybe not in the long run, but no one knows the future, right? Never mind, I just wanted to say that you really should do the things you think you must do. Maybe they're totally unimportant, but I'm sure they will be good for something, somehow, someday. It's important that you do them. Never let anyone or anything tell you, you can't do something you want to accomplish. Don't let anyone stop you from doing things you love, or doing what you think is right for you. You know what's best for you.

Never stop believing. 

Stay hungry, stay foolish

Today during English class we watched a speech, given by Steve Jobs at Stanford University. And again, it inspired me. He was telling the students three stories of his life.

The first one was about connecting dots. the dots which reflect your life, he said that: ''You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart. Even in it leads you off the well worn path, and that will make all the difference.'' 

And he's so right. You may not know what is going to happen in the future, you may not know why you are doing something unimportant now, but it is important that you do it. And you will see in the future that it wasn't for nothing. Every single thing in life happens for a reason, when you connect all the dots at the end of your life, you have your story about your life. 

The second story was about love and loss, he told the people about his work at Apple, but the moral of his story was that should never lose faith, he said: ''Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick but don't lose faith. The only thing that keeps you going is that you love what you do. You've got to find what you love.That is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart , you'll know when you find it. 

I think it's true, if you don't do what you love, you will never be truly satisfied with your life. Don't be afraid of failure, if you believe in what you do is great work and if you love what you do, you found one of the best things in life that keeps you happy the rest of your life.

His last story was about death, he said he read years ago a quote about death, it made him think about life and death and eventually it helped him to make big choices in life. 'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll almost certainly be right.' He told them: ''Almost everything all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you were going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.'' ''Death is the destination we all  share. Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually will become the old and be cleared away.'' ''Your time is limited , so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.''

His last story inspired me most I think, death is a scary subject to talk about, but it's the only thing we all share being humans. You always see quotes and lyrics with the message that you should live your life like you're dying, they're not for nothing. Because your last day can be anytime, if you don't do foolish things now, you will regret it later. Life's too short to regret anything, so take chances, do what you love, follow your heart and live the life you want to live.

The thing about creativity

Today at school during English class we watched a show about the connection between creativity and school as a preparation for our listening comprehension test next week. Some parts were funny, but above all, I think it was inspiring. He had some quotes which I think were very interesting to think about. He gives examples which will explain his point. He was trying to say that creativity isn't a gift, everyone's gifted with creativity.

''The thing about creativity is that you're prepared to take chances, you shouldn't be frightened of being wrong. Not that being creative is the same as being wrong but we do know that if you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original. Now, the thing is, nowadays education teaches us that we can't make mistakes, cause mistakes are the worst thing we can make. The result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities.'' 

I must admit, I think he's right. People are afraid of being wrong or being different; to stand out. We shouldn't be afraid to be judged. Why is this? If someone has different ideas than you have, it doesn't mean his ideas are wrong. Please don't let anything stand in your way during life. Do what you like, say what you think; Always speak your mind. Don't be afraid of being wrong, take chances, be original and, above all, be yourself.

12012012

There has been a lack of posts lately, but I'd like to show you some things that have been going on the last few weeks. The photos are in chronological order.

Before I went to London I bought a new bracelet, just a simple one.

It's not a monster, but I also bought a new bag before I went to London.

I do love London, like I also love Paris and this sweater,
of course this is a must-but when you're in London.

After the holidays I went shopping with Cath, this is a detail shot of m new top,
it has one shoulder, flowers and it's really bright green although it doesn't look like here.

I don't wear pants very often but since I have these I'm fed up with my black skirts,
these are a lot more colorful, right.

Currently my favorite nail-do, a nude color with a matt topcoat.

Last but not least, I finally bought new All Stars, I really needed them,
my old ones look  like crap..

Oh Chanel

When I saw the three new nail polishes from Chanel, I fell in love. Oh my, just look at those colors, perfection? And after seeing the swatches on various beauty blogs, it even convinced me more that those are really close to perfection. But though, 22€ for one nail polish is a lot, right? Damn, let's find some dupes cause I really must have them, all of them!

Getaways

Big Talk - Getaways

Cause what you want is what you get

And what you get ain't happened yet

Hey you say you want out

You say you wanted everything

Take it while you can and then you run away

You say you want out

You say you're taking everything

Take it while you can and then you hold it

London 2011 ~ The experience

It's a little late to even talk about my trip to London last year, wow, sounds like it has been ages haha. Anyway, I promised you, so I'll tell you every detail I remember. So it was December 28th, around 8pm and I was having a video call with Catharina while packing, yes we were packing for two days. So a few hours later, 10pm my mother and sister went to the train station and my father and I picked up Cath and her father. The bus was already waiting, so we could leave immediately, I said goodbye to my family and our big London trip started. It was a long trip, we were sitting in the bus for 10hours, although we were sitting, it was quite exhausting. Right,  enough about the boring, sleepless ride. We arrived in London at 8am, local time and we did a little sightseeing by bus, it was nice to see the sunrise by the tower bridge. And oh, we drove along Kensington park, which was delighted, or well actually, it was just a park, cold and empty, but it was Kensington park. Right, we got dropped around 9am, just around the corner of the London Eye and the Big Ben. We took some pictures and just walked a little until we found a Starbucks, where we had breakfast, actually just coffee and a muffin if you can call that breakfast. After our stop we decided to go to Buckingham Palace which was, I think, pretty impressive to see. Then, it was shopping time, our first stop was Harrods. It was beautiful to see, from the in- and outside with, still, all the Christmas decorations. I must admit, it was absolutely a must-see but I prefer la Fayette in Paris. Hm, after Harrods we went to the 'typical' English fashion shops, the shops we don't have in Holland yet, or we have only one of them in Amsterdam and how many times a year am I in Amsterdam? Exactly. So next stops were Topshop and Forever21, although I liked the collections and loved the shoes, I didn't buy anything. Past the little shopping part we had to see Piccadilly Circus and visit Oxford street, so we took the Underground to Piccadilly Circus, took a few photos, had lunch at a British pub and went shopping in Oxford street, and oh we loved it. After Mango, Zara, H&M, New Look and many more shops, including Carnaby Street we wanted to go to Primark. So Cath and I were looking on a map and we were searching where we were on the map and we were looking and searching and telling each other why we were on that place and when we found out, there was a spot on the map saying: 'You are here', we were like, are you kidding me?! So typical. Right, Primark; what a quest and when we finally knew where the store was situated we were literally racing to it. We arrived at Primark and went speed shopping because we only had one hour left. After one hour we discovered we had another 2 hours, fail. So we finished our shopping session and went back to the bus, where we had to be at 9pm, which would take us to the hotel. It was an okay hotel, it was only for one night so, it didn't matter. Cath and I changed clothes, fixed our make-up and went to the restaurant for dinner. It felt a little weird to have dinner at 10:30pm, but we were starving. After dinner we went back to our room and we wanted to relax, watch some tv, take a shower and go to bed 'early'. Unfortunately we made too much noise and a guy knocked on the wall. Haha, okay that clearly didn't help so he came to our room and knocked on the door to ask if we could be silent, to be honest, that didn't work either. When he was standing in front of our door I asked him if he could fix the socket and tv, luckily he could help, but he decided to stay with his friend in our room. We talked a little and watched some tv till 2am. Cath and I really wanted to take a shower so we told them to leave. The next day we woke up quite early, 6am local time. We put on make up, dressed up and went to the restaurant where her dad hold a table. After breakfast we went to the Tower Bridge and Saint Paul. The cultural part was finished and we went again to Starbucks for some energy. With new energy we took the underground to Covent Garden, which looked quite nice. Then again Oxford street, this time we started on the other side. We didn't have loads of time, just a few hours, and just so you know, I can't shop under pressure especially time limits haha. At 3pm, we had to be back at the London Eye where the bus would pick us up to drive back home. This time, it wasn't such a long trip, we watched a few films, slept a little and added some extra energy with energy drink, which made us way too hyper active, which wasn't so nice for the other passengers, but they didn't complain. Around 11pm we arrived back home at the train station. It was a really short trip, but I enjoyed every moment of it. London wasn't what I expected, but I did like it and I definitely want to go back!

05012012

So many thing to do, way too less time, always the issue we're dealing with, right? Well I'm still busy finishing my final assignment for school about the English languange. Then I have to write that column I promised Michelle for her magazine, write that thing for my Dutch literature class about a book I haven't even read, or actually, I haven't even chose. And I still need to clean up my room and I wanted to go to the gym today, but I'm getting a little ill, which isn't helping either now, bad timing. And oh, I need to keep up my blogging, catch up with a few friends and I planned to go shopping tomorrow with my sister. Oh my, how am I going to do all this stuff in the time I have? Enjoy your day darlings, while I try to make some progress.

Another day

Bertolf - Another day

You will always regret if you don't do it now

Maybe you can do something

That you didn't even know

And if you just wait

Who will come and try to save you

Nothing will ever get done

Maybe it feels like something that you're not up to

But baby, I think it's all up to you

Don't let it be something you've never begun

Don't wait for the world, love

Don't ever let them take your words to say

Don't leave it to another day

Goede voornemens

Een nieuw jaar betekent nieuwe kansen, voor de meeste mensen dus ook weer een nieuw begin en een nieuwe ronde met de zogenaamde goede voornemens. Velen willen met een 'schone lei' het nieuwe jaar beginnen, vaak gebeurt dat al niet door de nieuwjaarsviering, maar daar gaat het even niet om. Goede voornemens, ook hierbij geldt: 'It's easier said than done', ze zijn zo makkelijk gemaakt, maar hoe houd je je er nou aan? Ik merk het bij mezelf ook eigenlijk wel, ik schrijf er een stuk of 5 op en houd er uiteindelijk maar 2 het hele jaar vol. Als we ons er toch niet aan houden, waarom zouden we ze dan nog maken, we kunnen onze tijd wel beter besteden. Hoe komt het eigenlijk dat we ze niet volhouden? En zou er een oplossing kunnen zijn om alle mooie woorden vol te blijven houden? Let's find out..

Hoe komt het dat het zo moeilijk is goede voornemens vol te houden? Daar zijn een aantal redenen voor:

1. De goede voornemens zijn maar vaag, je hebt geen duidelijk beeld van wat je wilt bereiken, of hoe je het doel wilt bereiken. Door vaagheid weet men niet wat wat er speelt en is het moeilijk om het doel te behalen. De oplossing voor dit probleem is relatief simpel, wees duidelijk in wat je wilt bereiken en hoe je dat wilt bereiken. Laat ook de mensen in je omgeving weten waar je mee bezig bent zodat zij er ook rekening mee kunnen houden. 

2. De goede voornemens die je maakt hangen af van anderen of er zijn anderen bij betrokken. Hoe meer personen je bij jouw goede voornemens betrekt, hoe minder kans ze hebben op slagen. Tenzij de personen ermee instemmen is het geen goed idee, goede voornemens maak je ten slotte voor jezelf. Zorg wanneer je anderen bij je goede voornemens betrekt dat er niet te veel drastische veranderingen zijn, of bouw het op, zo zullen zij er aan kunnen wennen en kun jij ook prima je doel behalen met misschien wel hulp van anderen.

3. Je doet geen werk vooraf en een goed begin is het halve werk. Als je besluit je leven drastisch om te gooien aan het begin van het jaar zijn je lichaam en jijzelf er totaal niet aan gewend. Daardoor zal het behalen van je doel een groot doemscenario zijn. Doordat het niet lukt, ga je je ellendig voelen en raak je misschien wel depressie, daardoor stel je maar vast dat het niks voor jou is en haak je af. De oplossing is hierbij om realtische doelen te stellen, vooruit te werken en vooral vooruit te denken en vooral goed na te denken over wat je eigenlijk opschrijft en waar je aan begint.

4. Het grootste probleem bij het bewandelen van het pad naar een beter leven is jezelf niet kennen. Wat ik daarmee wil zeggen is dat mensen zichzelf niet goed genoeg kennen, daardoor schatten ze zichzelf te hoog in en behaal je je doel ook niet. Kijk hierbij naar de rede waarom je denkt dat je meer tijd, geld, geduld of energie bijvoorbeeld hebt, misschien komt het door de invloed van je naasten. Eigenlijk kun je geen goede voornemens maken als je jezelf niet kent, dus leer eerst jezelf kennen voordat je een poging gaat doen jezelf en je leven te beteren.

Hoe zorg je er dan voor dat je aan het einde van het jaar met een voldaan gevoel het nieuwe jaar in kunt gaan? Waardoor kun je goede doelen ook echt behalen? 'The key to accomplish something is motivation.' Voor het behalen van goede doelen kunnen vele externe factoren nodig zijn, maar het grootste deel komt uit de motivatie die je hebt. Zolang jij gemotiveerd blijft zul je eerder je doel halen, maar dan moet je er wel helemaal voor gaan. Zoals ik eerder al vermeldde moet je heldere en realistische doelen stellen, anders is het ook water naar de zee dragen. Wees niet te streng voor jezelf en houd vooral moed. Als je genoeg motivatie hebt zal het je allemaal lukken!

Goede voornemens, het is me toch wat. Leuk om te maken, nog leuker om te behalen. Ik heb wel een paar goede voornemens gemaakt, die eigenlijk alleenmaar uit clichés bestaan, maar toch:

- Mijn diploma halen

- Gezonder leven (blijven sporten en gezonder eten)

- Vaker opruimen en schoonmaken

- En vooral genieten van kleine dingen in het leven, lol hebben en er het beste van maken!

Geniet van je leven; je kan de hele wereld aan!

Bronnen: gezondheidsnet.nl welingelichtekringen.nl weheartit.com