Do more of what makes you happy (8)

Hello beautiful people!
It's time again for a new post in my 'Do more of what makes you happy' series. For this month I've asked one of my friends again, but she's not just a friend, she's an amazing singer and you should all go and check out her Youtube Channel right here. After you're done you should come back to this post to find out about the ten things that make her happy. Have fun with it and I will talk to you again at the end.

Writing songs and singing around
I love writing my own songs. For me it's the best way to express my inner feelings. It helps you to overcome bad experiences but gives you a great feeling as well, especially when you share your music with people and see how they enjoy it.
For me it's the best part as a musician: Seeing people listening to my music and smiling makes me smile as well.

Travelling: Discovering new places! Meeting new people! Discovering the world!
For me it is so important to make every day special! Of course everyone of us sometimes needs a bit time for himself, but remember that you just have one lif! Try to use every opportuniy! Fulfill your dreams and do the things you dreamt of. And don't give up if you can't fulfill every dream.. You have to believe in it and of course in yourself. Never forget that. Believing in yourself is the key to happiness.
One of my life goals: Visiting every single continent in the world. Maybe it sounds unrealizable but I think nothing in the world is impossible. You will always find a way to make your dreams come true, to make things possible even though they sound completely impossible at first.

Laying on the beach and listening to the sound of the ocean
You can forget about everything, enjoy the moment and concentrate on yourself. I just love the feeling of warm sand, smelling the fresh air and listening to the breaking waves.

Getting postcards
Getting postcards is a really special thing for me. It's so much different from just getting a text message on WhatsApp. I think it shows that your friends take time for you and don't forget you when they are even about 1000 miles far away. I love sharing my experiences and impressions. It always makes me smile when I hold a postcard of my friends in my hand.

When you meet a person you didn't see for a long time
I experienced a long distance relationship. And yes maybe it sounds stupid for one some of you guys out there but for me it was just the most beautiful time, especially because we didn't see each other that much! Of course we missed each otherand it was hard not to see each other whenever you want to. But the moments we met again were the most magical and amazing I've ever had in my life and I'll never forget about that.

"The List"
Yes, I created a list. A list with all the things I want to do in my life. You can read about things like skydiving, water-skiing or just changing my look and hairstyle into something completly different. It always makes me happy to look at this list and checking what I already did and what I still want to do. It just gives you so much more motivation for your life.

Family and friends
This is one of the most important points which makes me happy! My family and friends are always there for me. You can talk to them about everything and they will give you advices, which can be important for your whole life. Having your friends and family around you is a thing everyone of us should relly appreciate.

Making people laugh
I just love making people happy. For me there is no better feeling than seeing others having a big smile on their face. Laughing is a very important thing in life. Life gets about 1000 times better or even more when you laugh.

Going shopping
Yes it is one of those simple things as well which make me happy. I just love buying new things I feel comfortable in. Going shopping is a great opportunity to forget about everything and just enjoy the time with your friends.

Last but not least: Food
For so many people food is just something that makes them happy because it stops the hunger and they feel better after eating. Some people just eat when they're bored. Of course it makes me happy as well when I'm not hungry anymore. But I don't know.. I'm that kind of person who thinks very much about everthing. And I think we should just appreciate what we have and should be very thankful to live in a society without poverty.


This is everything she wrote and I really want to thank her again for that. I hope you all enjoyed reading and that you could relate to her in some points.

If you want to share your list with me or your thoughts about this project, then make sure to send an e-mail to: nonomue6@gmail.com
I post those lists every month and maybe yours will be the next one.

I will talk to you later,

Norina xx

I tried out... YOGA

Hello beautiful people,
I'm one of those persons who loves to try out new thing and to be adventurous. It's amazing that there are so many things for all of us to try out and whenever we get tired of doing something we can just check out other thing or activities. This inspired me to create a new series on this blog, which will be called "I tried out...". I want to try out many different things and I do already have some in mind. This first post will be about me trying out Yoga and since I think this series is mostly self-explanatory I won't talk anymore and start with telling you about my Yoga experience.

To be completely honest with you, I don't know if I would've tried Yoga if I didn't know someone going to a Yoga center. This year, when that person told me about starting Yoga again, after having a break for one year, I got really excited and asked if I could come with her.
I always found Yoga interesting. It's not just the sports, it is a lifestyle and as I'm always interested in learning about different cultures and lifestyles, this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
For sure I was allowed to come and so I went to my first Yoga lesson a few weeks ago.

As we got there everyone was really nice even though we didn't know anybody. We still had a few minutes left before the real lesson would start, so we all drank some tea and talked about whatever topic came up. So even before the original class started I kind of already fell in love with it.
Afterwards we had to take some mats, pillows and blankets and we got started. In the beginning we did a relaxation, where we had to lay on our mats with our blankets and just let everything go. It was really good, since I just started school and this was a way for me to let go of all the stress. But I also have to say that those relaxations are a little hard in the beginning. You really have to concentrate on yourself so you can forget everything and that isn't as easy as it may sound. There were so many thoughts in my head that I couldn't get rid of. (Now that I've already been to three yoga lessons, I can say that it gets easier every time).

After relaxing we got started with the Asanas and the breathing. It was amazing what some of the people were able to do. But I also have to add that I didn't go to the beginners' class since I was told that the advanced classes aren't that hard and I already had some practice from my dancing. And I have to say that this probably really helped me. Some of the Asanas were hard to hold, but if you have enough strengh and enough will you can totally do it. The breathing was something new for me. Basically we just had to breathe through our nose quickly while moving our bellies at the same time. Ok, I know I'm not really good at describing. So you naturally "move" your belly while you breathe and we just did a more intesive version of that.

At the end of the yoga session we were all very relaxed and I couldn't wait for the next time. Then the next day came and I felt my muscles aching. It wasn't that bad, but I definitely noticed that I worked out the day before. I would've never thought that some Asanas and some breathing could give me a muscle ache.

All in all I can really recommend Yoga to anyone who wants to find a new sport or a new lifestyle. I'll definitely continue doing it and I'll share my results.
(Funny fact: The person who writes next months "Do more of what makes you happy" is actually a Yogi, so get excited for that)

I really hope you enjoyed reading out about my Yoga experience. Maybe you can suggest some things for me to try out in the comments. Be creative and tell me whatever you'd like to read about. And tell me if you've tried out Yoga before.

I will talk to you soon,

Norina xx

Life as a Vegetarian (2) - Rainforest destroyed by soybean cultivation

Hello beautiful people!
A few days ago (actually it was just yesterday) we watched a short documentation in class about the cutting down of the rainforest in Brazil. To be honest I had already seen the film before but it was good to see it again. Before the film started I already thought of how proud I was to be a Vegetarian so that I'm not that guilty in the destruction of the rainforest.

There is more space needed for the farming of soy for animals then for farming soy for Veggie products

A few years ago we had learnt in school how the soybean cultivation needs more and more space and parts of the rainforest have to be cut down. Our teacher's solution was that we shouldn't eat that many soy products. At that time I didn't have the knowledge I do have now and so I believed him. Actually this is not really true though. If people really want to save the rainforest then they should think of something else. What happens to the soy after it's harvested?

Most of the soy won't be used for Veggie products. Most of it will be used to feed animals.

Yes, you heard me right. Soy is a cheap way to feed pigs or chicken and the farmers have to keep their prices low, so that they don't really have a choice. Maybe you think that they do have a choice. But the truth is that most people don't want to buy the expensive meat. They can't have good quality meat for low prices. And by good quality I mean meat from animals that had a life as free as possible without being hold in galore. If nobody is ready to pay more for good meat than industrial livestock farming will always win. And if that's the case then there is no way to save our world.

Gladly that's not exactly the way it is. I know many people who are vegetarians or try to only eat meat once a week. Also I know many people who want to know where there meat is coming from so that they only buy meat from a local butcher.
Nevertheless there are many people who still eat meat almost every day without caring about our future. I don't say that everyone should become a vegetarian, this is totally up to everyone themselves. What I want is for you to think about the information you just received. Think about yout lifestyle and think about if this is what you want. Maybe you can eat less meat and it'll make you feel better. Years ago eating meat was something special since the prices were so high, but now that they're that low everyone can afford it. But this is going into a different direction and maybe I'll write another post on that specific topic.

To come to an end I want to say that I'm proud for being a vegetarian for almost a year now. When I saw that film I knew how guilty I would've felt if I ate meat.  

The rainforest are getting destroyed and we have to do something against that.

 Please leave a comment telling me your opinion. And I'd love if you could comment some topics I should discuss in my next posts. (They don't have to be about being vegetarian but it would be nice)

I will talk to you soon,

Norina xx

Paper Towns - Book Review

Hello beautiful people!           

A few weeks ago I finally started reading the book Paper Towns by John Green. I've wanted to read it since I read his book The Fault In Our Stars last year. Since I was now pressured to read Paper Towns before the movie comes out I read it in only two days. (And I haven't even been to the cinema to see the movie yet). Normally I don't read books that fast but this book just got me so good. And that is the reason I thought I should recommend it to you today. This is my first book review/recommandation though, so don't be too mean (Even though I don't think you could be mean to me, since you are all such lovely people)

Content

The novel "Paper Towns" by John Green has been published in 2008 and was his fourth book.
The story is about Quentin, mostly called "Q", who seems to be an ordinary guy in his senior year in High School. He is what probably many people would call a "nerd". When he was a child he had this friend called Margo Roth Spiegelman but she is one of those "cool" girls in High School, so that the two of them aren't what you'd call friends anymore. That's  probably something many of you can relate to. She is one of those girls where you would be like: "Wow, this girl has experienced many adventures in her life! I'd love to be friends with her!!" To Q she is kind of the perfect girl and he just can't keep himself from loving her, even though they barely talk.

One night Margo is suddenly standing outside his window and asks him to help her with something. When he finally agrees to come with her, he doesn't know that this night will be the best of his life. So many things happen and he thinks that everything could chane and Margo would maybe like to be friends with him again, maybe even more.
As he goes to school the next morning Margo is gone and nobody knows a thing about it. Quentin couldn't be more sad since he thought that things would finally change. That's when he sees a piece of peper in Margos window. He instantly knows what to do and starts to follos that clues that Margo left. Will he find her? And more important: Is this what she really wants?

Review

I can proudly say that this book got me at the prologue (haha, see what I did there). Sometimes it takes time to really get into the story, but after the first few lines I was already in love with the book. It's just the way that John Green writes combined with this amazing plot. If you've read any other book he wrote you probably know what I'm saying. There is something about the way he writes. I really thought that it was some teenager telling me the story. Also, he is so good at mentioning psycholgical things or theories as if they're the easiest things to understand. I like that this is one of those books that makes you think. Even though this exact same story probably wouldn't happen in real life, it is still somehow realistic. It's also easy to identify with Quentin since he's just such a nice and shy human being.

As you can probably see by now, I don't really know how to explain it to you. All I can really say is that I want all of you to go read it and see for yourself. Personally I think that this was one of the best books I've read in a while now and that I am really excited about seeing how they transferred the whole plot into the movie.

Make sure to leave a comment about your opinion onn the book.
Also I think about doing review on the movie as well, so comment if you want me to do that.

I will talk to you soon,

Norina xx

Last First Day - High School

Hello beautiful people!
I knew this day was coming for a long time, but now that it's finally time I just can't believe it. I couldn't do anything to stop the time (and I also didn't want to fail last year) and so today was my last first day in High School. It's crazy, isn't it? We go to school for such a long time and then all at once it's our last year. I don't know if any of you reading this is about to start the last year of school or if you already have a job or something, but jst let me tell you: It is an extremely weird feeling.

I didn't really realize this was my last first day until my friend and I watched Teen Wolf together (Anyone else with a Teen Wolf addiction here? No, just me? Ok.) In one of the new episodes it was their first schoo lday of the last year and they called it their last first day. At that moment my friend and I realized that today would be our last first day as well. This thought made us a little melancholic.
Our friendship started exactly 11 years ago on our very first school day and since then we experienced every first day of school together. Whenever school began after the summer holidays we were really excited to meet everyone again and to see if there were any new kids in our classes. Yes, I think excited is the right word to describe the way we always felt. Today was different though. We were more nervous than excited. We didn't know what teachers we would get and if we even had any classes together. Furthermore this year we will have to learn so much. Every grad now counts. If we want a good job we have to be really ambitious and get the best grades. Even though today was our first day it was very obvious how some students were already really stressed.

There are so many things in my head right now. I have to think about what I will learn when since it's not enough to only learn right before the exams. I' thinking about what I will learn with whom. In some classes I already know that I can learn with my friends but in others I only really know like two persons. I have to think about changing classes since I don't know if everything is the way I wanted it to be.

Another thing I'm really anxious about is my blog. Don't worry, I will definitely continue blogging. But with all the learning and using free days to meet my friends, I don't know how much time will be left for my blog. I really hope that I can find enough time but I could be that there are weeks without a new post because I will probably have about two or three exams in just one week.

I want to motivate myself to stay organized and motivated for school this last year and I would love to share some tips with you. A few months ago I already wrote a post about Motivation on Schoolwork and it really helped me and hopefully also some of you to be more focused on homework and learning. I will also started a little in a book I got some time ago (How to become a Straight-A student). Until now I haven't read all of it, but it seems to have some really got and realistic tips.

This is everything for today. I hope you got a great view on what is going on in my head. This post was a more personal post about my thoughts but I still hope that you enjoyed reading.
I would love to hear about your experiences.
Did you already have your last first day in school/university or anywhere else?
How did you feel about it?

I would love to get some responses in the comments or even on Twitter.

I will talk to you soon,

Norina xx