"How To Be Happy"

We all have those days where the world just seems to be turning against you: your bus is late, your boss yells at you for no reason and they mix up your order at your favourite restaurant.

Today was one of those days for me. I got up at 6 am because I had forgotten that school wouldn't start until 9 today and my feet were already soaking wet before I even got to my first class as I was wearing tom's (which are not shoes you want to be wearing in the rain). Combined with the fact that I was absolutely exhausted, this amounted to me wanting to simply go back to bed and stay there all day long.

I completely let these factors I had absolutely no influence on ruin my day; definitely not one of my proudest moments.

This video was exactly what I needed, a reminder that I am the only one responsible for my own Happiness. It is sometimes so easy to dwell on the negative, instead of focussing on all the positive things that are constantly present all around us. Patricia has been one of my favourite youtubers for over two years and I think this video of hers is another prime example for what a truly admirable, positive and inspirational person she is. I am definitely going to try to incorporate her tips into my daily life more and I believe they can be helpful to almost anyone. So, if you have a few minutes on your hands, please make sure to check it out!

On: Running

My attitude towards running has changed quite a bit over the past year. You could say i made a 180 degree turn : from loathing to love.

Last summer, i couldn't even run for twenty minutes at a more-than-slow pace, whereas now, i'll go for 40 minute runs and i don't have the speed of a turtle anymore. Which i am pretty damn proud of, seeing as i always used to think i could never be a runner. So even though i still don't consider myself to be one, at least now i don't start complaining as if the world was going to end if we have to run for more than 5 minutes.

The biggest difference though is the way i think about running. Yes it is a type of exercise and i certainly do it partly to stay fit, but it does so much more than that. Whenever i feel stuck in a circle of thoughts, running helps me clear my mind as i simply cannot think anymore (or not as much). Everything seems so much clearer when i'm running, it's as if my brain just shuts out the less important things so i can concentrate on what really matters. Running kind of puts things back into perspective for me, and really relieves me when i'm feeling stressed. Which seems to be like, all the time.

No matter how down i might have felt before, i always return from a run with more energy and motivation (which doesn't really make sense as you're basically getting rid of energy but whatever). I get my best ideas while running (and in the shower - anybody else feel that way?) and as i'm so motivated i also actually go through with them.

I' just realized again what a positive effect running can have on me today. The past few weeks i didn't go for runs as often as before, and it showed. So when i almost freaked out trying to study for a pretty important biology test coming on tomorrow, i just put on my Nike's and went for a run. For the first time since what,October, i could feel the sun on my skin. Only about 100 metres away from my house a grin started to creep on my face, which then turned into a smile - people driving by probably though i was some sort of a maniac, but i quite simply didn't care. It felt as if all the worries and stress that had build up over the last two weeks just slid of more and more with every step i made. It became clear to me that there was no need to worry about that biology test as i already knew almost everything i needed to know to take it, that i didn't have to stress about eating healthier or working out more, cause hey, i'm fine just the way i am. Once i got back, my mood had lifted enormously and i felt so much more confident than i has in the morning.

Running makes me feel free, relaxed and confident about myself, and honestly if it's good for me physically too, why skip it. I'm certainly not trying to "run away" from my problems and stress, it just makes me more capable to cope with any issues i'm having. And when school gets as stressful as it is at the moment, i really need something to keep the balance

#makeitcount

Somehow, i haven't been feeling quite like myself lately. I feel like the days have just been passing by, and while i got everything done that i had to, what i forgot to do along the way is to just LIVE.

It's incredibly easy to get stuck in a rut where you get up every morning, go to school or work, come home, tick of your list of to-do's for the day - and go to sleep to do the same the next day. Which might be fine for some people, however it just leaves me feeling tense and unmotivated as my days are lacking "purpose" to me.

The worst part though, is that I didn't even notice. I truly believed that I was doing quite alright, much better than the weeks before anyways. And yes, I was less stressed in the way that i wasn't under too much pressure, but i wasn't "happy" either. I've been drifting from one day to the other, avoiding to do anything I was actually passionate about. Because being passionate means caring, putting everything you have into something - with the risk that it might not work out.

Out of fear of failing, i simply stopped trying.

It wasn't until yesterday that this struck me - and it struck me hard. In dance class, i got so damn frustrated simply because I didn't succeed in doing my pirouettes, and all of a sudden, all the feelings i'd been suppressing for weeks just came out. I just couldn't stop crying, and i didn't even really know what i was crying about. This is when it became clear to me that in fact, I hadn't been doing "better". I'd been suppressing all the negative feelings inside of me, as a huge knot in my stomach - and now that knot had come untied.

What i've realized is that i don't want to live this way. I want to embrace my feelings, good or bad, and most importantly, i want to DO something.

This video has truly inspired and motivated me to do so, so please, if you found the time to read this blogpost, go watch it!

make it count.

Josey builds a bakery

There really is no particular reason for writing this post, other than that I wanted to share this short-film i watched today.

As someone, whose whole life has basically been centered around a bakery, seeing someone so young  and ambitious build their own inspires me. When you see the building before they start working on it, it looks extremely bleak. Somehow, they manage to turn it into an open, welcoming space - definitely a place i'd love to get my morning coffee at. 

It's amazing to see that there are still people out there who are passionate about baking bread and put so much love and effort into making it. This gives me hope, that the kind of bakery i grew up in is not going to die out any time soon. The place where you know every single thing is homemade and you feel warm and cozy inside by just entering the shop.
Also, how great is that idea of selling slices of toasted bread?

Josey Builds a Bakery! from Najeeb Tarazi on Vimeo.

breakfast obsession

banana pancakes

You know when you had a great night out, but then when you wake up the next morning, you just feel like shit? that's what happened to me on thursday morning(and on firday - oops).

The seniors from my school organized a halloween party in my hometown, and we just had an awesome night. there were so many people i knew and i might have had a bit too much to drink. just a little though, as i could still really enjoy the night.

When i woke up the next morning, i had a huge headache and all i wanted were pancakes. 

These really satisfied the craving, were every bit as delicious as traditional pancakes without all the fat and sugar! I actually ate all of them, so I guess it wasn't that healthy of a breakfast anymore, but still.

seriously these are the best pancakes I've had so far!

I didn't really cook anything else last week, but I just had to share this blog with you!

I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm crazy about breakfast. This girl has the most delicious looking breakfast recipes,and they're pretty healthy too. I probably want to make like 80% of the things she posts!

banana pudding and a cereal milkshake? hell yes!

this orecchiette mac n' cheese and white chocolate almond butter blondies might not be breakfast, but how amazing do they sound hey?

 She has tons of recipes and they all sound so freaking delicious. you should go check her out right now.

share the love

After reading a post on Hello Giggles (such a great website, if you haven't heard about it, go check it out), I went on to PS22 Chorus's youtube channel - and watched video after video for almost an hour.

PS22 is the largest elementary school in staten island, with kids from all different ethnic groups. Their chorusconsists of 60-70 fifth graders.

Watching these kids sing with such joy and passion made me so happy that I was literally smiling at my computer screen. I think it is truly amazing, how the teacher encourages these kids to show their emotions and talent.  So i thought I'd share these videos with you, maybe you get as much joy from them as I did!
I literally love every single one of their covers, these 3 are just some of my favourites so far (yep, still watching).