good things list / september

hello from the happiest and the most excited person. as i am writing this post, i am still looking forward to what is going to happen in a few days, but when you will be reading it, it is going to be happening already, so i am double excited to be in that day and to publish the post and to remember the moment, when i was still waiting, dreaming and making plans. frankly speaking, i would say that september was a great month! it felt as if a very long period of bad luck has ended and a good one has finally started. this is exactly what i would like to point out today - no matter how many times you are going to be disappointed, upset and confused about what to do next, after everything goes wrong, you just have to keep making your next step, because early or late things will get better. they will, but you have to remember it and you should not loose hope! 

on creating happiness

a concept of happiness plays an essential role in our lives. we are raised with an idea that we live for happiness. basically, no matter what you do, your real goal is to get something that will make you happy. of course, it is partially true, but not fully. i have been recently thinking a lot about the fact that we are always told that happiness comes from the outside world (we are supposed to become happy after something happens instead of making ourselves happy/creating happiness), whereas no one mentions that it can and should come from within first and foremost.

how often is this subject discussed among teachers and pupils, parents and children, friends, relatives, partners? rarely! people talk about goals and achieving them on a regular basis, but conversations about inner happiness do not take place that much; frankly speaking, they almost never do. that is why i decided to start this conversation here today and invite you to share your thoughts, ideas and experiences with me in the comment section or in private messages wherever you may find me. 

meet alina kolot

as always i am extremely excited to share a new short interview with someone creative, hard-working and inspirational. today it is alina kolot. every time i see alina`s pictures on instagram, i am overwhelmed by how fabulous paris is, as well as by the fact that even every day life can be this beautiful too. however, it is important to point out that the way alina sees and captures the world is universal, because her images from kiev and crimea are equally outstanding. as you could understand, alina is a photographer. her story is especially interesting, because she graduated from university in kiev with a degree in "design and development of industrial and civil engineering" and then realized she wanted to become a professional photographer instead. she has been taking pictures for quite a while, but did not take it as seriously, as she later would. alina moved to paris to study at speos paris photographic institute, which she has successfully graduated from last year. i met alina last autumn and was happy to find out that she did not only take great pictures, but was also a very interesting and pleasant human being to spend time with. you can see alina`s work on her web-site, as well as follow her on instagram, where she has two pages - a private and a professional one. meanwhile, right now you have a chance to get to know alina a little bit more.

a day in warsaw

waking up at an unusual place is always exciting. where am i? what am i doing here? i look around and i realize that i am at a hotel in warsaw, and i will wake up here three more times. we arrived yesterday (by the way, you can read my first post about the trip here) and the day did not go as it had been initially planned, but we managed to do what we had to anyway, so we are fine. a free day for exploring the city is waiting ahead, and i am thrilled. i cannot wait to get outside and simply wander around, absorbing everything unnknown around me. luckilly, it is still early, so i have enough time to read a few articles and write my daily post on medium in bed, while also drinking hot coffee.

going on a trip

 when exactly nine months ago, on the fifteenth of december, i was boarding the plane from paris to kiev and i was thinking about many-many things. among those thoughts was a question, that bothered me a lot - when would i get on another plane, when would i go on another trip? i had no idea. i had a lot of plans and hopes that they would work out, but i knew nothing about the upcoming months, i would even say - i knew nothing about an upcoming year. i got back to kiev, i settled down and i had to organize my life, so i got a job at ksenia schnaider.

as spring was approaching, we started planning a trip to paris to participate in paris fashion week. i was extremely excited - not only i would go on a trip, i would also get back to paris. i daydreamed about it, i imagined waking up in my favourite city again, looking out of the window and then getting ready to rush outside and enjoy endless beauty around. i made plans in my head and i could not wait. then something unexpected happened - for the first time in more than ten years of travelling abroad, i did not get my visa. i was shocked and very sad. the fact that i found out less than a day before we had to go, made it all worse. i wrote this post afterwards, and it is one of my favourite for sure. anyway, okay, i moved on. there would be other trips, there would be other chances.

questionnaire / part two

a couple of weeks later i am back with the second part of questionnaire from "shakespeare and company cafe" in paris. you can read the first one here, and feel free to share your answers with me either here or in direct messages wherever you can find me.

i hope that first days of september have been enjoyable for you!

meet christie tyler

i knew that this day would come, and it really did. even though the blog is dedicated to what being twenty is like, today i would like you to meet a girl, who  will turn twenty in june next year only. who cares, right? what you are and what you do is way more important, than numbers in your passport. i found christie on tumblr at first and then started following her on instagram too. i loved both her style and the aesthetics of her images. i would definitely wear every single outfit from christy`s outfit, as well as would love to go to places she chooses. however more than that i would prefer to meet christie in person and get to know her a little bit more. i start with my traditional questionnare. apart from being stylish and interesting, doing her blog and a youtube channel, christie also goes to nyu and interns at the messy heads. i know that she has interned and worked at quite a few very cool places, which was an extra important reason why i wanted to interview her. 

good things list / august

before i start, let me tell you - yes, summer is over, but it is okay. i hope you realize that we can feel inner peace and be happy no matter what the calendar says. yes, of course, summer means warmth and fun, but the truth is that it is not always that way. for me summer was extreme heat, which i could barely stand, and a lot of work. as a result, i am more than happy that it is not summer anymore. hello, autumn! i have been waiting! before i start enjoying you, let me remind myself what august was like, and let me tell you despite another portion of bad news and disappointments, it was a fine month. hopefully so was yours.

hello, autumn

well, well, well! hello, autumn! exactly a year ago i was in paris and i could not believe that for the first time in fifteen years i did not have to go anywhere; and i was in my favouite city in the world. pre-school, school, university - it was all over and i was free. for the first time i could do anything on the first of september and this is exactly what i did. i went for a very long walk in paris, i was happy. a year later my life is not exactly how i imagined and planned it to be, but i am definitely on my way. today, vogue us published an article about ksenia schnaider, a brand that i have been working with for more than six months already. it is definitely a victory for us! meanwhile, my younger brothers started his second year at school and i cannot believe how quickly time flies and things change. i am writing this post in between work-related e-mails, jokes with the kid and packing my bag in order to get back to kiev today, because we are getting ready for our spring/summer seventeen show on sunday at mercedes-benz kiev fashion days. it is going to be my sixth year in kiev and my eleventh (?) season at mbkfd. paris, i miss you, but i will come back. i promise! autumn, please, be kinder to all of us. we desperately need it. and you, please, be happy. just be!

p.s. initially i planned to post my monthly good things list today, but simply could not finish it on time, so come back here on monday in order to read it then.