goodbye, two thousand sixteen

two thousand sixteen has been a year of mistakes and failures, and, as a result, a year of numerous lessons. it has definitely been a year of learning for me. some things went right, some things went wrong. some months were spent reading and writing, others were so full of work, that i had no energy or possibility to create. i had two major unsaid goals for the year and i managed to achieve them both, but life had other plans and neither of them worked out. i dealt with it and moved on. i enjoyed seeing that i could achieve a goal i had set for myself, i enjoyed being able to prove to myself that i could and so i would. i have always thought that as long as you are here, you have an opportunity to try as many times as you would like. this is exactly what i have been doing - trying again and again, because if it is important for you, you cannot give up on it.

as the year is coming to its end, i feel both exhausted and relieved, but also excited and motivated to start another one with new dreams and new goals. i am curious to see what is coming, what i am going to be able to do this time around and i prefer to believe that it will be much better. meanwhile, it is time to say goodbye to two thousand sixteen. i would like to keep on being boring and create a list with some data about a year of mine. i will be grateful, if you stick around with me. also, as always, feel free to share yours! 

good things list / december

here it is! the final month of the year is almost over. i have been writing good things lists for twelve months in a row now. can you even believe it? this was the first one, right after i started the blog and a few months before i decided to follow a monthly plan. have you already tried it? if no - it is definitely time to. after a year of doing so, i can guarantee you that it is not an easy exercise, but undoubtedly a worthy one, the one that really helps you and changes your mindset little by little.

it seems like nothing happened in december and everything did. i had a major shift in my mind, which turned me into the happiest person for a short period of time and gave me motivation for a long run. the best way to describe this month is to say that it was a preparation for january, in particular, and a new year, in general. it resembled to a busy sunday, the one you spend doing things that you could probably deal with on monday, but you decide that you would like to be ready and have a shorter to-do list for the week. sometimes you feel like you should stop and have fun or do nothing instead, but at the end of the day you realize that it was the best decision and waking up on monday is not a stressful torture anymore. this is exactly how i feel about december coming to its end and the start of january. i am as prepared as one could be, and i got here thanks to making quite an effort!

советы из книги софии аморузо "nasty galaxy"

сегодня - последний понедельник этого года, представляешь? последний раз начинается рабочая неделя. последний раз в этом году стоит собрать свои силы для того, чтобы провести ближайшие пять дней максимально продуктивно, а потому нет лучшего поста на сегодня, чем советы от софии аморузо! 

пять обязательных к прочтению книг

не будет новостью, если я скажу, что очень люблю читать. книги и писатели вызывают во мне такое обожание, которое я до сих пор не могу описать и толком объяснить. на днях я в очередной раз словила себя на мысли о том, что для очень хорошего дня достаточно почитать очень хорошую книгу, ведь когда это происходит, всё остальное теряет первостепенное значение и уходит на второй план. я уже рассказывала о том, что в этом году впервые начала вести учёт прочитанных мною книг с помощью goodreads. прочитав пятидесятую книгу за год, я написала этот пост и взяла в руки пятьдесят первую. прошел почти месяц и я прочла еще шесть. я также писала о том, как читать книги на иностранных языках. этот год подходит к концу, поэтому я решила рассказать тебе о пяти книгах, которые сильнее других впечатлили меня за последние двенадцать месяцев.

on positivity and dealing with creative block

(текст на русском - ниже)

if you do anything creative, you know those moments, when you seem to be totally useless and helpless. you either have no ideas or you see no ways to develop them into something proper. of course, struggling is common and you are aware of it, but you do not remember it being this bad, so it dejects you. making new attempts does not help, and you keep on torturing yourself with all sorts of negative thoughts. it gets harder all the time, so at some point you stop trying, because you are drained. as a result, you get an extra reason to critisize yourself and to be really hard on yourself...the vicious circle is permanent, unless you break out of it. i do realize that even if you have nothing in common with creative activities, those states are familiar to you too. basically, this is going to be a kick in the ass for anyone, who is trying to do something a little outside of the necessary minimum, something special. actually, i believe this post is going to be valuable for anyone who has ever struggled with something, which makes it literally anyone among us, human beings.

december plans

december has been around for almost two weeks, and i am only now sharing my december plans. a little late? yes, maybe, but not fully. as it is the end of the year, most people are stressed and busy. if you study, your term is almost over, so there is a lot of intense studying involved. if you work, there is a long list of tasks to perform before most of the world will start holidays on the twenty-fifth of december, while the rest of the world will do so a little later and will remain unavailable till the eighth of january. december resembles to a mad house more than anything else, but it does so, only if you let it. however, if you calm down, analyze your to-do list and act without stressing too much, you will be perfectly fine.

december is the time to come to conclusions, to analyze how your year has been and to make plans for the next one too. would you like a valuable piece of advice on the matter? think less, do more. i have been in my head for so long that my thoughts started paralyzing me, and then...i realized that i have been doing it all wrong. i put most of the thoughts aside and started doing what i have been thinking of. as a result, my mood became much better and i am now motivated to do even more! every day i am happier and happier due to doing what i really want to be doing. my plans are one of the reasons for it! SO, in december i am going to...

предпраздничное волшебство и помощь другим

декабрь - месяц волшебства! вне зависимости от того, как складывался год, именно в этот период настроение становится по-настоящему особенным. я обожаю этот месяц, потому что я провожу его в поиске подарков для самых дорогих мне и любимых мною людей, чтобы потом купить их (пусть даже небольшие и несерьезные), упаковать в красивую оберточную бумагу, выбрать открытку, подписать её и прикрепить к подарку. я в восторге от момента, когда я подхожу к елке и кладу под неё маленькие сокровища, а потом радуюсь каждый раз, просто проходя мимо. я вспоминаю детство, когда в день святого николая мама прятала подарочки под мою подушку, а после нового года я еще неделю находила разные приятные мелочи под ёлкой. я благодарна за то, что у меня есть эти воспоминания!

чем старше я становлюсь, тем отчетливее понимаю, что можно быть невероятным счастливым, когда делаешь что-то для другого человека, когда даешь что-то другому человеку. этот процесс наполняет тебя добром и радует получателя твоей доброты. но, к сожалению, жизненные ситуации бывают очень разные. кому-то везет больше, а кому-то меньше. важно помнить об этом и знать, что каждый может помочь другому. возможно, это кто-то, кого ты знаешь, а, может, это человек, с которым ты никогда не встретишься, но ты все равно можешь облегчить и улучшить его жизнь. конечно же, важно заниматься подобным на регулярной основе, но именно сейчас необходимо активизироваться! волшебство должно быть в жизни у каждого. 

first winter days

december started last thursday and brought us real winter right away. as i left home early in the morning, the snow was falling slowly, but steadily, whereas when i got outside two hours later, everything was covered with a thick layer of snow and there were snowdrifts everywhere. actually, such weather started a few days prior, but it did not matter. proper snow on the first day of winter did!

good things list / november

hello-hello! it is time for an eleventh monthly good things list. i always try to be as open and as sincere as possible, so let me tell you this - november was a hell of a month. it started well and everything seemed fine, but then it turned out that my mother had to undergo an operation, then she was at an icu and spent some more time at the hospital, so for a brief period my days started and ended at the hospital. it was stressful and scary. i spent my days acting tough and my nights crying my eyes out. i kept on working, even though it was hard to concentrate my thoughts on anything apart from my mom`s health. nothing else mattered. i just wanted her to get better, and, luckilly, she did. it was a huge relief and i am thankful for it. i am just happy to talk to her every day.

fifty books in eleven months

two thousand sixteen is not even over yet and i am already summarizing what it has been like. reading plays a major role in my life and this is the first time, when i got a chance to properly analyze it. when the year started, i had a notion that i wanted to get better at organizing and structuring my life. i asked myself, how could i do it? tracking my reading habits seemed like a good way to start. eleven months later i have some results to share with you, as well as quite a few details on when and how i have read fifty books in eleven months (nine, if to be perfectly frank). 

five movies to watch / part two

i have recently had a couple of extra challenging weeks, and as a result, my mind has been concentrated on dealing with one particular issue and nothing else. as i am getting back into my regular routine, i started wondering - what was i looking forward to or what could i look forward to? there were a few answers, and watching a new movie was one of the first ones to come to mind. everything good is better when shared, right? this is why today i would like to tell you about five movies that i cannot wait to watch in the nearest future. 

meet tanya khvorostiana

well, well, well! hello-o-o-o <3 after an unexpected two-week break, i am thrilled to be back, and there could be no better way to do it than by sharing a very-very special interview! i am almost sure that you have heard of tanya khvorostiana already, but if you have not - fasten your seatbelt, your world is gonna be rocked soon. let me give you some context. i have seen tanya`s pictures on instagram a few times and i have obviously pointed out to myself that her eye was a special one. she managed to tell stories using images as a tool in a very distinguished way. tanya has been studying in barcelona for three years and has just moved to berlin, when i started following her last year. every time she posted something, i got excited and i wanted more, more, more. her feed was well-thought content of a very genuine kind. she followed me back and then there was snapchat, that kind of brought us together and at some point it was very clear that we had to meet in person.

good things list / october

if i had to choose a word of the month for october it would be busy. i did not notice how the month went by. there was a long to do-list every day and almost no time to slow down and have proper rest. while having a growing quantity of work tasks, i decided to get my shit together and take control over my schedule again. more acitivities, more things to do, less time, less energy. i have always thought that being busy was better than being bored, so i am not complaining. i asked myself a lot of questions and i did not find answers to all of them, but i am definitely satisified with the direction i am going in. november is going to be a little less stressful, but hopefully as productive as october has been. it was a great month and i am happy to share my new good things list with you! here is to a happy november <3

questionnaire / part three

here comes the final part of a questionnaire, taken from shakespeare and company cafe in paris last year. the process of thinking well and looking for answers has definitely been an exciting and an enjoyable one. activities like this one undoubtedly help us understand ourselves better, and even show us something we did not know was there. to have a full picture, you can read part one and part two. i am looking forward to answering these questions a few years later and comparing my answers. 

pictures on film / part six

this post with pictures on film is special, because it a travel edition. i keep on saying this again and again, but i am not going to stop, - i was extremely happy to go to warsaw and paris in september. both trips filled me with motivation and enthusiasm. also it was exciting to bring a film camera on the road with me, and i am very pleased with the results. i wish i had time to buy more film in order to take more pictures, but i learnt my lesson and i will make sure to be ready next time.

a day in paris

i wake up and i know that this is going to be my last day in paris. i am filled with gratitude and joy (thanks, meditation app, for this vocabulary) and, naturally, i am sad. i do not want to leave; i want to stay more than anything else. unfortunately, this is not an option right now, so, at least, i plan to embrace an opportunity and enjoy this city as much as i can. i have not properly packed yet, and that is how i start my day, which is not that big of a deal, as everything i have is already either in my suitcase or in the bags next to it. therefore, i am good.

meet anna lebedeva

parisian topic goes on! today i would like you to meet anna lebedeva, whom i have met last year. i have written something for simple + beyond, and she has liked it, as well as noticed that i was in paris then, where she has been living for almost six years now (!), so she texted me. we met at a cosy cafe and stayed in touch. we went for coffees and longs walks around paris, we talked about life, education, career, our dreams and our goals. it seemed like we were using the same language and were looking in the same direction, which felt really-really good, because it does not happen often. anya was one of the very few people, whom i talked to, when i was considering starting this blog. she supported me right away. i was grateful for it then and i am grateful for it now. 

my parisian to-do list

paris is a very special place for me. i do realize that it is not hard to love this city, because it is filled with beauty and magic, but i have an extreme attachment to it due to various reasons. i spent quite some time there and a lot of events took place there. this is the place where i experienced a range of emotions from the most positive to the most negative ones in very intense ways. this is the place, where i met people, who affected me and my life. this is the place, that i want to get back to all the time. this is the place where i truly want to be (can you hear me, universe?). this city is full of sights, but today i am excited to share with you a short to-do list of mine, which consists of very different and in a way unexpected parts. i have been daydreaming of doing all of them for months, and i have done them, which made me satisfied and happy! moreover, i know that i will do them again and again every time i come back. i post this post (that sounds stupid, but what can i do, right?) with hope that it might be useful for you one day!

hello from paris

i have been in paris for over a week now, and i cannot believe that i am leaving the day after tomorrow. even though most days have been extremely busy with work, i have finally had some time to just wander around and enjoy this very special place. a lot is going on, and there are so many emotions involved, but there is no way to express and share it all right now. please come back here on monday in order to read a proper post ;-) meanwhile i will go back to enjoying the tiny bit of time left in my favourite city in the world <3

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!