TACO – Think, Act, Change, Obtain

A warm -welcome to my blog- hug to all of you out there!

LAST WEEK was quite stuffed in my case .. I was preparing, packing and fulfilling my suitcase with whatever items I will be needing in Malta for the coming year. Unfortunately, unlike the last two years, I couldn’t make up my mind whether I will be back home during the coming Christmas/winter break or if I will be staying there, which certainly means there is A LOT to pack.

So, as I promised my blog will be direct conversations from me to you in which I will be spending sometime typing away what I’ve been upto, what I liked, what’s been going on, how I feel and A LOT more.

Recently, I’ve been hopping from one shop to another trying to buy all the clothing I need and want for both winter and summer, flat necessities and little bobs and pieces I’ve been wanting to buy since awhile yet never had the chance. I also spent a lot of my time catching up with some of my high school friends, family friends and with my family!

HOWEVER, yesterday was quite an exception to all of the above since I was literally PULLED out of bed by my eldest brother at 8.30 AM to attend the closing of an event that had been organised by a mixture of his friends and mine. Of course, I tried all the methods of resistance not to go but nothing over powers my brother when he insists.

TACO -Think, Act, Change & Obtain- was a 5 days event that differed from a series of workshops, social programs, competitions and discussions. I haven’t attended anything but the last day, which was yesterday and that included several closing speeches, thank you’s and several discussions between the “Experts” and the “participants” which brought several subjects including (Ethics, Politics, Music and Art) in a relation to humanities (that being the theme of the event) as well as my FAVOURITE PART.

I thought of writing this blog after this event in order to discuss with you what you think these relations might be and how would you improve them since a lot of them seem to need an improvement.
The aim of any event is to light up ideas and thoughts to everyone and everywhere. as well as taking the words GLOBAL.

Unfortunately participants could only attend 2 of these 4 discussions and I decided to choose Music and Ethics. SO, I thought I will type down the questions raised and see what ya’ll think

ETHICS:
–Do you think it’s ethical that Medicine is becoming sold?
-Do you think Health insurance companies and free health care should be in every single country even if it was considered to be an outcome/profit to the country.
–Isn’t health care a right by the United Nations?
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-What do you think of the process taken in order to accept a medication?
–Some medications are refused and banned although trials do prove that there is a better health condition after using the recommended dose. Why does that happen?
-It is true, every drug has a side effect. However, in some cases the good out weigh the bad. So should we do that regarding every drug? Or also take care of the fact that resistance could be developed by the disease.

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MUSIC
-How would you define music?
-Does music necessarily means having notes, beats, and lyrics? a rhythm?
-What do you think of therapeutic Music?
-Does music always reflect what one feels or could it be a way someone uses to form an illusion of what he’s feeling?
-Taking some religious views into consideration, when is music considered to be forbidden and sinful to listen to?
-Is music always an entertainment? or could it be a reason behind many irritation?
-Is it truly scientifically proven that music lights up the brain and helps people through studying, learning, thinking and many other daily activities?

Please feel free to discuss any of the above, we’re not starting a -comment war- here but a great discussion:).
Hope you had a lovely weekend!

Until Next time,
Ola xx

Fat? Well,no.

I never actually understood what its like not to feel comfortable with your weight until recently. I’ve gained a few kilos for so many different reasons, some I can blame myself for and others that are completely out of my control.

Ever since I gained this weight I’ve been critical about my body and I got to an extreme point where I hated my reflection in the mirror. I would avoid people and any meet ups every time I am back home, I’d wear the baggiest clothes you can ever imagine and worse of all I grew very rebellious to shopping and anything that would reflect how much weight I’ve gained, including weight scales and clothes sizes

It’s very true, we can’t just sit here, whine about our weight and do nothing about it. Many people out there spend hours at the gym, restricting themselves from the food they crave. There hundreds of people out there that went through a similar experience and are willing to help you in the ride you’re about take.

You might be sitting behind the screen nodding or disagreeing with what you’re about to read but when you decide to lose weight, I personally think that you shouldn’t be doing it because of the eyes of the society that are piercing your body with disgust. You should not be doing it because your boyfriend/girlfriend told you they’ll give up on you if you do not return to your shape. You should not be doing it because people greet you with -OH MY GOD you’ve gained so much weight- before even recognizing that they haven’t seen you for the past three years and should probably be mumbling about how much they miss you instead. Do it for YOU. For a better psychological state in the fitting room while trying that dress you loved and imagined yourself in, do it for the sake of your own health, do it to boost your own confidence and to finally be able to walk the streets without focusing on the eye sight of those around you.

Societies criticism is unstoppable and continues to grow no matter what. Today it might be your body and tomorrow they will come up with something new to talk about. We’re all too busy mentioning each others flaws instead of minding our own business.

It is such times and journeys that will clarify which friend of yours deserves your company, These are the moments that will separate your actual supporters from the pretentious ones. It is such a journey that will make you see the one who is willing to wake up every morning, wear those jogging shoes and take that long run by your side no matter what the destination is!

I really do hope that you enjoyed this read.
Goodnight and Until next time,
xxx

Happiness IS a decision

A very close friend of mine kept posting pictures of food on Instagram & snapchat captioned as : Happiness is a decision.

Now, when these photos were posted it was during our final exams and almost every single person we knew was stressed out, probably had no time to go through their social media and barely even thought of food.
Many will not be able to connect the dots between exams, captured food, and happiness but one thing I can’t deny is the fact that I waited for the photo he’d post with that SPECIFIC caption on daily basis during that time.

Today, two months later the meaning of that caption began to sink in, and so I decided to share my thoughts.
A lot of us, including myself spend our days stressed out, depressed over the situations we had to withstand, counting the days till our next allowance and payment, counting the numbers of hours we’ll be able to sleep, rejecting invitations from our friends and most of all we spend a lot of our time convincing ourselves that we have NO time. We have no time to go out, we have no time to cook our selves a decent meal, we have no to wrap up and finish our work.

Ironically, those that HAVE the time tend to succeed more in their relations, work, studies and most importantly they are happier. I’m not saying leave the pile of papers on the desk of your office aside and go for a coffee with a friend; but what I am trying to say is that you priorities need to be set straight. Before you automatically reply to your friends text that asks whether you’re free this Friday or not with -I’m sorry I’ve got no time – ask yourself the question: Why? Why don’t I have the time?
We choose to reply with that answer because we are avoiding the chaos that is found within our heads, and so that is the easiest line we’ve picked up! Maybe you have no time because you left everything to the last minute believing that you can manage .. or perhaps you have no time because you’re incapable in choosing something over the other and so you found a good escape.

We grew up in societies that taught us how time is precious and how it should be spent wisely. You might have tried to set a daily schedule and stick to it but the unexpected always happened and changed your lovely plans, this should not stop you from trying again.

However, if you are really finding a hard time sticking to the schedule hung up on your wall, there are certain things that you need to keep in mind no matter what the circumstances are, and these will balance out your happiness and your time :

Firstly, your health. This includes having a decent meal, exercising 30 minutes a day and drinking lots of water!
Secondly, keep your family and your friends close! Even if your jobs status does not give you a lot of time, try to find several slots and a few hours a week that should be fully dedicated to your loved ones.
Thirdly, neglect any negative thoughts that would force you into spending hours in a series of panic attacks and will force you back to your own shell.
Lastly, make stress your friend! Which brings me to a lovely TED talk that I would love to share with all of you :

This talk helped me in understanding stress and might as well help you.

Eventually, it is when you decide to push out all the negative thoughts out of your zone, you might be able to take a photo in the most stressful days and caption it as “Happiness is a decision”.

Until next time,
xxx

Identity

Well hello there everyone!

Yesterday I posted my very first blog post -Frenzy Thoughts! Took me quite a long time to actually dare to write it and then a couple of extra hours to actually click “Publish”.
Coming to today’s random conversation of mine I thought I must introduce my self even if by the slightest, littlest bit! According to several readings, no body likes to read from a mysterious blogger! So here it goes :

Personalization

I am a 20 year old University student. I currently live in Malta (Which you might not know of and you probably never heard about; but it’s the little tiny Island right below Sicily and above Libya). However, I am actually middle eastern and I come from The Sultanate Of Oman – Muscat. My interests vary to two different extremes: I love travelling, the noise and the hustle bustle of the cities, noisy loud music (not rock though) but I am also much of a reader that between now and then would prefer the quiet flawless beach and the peaceful country side.

Coming from the generation we’re currently living in [Which requires no introduction whatsoever] I’m somewhat interested in the current conflicts that are happening and taking place all over the world. These conflicts however will not be discussed throughout my blog since opinions vary, media plays its role and we end up growing very defensive against each other for no reason.

The Blog

Usually people have certain things to post about and carry their blogging journey from there. For instance, I’ve been following certain people on WordPress and some of them only post about their travelling experiences, others post about feminism and some about photography and cooking! I will not be focusing on something specific though. My blog will basically be countless conversations I am having with y’all in which I will be blending all my interests and will share my favourite books, trips, photos, movies, thoughts, songs, quotes and many other things. Reason being, that this will allow me to have a varied audience of readers which will help me personally and you as a reader in expanding your thoughts and opinions.

I gave a clearer idea on why I started this blog in the first place in my previous post! I hope you enjoy the read.

Finally, SOME FAVOUITES & CURRENTS!

As I clarified earlier, I will be sharing many things throughout the blogging journey and this is what I’ve got for you today!

Books
My favourite summer novel so far is : the language of flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. It is sort of strange but if you’re into Drama and Romance then it is DEFINITELY the read! The book is about a girl that spent her whole entire life between shelters and different homes because of her somewhat -violent- attitude. Although Victoria experienced several changes in her life, one thing remained the same and that was her love to the language of flowers. Her passion to understanding flowers took her to another unexpected roller coaster and caused several new incidents in her life. A MUST read!

Currently, I’m reading The Gaze by Elif Shafak. I will be posting about the book in one of my future posts!

Well that’s it for today!

Much love and until next time
xxx

Frenzy Thoughts

I honestly don’t know how I am supposed to begin this. Do we begin by introducing ourselves? what we want to become or who we are? our interests maybe?
If that’s what I am supposed to do, I would skip this whole entire part and come to the point where I am supposed to tell you why I started this blog in the first place.

I am not much of a person who shares what she feels with complete honesty. Meaning, if I’ve got something I am feeling, an incident or even a thought I would want to speak about, I would, just not fully describe it. The other day I was reading an article on Elite daily and it encouraged those that are like me to write down and share their thoughts with strangers from all over the world -Basically, to blog. Maybe typing it out will make us feel better and maybe it will not only help us through but will also help many readers out there that are not comfortable in sharing what they feel with the people they know.

For the past two years I’ve been in what seems to be a roller coaster. This caused the building of stress in a way I never thought a 20 year old would feel or develop. As a result, I grew into a shell of my own, I kept my own thoughts to myself, I’d spend hours in the shower crying, then 20 minutes waiting for my red eyes and nose to heal so I can get out of the bathroom without being questioned on why am crying or what happened. I developed a habit of pulling a lot of my hair out every time I feel slightly stressed or a little bit nervous, causing a lot of clear bald spots. My food and sleeping patterns/routines got completely messed up causing a lot of weight gain and severe mood swings. Of course with all these events I lost many contacts, high school friends and my love to being an outgoing person. One thing didn’t change though was the fact that I always kept peoples distress over mine. I am not in any means saying that I am a perfect or I am a good person, but I lived the past two years convincing myself that my problems aren’t real, and are just temporary feelings that would probably fade away. “Being there” for a person when they are in need is not a hard thing to do any more. Long time ago, people would drive miles to make sure that a relative or a friend is fine. If someone heard that another is sick, they would visit the hospital making sure that they are there to support the patient and the family as a whole. A birthday or a graduation was celebrated by the actual physical existence in which a warm congratulations hug would be given

We spend our days with all the wonderful technological means of communication, when in reality we lack the actual meaning of communication. Instead of talking to each other over a cup of coffee, we text each other on whatsapp. Instead of actually visiting a person you miss, you decide to video call. People live as neighbours but instead of inviting each other for lunch or dinner they talk over the phone, that’s if they speak to each other at all. Not only that we’ve become attached to all these means, we’ve grown careless, impassive and unemotional.

My point is -and I swear that there is an actual point here- is the fact that we easily blame what we do, who we are and what we’ve become to the awful days we undergo, when in reality it’s the fact that we’ve grown lonely. Compare the hours you spend on the internet to the time you spend with a friend in your living room, compare the number of people that would speak to you randomly in the bus or the train to those that have their headphones on and try to avoid anyone because all strangers are “creepy” and “weird”. Try to balance the numbers of those that enjoy their tasty meals over the picture they captured on instagram.

The distress you feel today isn’t because you’re a medical student or because you’ve been diving into your law/economical/ business books, It is not developed because you moved out of your parents house and you’ve become fully independent, it is not because you woke up late and ran to your workplace, school, college or university. It’s because you feel lonely. Although millions of people surround you, you still feel alone. Talking, listening and finding the joy in our time without WiFi and internet connections is almost impossible today. I, myself am addicted to my phone and my laptop. However, every time I think of what I’ve written above I try to withdraw myself from this circle as much as possible and maybe you should try it too! By then, I promise things do get better.

Until next time,
Xxx