The Sunshine Blogger Award

Hello, my dear readers! How are you doing? Today’s post is all about The Sunshine Blogger Award! I am honored to have been nominated by a lovely Fabiola – a mind behind My Heart of Mexico.  Her blog is absolutely wonderful – she writes about her home country Mexico in such a gripping way that everything becomes even more interesting than it was before. I would honestly recommend anyone to subscribe to My Heart of Mexico.  Especially you  – my dear fellow Spanish learners!  Thank you for nominating me Fabiola! I am grateful to be one of your nominees.

Rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Answer the 11 questions you were asked.
• Nominate 11 other bloggers and let them know they were nominated.
• Ask the nominees 11 questions.

 

 

1. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because I needed a platform to change my writing into a habit. I have always been full of words, but I could never control them – they controlled me. They used to come when they wanted, leaving me frustrated when they left me empty. I thought regular writing sessions would tame them. It worked. Aside from that, I have so many things I want to tell the world, so I decided that having a blog would be a good way to leave my trace, and connect with people.

    2.   What do you like best about blogging?

The joy of creating. I could write, create graphics, edit videos and play with colors for hours! The second best thing would be a blogging community. Everyone’s so supportive and awesome!

3. What is the hardest thing about blogging?

Staying consistent. I am not very disciplined, so I don’t post as much as I would like to. Planning is easy, but sticking to the plan is another story!

4. Where do you get your inspiration?

Our world inspires me the most. Everything about it – all of its shades and cracks. Music also plays a great role in everything I do. It gives me energy and helps me to stay creative. Nothing better than that.

5. What are your blogging strengths?

Such a difficult question! I see more weaknesses than strengths, but that I would say that my strength is my writing style. I like it myself, and people praised it too, so maybe it’s my little super power.

6. What are your blogging weaknesses?

My lack of consistency is probably my biggest weakness, but the other one would be graphics. I am still learning how to make eye-pleasing visual content, and there’s a long way to go until I am even moderately good at it .

7. What are your blogging goals?

I would love to grow my audience and have my own learning tribe. It would be amazing to have a community  like this. Aside from that, making a living out of writing is my biggest dream, so if the blog could ever support me financially, it would make my dreams come true. Becoming better at graphics and marketing is also my blogging goal.

8. What is the best blogging advice you’ve received?

Somebody advised me to write regularly even when I don’t feel like doing it. It was probably the best advice I could have been given because it kept me going when I saw no point in continuing.

9. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned while blogging?

I’ve learned that thing which makes you feel accomplished doesn’t have to be spectacular. I always thought I would be only satisfied with a great success, but that’s not true. My blog might be small, but it fills me with joy and sparks my creativity. Be happy for small things – that’s my lesson and my advice for new bloggers! 

10. What is your advice for new bloggers?

As I wrote above – be happy for small things. Stay consistent. Learn from other bloggers – they are supportive and can help you grow! Don’t give up and always remember why you started. Plus, connect with a blogging community to stay inspired! 

11. Where do you see your blog in 5 years?

That’s a tough question! I’m still looking for my identity  and it shows in my blog. I hope in 5 years both I and my blog will be confident in who we are. I would love it to become my platform for my other projects as well. Foremost, though, I hope it will not be an abandoned, empty internet space.

*

I would love to nominate 11 wonderful bloggers who happen to be among my favourite bloggers. Here is the list:

1. Charlotte from Charlotte around the world – travel.
2. Jonelle from Tyranny of pink – self-acceptance.
3. Ana from Faded Spring – fashion.
4. Ming from The Urban Cat – lifestyle.
5. Francesca from  My Life In Rose Tinted Glasses – lifestyle.
6. Ellie and Nina from  Follow The Sisters – travel.
7. Joanna from The World In My Pocket – travel.
8. Akriti from  La Travel Chica – travel and food.
9. Trisha from The Ham & Cheese of it – healthy living.
10. Juliet from Yours Juliet – travel.
11. Sonia from Sonish Space – fashion.

I would recommend you to check out their blogs because each and every of them is extremely amazing and special! Thanks for existing, my dear nominees.

My questions for you:

1. Why did you decide to start blogging?
2. What’s your life motto?
3. What inspires you?
4. What song could be on the soundtrack of your life?
5. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
6. Best book you have ever read?
7. If you could have one super power, what would you choose?
8. Dream travel destination?
9. Best life advice you’ve ever got?
10. What are your blogging goals?
11. Favourite song right now?

That would be all for today. Thanks for reading! I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you’re fine. May Force be with you! One last thing….

Have a lovely day,

Jessie

Me before you – Jojo Moyes

Hello, my dear readers! How are you doing? Today, I have read one of the loveliest books I’ve happened to come across for ages. I shouldn’t give my opinion away at the beginning of the post since it’s obviously a review, but rules were made to be broken and bent… at least sometimes. For whom have I just broken rules? Few words:  “Me before you” by  Jojo Moyes. Let the bookish journey start! I would be happy if you joined me in this one…

SHOW ME  A BIT OF YOUR WORLD

Louisa Clark is a 26-year-old English girl, whose life has been perfectly steady for years. She lives with her family in a small house, has a long-term boyfriend, and a job in a cafe, which she really likes. Aside from that, she’s an ordinary girl. She doesn’t challenge herself and asked what her dreams are she has no idea. She lives from day to day: goes to work, comes back, does home chores, watches TV, meets with her boyfriend sometimes, repeats the cycle. Everything changes, when she loses her job in the cafe and has to look for something else to pay the bills of herself and her financially struggling family. She becomes a caretaker of Will Traynor. Will is everything Lou is not. Before a terrible accident, he lived his life as fully as possible, challenging himself in  every possible occasion. Their outlooks on life are drastically different, and as their lives come into fusion, the world changes in thousand of shades…

 

QUEENS AND KINGS OF THE STORY

Main characters of the book are realistically created. Lou is an honest portrayal of a small-town girl. She doesn’t know anything aside from her hometown, and as she feels safe there, she doesn’t want to change anything. She’s relatable in her struggles and fears, and she’s by no means perfect. She has her flaws, but she is funny, quite cheerful and her loyalty to those, who she loves is truly charming. Will makes an interesting example of somebody, who lost his identity, and everything he was and was proud of. As a disabled man, he can be ironic and simply mean to those around him, but this is his way to deal with the pain of loss. After all, he is still an intelligent, witty young man, who used to be a top entrepreneur and did everything from bungee jumping to climbing Kilimanjaro. Rest of the characters are also well portrayed.  Lou’s family is a good representation of a small-town family with all their hopes and problems. Will’s parents and his nurse – Nathan – also make a nice addition to the story and give it some more depth. Summing up: I believe all characters are relatable and  not even single of them made me think “Oh no, get out of this story”.

VERDICT TIME

Taking everything into consideration, I would give this book A+. It is not 100% predictable though it’s definitely not the other way round, too. As a small-town girl, I could relate to many of Lou’s struggles, which may make me more biased than usual, but the book is truly remarkable. The writing is  pretty plain, but not in a bad way. It’s just easy to read it and get hooked. The characters are funny and very human, and the story itself is gripping. I loved it from very first page to the very last. I would definitely recommend you to read it.  The picture below is Will’s advice, and I thought it was a quite smart thing to share with all of my female readers. Will knows what he’s saying!

For all of you who love movies more… there’s a movie coming in June! I absolutely adore Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin so I can’t wait! Actually… I decided to read a book after watching a trailer. Nevertheless, it gives away quite a lot of what’s going to happen, so if you want to read a book without spoilers… don’t watch it! If it doesn’t matter to you… watch it as soon as you can! Yes, I am writing this as I’ve seen this for 8 times just today. Obsessed? Oh, maybe. Definitely. YES! 

Thanks for reading guys! You are the best. 🙂 

Yours truly,

Jessie

10 top apps I can’t live without!

Hello, my dear readers! How are you doing? Myself, I’ve been quite fine. As I’m quite into  websites and apps way too much – as you might have already noticed – I decided to share with you the list of my top 10 apps! Some of them are obvious choices, some of them are still quite unknown, so I hope I’ll help you find something great you haven’t known about before! 3…2…1… Let the game begin!

1. Endomondo
   

   This app is  a total must-have for everyone wanting to track their fitness achievements! I use it to measure how many kilometres I run/walk, but it can be used for a variety of other sports, cycling and swimming included. A price: free. My verdict: I’m loving it, and you might too!

  2.  Instagram

    Okay, this app is probably the most famous app right now, but I couldn’t omit it. It seems to be all about selfies, but it’s so much more. In fact, it’s a great  place to connect with people.  I frequently look for photos under hashtags I like and come across like-minded people, whose pictures and descriptions I just adore.   Hashtag “book” says hi – so many photos of books to look at!   A price: free. My verdict: Useful in more ways  than it seems!     

3. Podcast Addict

 Who doesn’t love podcasts? They are internet audio and video publications – mostly audio – and they are perfect for everyone who spends much time in buses in a way to work/school/university/insert anything else here. They are thousands of them, and you can either download them or stream them. My favourite ones are BBC documentaries – they are a perfect mix of educational content and an interesting subject. A price: free. My verdict: A great option for everyone, especially those who learn faster by listening, since you can learn languages too!

4.  AnkiDroid

It’s an app for learning with flashcards. It’s designed to optimise your learning as much as it is possible. You can create your own flashcards or download flashcards of other users. My friend recommended it to me a long time ago, and I must admit it’s definitely an app to remember about! Especially if you’re learning new words in your target language. A price: free. My verdict: I found a superhero in this app, and you might too. It’s a learning Batman of the year!

5. Clearfocus

        Something for those wanting to improve their productivity. Clearfocus is based on the interval method. 25 minutes of workflow with no interruptions and 5-minute break. You can change both of these numbers, but they’re said to be the most effective according to science. Of course, trying everything out is always the best option, since everyone’s different. For me, 25/5 works the best.  A price: free. My verdict: it could be the one!

6. Daily curiosity 

     New interesting facts delivered to you every day – that’s daily curiosity! It helps me to learn something new even during a busy day, and it has never let me down. A price: free. My verdict: Irreplaceable as Beyonce would sing! 

7.  Evernote

  It’s probably the best noting app I have ever downloaded, and I’ve tried a few of them out. You can save there anything – music, text notes, handwritten notes, photos. If you save too many photos you may need more space and, therefore, a premium account, but text notes don’t take much place, and the basic version is enough. I have most of my blog and writing ideas on Evernote and thanks to that amazing app I still remember about ideas I would easily forget about! A price: free. My verdict: Everything you want Evernote will give you. Magic!

 

8. 1 second everyday

   It’s an app for recording short videos every single day. In a process, you are documenting your life. As days pass so quickly it’s a great way to make some moments immortal, before everything’s said and done. I use it to talk to my future self and remind myself that no matter how bad I feel… I will make it through. A price: free. My verdict: A+!

9. Duolingo

 Learning languages in a fun way! Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Turkish, Swedish – whatever you like! I have been using it for quite a long time, and I made my brother use it, too. It is an excellent learning tool and its app can make your learning possible anywhere… where you have your phone with you. 😉 A price: Free. My verdict: the best I ever had!

10. Memrise

   It’s another amazing flashcards app! Languages, history, geography, physics, chemistry – whatever you need to learn Memrise will probably help you with it! A price: free. My verdict: one of the greatest and nicest tools for free education. 

Summing up: each and every of these apps is free. They are all, however, very useful and I believe they could possibly help you, too!  Everything in moderation, of course, but apps can make life a lot easier.  Thanks for reading, it means a lot to me.  Ending with a quote would be my style, so here we go… 🙂 

“Kindle the candle of intellect in your heart and hasten with it to the world of brightness.”
― Nasir-i Khusraw

Yours truly,

Jessie

 

The ultimate FREE website to make your language learning easier!

Salut friends! How are you doing? You might be wondering why I’m so overdramatic with titles now, but there’s one simple explanation: the website is truly cool. Also, being overdramatic is kind of my thing, and if this is my scarlet letter, I might as well make it my little paper trademark and ignore the existence of millions other drama queens. Duh, at least, this kingdom’s mine. Until the power goes off. I hope they won’t cut me off. Anyway, let’s get back to the subject: language learning!

No matter what kind of language you are learning you might know the struggle of not knowing if you wrote your text just right. If you are still in school, then maybe your teachers will check it. If you have your own tutor or study buddy more advanced than you are, well, you’re a lucky fellow. What happens if you don’t? You have to make it work, too, and you can. For free and from your cozy room. That’s completely true.  Let me introduce you to… Lang-8! Here are 5 things to know:

 

• It teaches to write like a pro in your target language! That’s the entire idea behind Lang-8. You write your text, and  native speaker checks it for you, often offering useful insight into errors you made and how to avoid them. In return, you check works of people learning your native language. Win-win since two sides are happy, kindness multiplies, and money’s safe in your wallet. Plus, your writing gradually improves.
•  It is completely free! Of course, there’s a premium version, as in almost every other website/app out there, but the basic one can be more than enough for effective language learning. If you want to learn more than two languages at the same time then you need to buy the premium version. As two foreign languages are already quite much, I guess the basic version should be a good option for many of us.  I’ve been using it for quite some time, and I believe it can fulfill the most important learning desires well enough. Here’s to that extra cash to spend on coffee and books… or something else out of this world!
• It creates a sense of community! By correcting mistakes of other people, and being corrected yourself, you support others in their journey and you are supported, too. It makes the whole experience a lot more meaningful because it bonds people. In result, it can make the learning process more exciting and inspiring.  Plus, you can meet some pretty awesome people. Never enough of those, right?
• It gives you lots of options! Unlike like many other websites, Lang-8’s learning offer is truly the definition of variety.  You can learn one of 90 languages available on the website. Pretty impressive, isn’t it? Finally, those of us, who are learning  unpopular languages have a chance to take advantage of everything internet can give in 100%.  

• If you take, you give. Maybe it seems like a little thing but I believe that the fact that you have to help somebody else to be helped is a brilliant idea. Too often we take everything for granted and want it all… not giving anything to the world itself. A small attitude lesson along with language learning will never go out of style!

That would be everything I want to tell you today. Thanks for reading, and remember that…

Forever and always! May Force be with you!

Yours truly,

Jessie