20 things I’ve learnt in 20 years

Dear friends,

our birthdays are special every year since they mark the number of days we’ve been revolving around the sun on our own,   but I believe some dates may hold more  symbolic weight than others.  I’ve been nineteen for the past 364 days, and turning twenty shouldn’t feel any different, but it does. See, nineteen still implies you’re a teen. Twenty makes you 100% officially a young adult. For most days I still feel like a little child who wants to hide from monsters under the bed,  and one thing I’ve learnt is that it’s okay. It’s okay to be unsure of who you want to be. We were born Tabula rasa, blank slate and it is our job to become something. It takes time, but time is running away from us anyway. Below I would love to present you my list of 20 things I’ve learnt in 20 years.  3…2….1…0!

           1. Sometimes the most beautiful moments happen outside of your perfect scenario.   

          2.  It’s okay to be unsure of your direction and desires – everything  takes time.

          3. People can’t fix your brokenness, but they can ease it.

          4. Lavender is perfect for fighting stress, and anxiety.

           5. Hot showers, tea, and beautiful scents can help when you have a  meltdown.

             6. Learning a foreign language opens a whole new world of   possibilities.

7. Having a gratitude journal makes everything seem better.

             8. Forever is just a word.

             9. Neither success nor failure is final.

             10. If you are your own best friend you’ll never lose.

             11. Youtube is a perfect classroom for learning everything,              especially languages.

            12. “You miss 100% shots you don’t take” is a motto to live by.

            13. No book you’ve ever read is a waste of time. The worst one will teach you how not to write.

           14. If somebody destroys you and chances you give them… you’re  allowed to let go. Even if you love them, even if they are family –          don’t burn out for people who only give a damn about themselves. 

           15. Being humble and kind never goes out of style. 

         16. Becoming better is a non-stop fight. There are no breaks.

         17. At the end of the day, you’re not what people think of you, but what you think about yourself. Don’t be your own enemy.

         18. Hard work is the answer to your prayers.

        19. Appreciate people who love you when you’re not so lovable, and  when you are loveable. They are here to stay.

        20. You can’t plan your life out because you’re a work in progress, not a report. Breathe in, breathe out and adapt to whatever is  coming.

I’ve been alive for 7303 days, but I definitely have to learn more than 7000 things about the world to even say I understand it a bit. That’s okay, too. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Happy birthday to me, and happy birthday to you – we’re doing just fine even when we think we’re not. Breathe in, breathe out… As Kimmy Schmidt says – sometimes you just have to take life 10 seconds at a time.

“I learned a long time ago that a person can stand just about anything for 10 seconds, then you just start on a new 10 seconds. All you’ve got to do is take it 10 seconds at a time.”  – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Best wishes,

Jessie

6 awesome Youtube channels for learning Spanish!

Learning a foreign language is a long journey, both exciting and tiring at times. It’s easy to fall into a routine and lose all joy of a learning process.   Who can save the day if  we do? Variety, since it makes things fun and interesting again! Myself, I love adding video materials into my learning plans. My video Wonderland’s Youtube – you could find anything you want there and it’s all free! That’s why I would love to present to you my ultimate list of 6 awesome Youtube channels for learning Spanish! 

1. Butterfly Spanish

Butterfly Spanish is probably my favourite Youtube channel for learning Spanish! Her bubbly personality and “i-will-explain-you-everything-step-by-step-without-making-you-feel-stupid” attitude is everything I need to love the language even more. She covers material both for beginners and more advanced learners. Grammar, phrases, vocabulary – Butterfly Spanish gives you everything you need! 🙂

         2. French & Spanish with LanguageComics

Short comics in Spanish (and French too!) every week are a great way to learn new words in an interesting way. Most of them are either funny or sarcastic, sometimes both. I would definitely recommend you to subscribe to it, especially if you’re learning French, too! Two birds with one stone. 😉

        3. Senor Jordan

Songs to make you memorise words, muppet videos, catchy phrases to get stuck in your  head… Senor Jordan has it all! Domingo, Lunes, Martes… Catchy, isn’t it? 🙂

        4. Spanish lessons Paco

This channel’s all about comics, but they also make you repeat phrases at the end of the video, which I find really helpful. Sometimes a direct request from somebody works better than our self-discipline, right? At least it works better for me! I believe it’s a great way to indulge more Spanish into our daily lives. 4 minutes may not be much, but it’s still better than nothing!

        5.  Learn Spanish with SpanishPod101.com

I really love this channel – particularly because it’s full of great listening exercises. As much as it’s relatively easy to find channels full of vocabulary finding listenings is harder. When I started learning English I was afraid of listenings because I couldn’t understand much, but I know I’ve learnt to understand language more thanks to them.  Anyway, weekly vocabulary videos with Rosa are also something to look forward to!

       6. Telemundo

Telemundo is an American broadcast television network, who produces TV shows and telenovelas in Spanish.  On their official Youtube channel, there are lots of Spanish TV shows to get used to the language more! They have subtitles in English, so you could understand the plot before you are fluent in Spanish. 🙂 I watch “Bajo el Mismo Cielo”  and I really like it, but there are plenty other shows to choose from too, so explore and explore because there’s always more.. 😉

These are all  Youtube recommendations I have for you now. When it comes to indulging in the culture of the Spanish-speaking world I would definitely recommend you to visit My heart of Mexico by Fabiola. She’s a Mexican blogger, and thanks to her I definitely know more about Mexico than I did before!

 

If you want to follow my journey in learning languages, reading books and becoming a bit smarter every day then I would be more than happy if you subscribed to my blog! More Spanish, French and other languages too… this is what I have in store for you! Thanks for reading and supporting me. You’re awesome!

For everyone who would like to save the list for later here’s a little infographic. It’s my first one, so I hope I will get better with time. Enjoy! 🙂

Adiós mis amigos,

Jessie

 

TV alert: The Magicians

Hello, my dear readers! How are you doing? Myself, I’ve been doing quite fine. It basically means that I’ve been obsessing over things and daydreaming a lot more than I should.  Nothing better than that in my dictionary, so no worries! Today I would like to introduce you my latest TV show crush! I know, I have lots of crushes, but shhh… each and every of them is my one and only… for an hour or two. 😉  Coming straight to the point: I have a pleasure to introduce you to “The Magicians”.  Don’t walk away please, I want you to become friends… Will you take this chance? 3, 2, 1…

First things first – “The Magicians”  is a Syfy TV show, which premiered on 25th January 2016. It is based on Lev Grossman‘s book under the same title, and its TV creators are Sera Gamble and John McNamara. It is definitely classified as a fantasy TV show, as it is full of magic. The plot revolves around the group of young adults, who happen to enter the world of magic. The main character – Quentin is an introverted young man, who is obsessed with the books about the magical land of Fillory. He is often depressed and doesn’t fit with his peers quite well. His childhood friend Julia doesn’t seem to hold onto childhood fantasies as much as Quentin and they are slowly drifting apart, as they’re getting older. Everything changes when they take an entry exam in the REAL MAGIC SCHOOL – The Brakebills. While Quentin gets accepted, Julia doesn’t have as much luck. Their magical journey begins – different for each of them, but equally interesting and dangerous. You can see for yourself what they have in store for you in the trailer below!

Putting characters on the map

Characters can make or break a good storyline. How’s it with “the Magicians”? First, we have Quentin (played by Jason Ralph) . Let me say that as a geeky outsider, I can totally relate to him. He’s painfully introverted and awkward, and can get so annoying and extra sometimes that I can admit he’s 100% human. Even 150% human at times!

Source: Tumblr. That’s me at every single party I happen to attend! (Happens once in a blue moon, but still)

Some of other main characters would be obviously Quentin’s friend – Julia (Stella Maeve) . She’s ambitious and confident but gets a bit lost in who she is and what she wants, as many young adults do. Nevertheless, she never shies away from a challenge. She faces it and does her thing anyway. She’s not perfect, but she has her moments, and as you can probably say, I like her quite a lot.

Source: Tumblr. Who wouldn’t love to fly? I would like to be the flying ninja!

The number one hilarious boy of Brakebills  is definitely  Penny (Arjun Gupta). He mostly doesn’t care about anything and anyone, with a few exceptions. He’s a master at ironic comments, shutting Quentin down and being totally bitchy, yet likeable. Whose team I’m in? Penny’s!

Source: Tumblr. Penny really loves to… shut Quentin down! 😉

 

Source: Tumblr. Caring hurts!

Then we have Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley)... At first glance, she’s your typical perfect girl. Best grades? Checked. Can be never seen looking messy? Checked. Ambitious and never does anything reckless? Checked. At first glance, of course, because she has her own problems and can be witty and funny with her know-it-all attitude, especially when she gets drunk!

Source: Tumblr

Last, but not least: Margo and Elliot. They’re a BFF duo everyone wants to be in. Seriously, they are fun to be around and have lots of hilarious moments together. BFF goals anyone? Maybe a bit!

Source: Tumblr

Summing up – each and every character seems to be quite relatable. Characters in “The Magicians”  mess up all the time. They are mostly funny, rarely completely boring and their interactions are mostly hilarious. Real talk here.

VERDICT: HIT OR MISS?

The show’s definitely not perfect. Sometimes it’s boring and actors do less than their best. Sometimes it’s just ridiculous. It is also full of sex scenes and cursing, so at best it’s like Harry Potter… for adults. Nevertheless, it’s also hilarious and quotable. Every episode has its own golden lines that get me laughing. Sadly the show is still not wildly popular, so there’s a serious shortage of gifs to prove my point.  All in all, I would definitely recommend you to watch this show if you’re okay with nudity and don’t mind disturbing scenes. Once you enter the Brakebills you might want to stay there! 

That would be all for today. Thanks for reading! You’re absolutely amazing. If you want to stay connected with me don’t forget to follow me on Instagram – @papercoffeestore (I post a lot,  shout out to my fellow Instagram addicts! ❤ ), Facebook  and Twitter. It would be awesome if you did! 🙂

What is your favourite TV show? Have you started watching any new TV shows lately? I would love to know, so let me know in comments, please!

Have a lovely day,

Jessie