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

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