Lessons I learned after I turned 30

Last few days of my 20s….

The last couple of days I’m in my 20s..

The last few days I’ve been thinking a lot about turning 30. Some of you might have went through a similar phase. I was talking to a friend today who just turned 30 and he felt the same as I did. Yeah, I know. I don’t look or feel old and I am blessed to have the freedom to do whatever I want because I have no responsibilities or ties anywhere. I don’t feel bad, but I guess I feel a bit nostalgic and the fact I am turning 30, I can’t help but think about my life so far.

Thinking about the last 10 years, oh my. There have been so many amazing moments! Happy and sad, accidents, births, deaths, celebrations,weddings, funerals, parties, relationships, friendships, surprises, lots of surprises… a good mixture of everything!

My uni years were probably the best years of my life so far…

I might not have spent too much time reading books, watching movies or studying (at least I graduated with good grades!) but God we had fun and we did some crazy things! Laughed and cried so much and made friends for life!!

Then I don’t know what happened. My plan was to stay in the UK after I finish my masters and become a successful psychologist (although I had no idea in what field). Plans hey? That’s why I don’t make any long term plans… they never go as you think they’d do.

But then I met my ex boyfriend. I guess love makes you take decisions you wouldn’t normally take… and do things you wouldn’t normally do… I fell in love so hard that all I wanted was to be with him whatever it took. So I spent the last 7 years trying but didn’t really know what I was trying for. We had amazing time together and I’ll always cherish our relationship and all the nice moments we had and take the lessons I learned from all the bad moments…

But I got lost, he got lost, we both got lost… we lost ourselves and forgot what it really mattered in life… to just be ourselves and enjoy every moment. I don’t know if our paths will ever meet again, but I really hope he is well and happy.

I always found it weird how you can become complete strangers with people you were so close, friends or lovers, from one day to the other … but with other people no matter what happens, however long you haven’t talked or wherever in the world they are, you are always close and every time you talk or see each other, nothing feels different. I guess that’s true love. It never goes away, does it?

I’ve already talked about my past, I won’t share any more, but two things I learned over and over and over again:

1. You never know what life will throw at you and you can’t prepare yourself. You learn as you go along… And I’ve learned and grown and I’m finally at a place I’m happy with my life.

2.Life is really too short! Most of us hope that will live until we are 90 and die happy in our sleep, but that’s not what life has in store for all of us. Only a week ago a cyclist lost his life just outside work. He was ran over by a lorry. And it got me, it really did. Not only because I felt deeply sad this person lost his life and I couldn’t even imagine how his family and the lorry driver were coping, but also because I realised once again how short and fragile life is. Now every time I pass by or happen to look on that very spot, I always remind myself how short life is and that nothing is worth dwelling on.

My life changed dramatically so many times, especially the last year and it’s still changing as we speak. This month has been crazy so far! I honestly don’t know what to expect any more. Even if I meet an alien I won’t be surprised!

A year ago, even 6 months ago, although I knew my relationship was about to end, I thought what I really wanted to do for my 30th was to spend it in New York with the love of my life (yeah, yeah hopeless romantic). I always wanted to go, it was on the top of the list of the hundreds of places I want to see before I die and I wanted to go with my man.

But not any more. I still want to go and I will one day. It might be with the love of my life, or my best friends, or old friends, or new friends, or on my own or I might even get a job there, who knows! But right now it’s not a priority.

My wise friend reminded me yesterday that we will always have responsibilities and there is no point waiting for the right time to do what you really want to do. ‘Cause there is no better time than now! And she is absolutely right! Whatever you want to do, just do it. If you don’t like how your life it is right now, then change it!

For me, it’s not about materialistic things and achieving long term goals, it’s always been about people and experiences. And that’s why my cover photo is not of places I’ve been or things I bought, but it’s all about people and love and having fun… so now the emotional part (yes, I teared up whilst writing this, I am so lucky to have amazing people in my life!).

I am grateful for all the experiences, good and bad, happy and painful, of the last 10 years. I enjoyed my 20s and I have no regrets… I want to say thank you to all my friends and family for everything you have done for me, for loving me for who I am and being there for me no matter what, even when I was a right mess! I love you all to the moon and back and those of you I don’t see often, you know I love you and you are always in my heart… apologies for non-Greek speakers for the next paragraph…

Σας αγαπώ όλους πάρα πολυ, φίλους, οικογένεια, τους γονείς μου, το αρφούι μου, το παπάκι μου, θείους, θείες, ξαδέρφια. Σας ευχαριστώ απο τα βάθη της ψυχής μου για όλες τις υπέροχες στιγμές και αναμνήσεις αλλά και τα δύσκολα που περάσαμε μαζί. Ευχαριστώ που ήσασταν και είστε πάντα δίπλα μου. ( Και ναι αρφουι, εκλαμουριστηκα!)

I don’t feel old… and I wouldn’t like to go back in time. I like the person I’ve become and the life I built so far. I feel a bit sad my 20s are over but I am excited about the new era coming… It’s a fresh start in all aspects of my life. Workwise, personal life, emotionally, spiritually and I can’t wait to find out what the future brings!

I’ll get to spend my 30th birthday with two special peeps wandering around and having fun, getting into all sorts of adventures, my favourite thing to do !!! Next time I’ll post I’ll be officially a 30 year old! Eeek!

Love you all! x

Berlin ick lieb dir! #myfirsttravelpost

I wanted to write a travel post since I remember. And what a better opportunity, just before I turn 30! I am planning more trips from now on so hopefully more posts like this will follow.

I really fancied checking out Berlin for a while, after I met a lovely gal at a boring longitudinal research course my manager tricked me into going (I love longitudinal surveys, one of the most useful and demanding research methods but learning to solve long equations when I can do the same with 2 clicks in SPSS wasn’t that interesting.). She was originally from Berlin and she talked about what a vibrant, artistic, cultural, musical city it is, which sounded just like my cup of tea.

So, my partner in crime, my bestie Shebz and I booked a long weekend close to my birthday. And we couldn’t have chosen better time, we were so lucky! Where shall I start from?

I’ll start from thanking Sheba, I wouldn’t have had as much fun and done as much as we did if I went with anyone else. We make awesome travelling buddies! I can’t wait for our next adventure!

The weather was gorgeous. Sunny and warm. I got my first sunburn, one of many to come as summer holidays are fast approaching.

We rented an AirBnB and stayed with an amazing couple who recommended a lot of cool places to see. AND they lived in a very central location so we could get to places easily. We were so lucky again. Thank you Amelie and Matt for your hospitality and awesome recommendations.

I can’t possibly post all the photos we took and talk about everything we got to do but these are some of the highlights.

There was music everywhere. Musicians busking literally everywhere, music in shops, restaurants. Berlin definitely loves music!

The first day, after wandering around some of the main landmarks (the architecture in this city is breathtaking and there are glorious parks and greenery everywhere) during which we got to see vintage cars as there was an exhibition going on, bikes for 5 people which looked so much fun, horse carriages (we got to pet gorgeous horses) and many more…

Reichstag- The parliament. Thank you Lucy for the recommendation! x

we ended up at the riverside, sunbathing with the locals…

and spent the afternoon and evening wandering around a very posh area with expensive hotels and restaurants and tried the German cuisine (yes, a lot of the dishes included sausages).

On the second day whilst trying to find a cafe we discovered online and wanted to go to, we wandered in a Turkish community, so different and interesting and vibrant, we felt like locals again.

Whilst looking for this elusive cafe (which we never found) we ended up in an abandoned anarchists building, dark, cigarette butts and empty bottles everywhere, ashes of something burned outside… in the middle of a park… One of the scariest but most exciting things I’ve ever done and I don’t think I’d ever done that if I wasn’t with my bestie. Not sure anyone else would have been up for it.

We could not not visit the Berlin wall…

And the day got better and better…

After wandering around the Museum Island and discovering secret yards, enjoying the sunshine at the riverside opposite the glorious Cathedral, we spent our afternoon at Mauerpark. Every Sunday there is live music with amazing local musicians, from reggae to dub-step, an enormous flee and food market… If I lived in Berlin I’d be there every week.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFLSedhlmE6/

Whilst having dinner we had a laugh with some Londoners and their Vietnamese friends we bumped into (who totally made us want to visit Vietnam and Myanmar. If you happen to visit Mauerpark, there is a Vietnamese restaurant just across the street (Sukho), I definitely recommend it. Delicious food and the friendliest waiters.

On our last day we had the most amazing breakfast in a different, gorgeous Berlin area (thank you Amelie for the suggestion) and made our way back to the UK.

2016-05-11-19.21.03.jpg.jpg — Mokka bar, one of the best breakfasts I had!

What an amazing time we had. We got to do what we enjoy most, not just be tourists, but mingle with the locals, experience the culture. It’s definitely a place I want to return, as there is an amazing music scene I didn’t have time to enjoy and definitely want to go to an OpenAir (a 5-day secret party you find about the very last minute).

Berlin is definitely a place I recommend visiting. 3 days are not enough though if you want to have the full experience. Also be aware of bike lanes. Sorry lovely Berliners for our lack of attention.

This trip reminded me how much I love travelling and is something I definitely want to do more and more, maybe longer than a weekend or a week or a month… Sometimes what you really need is to get away, change scenery, live somewhere else for a while to help you reset your mindset, your perspective, your life and learn more about the world and yourself. The people who love and care about you will be with you wherever you go and you can find a job anywhere in the world, so I’d say if what you really want is to travel, then do it. Everything else will fall into place.

So…LESSON OF THE DAY: TRY EVERYTHING. Go for it, even if you are scared to death.

Love you all! x

Last two weeks, one word MENTAL!

WOW. What two weeks they’ve been! I’d love to post more often but I’ve been crazily busy. I will try to make a bit more time and post more often ’cause I really enjoy it and I want to avoid long posts like this one! Soz!

I realise I shared a lot about my past on this blog, because I felt the need to. It helped me immensely in so many different ways I already mentioned before, I won’t repeat myself, so I don’t regret it.

But then I haven’t really shared much about what’s happening now other than what I learned and only about events most of you already know about. I guess I feel the need to keep a lot of it private for many different reasons I won’t get into now (but will explain another time!).

So what I learned the last two weeks??

First, life can get VERY surreal! I had to go through a similar situation I did 5 months ago, which felt so bizarre on so many different levels. Talking about dejavu!!! But I coped so much better this time, I am so proud of myself 🙂 So lesson number 1: Expect the unexpected!!! I want to say again how much I love my colleagues, they are such wonderful, supportive people. I feel very lucky to work with such an amazing bunch of peeps for however long.

Second, it mind sound a bit cocky but sometimes we forget because of negativity, rejection, daily frustration or whatever reason, how amazing we are. Some people think that noone is special, but we consider some people special for us. I’d like to think the other way around. We are all special in our own quirky way, some people see it, some don’t! A friend of mine recently found a poem I wrote to her for her birthday when we were 17! I won’t share it because I want to keep it for us, but it was a bloody good one for a 17 year old even if I say so myself! I have no recollection of writing it but it was definitely my handwriting. How cool is that? (well I think it’s cool!)

Lesson numero 3: The person I am today is not the person I was yesterday. I am definitely not the person I was a week ago, a month ago or 5 months ago or a year ago. We learn every day and we change every day and I love the person I am today!

Today I’ve heard this song on the radio. The singer (first time I’ve heard of her, she is pretty cool with a very unique voice! Her name is Nao, check her out, that’s one of the things I did today, totally worth it!) explained that this song for her is not just about relationships, but about her insecurities and telling them to go away! And that’s how I interpret it! I hope you like it!

What I also learned (well, reminded) that age is just a number! I might be 30 in a couple of weeks time but I don’t really feel old or that I have to conform to any social norms or do anything I don’t want to, or don’t do things I really want to just because ‘I’m 30’. Being told recently by a much younger, hot guy that he thought I was cool definitely made my evening! I used to be awful at accepting compliments but now I enjoy every single one!

And I love to compliment others. Just to see the joy in their face makes me so happy! I complimented a colleague on their new beard look and it was totally worth it when I saw the big grin on his face. Little moments like that definitely add up and make a day more amazing!

I’ve been told a couple of days ago that the average age of women having children is 32! Pfff. So what? Let’s be honest. I’m 30 and single, it’s highly unlikely that I will have children in 2 years time! Not that I don’t think it’s possible, but I am not in any rush. And what I really need right now is having fun and that’s what I am doing. Life is too short!!

I recently watched a video on social media and the message was: “No matter what stage they are in life, people shouldn’t stop dreaming, they should thrive on…” And it’s so so true! We grow every single day until we die and it’s sad how we sometimes forget about our dreams and desires.

If you fancy learning to play the drums, or be a football coach, well go for it, it doesn’t matter how old you are, remember, age is just a number! There is nothing to stop you! When you are 50 or 60 or 90, you won’t remember the time you got a new job or a salary rise and it won’t matter how much money you got. You will remember all the moments you had fun, all the moments you spent doing things you enjoyed, especially those ones when one of your dreams became a reality, and all the moments you spent with your special ones, family, friends. So follow your dreams! That’s what life is all about!

Now my final message for today (which deliberately mentioned a couple of times on this post)! Enjoy every little moment!! You might have noticed by now that I get excited and happy with little things so….

SPOILER ALERT IF YOU ARE WATCHING GAME OF THRONES!! I am SOOOO happy Jon Snow is alive!!!! I never believed that was the end for him! I know it’s a TV show blah blah blah but well I enjoy every little thing in life, so I was so damn happy about it!!

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A post shared by Anne Kreusch (@anne13081999)

I have very busy couple of weeks, so I won’t be able to blog until the 15th of May (possibly!). I will try my best though to maybe blog a shorter post sometime next week until then.

Love you all! x

2 months of blogging already!!!

I can’t believe how time flies by! It’s been 2 months already (and a day, I was too busy yesterday to write a post) and how much life can change in 2 months.

What did I learn since last month? Well, first of all that time is the best healer. And you don’t realise it until bad days become bad moments and bad moments become fewer and fewer and they affect you less and less.

Music is also one of the best medicines on the market! I honestly can’t understand how some people don’t listen to music at all. I always find it weird when people say that. I listen to music (and sing along most of the time, sorry to anyone who is around, especially colleagues) all day, from the time I wake up, at work, on my way home, at home, until I go to bed. I can’t imagine my life without music.

I won’t start sharing songs, because this post will never end but here’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyxrmGs_Ckg

A big, big thank you to Sheba (as you can see on my cover photo we are so in sync we dress up the same without any prior communication!), my partner in crime. We support each other, have serious, deep conversations about life (a lot of my posts are inspired by our convos) but also have amazing time trying new things and just having fun and we are planning even more fun! I love you! xx

2016-04-26-18.15.51.jpg.jpg — Just a typical night in!

I also learned that making new friends is easy if you are not afraid to try. I can’t believe how many people I got to meet because I love to chat and I am not afraid to start talking to anyone!! And I learn so much by just having random conversations!

I’ve done a lot these 2 months but I’ll only mention one ( well I’ve already wrote about watching Derren Brown’s Miracle and how much I love him, that’s one of the things I’ve done that I can share with you all 🙂 ).

A lot of famous people have died recently and it’s fascinating how upset we get, although we don’t know them personally. I don’t get upset too easily about famous people but I was sad when Robin Williams and Alan Rickman died, so I can understand how a famous person’s death can affect us. If it was Derren Brown, I would have been devastated!!

So, back to the point!

On Sunday, I volunteered to help with the ABP Southampton Half Marathon and 10K as a lot of my friends were running and wanted to be there to support them and by doing so also support 7000 and so runners! And it was AMAZING! It feels so nice to see the gratitude on others’ faces, it made me feel so happy and I am glad I was there for my friends, love you guys!

Well done to everyone, the organisers and all the amazing runners! I was so inspired I decided to run the half marathon next year!!! Wish me luck!

As I mentioned at my previous post, I will be 30 in less than a month. I don’t feel old and I don’t feel sad or upset about it as I already had a mid life crisis last year.

I am happy with my life (I am so glad I can finally say that!!!) and it makes no difference to me how old I am ( I still feel 22 sometimes), but 30 is quite a milestone, so I decided to celebrate my birthday as much as I can during next month, I am sure some of you will see what I have in store and I’ll share what I can here!!

One of my favourite things to do on my chill time is to browse through Instagram posts and like anything I find beautiful or interesting, so I have list of beautiful places, pretty things and amazing poems on my disposal. So I’ll finish my post with one of those (not only beautiful lyrics, but beautiful music too, this guy is amazing, definitely worth checking him out)!

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Love you all! x

Why I love Derren Brown !

Last night I went to see my favourite ‘celebrity’s new show, Miracle. Everyone who knows me probably knows how much I love him as a person and a showman.

Derren is not your typical celebrity, but I am not really a big fan of celebrities (I mostly admire incredibly talented and smart people, famous and not so famous or not famous at all).

The only time I got ‘starstruck’ was when I met the incredible, amazing Chris Hadfield (if you don’t happen to know him, he is a Canadian astronaut who shared amazing photos of our planet, incredible videos on how astronauts live and also filmed Space Oddity, 400km above earth, amongst other incredible things he did).

BJGG_CcCAAEP54p — Chris Hadfield took one of the most beautiful photos of my homecountry.

I don’t really know where to start from. I’ll try and keep the post as short as possible but I will start from the beginning.

I was first introduced to Derren Brown 7 years ago, about this time, by my incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable ex boyfriend. On one of our first dates, we watched one of his live shows on Youtube and since then I have watched all of his TV and live shows, read his books and was lucky enough to go and watch live 3 of his shows!!! I’ve read a lot of his interviews and I do know a lot about him because I admire him.

So guys, if you want to impress a girl, Derren Brown is definitely a good way!!! It definitely got me!

I know that all of it is trickery. The main man admits that himself. But he puts on an amazing show, he is super intelligent, knowledgeable (not many will refer to Epictetus, many people don’t even know who he is!!), quirky, always smartly dressed (it makes a difference) and has an impeccable and sometimes disturbing sense of humour (very similar to mine), to sum up my dream man (a girl can dream!)!

“Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.”(Epictetus)

So, I can’t reveal much about his new show Miracle, because I wouldn’t like to spoil anything for anyone who hasn’t watched it yet but it was AMAZING. Even some who were sceptical about it, were left wondering how on earth he does it!

Derren often uses hypnosis and sometimes hypnotherapy techniques at his shows and I have to admit that it definitely had an effect on me last night.

It made me realise that I am ready now. I am ready right now, I don’t need to wait for anything anymore! I am ready for anything that comes along! I don’t want to wake up one day when I am 60 years old and think ‘What have I done with my life? I spent most of my life working for what? I got a lot of money to do what with it?’

I did a lot of thinking the last couple of months, I did my grieving, I realised and accepted my mistakes and the fact that I messed up A LOT and I’ve been terrible to some people (especially my last two relationships), because I lost myself but I am good now! I am finally myself after a long long time and what a better time to come to this realisation! At my favourite man’s show!

I decided to have a month of celebrations for my 30th birthday starting next weekend!

So thank you Derren Brown!

Love you all! x

Life is too too short!

I wasn’t sure whether to publish this post as some parts are not very pleasant but I am hoping you will get something out of it 🙂

A couple of days ago I found out a friend’s colleague died. I don’t know anything else other than my friend was deeply sad about it.

My first thought was my friend, how she might have felt and how I would have felt if one of my colleagues had died. Oh my, even thinking about it brought tears to my eyes. That’s what happens when you try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. The better you get at exercising empathy, the more you can feel.

My second thought was that this is just another reminder that life is so short. Scary thought but liberating.

If I were to die right now would I die happy? Well, yes!

Funnily enough I had a think about it earlier that day whilst I was looking on pictures on social media of people who don’t work 9 to 5, who are out most nights, drinking or people who are on the go and travel all the time.

I enjoy going out drinking and I LOVE travelling but wouldn’t like to do that every day. I am happy with my life as it is right now. It can always get better, filled with more things that I enjoy doing but I am happy right now!

Take 5 minutes and remind yourself what you are grateful for in your life. That’s what I did. And I am grateful for a LOT, I won’t list them, because this post will get very very long!

The next day at our choir session, one of my favourite friends and I had such a laugh, I haven’t laughed so much in months (I tried to remember when was the last time I laughed that much -it was hard, I laugh a lot!-, but I think the last time I laughed almost non-stop was probably last December, on a chilly Sunday night, and before that it was October, on a sunny afternoon in Cyprus, so it’s been a while). I am so grateful for the friends I have in my life and my adorable family!

Every time someone dies, especially unexpectedly we all remind ourselves that life is too short and the next day we forget and we get upset with little things, we argue with friends or relatives for silly reasons, we fall back to our old habits. But that’s what we humans too, it’s inevitable.

I hope this post made you stop for a minute and think of things in your life right now you are grateful for. And give your loved ones, friends, family anyone special for you an extra special hug!! (or message them if they live too far!)

2016-03-09 21.35.07 — *Miss you and love you to the moon and back!x*

Love you all! x

PS. When I went to work the next morning, one of my lovely colleagues sent me some funny song lyrics and a video and we had a laugh together (he had no idea about what I mentioned on the post, but I grinned and just thought how lucky I am to work with such nice people, however long it lasts).

What a week! (no2)

Wow, I don’t even know where to start from. This week I’ve learned a lot and had so much fun with Shebz (we must be soulmates, can’t explain it otherwise!) and my awesome friends and tried new things. (You know that feeling I described in detail in my last post? I was very lucky to experience it a lot this week!)

As I mentioned in previous posts, I’d like to keep some of my life personal and cherish some of the amazing moments I live privately but I’ll share with you lovely people what I learned, which is the main reason I started this blog!

Where to start? Well I’ll start with this ( I think I might have mentioned it before, but oh my it’s important!): If you sometimes get this feeling of unsettling which makes you wanna go away right now, move to another country, quit your job, do something stupid or crazy or whatever makes you wanna do, don’t do it! That feeling won’t go away.

I know it’s not easy but you need to deal with it. You need to explore and find what is it that makes you feel that way and when you do, address it! That’s the only way it will go away which brings me nicely to my next point.

One of the ways to do that is to find what makes you happy (I know I must have written about it A LOT but it’s good to remind myself). I found trying new things and saying yes to people and things you wouldn’t normally say yes to doesn’t just make life more interesting but it makes you learn more about yourself, meet new people and end up having lots of fun!!

Some people are happy to go to work, go home and watch TV. If that’s what makes you happy, do that! That’s not what makes me happy. I guess I want more from life!

2016-04-16-12.25.04.jpg.jpg — Definitely want lots of pizza!

A very important lesson I learned this week is that healing takes time. Getting over a loss such as someone’s death, the end of a relationship or a friendship is not easy and there is no ‘set period’ in which you need to do that.

Annoyingly as humans we tend to push others and ourselves to get over a situation ASAP. Well that doesn’t work. Take your time… Pretending you are over it doesn’t help. You are not only lying to yourself and others but it sets you back and you might also end up hurting other people who don’t deserve it. What you resist persists!!

For me what it seems like a better solution is to accept the fact that you are still in repair, that you are not over it and just keep moving on with life.

We all experienced loss in our life. We all lost loved ones. We all messed up.

I know I did. I lost my grandma, my aunt, friends, the best friend I had for 7 years, a lovely person who cared about me. I hurt people I cared about. What helped me was to take the lessons I’ve learned from my experiences and mistakes and however difficult it can get at times to just keep going.

Nothing can bring my grandma or my aunt back. Nothing I can do right now can bring back into my life the friends I’ve lost. And I completely and utterly accept that.

I found it gets better and better as time goes by and one day in a couple of months or a year or however long it takes I’ll wake up and thinking about my losses or missing the friends who are not longer in my life won’t affect me as much anymore.

What I also found helps a lot when you are having one of those difficult moments when you are thinking of your losses is go to your happy thought. I have many but I definitely have one that makes me chuckle and remember how beautiful life is every single time!

I can go on for hours but I don’t want to make this post even longer so last lesson for today: do not rush love!

I don’t know about you, but for people, especially at my age there is a lot of pressure to ‘couple up’.

Being single can be amazing! You are free to do whatever you want, whenever you want with whoever you want!

Yes, sometimes you want someone to cuddle up and feel the love and affection, but being with someone just for that, is not worth it, believe me. Wake up next to someone special to you, don’t accept mediocrity. Be with someone because you are in love, not because you feel lonely.

As the dreamer I am, I believe that one day I’ll find someone who will be up for the ideas I come up with, love me for who I am even when I am having a bad day, go crazy for each other, be spontaneous and have lots of fun together!

One of the pros of getting older and going through relationships is that you learn what you really want in a relationship. And now that I know what I really want, I won’t settle with anything else. Life is too short to waste time!

So for now I just enjoy life with my lovely friends! I already have amazing plans for next week. I can’t wait!!!

I’ll finish my post with a quote (you know by now that I love them)

“It’s impossible” said pride. “It’s risky” said experience. “It’s pointless” said reason. “Give it a try” whispered the HEART.

Enjoy the weekend!

Love you all! x

What a week!

Last week has been amazing! I haven’t felt THAT happy for months. I can’t share everything that happened but these are some of the highlights!

I will start with something I’ve been meaning to share for a while… after a selection evening and interviewing, I have now been offered a place on intense training to become a Samaritans listening volunteer and I can’t even describe how happy I am!

I always wanted to volunteer and I could have tried anything, but there is something about the Samaritans and the work they do that always captivated me… being there for someone who needs you at that very moment, just listen to what they have to say, take some of the weight off their shoulders… I hope the training goes well and be able to help others.

In other news, on Saturday I got to perform in front of about 400 people as part of One Sound, which was a collaborative performance with choirs across Southampton, Fareham and Bournemouth ran by the awesome Dan and Jack and it was absolutely amazing! I feel so happy and proud to have been part of this. I’d never imagined last December when I watched LoveSoul choir perform for the first time that in a couple of months I’d get to sing with them!

An evening of singing with a professional choir and some of my favourite people, what a way to spend a Saturday night! I love my choir family! 🙂

Most of you have already seen many videos and photos from the evening but here is one of the last songs we all got to perform together (thank you to the lovely lady who recorded it and posted it on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrMl1sFSgtA).

I’d also like to share a short essay my 11 year old nephew written about my aunt, his grandma last week. I’ve done a quick translation as well for non-Greek speakers…

It’s touching and amazing and beautiful how an 11 year old, smart and brilliant child summarised his grandma with ‘she always put everyone else above herself, even at the end’. It’s extraordinary that her selflessness even until the end reached her 11 year old grandson’s soul and was felt by everyone…. I truly believe she lives in us. I hope when I die I’d have touched even 1% of the souls she touched with her love, kindness and selflessness…

One of the reasons I’ve started this blog is to share what I learned and it’s comforting to know that whenever is my time to go, I’ll leave something behind for others…

A while ago I posted about what was the last message you sent (post). Well, after reading my nephew’s essay, I just want to say to everyone who reads this, whatever my last message to you was, that I hope you are well and happy and enjoy life. And do what you love!

After a long long time, probably years, I am back to being myself, a dreamer, living on my own pretty planet and I love it, even if it gets me into trouble sometimes! I don’t really know what life has in store for me and I don’t make any long term plans but I know what I want now..

What I want is to experience this feeling, not sure if there is a name to it, a mixture of excitement, happiness and a little nervousness… electrical, almost magical… as often as possible…

And it can be anything!

That feeling when you walk into the door of a place you’ve never been before…when you walk onto the stage about to sing in front of 400 people…and you enjoy every second, when you try something new for the first time… when a song you love comes up on the radio/shop/anywhere and you just wanna sing along and dance..when you help a friend or a stranger and you can see the gratitude in their eyes…when you are about to kiss someone special and you softly touch their cheek (I’m a hopeless romantic, will need a whole new post for that!)… when you board a plane waiting to fly into the sky… when you arrive and can’t wait to get out and explore…when you wander in a city with no worries in the world, exploring its beauties and discovering secret gems… when you buy something pretty and unique and you are about to open that box…when you finally nail that song you’ve been learning on the guitar or finish a drawing and can’t wait to share it with your friends, when something nice you’d never expected happens-I do love surprises and life is full of them…(these are just some of the things that make my heart go crazy, you know what makes yours 🙂 )

…that feeling your heart beats so fast you can feel it or even hear it…

that feeling when you don’t think of anything else but that moment you experience, when the lights around you switch off, the surroundings fade and you can only see and think of what is there in front of you at that very moment and nothing else, that moment you feel truly alive…

I want to feel this every day if possible… the best feeling in the world!

I’ll close the post with what an old friend used to tell me “You are the boss of you. You can do whatever you want” and it’s true, life’s too short, do what makes you happy and don’t forget to smile!

Love you all! x

PS. Thank you to Rob, Helena and Lesley for the photos! xx

What I’ve learned in the last 10 days…

I realised I haven’t posted for more than a week… I guess I was too busy with life and lost in my own thoughts I haven’t realised how time flew by…

They say you learn something new every day… and it’s true!

What have I learnt over the last 10 days??

Well, the SUN makes everything better, I love the sunshine and we’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of sunny days recently 🙂

Having a good laugh and making others laugh ALWAYS makes your day better. Even with silly things you do yourself, and oh dear I do that a lot.

A week ago coming back home from a night out, I parked at the wrong building, I only realised after I got out of my car. I burst into laughing when I had a look at the building and finally noticed it wasn’t were I live!

I’ve learned that you can’t be scared of what’s next and let fear get in your way. Trying things you wouldn’t normally try is amazing, but it’s OK if you don’t like them. At least you gave it a go.

I got to meet cute ducklings thanks to a lovely friend, thank you 🙂

But I also learned, it’s OK if you are not ready. Sometimes and for some situations you will never be ready and you need to push yourself, but sometimes it’s OK to take your time…

I’ve learned that although spending time with your friends, keeping busy and meeting new people always helps, you can’t avoid your own thoughts. You need time for yourself to process everything and be OK with yourself and whatever is happening in your life.

I am one of those people who gives second chances. I don’t know if it’s right or wrong. And why it should be right or wrong? And this week I did it again. I gave someone who I wouldn’t thought I would a second chance, we are now chatting and laughing and you know what? It felt amazing.

So I’ve learned again that forgiving and being nice feels SO much better than hatred. But stay away from people who made it clear they don’t want you in their lives. Respect their decision as people who are not in your life anymore respect your decision to let them go.

And finally I’ve learned that you need to do what is best for yourself, even if that comes across as selfish sometimes. Life goes on so do whatever you need to, you won’t always get closure but that’s OK!

I promise, it gets better, it always does.

I have a busy week ahead, so I will not be able to post until later next week.

I hope you all have an amazing week and weekend! Mine started well with lots of homemade cake (not by me, I haven’t baked a cake in years!)!

Love you all! x

PS. A heartwarming thank you to the people in my life who care about me and show it in different ways, it makes my little heart melt, you are all very special to me:)

Happy Easter!

Just s quick post to wish Happy Easter to all my UK friends!

I will have a special Easter post about Easter in orthodox countries when we celebrate it in the end of April, as I got a lot of you asking how different it is to here.

I hope you have an amazing day, with lots of chocolate and hot cross buns!

Love you all! x