Take the change

What do you think about changes? Why do people refuse those in the first place?

Maybe it's something really primitive. Caused from the idea that changes are bad. That they may destroy whole species and are a huge risk for humankind.

But not anymore. Still just somehow, the idea of changes being all bad lives on in us. It affects the way we act and think. Though it's not really necessary at all.

I've learned to think that there is something good in every change. And sometimes they might just be all good, they might be just the thing you need to find what you are looking for. Or find out what you need to be looking for.

Looking at the bright side of things ain't that hard. And it is way too underrated. We should all just take what comes to us and if disliked, throw it back.

Why should we refuse changes, when while doing that we might also refuse great things from happening? 

Of course, not all the changes are purely good. Still we should see trough all of them. 

       Being a philosophy, Eve X(oxo)

For my hero

I didn't wanna listen to what you were saying

I thought that I knew all I need to know

I didn't realize that somewhere inside me

I knew you were right, but I couldn't say so

I can take care of myself, yeah, you taught me well

I learned from you that I do not crumble

I learned that strength is something you choose

All of the reasons to keep on believing

There's no question, that's a lesson that I learned from you

We always don't agree on

What is the best way

To get to the place that we're going from here

But I can really trust you, you give me the distance,

to make my decisions without any fear

I'm grateful for all of the times

You opened my eyes

I learned from you that I do not crumble

I learned that strength is something you choose

All of the reasons to keep on believing

There's no question, that's a lesson that

I learned from you

You taught me to stand on my own,

 and I thank you for that

It saved me, it made me,

and now that I'm looking back

I learned from you

        I love you dad, happy fathers day!

        

              Daddy's girl, Eve X(oxo)

Love to death, not to die for

"Grandma is in hospital."      

"Again."

She has a disease, I know that, and she'll never be over it. It's literally eating her alive, a bite by bite and everytime it hurts more and more to hear those words. Every time I worry if this is the time she won't come back home in the end.

When I was little, my grandma was the on who would always make my favorite food and read my favorite book to me all over again. She was kind and always smiling. And thats how I want to remember her. Because, though she is still kind and wonderfull, I haven't seen a real smile on her lips for a while and the sparkles from her eyes are gone. And though she can still read once in a while, I think she hasn't been able to cook anything for years. 

My granma has had a huge impact on me. She was and is my rolemodel in so many areas of life. One of my happiest memories are from our vacation ten years ago. So many times she has listened to me and solved my problems by just being there. It means the world to me when she says she is proud of me. She has always filled those big shoes of a grandma the best way possible. I really do love her to death.

But. I wouldn't die for her. I know it may sound bad, but I wouldn't. She has had a great, adventurous life, full of love and light. She has travelled the world and done so many things I can't yet dream of. She has had two amazing kids and five pretty awesome grandkids. She has loved and been loved. And I know she knows that too. 

I think my granma might sometimes think that there is nothing more for her in here, but I disagree. Without even thinking about it, I disagree. There is something from life, she hasn't yet had, something that will make her smile again. Something worth all this.

Even trough the hardest times, I haven't lost hope. Grandpa hasn't lost hope. Dad hasn't lost hope. My aunt hasn't lost hope. But sometimes I think that she might have. And it scares me more than anything.

And it kills me to know that she might rather be gone already. It's not something that you would want someone you love to think. But like many times before, I pray that she'll get better again and regain her hope. That she'll still have some time at home with her loved ones. 

Since I think I've now cried all my tears, there is only one more thing to say:

Eve X(oxo), always grandmas little girl<3

A ballet dancer or a firefighter?

When it comes to choosing a career, I think that everyone should make their very own decision. Just because my mom is a doctor or someone said that I would be a good teacher does not mean that I should choose on of those jobs. 

These days there is a lot of pressure coming from all around and although you might think it would make the decision easier, it doesn't. What if I don't want to be an engineer or a dentist, allthough I know I could earn a lot with those jobs?

To be honest the main problem with this whole "choosing an ideal career" -thing is that I have no clue neither what I want to do nor what I would be good at. I feel like I'm way too young to make a decisions that big. And yet everything I do now will effect my future in one or another way. I feel so lost. 

And yet, I'm still quite hopeful that I will find my dream job one day. It might take time and maybe a few wrong choices, but I will not give up and neither should anyone else. It just takes time to define yourself.

The most important things, when choosing a perfekt job, are listening to yourself, taking the time you need and never giving up, no matter how difficult it might be.

     Looking for my future, Eve X(oxo)

Learn something new

It's not always a piece of cake to learn something new. It might take hours or days or months, even years of practise but in the end it's usually worth it. The joy and relief you feel after learning a new skill is absolutely priceless.

Last time I learned something bit bigger, it was all even more priceless than usually, because it was kind of unexpected. Something I had always thought that I could never really learn to do well. And thanks to my father, against all odds, I now have this new kind of faith in myself and my dreams. Sounds like a cliche, but it made me believe that if you want something hard enough, there's nothing that could stop you. Nothing is impossible, as in the word itself, there is possible. But now, let's get to my story;

It was this early sunday morning about a year ago. Although I love sleeping long I was already up at eight AM because it was fathersday. We had made breakfast with my younger brother and we took it to our parents' bed with gifts for my dad. Those gifts were only small and some of them were just some homemade DIY stuff, but I had also a bigger present in my mind. I had promised to go iceskating with my father, though I was a terrible skater.

The deal was sealed ages ago, so right after breakfast we left home for the ice hall. That morning the ice hall was absolutely filled with young children and their parents and though some of the children were bad skaters too, most of them were better than me... While putting on my skating "equiptment" I made a desicion to try my best for my dad. And though I could barely move on the ice at the beginnin, slowly I started to go faster. My father used to play icehockey so he really knew how to teach and encourage me and with tinytiny baby steps I became better and better by every round. After like an hour I skated already faster and better than most of the (half of my age though) children. 

I was actually proud of myself and it might sound funny because I was that old and the new skill wasn't anything huge, but it meant a lot to me. It felt great!

So keep in mind that anything you find a big achievement, is a big achievement.

                      

                   Kisses, Eve X(oxo)

When you're gone

When you're gone

The pieces of my heart are missing you

When you're gone

The face I came to know is missing too

When you're gone

The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok

I miss you

This is for my great, crazy, awesome, lovely and best friend who's leaving to be an exhange student. 

I know you basically haven't even left yet but I miss you already.

And I know I didn't really cry or anything while saying goodbye and I thought I wasn't going to but afterwards I really did. I just started crying out of nowhere and couldn't even say why was I crying because every time I tried I would just cry more. It was terrible really. It hit me that I'm not going to see you for four months. But it makes me feel better to know that sometimes distance is good. It forces us to realize whats really important.

Remember to have fun and not to worry too much because sooner than you can ever see, four months will be gone and you'll be back. Which will probably be just as bittersweet as leaving today.

      I wish you have the greatest     

            adventure of your life. 

              Don't forget me<3

        

        I'll be here for you, Eve X(oxo)

How to survive in Finland?

Finland is one of the northernmost countries in the whole world and with its dark winters and bright summers it´s completely unique. Despite that, it´s easy to survive in Finland with just few simple tips.

Winter in Finland is cold, dark and usually snowy. Anyhow those conditions don’t prevent Finns from enjoying life to the fullest. When the weather gets too cold you can always go warm up your frozen nose in the sauna. Sauna is a great place to relax and take it easy, if you just remember not to touch the heater. 

After warming up in sauna you can cool down with some ice-hole swimming that makes you feel refreshed. The thing to remember about dipping in a hole of ice is that it will feel terrible at first but after you get up you will feel great and very alive. Just don´t stay in the icy water for too long!

When the mornings are still dark and cold, Finns tend to wake themselves up with some hot coffee. If you´re used to drinking special coffees like latte or cappuccino you should be prepared. Finnish coffee is dark and very strong and it really gets you moving. In addition Finns drink a lot of coffee, anywhere and everywhere, because they like it and it gives these mostly shy people something to do besides talking.

If you really want to enjoy the winter and snow in Finland you must try skiing. There are two skiing styles you should really consider, cross-country skiing and freestyle skiing. Cross-country skiing is really a national sport in Finland and you can do it nearly everywhere! Just do what you´re told to and don´t worry too much, it´s going to be easy and fun but at the same time a good sports performance.

When the winter has passed, it´s time to enjoy the bright and usually warm summer. As you will find out the summertime really is bright throughout the day and night. If you have trouble sleeping while these white nights you should just go buy this light inhibitor curtain thing. It will prevent the light from shining in and you´ll have total darkness.

When the darkness of night is appearing less and less you know that midsummer is getting closer and closer. Midsummer is a great deal in Finland and a cause for a huge celebration. The sun shines through the whole night and people have barbeques and bonfires. If you have a chance you should really take part in these parties!

       

          The Finnish girl, Eve X(oxo)

Develop yourself

Because there's always something about yourself you could work with. I feel like my biggest flaws are the lack of patience, constant need for having something to do, stressing too much and worst of all being a perfectionist.

The last one of those is semi new flaw of mine but I see it getting worse all the time. Still I'm trying to figt against it because it's a bit bad thing. These days when I do esseys I have to make it perfect and it takes ages. And while doing groupwork I have to have the last word. From those to the last one is worse. Thank god there's usually other strongminded people in my groups so I don't make all the decisions. I'm trying to control that and I'm happy that it's not the worst possible case yet. Maybe it will never be.

Then I have made a list with few other things you can try to develop yourself instead of just trying to get rid of your bad sides.

1. Remember to laugh.

2. Make time for hobbys.

3. Play like you were a child.

4. Learn to forgive.

5. Hug the ones you love.

6. Go outside to breathe the fresh air.

7. Don't be afraid to fall in love.

8. Share your funniest stories.

9. Explore.

10. Be humble.

11. Find positivity.

12. Workout.

13. Dance like a crazy person.

14. Cry if you feel like it.

15. Do things that scary you.

16. List your goals.

You may find some of those a bit silly but I know they all work. Just try because what bad could possibly happen?

          Developing myself, Eve X(oxo)

The story behind the name

As you maybe noticed my blog has a new name! Like it? 

I don't know if that was really the best option of all the great names (I really didn't come up with too many) but it's good enough for now. 

(Honestly I had this perfect new name in my mind but then I got a blackout and I can not remember it anymore! This really pisses me of.)

The reason WHY I wanted to change the name was that it's been a long time since I started this and so much have changed. And I have changed. I just did not feel the old name anymore, you know. I feel like my blog was too "teenish" and though this is still not to be taken too seriously I want it to have a bit more serious look. 

There is no big and awesome story behind this name but I think the name fits now. I'm about to reveal more of the real life me starting with my latest post that was definitely the most personal post I've ever writen. And I'm about to correct the spelling and stuff in my older post (I promise that the content won't change) because I don't want to erase them all but I kind of hate most of them in those forms they're right now.

The name is also fitting for the situation of this blog because you don't really know me (well most of you don't) but I think by reading this you might kind of get to know my mind and what's up in my life.  And I hope I get to know it better as well.

         Defining myself, Eve X(oxo)<3

What doesn't kill you

What doesn´t kill you only makes you stronger. Or fucks you up mentally if your not strong enough. But I think everyone is, you just have to find the strenght in you!

I think I went through the most difficult time in my life when I was at third grade. It was early fall exactly eight years ago when I was diagnosed with diabetes. And I know it doesn´t sound too bad but obliviously it was a huge shock and it took me a total of three days crying my eyes of before I decided that I won´t cry over something I can´t change. Because ignoring obliviously wasn´t a choice I had to adapt a whole punch of new things in really short time. And after just a tiny amount of arguing against it I was willing to learn.

Even though the whole disease itself was frightening I was actually most scared about the huge amount of things doctors denied from me. But back then I was pretty much like still in these days and did not listen. The fact that I could still do stuff like before by just doing them changed my view on life. I realized that diabetes does not define me, it´s just a part of who I´m. And that applies to all. There is still things I can´t do though I want to but I´ve learned to let go those. And I´ve learned to listen to myself.

I don´t think that the difficulties with diabetes have ever made me too unhappy. Sometimes it´s hard because people don´t always realize how big part of my life this really is and how much I do to keep it in control. But honestly I think the bright side is bigger. I´ve got more self-confident by knowing I can accomplish almost whatever I want. I also trust that I really do know what´s best for me. If something, this all have definitely made me stronger, and I´ve realized it´s best to take whatever comes to you as it was a choice.

                         Eve X(oxo)

                     

Just do it

When you do anything (but in this case sports) motivation is the one thing you can't afford to lose. But if you still do there is ways to find it again.

For me it's sometimes easy to keep up the good work but sometimes going to my training four or more times a week is absolutely overwhelming. 

What do i do then? 

To be honest I just kind of go with it. If my motivation is totally gone I skip few trainings or so and just give time to myself until I feel like exercising again. Someone might think it's a foolish way but it works for me and usually after a break starting again feels great!

Deep down sports have and will always be near to my heart and a great way to escape and unload pressure or negative feelings.

But if you haven't done sports trough out your whole life like I have, starting is defenitely the biggest step. I have few tips to help you get started with new sort of sport or sports overal for the first time ever. 

1. Set goals. When you have something your reaching it's a lot easier to actually do what you are supposed to.

2. Find inspiration. Is't your dream body or muscles or just a happy and healthy life you're after? 

3. Reward yourself. Everytime you manage to complete a new mission or achieve your goal give yourself something to enjoy.

4. Start small. If your goal is to run five miles you can start by runing one or walking two. Don't start reaching too high because that only lowers your motivation.

5. Find company. Exercise with friend or family member and set goals together or do a playful competition. It's always easier when you're not one your own.

6. Don't quit. You can't always succeed but you should never quit trying because once you'll reach whatever it is you're after. 

It's up to you. Because you are the only one who can prove you can and the only one you should prove it to. 

Attitude is the key whan it comes to motivation. 

   Stay positive, Eve X(oxo), mental trainer

Speaking with the silence

Do you believe in the power of body language?

Some people think that the way you act tells more than thousand words both in positive and in negative occasions. I don't disagree with that but neither do I agree.

With your body language you can show frustration by rolling your eyes, boredom by yawning, encouragement by smiling or with your thumbs, playfulness with eye blinks and the list just goes on and on.

But there is stuff you can't read from others body language. Particularly when they are trying to hide it because it's quite easy the change your behavior to give the expression you want to give. 

And you need to learn to use your body only for the right things not to make someone feel bad or awkward or anything like that. So you need to be careful if don't really have naturally good manners because others might read you wrong. It's like learning to use a new machine and it might take some time. It's never easy to be sure what the other one is trying to tell by the yawn or grimace if nothing at all and like with so many other things too age brings wisdom and knowledge.

And like with any other language you can really either improve your positition or totally mess up. In situations like job interwiev you need to know what you do with your body if you decide to use it. As well as you can mess up you can also lie. Because giving confusing or not right messages with your body is just a another form of lying.

So, all I'm saying is that you should be carefull when it comes to nonverbal messages!

Everything depends on everything.

                                                                Eve X(oxo)<3

The most important meal

Finally after two years I got to my favorite topic. 

Tytydytyttydyyy FOOD! 

And to be more specific: breakfast! 

Which is also the most important meal of the whole day. And that's something I just learned the hard way. 

So I read this super awesome article that said it's totally okay to eat something sweet for breakfast. And actually more than just okay it's kind of good for you because then you don't crave for sweets at night when you are more likely to overeat. 

For most of the people it's probably just a terrible nightmare to eat something sweet at morning but for me it's a dream come true. I can eat a cookie or drink hot chocolate without feeling any guilt (though I never feel guilty for what I eat). I know that it's still not that healty and honestly I also love to eat berries or fruits and quark or cottage cheese and stuff like that but this is awesome!

I'm not going to ever understand where this all came from but oh well. Maybe I just had to share these good news with you all.

                                      Much love and great breakfasts, Eve X(oxo) 

33 steps to happiness

How to achieve a better life? How to live happily ever after? 

I love my life the way it is but of course like everyone I have bad days too. Sometimes it's just too much to smile and be happy. Because sometimes life just hits you hard. 

And I know this topic has been the main point in pretty much all of my latest post but there is an actual reason for that! It's spring and the sun is shining and birds are singing and it's warm and so beautiful, just a great time to be happy.

So this time I have a list about these everyday things that will make you happy rather easily:

1. Value what you have

2. Learn to enjoy simple things

3. Leave time for yourself

4. Try to remember that you're happy

5. Don't focus on your failures but your success

6. Go towards success not perfection

7. Be optimistic  

8. Be grateful, stop whining

9. Know your lines and do not cross those

10. Lower your wishes rather than higher your needs

11. Cry if you feel like it

12. Be kind

13. Forgive

14. Feel pain when necessary and it will be easier in the future

15. Love unconditionaly

16. Do not try to please everyone

17. Be patient

18. Don't care what others think about you

19. Try to change only the things you know you can

20. Be honest with yourself

21. Try to find the positive side in everything

22. Be passionate not jealous

23. Don't hate or be mad

24. Don't rush, live in the moment

25. Don't judge

26. Learn to take critisism

27. Tell your loved ones you love them

28. Don't let others affect your opinion about yourself

29. Learn to say no 

30. Make your own decisions

31. Always be yourself and belive in yourself

32. Stay behind your opinions

33. Learn to love and respect yourself

                                                    Truly happy Eve X(oxo)