brighton – Page 5 – that lemon life

So it begins

Hola everyone.

Just a quick update from my side. Sooo, today was actually the first day of uni or actually, it was the day of the enrollment. That means, from now on I am officially a BIMM Student (yes, that excited shriek you just heard in the background was me).

No, but seriously, I am really hugely excited. I kind of felt a bit down after the enrollment as especially the timetable wasn’t as packed with classes as I thought it would be, but then I kind of realized that this course specializes in self-directed work, so more than a half of all the hours I’ll spend with uni stuff will be done outside of class, which is crazy, actually. But also a good sign.

Besides that today was basically used as some sort of introduction to uni and the course and everyone and everything else. And it was quite impressive, if I may say so. I mean, you all know me now – I hope so at least. Now imagine me walking into this room with a huge stage setup in the back and white walls with hundreds of different signatures from different artists and bands on it. And if that wasn’t cool enough, now imagine me looking around and the suddenly finding Conor’s signature right next to me. How unbelievably cool is that? I’m seriously attending a school that casually has Conor freaking Mason’s signature on its walls like it’s nothing. So damn cool, oh my god.

Oh and let’s not forget all the different work opportunities and masterclasses and talks BIMM can offer. Did I tell you that past journalism students actually got to interview Twenty One Pilots? Fantastic, isn’t it? I actually can’t believe that I’m going to spend the upcoming three years just thinking about and listening to music and then writing about it. What a dream. I kind of had a full on reality check when I got home and suddenly realized that this was all seriously happening. I am really in Brighton. I am really a student at BIMM. It’s all real. Holy moly.

So yeah, that’s what happened today. The enrollment and also the start of freshers week, which means that I’m gonna spend the rest of the week going to different student fairs, talks and gigs (of course). And then, next Tuesday, the true work will finally start. I can’t even begin to tell you how freaking excited I am. And how happy that I get to share it all with you. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave any comments or questions down below. If you want to know anything, just hit me. And until then I hope you enjoyed this little update. And yeah, I wish you all a great week and, as always, thanks for reading. x

A new chapter

Hola everyone.

It’s me, Laura. And no, I’ve not fallen into a big black hole I couldn’t get out of. Yes, I do still exist. What a miracle. Ha. Ha. Okay, but seriously, I’m back, for real. I’m sorry it took me so long, but if you’ve been following me for the past months or even just weeks, you’ll know that I’ve had this big move to Brighton and I just had to fully concentrate on that. But yeah, this is over now. I mean, it’s still happening, at least in my head, which I still can’t get around the idea that I’m now living in the UK, where people live, think and speak differently. It’s so so crazy and I’m really glad that I get to share this journey with you guys.

As you can probably guess, my life here in Brighton and my new uni will be a big topic throughout, well, the next months and maybe even years. But for now I’d just like to share everything that happened in the past seven days with you guys. I know that nowadays it’s a bit more common to move to a different country or city to study or work there and everyone always tells you that it’s a great thing that will shape you, blah blah blah. But what noone really tells you is how hard it is to leave everyone and everything you know and love behind. I don’t regret any part of this move and I don’t want any of you to think that. It’s just that this really great thing also comes with a lot of heartbreaks and anyone who’s in the same situation as me should never feel like you always have to be happy from the first second on because you’re doing this really cool thing and basically fulfilling your dreams. Because it’s okay to not feel okay. Okay?

So, you can probably guess by now that the move wasn’t easy for me. The last week at home was a total dream for me and probably one of the best weeks ever. I saw all of my friends and I got to spend a lot of time with my family. And yeah, it was just really nice. And I was truly doing fine, even on the day of the move. But then I went into the garden to say goodbye to my cat and said “Peaches, I need to say goodbye” and it was the first time I had to explicitly say it and yeah, it was kind of my trigger word. From that moment on the tears just kept spilling. And you know what, I even let them, because I knew that this was the most normal reaction on earth. And I also knew that saying goodbye to my pets would be the hardest step. I mean, I kind of had an internal panic attack during the flight, but oh well. And you know what, the human mind is something truly crazy sometimes, let me tell you. Because suddenly I had all of these worries popping up in my head. “What if I don’t understand them?” “What if I can’t properly talk to people?” “What if I don’t like my new home?” “What if…?” It was driving me mad.

Rationally, most of my worries were pretty much total nonsense. Of course I still worry sometimes, mostly about uni right now and my new classmates. But you know, I always try to calm myself down by thinking that I can’t be perfect. I didn’t grow up in the UK and wasn’t raised bilingual, so of course I’m going to make some mistakes. But I’ve been progressing every single day and it’s actually really cool to notice how my brain slowly adjusts to the new surroundings and language. And I’m also already in contact with one of my new peers and yeah. Everything’s gonna be just fine, I’m hundred percent sure of that.

Besides that, I truly love my new home and Brighton and my new “family” and just pretty much everything. The house is freaking amazing, my room aswell, Nick and Silvia are literally the nicest people ever and the location couldn’t be any better. If I truly concentrate on it, I can even hear the waves crashing into the shore when I open the window. It couldn’t be any better, seriously. But for any of you who are planning on moving to a totally different place, I can just recommend having your parents with you for the first few days. I think that’s what really helped me to both adjust to my new home and not get a heart attack at the same time. I mean, watching my mum get onto the train and leave without me was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but moving to Brighton all on my own would have been a completely different and also harder story. I just really needed them and I’m happy that I had them with me. Also, I’ll be seeing them again in just 32 days and I already can’t wait.

You know, when I first got to Brighton I was asking myself whether I had made the right decision or not. Maybe it would have been better to just stay at home, do my Masters degree and then get a job at some magazine or whatever. Maybe that would have been easier. But then something very, very, very exciting happened. Some of you may know that Felix Kjellberg, aka PewDiePie, aka one of my favorite YouTubers, also lives in Brighton together with his fiancée Marzia Bisognin. And when my parents and I were walking to their hotel just after getting to Brighton, I actually told them all about Pewds and Marzia and was like “oh my god, imagine me walking around and then seeing Marzia with their two pugs. One is white and one is black. That would be so crazy.” I was probably annoying them, let’s be honest. And then we were passing this street and I looked to my left side and suddenly there was this guy, wearing a black jumper and black joggers. And I thought “hmm, why do I feel like I know him?” And then I looked down and saw them – Edgar and Maya, the two pugs. So, there he was. Felix. The one and only Pewds. I thought I was dreaming. I, of course, went completely crazy and whispered/shrieked at my parents “IT’S PEWDIEPIE. IT’S PEWDIEPIE.” And my mum was like “WHERE????” (she knows him – of course she does). And my dad was just staring at us like we were some crazy people. And then I looked back at him and he was looking at me and oh my god, I probably looked like a total freak. My mum then basically ordered me to turn around and walk past him, which we did. And as soon as he was out of sight, I basically went nuts. I couldn’t believe it. I had just moved to this city like five short minutes ago and as soon as I stepped outside Pewds walked by. How crazy is that? I still can’t get my head around it. And yes guys, he has got some looks to serve, I’m just going to be completely honest now. And it might be a bit crazy, but I took this as the sign that I had made the right decision. Because when mum and I visited Brighton two years ago, I was basically scanning every single face I went past and nothing happened. But this time I saw him, completely out of the blue. That just had to be the sign.

Since then I’ve used every singe day to get to know my new home better, street by street, house by house. Let me just tell you one thing – Brighton is damn beautiful and living next to the sea is one of the coolest things ever. Honestly, I feel like the luckiest person ever. Thanks to Silvia and Nick I don’t feel so alone here and they kind of prevent me from getting too sad about the fact that my family isn’t here. Which I’m very thankful for, seriously. I’ve already started to decorate my room and usually spend my days walking around in the city, doing a bit of shopping and stuff. And I’m also really looking forward to fresher’s week that’s coming up. In short, apart from missing my home, life couldn’t be any better right now. I’m basically living my dream and yeah, I’m just really happy and thankful.

And now I’m going to stop talking. Firstly, because this post if getting far too long and secondly, because it’s already past midnight and a new episode of Bake Off is waiting for me to be watched in bed. So I’m gonna go now. If any of you have got any questions about my move or Brighton or anything else, please don’t hesitate to leave them down below. I’ll try to answer them as fast as I can, I promise. Also, down below you can find some pictures of Brighton that I took the past few days and I really hope that you enjoy them. And yeah, I wish you all an amazing weekend. It feels really good to be back. Thanks for reading, guys. x

Hello again

Hola everybody.

And welcome back to my blog. I’m officially and finally back from my study/exam break and I seriously can’t even describe how much I’ve missed posting stuff on here and talking to you guys. I mean, I have, like, such a long list of topics for different blogposts, that I don’t even know where to start. And even just writing this right now fills me with so much joy. God, what would I do without this blog? I seriously have no idea.

I’m beyond sorry that it took me so long to get back again, but I just started my summer break, which basically means that I began working this Monday and I just had to get used to that – for example to having to wake up at 7 am every single freaking morning. I still haven’t fully found my perfect rhythm, but I’m hoping to accomplish that within the next few days, so I can actually start writing my bachelor thesis and my last few projects for uni.

But I have to say, I’m really really happy to be back home again. I’m currently sitting in bed and Peaches is lying next to me and seriously guys, whatever I’m feeling right now, I know it’s pure, unconditional love. This cat is the love of my life. No joke. And I can’t wait to spend the upcoming months with her. And the rest of my family and friends too, of course.

I actually just wanted to use this post as some kind of update and welcome. But I know that you’re all curious about what happened during my break, so here’s a little sneak peek. So, first of all, all my exams went down pretty good and if I’m not mistaken, I think I’ve passed every single one of them. Which means that I just have to finish my thesis now and then I’m officially graduating from uni, which is the craziest thing ever. It’s so weird to actually finish something you’ve been working your butt off for years. I mean, all I could think about in secondary school was uni. And now I’m already graduating. That’s so unbelievable. I mean, I’m not finished finished, you guys know about me moving to the UK to continue studying, but I’m leaving Vienna and basically my home country and that’s crazy enough, trust me. And if we’re already talking about moving to the UK – guys, I’ve finally found a place to live in. And holy moly, I actually can’t believe that I seriously managed to find myself such a great place and such an amazing family. I’ll be sharing the house with a couple and gosh, they are so cool. I mean, they’re basically me, just with a few more years of life experience. I couldn’t be happier, really. And the house is located just two minutes from the sea and the beach, which is like pretty much the most amazing aspect of the house. I mean, I’ll be basically spending the upcoming year at the beach, I can already tell you that. God, I’m so excited, this is going to be so so awesome.

And last but not least, as I already mentioned in my latest posts, I need to tell you all about my time at the festival that I got to work at. It was so freaking amazing. Oh my god. I can’t even describe it. It was one of those moments and experiences in life that basically change everything. Like when you first try Nutella. That changes you. And that’s what this week at the festival did to me. I seriously can’t wait to spend the rest of my life in that environment. I just love it so much, with all my heart. But before I’m starting to give away too much, I’ll just stop right here and keep the rest for the extra post in which I’m going to tell you all about my time there, from the beginning to the very end.

So yeah guys, there you go. Those are basically the most important things that happened during the time I’ve been away. Apart from that there are quite some new albums and songs waiting to be discussed about and I did a little photoshoot with what could be the dreamiest dress ever and I have so many new tv shows I want to tell you guys about, so please stay tuned for more. Like I said, I’m officially back again and yeah, I’d say let’s bring this blog back to life, shall we?

Anyways, I hope you guys are doing great and enjoying the summer. And, as always, I hope you enjoyed this little post and I wish you an amazing weekend. And, of course, thanks for reading. x

What’s Up

Hola everyone.

How are you guys? You know, today I was sat in front my laptop, thinking about today’s post and what I wanted to chat with you guys about. And then I remembered that actually a long time has passed since I just chatted to you and told you about everything that has been going on in my life. So, that’s exactly what I want to do today. Let’s chat.

Honestly, I don’t even know where to start. Recently my head has been completely full of all the things I’m doing and planning on doing right now. My last month of uni has just started and I’m already in the middle of studying for my finals and it’s kind of driving me crazy. I mean, it’s seriously already the last month of uni. And then I’m finished. Then I’m one of those people who actually have a degree, a Bachelor’s degree. How weird does that sound? I still remember the end of school like it was yesterday and now I’m already finishing uni. God, that’s crazy.

And then it’s just two months until I move to Brighton. Holy moly, where does all this time go? God, I’m sounding like a grandma. The funny thing is, I’m not as stressed as I thought I would be. Maybe that’s because I just have so many things to do that I don’t even have time to worry. Okay, well, that’s not hundred percent right. I mean, I’m kind of worrying if I’ll ever find a place to stay in Brighton – I still haven’t found anything, please help – and if I’ll have enough time to study for my exams. Which is pretty much nonsense, as I, like I said, have already began to study. The thing is that in two weeks, I’ll actually be working at a festival, for the whole week, so I’m kind of studying now so I can relax a bit there. And god guys, I can’t even tell you how excited I am. I mean, that’s literally everything that I want to do with my career – work at festivals, meet bands, write about that, go to concerts, listen to music all day and meet hundreds of new people. What a dream come true. I’m still pretty baffled that I seriously get the chance to work there, it’s going to be so freaking amazing. I can’t wait.

Besides that I’m also already so looking forward to summer. I’ll be working at home, which means I’ll get to spend as much time as possible with my family and friends, which is so important to me, seeing as I’m moving away. And I’ve got so many concerts scheduled. First I’ll get to see Martijn again at an EDM festival, which I’m so excited for. And then there are the two concerts of Ed, for which I’m already counting the days until the day has finally come, and then my mum and I are attending Sziget festival again and just four days after that we’re visiting one of Justin Timberlake’s concerts, which, being totally honest, is well overdue. I can’t even tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this moment. Far too long.

And of course, like I already mentioned, I’m trying to spend as much time with my family and friends as possible. But I’m honestly not as worried as I thought I would be. It’s probably because due to Berlin I already know how it feels to move to a different city and different country all on my own. And I know that I’ll be able to keep in contact with all of them, todays technologies just make it so easy. But that’s also why I’m probably most worried about my pets, because I just can’t call them or send them a message or even just explain the situation to them. I wish I could just cram our whole house into my suitcase and take them with me. I’m just happy that uni allows us so many free weeks during the holidays, so the longest I’ll be away will be four months and I actually think that’s not that bad. But honestly, I’m kind of far more excited for this new chapter in my life and this huge step than I’m scared of it. It’s going to be unbelievably fantastic, I can already tell. And until then I’ll just try to make the most of the time I get to be at home.

So yeah guys, that’s pretty much everything that’s currently going on in my life. What’s up with yours? I’d be really happy to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to leave your comments down below. And until then I wish you all an amazing weekend, hope that you enjoyed this little post and, as always, thanks for reading. x

It’s happening

Hola everyone.

Guys, I don’t even know what to say. I have no idea how to articulate what I’m feeling right now, what’s going on in my head. So I’m just going to say it: yesterday, at about five o’clock, I got the offer from BIMM. I seriously got accepted at the university I have been dreaming about the past few months. I did it. Oh my god.

I can’t believe that this is really happening. I mean, it got so real all of a sudden. Of course I’ve always talked about moving to another country, dreamed about living in London, imagined how my life would be if I could turn my biggest loves into a career – music and loves. And now it’s all happening. This is so unbelievable. Before it was all talking and stuff, dreaming about unrealistic scenarios. I mean, I’ve always been a pretty optimistic person, but if anyone would have told me that this would ever happen to me, I would have laughed in their face and maybe take them to the doctors. And now it’s all becoming reality. I can’t even tell you how happy I am. I feel like the luckiest person on earth. They seriously chose me. ME. How the hell is this real life? How did I deserve all of this? Am I still dreaming? Because if I am, please don’t wake me up.

When I got the email yesterday I immediately started to cry. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There it was, the offer. The offer from the one university I wanted to study at so so so bad. I don’t think I’ve wanted anything career related as bad as this. And I have to say, I really worked my damn ass off for this. And now all this truly paid off. At least I know now why I studied so hard at school and tried to get the best grades. I guess I did it for this, something I didn’t even know I would need it for three years later. Being such a perfectionist isn’t as bad as I thought, I guess.

And now I’m sitting here, listening to the new The Wombats album – it’s freaking amazing, prepare for the full review guys – still not quite fully aware of the fact that I’ll be moving to the UK in September. Holy moly. I can’t even tell you how long I’ve been dreaming about being able to say this. No joke. And now it’s really happening. I’ll move to the UK, either Brighton or London – I still have to decide on that one, but I think it will end up being Brighton, as it’s a little bit cheaper than London – and then I’ll study music journalism at one of the coolest universities ever, one that brought us stars like George Ezra, Marina and The Diamonds, The Kooks and Tom Odell. And now I’m tearing up again.

I’m just really happy that everyone, all of my friends and my family, is supporting me in this decision. My mum is still kind of torn and I fully understand her. Because I am too. I have to stop myself from thinking about it too hard, because I can already feel the anxious and sad feelings creep up in me. Of course it’s hard for me too. Moving to a completely different country, all on my own, leaving everything I know behind. It’s basically the biggest step I’ve ever taken. But I know I can do it. And my little town in the middle of nowhere is still my home. Home is where the heart is. And my heart is wherever my loved ones are. And if you’re asking me, yes, it’s possible to have more than one home. And I can’t wait to call Britain my home.

So yeah, this is it guys. I guess this is all really happening. I still have to digest all of this in order to be able to realize it. Isn’t it crazy how the mind truly needs its time to process news like this one? And I think the moment I fully understand all of this will be one of the best and happiest ones in my whole life. My dream is seriously coming true. And it feels so good that I’m able to share all of this with you guys. Here’s to some exciting months and even more exciting and very english years. Also, I hope you’re all doing good and I wish you an amazing weekend. And thanks for reading. x

Huge haul

Hola everyone.

The day has finally come. I know I promised to post this already weeks ago but somehow I never got the time to finally do it, but know I did. Hallelujah.

So as you know I was in England for a week with my mum in August – Brighton and Reading – and then I visited my friend Mati in Croatia. And of course I had to go shopping, how couldn’t I? The shopping list started with some clothing pieces and went on and on until it ended with books and some special accessories. So I would like to show my precious purchases to all of you guys. Enjoy.

Clothes

Okay, actually it’s more like just tops, precisely one t-shirt – the most important piece of the whole haul – and four sweaters. But hey, autumn has already arrived and winter is coming and I have to be prepared.

Right now I’m completely obsessed with the sweaters they sell at Pull and Bear. They are just so comfy and big. The perfect size for being a nice oversize sweater I want to stay in forever. And it fits perfectly and looks just perfect. And besides that they all have some cool embroidered messages on them which make them even more amazing. The first one I bought was in Brighton. I just had to. Mostly because of it’s writing that says “Nobody cares if you don’t go to the party”, which is just so damn relatable and true. I’ve always been that one person that doesn’t go to parties, even though all the others did and called me boring. Because I simply didn’t care t all. That’s why the sweater is a perfect match for me. It emphasizes my lifestyle and the person I am.

The second one I bought was in Zagreb. It’s exactly the same one as the first one, just in a green color and with the Harry Potter related writing saying “I’m busy making a potion”. And let’s be honest, everything that’s Harry Potter related is just pure awesomeness. On the same day I also bought my really special rainbow sweater. I j´saw that one at Pull and Bear and just wanted it to be mine. Not just because it looks freaking amazing, but also because it’s my way of telling the world that I support the LGBT+ community. Most people will just look at me wearing it and see a cool rainbow sweater, but for me it’s my kind of support. And I love that.

The last sweater I bought is some kind of flattery poof black crop top volant type of thing. I bought it at Zara in Reading. Actually I just wanted to try it on and see how it looks but then I stayed it in the whole time when my mum was trying on other things. And that pretty much meant that I would keep it. That’s my thing. If I try something on and keep it on until I have to leave the changing rooms, it’s practically mine. There’s no other way out. And that was the case with this top.

And now the most important piece. My precious. You know that I love Fall Out Boy. And I finally got to see them live at Reading festival. And you know that I love band merch. I always buy one t-shirt whenever I’m attending a concert. And you probably guessed it by now – of course I had to buy a FOB t-shirt. And it’s seriously one of the most valuable pieces of clothing in my whole wardrobe. Because it has such a huge meaning for me. And besides that it just looks freaking cool. I mean, look it at. They band is cool, the shirt is cool, everything about this is unbelievably cool and amazing and perfect. And I love it. With all of my heart.

Other stuff

Now that we all know that clothes are not the real thing on their own, of course I had to buy some other stuff. The first thing on my list were books. I’ve been obsessed with reading good books lately, so I flew over to England with my list of books I wanted to buy and thankfully I did get all of them.

I bought:

This Modern Love by Will Darbyshire
When We Collided by Emery Lord
Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
The Potion Diaries by Amy Alward
Harry Potter And The Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling

I read the Harry Potter one right after we bought it, I just had to. And by the way, it’s amazing. And currently I’m reading When We Collided which is also really really awesome. I can highly recommend it. And all the others too, of course.

Besides that we also bought some other things. When mum and me were strolling around in town in Brighton we walked past a painting pottery cafe which I recognized from one of Marzias blogs (Pewdiepies girlfriend). So of course we had to walk in and the next day we went back to actually paint some pottery. I chose to paint a heart, write Brighton on it and paint some flowers and other stuff on it so it would look nice. And I have to say I really enjoyed it, I loved it to be honest. It was so relaxing and it reminded me of how much I love art and painting. And on the last day which was also the next one I got my finished heart back, which was supercool and so nice of them because I told them that we would leave on this day so they finished it extra fast for me. The heart is now hanging on my wall and I look at it and it places a smile of my face every time.

And when we were at Reading festival I also bought some badges for my bags and other things. That’s like another one of my traditions, I started it when we attended Sziget festival last year. And now even my mum has a badge on her bag. Our stuff is like a display for all the experiences we’ve made. Oh and we also bought three sings, one for mums office, one for our whole family and one for my room. Going shopping in Brighton is really amazing and fascinating, because there are so many vintage shops and little shops that sell stuff you’d never get in conventional stores. And I really love that.

So, there you go. Those are the things I bought in the past two months, some in the UK, some in Croatia. But all of them are amazing and totally lovely. If any of you want to chat about shopping or anything else, I’m here. And until then, I hope you enjoy this post and, as always, thanks for reading. x