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Look what quarantine made me do

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog. How are you all doing, my lovelies? All doing good? I hope you all had a lovely week and that you’re looking forward to the weekend. Today, I thought it would be nice to share another few short stories of and insights on life during quarantine. Thankfully, that horrific time has come to an end here at home in Austria a long time ago (should be over a month now), but whenever I slow down and reflect on those strange one and a half months of lockdowns, anonymity, unfamiliarity and distance, I notice that I was a different person before compared to who I am now. But let me explain.

To put it short, I did some things during quarantine and during the past three months that I probably would have never ever done if life was still normal. If I was still in London, if gigs were still happening and if our local cinema wasn’t singularly playing dumb, boring movies. Humans are a very adaptive and creative species, which I noticed by my own actions. Even my mum was surprised by most of the stuff I did. That’s how strange I was acting. And I know this must sound super dubious and weird, but actually it’s anything but, as most of the things I did happened in the kitchen. Not strange, but very very delicious.

I mean, as probably everyone stuck at home, I’ve been cooking a lot. And that’s saying a lot too, as I usually already cook about twice or even three times per week. But because of quarantine and because I needed to find a way to let my creative spirit run free and do something I’ve never done before and something that would keep me engaged and interested, I’ve been cooking even more. I just needed a bit of a challenge. Also, somehow I finally got to make and cook all the stuff I had been planning on for years, so that’s quite cool too.

My very first project was stinging nettle spinach. You’re probably thinking ‘what the hell is that’. Well, it’s that interesting green plant you can usually find on roadsides and in the woods in late spring. Oh, and the ‘fun’ part, once you touch it it stings like hell. You probably know what I mean by now. Here in Austria it’s pretty common to go into the woods and harvest some of it to cook with it – make spinach, tea, soup, whatever. And when I was still very young, I remember my mum once made me pureed spinach from nettles and I’ve been wanting to recreate that ever since. And thanks to quarantine, I finally got the chance. The stuff you do when you’ve reached another level of boredom. But actually, it was pretty cool to make and tasted amazing as well. I highly recommend it – here’s a recipe for you to try.

And speaking of staying local and being one with nature – the next thing I made was elderflower syrup, another long-planned project of mine. The amazing thing is, when we bought the property for our house, this big patch of land, it already included a few trees and a huge elderflower bush. So the syrup I made wasn’t just homemade but also homegrown. And yes, I’m pretty proud of that. Anyway, the process of making the syrup was super fun as well and oh my god the taste. It tastes so freaking good. I mean, I usually like building myself up and being my own biggest fan, but this time literally everyone I had try the syrup agreed that it is absolutely stunning. And with some frozen berries and a few mint leafs it makes for the perfect summer drink. You should definitely try it – here’s a recipe.

To stay with the summery theme, the last thing I recently made is perfect for anyone who loves frozen yoghurt and fruit, but doesn’t have a frozen yoghurt place in town (like me) – a yoghurt bark. Inspired by the amazing Jenna Joseph (thanks Jenna), I made the probably easiest icecream on earth. It really is just spreading out greek yoghurt and mixing and topping it with literally anything you like – chocolate, fruit, nuts, anything. There are no limits whatsoever. And once it’s frozen and you can break it all apart and enjoy it in the sun, it’s just the best thing ever – here’s a recipe for you.

And last but not least, the quarantine has also given my green thumb an intense push. I mean, I’ve always had a green thumb – my room is literally filled with plants, I currently own 17 – but before the quarantine, it was limited to indoor plants. But all of a sudden I’ve been helping my mum with the garden, repotting plants, checking on them on a daily basis. I think that’s actually what surprised my mum the most. And the cherry on top of all of this is definitely that I recently planted my very own lemon trees. I know, lemons and me, what a coincidence (ha). But, seriously, they are just the cutest and I call them my lemon babies and have been looking after them all day and all night. I know that the journey together with them will be a long one and that it’ll take years for them to grow tall and strong, but that’s what I’m here for. Also, I think they’re just so beautiful and elegant once they’re bigger, so it’s definitely worth the wait. They’ll hopefully be with me my whole life. For any of you who would like to plant their own lemon tree, here’s how.

And with that, we’ve already reached the end of today’s post and the stories of all the stuff I did during quarantine and the past three months. Overall, I think that quarantine was one of the hardest periods of time I and most people had to go through, but looking at what good came out of it, I’d say that it didn’t just have bad sides, but some positive ones as well. Speaking of that, I’d absolutely love to hear about all the cool you stuff did during quarantine to keep yourself busy – even if it’s creating the most beautiful island on Animal Crossing (I envy you) – so please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and opinions down below. And apart from that I hope reading about my stories brought you a bit of inspiration and happiness. And yeah, as always, I wish you all a lovely weekend and thanks for reading. x

There’s Nothing Like Film

Hola everyone.

Welcome back to my blog. I’m so sorry for being gone for so long, but I’ve buried myself in uni work the past two weeks and only just now had a chance to finally peek my head out a bit again. How are you guys doing? I hope you’ve had a great two weeks and are feeling well, despite this way too real horror scenario we’re still stuck in. I’m going to be honest, I’m still locked into my shitty emotional rollercoaster. One day I’m feeling super happy and calm and truly believe that everything’s going to be perfectly fine again, and the next day I feel like a piece of my soul got ripped apart and all I want to do is throw myself off a cliff. I know, this might sound a bit dramatic, but I’ve always lived in extremes and this quarantine has only enforced that even more.

Anyways, thanks to various new hobbies, I’ve been able to stick to the better, more fun side of the rollercoaster for most of the time. And one of those hobbies is something I’ve been wanting to get into for a pretty long time – film photography. I mean, you all know how deeply in love I am with photography in general, whether with my phone or my camera. So getting obsessed with film photography was just a natural consequence. And finally, for my birthday this year, I gave myself the greatest gift ever to give in to the obsession – a film camera, to be exact, an Olympus XA2, that I got from Depop.

So far, I’ve used up one roll of film, which I recently got developed and am super happy to share with you today. Obviously, not all the pictures are worthy enough to be hung up on a wall for everyone to see, but some of them are and to be honest, I’m really proud of that. Especially for my first try. Thankfully, actually photographing with the camera is just as much fun as seeing the results. I know that some people don’t like film, because opposed to digital cameras, you aren’t able to see the photo straight after taking it. You can’t check whether the lighting is nice or everything is in focus. Every single picture is a surprise. And yes, it might make it all a bit more stressful, because the chance of some of the pics being throwaways is pretty high, but it is also way more exciting that way. I love how you capture moments and then they’re locked into the camera until you finally get to see them weeks afterward. I think that’s actually what gives the pictures their certain nostalgic and romantic touch. I really really really love it. And so, without further ado, here are some of my favourite pictures that I took during the past weeks while being stuck in quarantine. If any of you are curious, I took all of them on a Kodak Gold film with an ISO of 200. I hope you like them just as much as I do. So, please enjoy.

And there you go guys, this is it for today’s post. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and are excited for more to come. I’ve already ordered six more rolls of film – 3x Kodak Color Plus 200 and 3x Fujicolor C200 – and I can’t wait to shoot them all and fill them with fantastic memories and beautiful moments. And then to share them with all of you. And until then, I hope you like these here. As always, please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts and comments down below. And also recommendations and tips for the camera. I’m just at the start of the film photography learning curve and would be grateful for every tip. Besides that, I wish you all a lovely week and hope you’re doing well. And, of course, thanks for reading. x

“Rock with Horns”

Hola everyone.

Looks like we’ve reached another Friday yet again. To be honest, I’m surprised I still know what day it is. They seem to blend into each other the past weeks. But here I am once again, sitting in front of my laptop, thinking about what to write about today. And I know it might not sound like that, but this simple act of typing something up to share with you guys is one of the things that have been keeping me afloat. It gives me a sense of structure and responsibility. I might not be able to the cinema or meet my friends, but I’m still able to talk to all of you and I can’t even put into words how much I appreciate that. So here I am, once again.

Okay, and now let’s talk business. I know I’ve hinted at it already a few weeks ago, but today the time has finally come for me to share the fantastic interview I did with the uber-amazing band HUNNY. If you’ve been following me and my blog for a while, you will probably already know who these very special boys are. In a nutshell – they make crazy good music, I was super excited to finally meet them and you should definitely read the interview and then give them a listen. You won’t regret it, I promise. And so, without further ado, here’s our little chat. I hope you enjoy it.

“Rock with Horns”

Going to a concert of the Californian band HUNNY is a very special experience. They meet all the criteria for the perfect indie band: charismatic with a touch of rogue, a frontman who turns the stage into his dance floor, a flawless shredder on the guitar, a synth magician, and a funky bass player. That’s why it’s fairly easy to be obsessed with HUNNY, consisting of Jason Yarger (vocals), Jake Goldstein (guitar), Joey Anderson (drums) and Kevin Grimmett (bass, keyboards) – these LA rockers are absolute favorites: young, passionate and full of sugar. I met the humorous guys for an interview before their sold-out show at Shepherd’s Bush in London and talked to them about their current tour, the production of their newest album, and the fight for authenticity in the music business.

How did your band start off?

Jake: Same old story. Some old story. We’ve just all known each other forever. Jason and I lived together in a house and then everybody started to come to us and hang out and then this band happened.

Joey: Pretty boring origin story. Nobody got bitten by a radioactive spider or anything.

How would you describe your band to someone who doesn’t know you?

Kevin: If you mean an older person, like a boomer, then we’re a rock band, they wouldn’t understand anything else. But when we’re talking to someone who knows what we’re about, we do alternative rock.

Jason: I don’t like that one though. It’s so broad to say that. I never know how to describe us.

Jake: We make rock with horns.

What do you dislike most about your job and what do you love most?

Jake: The industry behind music sucks. But that’s also the thing that allows us to play shows like tonight. Venues are only open because people buy tickets and drinks and come to concerts. That is also the catch 22. I wish every show could be five pounds, but unfortunately, that wouldn’t work.

Jason: Speaking of catch 22, tour is the worst and best part. It’s tough, but it’s also the greatest time. When we played a small gig recently, there were two girls from Japan at the show who go to school here in London. So they came from Japan and are here in England and we are also here and we are all very far from home and connected by this one thing, by the music. That’s really cool.

How does your production process work?

Jason: Basically, we sit around the laptop and play around with melodies and rhythms until it sounds cool. We don’t really jam with all our instruments in one room, because then everyone just worries about what they do personally. Because you feel like you have to add something even if the song doesn’t need it. That’s why we prefer to sit together and talk about what we have to add to a track instead of everyone doing something just to do something.

From your album cover to your merch, everything you do looks really nice. I assume aesthetics mean a lot to you?

Jake: Yeah, we have a hand in pretty much everything. Jason designs our merch and album art and in general, we talk about our visuals a lot. It’s definitely something we actively talk about and think about.

Me: Do you think that will ever change?

Jason: I’m too much of an asshole to let anybody else make any of our art for us. So probably not. I have a very tight grip on things sometimes.

Joey: He rules with an iron fist.

What does the contact to your fans mean to you?

Jake: That’s the most important thing. It’s our favourite ethos – we come from loving DIY bands and punk bands, where the whole idea is the connection of the fans being a part of the greater thing that is the band. The fact that they have such a strong bond with our music and want to share their art and ideas with us means that they are as invested in the band as we are, if not even more. That means a lot to us.

How do you try to stand out from the endless mass of bands?

Jason: I think we try by not trying. As lame as that may sound.

Joey: Being genuinely ourselves is going to make us stand out. Trying to be anything else will only make us look like doofuses.

Jake: Absolutely true. Those are the things in music that cut through right now. Things that feel genuine, that are authentic, that’s all people want. To know that something is real.

What does music mean to you?

Kevin: I think it’s everything. It’s style, the way you act, everything.

Jason: Music took over my life when I was ten years old. It’s quite literally absolutely everything in my entire life right now. I was up on a night drive with our tour manager in the states a while ago and we were talking about how insane it is that some people are not like that. Obviously, everybody is different but it’s so crazy that it’s literally the only thing I can think about. It’s made me homeless and happy and depressed and everything in my entire life revolves around it.

Jake: It has to mean a lot to you to give it a go like we are.

Jason: Tell Rolling Stone my last words were I dig music.

HUNNY’s new album “Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes” is available everywhere now. In short – you should definitely give these guys a listen right now – here are their Spotify and Instagram accounts -, they’re too good to miss out on them. And until then, I hope you all enjoyed this interview and wish you all a fantastic weekend. I hope you’re all doing good and getting through the quarantine okay. We’ll get through this together, I promise. If any of you need to talk, I’m here. And, as always, I’m sending you all the tightest hugs and thanks for reading. x

What day is it?

Hola everyone.

How are we all doing today? Getting through the quarantine okay? I’m gonna guess you’re all as fed up with all that #stayathome and people telling you to be happy and just read a book or something and shoving their sourdough bread in your faces. As for me, I’m so irritated, I think if someone tells me to try that relaxing yoga fitness lovey-dovey Ayurveda session one more time, I’m gonna freak out. But hey, people are bored and they are all probably as frustrated as I am, so I’m gonna let it pass. Just don’t show me your bread anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love bread, probably more than I should. But no, stop, please.

So that’s Instagram in a nutshell right now – bread and yoga and books and people telling each other to stay at home. Not the best days that platform has seen, I know. But there’s also this one small corner left of people sharing real moments from their real lives and that’s what I love. I love seeing those crappy pictures taken with their iPhones. I love seeing photographs of dogs and cats sprawled across feet on couches, dinners on plates and flower bouquets lighting up the rooms. Because that’s what life looks like right now. And it’s just a strong reminder that, at basis level, now that we’re all stuck at home, there is only so much that parts and differentiates us. Of course today would be different if I lived in a villa at the beach or had tons of money to spend on stuff online (like the Nintendo Switch with Animal Crossing on top), but at the end of the day, that’s all there is. They still watch the same shows, read the same books and only get to leave their houses for those small moments every day. We’re all the same. We’re literally all in this together (*instant HSM flashbacks*).

And because I love those snapshots from current basic normal life so much, I thought it would be nice to share some moments from my life right now too. In short, most days have consisted of me sleeping in late – as always -, going for walks with my parents and Molly, cuddling with Peaches in bed, doing some uni work, watching TV or YouTube and then reading my book before bed. On a more interesting note, I’ve been cooking a lot for my family and myself – I even made my first pickles yesterday, with chard stems -, I have taken up drawing again and of course I’m always tending to the little jungle in my room. I recently bought two new plant friends, who seem to be super happy with their new home and are quite literally thriving. And another positive thing to come out of this shitty quarantine is my parents and me being forced to find new trails to walk on every day, which has led us to (re)discovering our home and the surrounding lands. We literally got lost in the woods yesterday. I didn’t even know that we had those woods. I do now.

So, now you know what I’ve been doing. Time for you to actually see. I chose my favourite pics from the past month of my camera roll, all taken with my iPhone, and I hope you like them – for all see down below. As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to talk or just to share your opinion. Also, I’d love to see what you’ve been doing this past month, so please feel free to share your favourite moments on here. And until then, I wish you all a great week and hope that you’re doing well. I’m sending you all the tightest of hugs and, of course, thanks for reading. x

‘Sadboy Guitar Bangerz with too many soloz’

Hola everyone.

And welcome back to my blog and another Friday – not really a New Music Friday, but something more exciting than that. Here in Austria, I can slowly start to see the finish line of our quarantine and maybe it’s because of that or maybe because I’m sitting outside, enjoying the glistening sunshine and some fantastic music playing the background, but I’m feeling a lot better than I was a few days ago. I’m already imagining how we’ll talk about this crap of a spring in a few years. The time we couldn’t go outside anymore and hugs were illegal. Crazy times.

But speaking of fantastic music – today’s a very good day for music. Specifically for the phenomenal indie band Peach Pit, who just released their new album today – it’s a banger – and who I got to interview a few days ago. And I couldn’t be any more excited to share the finished article with you guys. Please enjoy. And please go and give the guys a listen. They’re honestly so good. And the album is literally the perfect addition to any playlist. And we’re all in need of some great music right now, aren’t we?

‘Sadboy Guitar Bangerz with too many soloz’

It’s safe to say that 2020 has already been one hell of a year, and while that’s not necessarily a positive sentiment for a lot of people, for the members of Vancouver-based band Peach Pit, it’s been an unforgettable year for all the right reasons, with their newest album “You and Your Friends” just having been released. Intense, fun and with the warm breeze of a day at the beach, the album makes a perfect addition to any quarantine playlist. And it’s true – Peach Pit is the type of band whose music is always, and without fail, good, with their second full-length effort being no exception. To celebrate their special release, I got to chat with lead vocalist Neil Smith about the early beginnings of his band, the importance of teeth and their plans for when we all finally get to leave our rooms again.

Let’s start right at the beginning – how did this band start off?

Well, our guitarist Chris and I met in high school, but him and our bassist Peter actually go all the way back to kindergarten. The four of us didn’t really become friends though until we were in our early twenties. That’s when we all connected and actually became good pals.

Did you think you’d end up where you are now back then?

We were always hopeful, which is how you have to be when you start out trying to make music. But no, it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come since playing in Chris’ dad’s basement 5 years ago.

What do you enjoy most about being a band? What do you dislike most?

Getting to tour all over the world and have fans in every city wanting to see you play is very surreal. That’s probably my favourite. And my least favourite is being stuck in the van with Mikey when he starts to feel cooped up. He goes crazy sometimes and just starts playing his drum machine super loudly to annoy us. It sucks!

Looking back on your career so far – what is your favourite memory?

Probably playing our last big hometown show in Vancouver. It was on Halloween and at a big theatre that has always been on our bucket list to play. All of our family and friends were there and we dressed up in full KISS costumes. It was sick pretending to be Gene Simmons for a night.

How would you describe your band to someone who didn’t know you?

Sadboy Guitar Bangerz with too many soloz!

I read you like to describe your sound as “chewed bubblegum pop” – could you explain the meaning behind that?

We only said that because people always ask what kind of music we play, and because Indie music steals from rock and pop and more down tempo stuff it can be hard to pick which “genre” you belong to.

What was the process of producing and creating your new album like?

The writing portion was pretty challenging, we all spent a lot of time in our rehearsal space and I spent a ton of time at home alone trying to write songs last year. The recording of the record was the best though. We got to work with John Congelton and we hit it off immediately with him. He’s one of the funniest and most fun guys to have to hang around for weeks on end. I hope we can record another album with him in the future.

Do you follow a certain formula when you write your songs or is the process different every time?

Yes. Usually I come up with either the song title or the first line of the song and write it down in my notebook. Then I try and come up with a chord progression that I like and add a melody and lyrics to it. Once the song is done being written, then I bring it to band practice and the guys and I mess around with it until we’re happy with all the parts and the arrangement. The song generally changes a lot from when it’s just me at home to the full band playing it.

Why are teeth so central in your new album?

Because their highly underrated, how hard would eating be without them!

What is your favourite track of the album and why?

My favourite has changed a lot since we finished recording the album. But right now, it’s probably a two-way tie between Brian’s Movie and Your Teeth. With Brian’s Movie, I really like that Chris is playing a 12-string guitar with a slide (he’s never done that before) and Your Teeth I just really love the melody, it’s kind of creepy but also sad and pretty.

What has been your most enjoyable song to write so far and why? What’s your favourite song to play?

Shampoo bottles was written really fast, like in two days which is way shorter than normal. I love when a song just falls out of you super easy. And my favourite to play would be Brian’s Movie, I just can’t get enough of that 12 string.

How do you try to stand out of the crowd?

We just try to be ourselves as much as possible. I think people can sense when you’re being fake so you might as well avoid trying to be something that you are not. This would be my strongest piece of advice to any young bands starting out.

What are your plans for the future, after all of this is finally over?

Well once all this shit dies down we’ll be able to get our touring schedule back on track. We were so excited for this spring but unfortunately staying at home is the most important thing we can do right now. So, in the meantime we’ll just be on Instagram live as much as possible. Please tune in.

What does music mean to you?

It means everything to me. Besides my family and friends, it’s the most important thing. Not only is it our livelihood but it’s just our favourite way to spend our time. Being able to pick up a guitar and entertain myself while being stuck inside has been a huge blessing.

Peach Pit’s latest album “You and Your Friends” is now available in stores and on all download and streaming platforms.

And there you go, guys. I hope you enjoyed the interview. Please do go and give Peach Pit and their new album a listen – it’s uber fantastic, it truly is. And just so much fun to listen to. And besides that, I hope you’re all doing good and not going too insane at home and wish you all a lovely weekend. And, as always, thanks for reading. x

What Now?

Hola everyone.

Well, where do I start? It’s been a tough few days and weeks and I’m probably not alone in asking myself when this hell of a time will finally end. I was actually planning on publishing a recent interview I did with the amazing LA indie band HUNNY back when I was still in London, but I thought an update would probably be a bit more beneficial. So here’s what’s been happening here in Austria and also in my own headspace.

Let’s start with something positive first, as all I’ve been surrounded by in the past few weeks have been bad news and I can’t deal with them anymore. I’m officially 24 and 3 days old. Yeeeeeyyyyy me. That’s one thing this asshat of a virus couldn’t take away from me – my birthday. And despite all that’s been happening, it was actually a super nice day. Take that, Corona, you pain the ass. The whole day was dedicated to forgetting about the current events as much as possible and it really worked, which made me insanely happy. I spent a lovely day with my parents and even got to see my grandma (in a safe way, obvs) and just two days ago I had my Skype birthday party with my friends. Because that’s how you party in 2020 – via facetime. A few weeks ago I would’ve probably said that was quite lame, but it actually was really really nice to see all my friends and to have a chat together. Also, I got myself an amazing birthday present – an Olympus XA2 film camera, which I can’t wait to finally get my hands on.

Besides that, I’ve been stuck on a shitty, emotional rollercoaster since I came home about two weeks ago (feels like I’ve been home five months, not two weeks). One day I’m feeling okay and pretty optimistic and then a few hours later I seem to have lost every sense of positivity. It’s a constant up and down. But through all of this, I’ve learned to accept my own feelings and to work with them. I feel like right now many people look down on people who are complaining about missing out on experiences, holiday trips, birthday parties, weddings, all that. Because it’s constantly about the greater good, about saving lives. And of course, that’s the top priority right now. But sometimes it’s also okay to feel depressed, to have negative thoughts, to be sad or simply to be egoistic. Because trust me when you’re stuck in the same house for over two weeks with nowhere else to go or nothing else to do, your world gets really small really quick.

And yes, I’ve been feeling very anxious. I don’t know when or if I’ll ever be able to return to London and my old life. And I’ve told many people about my worries and have often heard that I need to accept the current situation and that there’s nothing I can do, but fuck that, honestly. Do you know what it feels like to live your literal dream life, to build a new life up somewhere else, a completely new place, and have it be this perfect and then have it ripped out of your hands in a matter of a few minutes? It’s shit, that’s what it is. And I know some of you might think I’m insane for saying stuff like this out loud because I should probably tell you to #stayathome and pray or tell you who I’m staying at home for or tell you how dramatic the situation is in Italy and that nobody should complain even once, but, again, fuck that. Quite a lot of us are losing quite a lot right now, by the simple act of staying at home for longer than any of us have ever had to in the past and it should be allowed to talk about it. People are losing to illnesses that have been here way longer than this virus has. People can’t watch their children being born. Happy couples had to cancel their weddings. People are losing jobs on a daily basis. My mum had to close her office and put her whole company on hold two weeks ago with no information about when she’ll be able to work again and little to no support from the government. My dad works at a bank and still has to go to work every day, risking his life and the lives of others day by day (although I’d do quite a lot to be able to go outside and see other people right now). And then there’s me with no idea when I’ll be able to return to London, my second home, again.

So, every day has become a huge ass question mark, which is just another reason why I’ve started to live from one day to another. I’ve stopped making plans for anything, because I’d rather have no plans than having yet another event canceled that I was looking forward to (*cough* any concerts ever *cough*). And besides that, it has also kinda helped me to stay positive. Daily walks have become my highlight of the day. I’ve buried myself in a book I’ve been reading (The Nightingale; it’s fantastic, but definitely not for someone looking for a light, fun read) and I’ve actually resurrected my Nintendo DS and have been playing Harvest Moon in my urge of getting my mind off buying a Switch so I can play Animal Crossing, like 90 % percent of the internet right now (I’m so damn close to buying it though). And on a more artistic note, I’ve recently started drawing again, which has really helped me calm down when I’m feeling anxious. And cuddling with my loved ones, that’s a big one as well. Cuddle and hold your parents and anyone you’re stuck inside with right now. Talk to your friends. Go and press your cat or dog to your face. It really helps.

In a nutshell, that’s what my life has been like in the past two weeks. It has been just as chaotic as this blog post right here. I go from straight-up positivity to the darkest of times in a matter of a few hours day by day, but I know I’m not alone in this and that kinda helps. I guess we’re all in this together. So let’s just try and be kind to each other. But as I’ve sworn myself, please promise me to never disregard your own feelings. It’s okay if you’re feeling down or feel like there’s nothing to get up for. Or if you’re feeling happy while people around you aren’t. Your feelings are important and so are you. Please know that. The only thing I want you to remember is that there’s always something or someone to get out of bed for and it might not seem like it right now, but a smile is always better than nothing. Go and spread positivity in any way possible. And if the news are getting too much for you, just turn them off. Do what makes you feel good.

Please take care of yourself, guys. Again, we’re all in this together and we’ll get through this together. I’m sending you all tight hugs from my living room in Austria and hope you’re all doing good, as good as you can. If any of you feel like talking, I’m always here for you. And until then, thanks for listening to my rambling and, of course, thanks for reading. x