DOORS

When one door closes, another door opens, they say. In my case one extra door opened, besides the one that is already open. So when both doors are open, which one am I going to enter?  I'm studying Biomedical sciences at the moment, at Maastricht University, but this wasn't the initial plan. I've always wanted to study medicine and become a doctor. So recently I heard, after a year of living, studying and partying in Maastricht, that I got admitted into medicine in Nijmegen.

When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us ― Alexander Graham Bell.

I think I haven't realised what a great time I had in Maastricht, until I got that letter which stated that I could study Medicine in Nijmegen. I didn't appreciate the great friends I've made here as much as I do now, when I know I'll be leaving soon. This whole year I've been so busy staring at that "closed door" that was studying medicine, that I didn't see the door that was open for me, studying here, in Maastricht, having a great time and meeting the most amazing, inspiring and wonderful people. I feel ashamed, for not being able to see all the great things that were happening right in front of me at the time.

I know which door I'm going to enter, but to my dear friends in Maastricht: I'm going to miss you all SO MUCH, I'll never forget about the great times we've had, the lessons I've learned and how much I've grown as a person because of all of you! I'll do everything I can to keep in touch, I'm not going to close the Maastricht-door entirely, I need you all in my life.

WHAT DO I DESIRE?

Today I stumbled upon a very intresting and inspiring video, a video that gives me enough reason not to write one of my sarcastic, joking kind of blogposts you are used to on this page.

I suggest you all whatch this video:

The narrator's name is Alan Watts and he was a British philosopher. T. S. Eliot also wrote an amazing poem about people doing what they didn't really like doing called "The Wasteland". The message is clear: Find the one thing what makes you "itch", not necessarily what makes you rich.
This also made me think of my sister, she'd love to be an architect but gets told time and time again that being an architect is not going to earn her lots of money. I however agree with Watts that it doesn't matter what you're doing, if you do really like what you're doing. 'Cause loving what you do is the only way to really become a master of something. You have to be with it. And then, eventually you'll be able to get paid well for whatever it is.

I hope some of you got inspired by this little video, these are things that are always good to keep in mind.

THINGS I HATE

I think I failed my exam today and now I'm in a train stuffed with people, attempting to write a blog on my mobile phone, while being crushed between the door and a 50 year old fat man. If I manage to write a decent post there's at least one thing I succeeded in doing today. As you may have noticed I'm in an incredible bad mood that I just can't shake. So I decided to blow of some steam blogging about all the things I hate.

I hate people that forget to brush there tongue, their breath stinks. I hate people that are constantly asking what you're thinking about, If I'd feel like telling you I already would've. I hate losing in a game of (insert any sport/videogame here) from somebody I don't like and than having to comfort myself with the thought that I'm "better at other things". I hate the feeling that I'm paying way too much for something. I hate rush hour. I hate rain. I hate people that walk around with the same expressionless face all day. I hate flat tires. I hate getting a Facebook update notifying me that someone I met on vacation 10 years ago wants me to play

FARMVILLE with them. I hate people who call Wednesday "hump day", there is no "hump day" everyday can be "hump day". I hate the price of Starbucks coffee and the people that feel the need to flaunt their Starbucks cup everywhere (on the street, in class, on Facebook, on Twitter). Bugs, I seriously hate bugs. I hate that thing where somebody rolls up a tea-towel and then whips someone (me) with it. I hate mornings, I'm just not a morning person. I hate the adds that play before Youtube videos and on Spotify (also just adds in general). I hate not being invited to a party that I didn't want to go to anyway, I just wanted to be invited. I hate being late, even though that happens to me quite often. I hate the way rappers are still mourning Biggie and Tupac, I've lost three grandparents since then and you don't hear me going on about it.

And last but not least: I HATE people that are always hating on everybody and everything. Wait what!?

NO BLOGPOST TODAY

Tomorrow is that difficult exam I talked about in my first blogpost. So, I'm very sorry, but I'm not going to write anything today, for two reasons. The first being that I just don't have the time and the second being that my head is clogged with facts about the cell. There is no room for creative stuff there anymore. I hope to see you all back here tomorrow!

BOOKREVIEW

Yesterdays post was about my Guilty pleasures, and it's fair to say I've gotten some response to that one. Especially the part where I wrote "And they made me laugh out loud because they are just SO REDICULOUS but I read all the books in the Fifty Shades trilogy". I do not feel the need to explain why I've read all these books (and that may be for the simple fact that I don't know the answer to that question), but what I will do, is tell you why these books made me LOL and why I think they're ridiculous.

I disliked 50 shades for more than its horrible writing alone. For one, there's the characters. Ana is just a giant mess. She's insecure to the point of it being laughable and she's a 21 year old virgin who's never taken any sexual interest in anyone before. Right.... Let that sink in for a second. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a woman this naive since the eighteenhundreds. But here's E.L. James' other attempt to add some personality to Ana: She wears sneakers and jeans, drives a very old car and likes classic British literature. Yawn..... Besides that, it's Ana's lack of anything in her vocabulary to describe excitement/being surprised besides "Oh my" that annoyed me. I lost count of how many times Ana said "Oh my" in this book. "He pulled me back against his chest...oh my." "He began kissing a trail down my belly, oh my." "HE'S AN INCREDIBLE ASSHOLE, OH MY!" Speaking of her vocabulary, there is one word in it that I CAN'T STAND! WTF is an "inner goddes", every time I read this word (which, by the way, is A LOT in this book) my brain has some kind of Short circuit. I just do not know how to respond: Do I laugh? do I feel vicarious shame for Ana constantly using that word? Do I get upset because I don't know where my inner goddess is? IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME!?

And then there's the sex-scenes that are very unrealistic. For example, Ana's first time giving Christian a blowjob, during which she makes herself look as some kind of Deepthroat Queen. And don't get me started on the tampon part, because that was just disgusting! Also, Ana can't stop talking about how amazing Christian is in bed, but of course he is! She has absolutely zero experience, it could be as big as a baby carrot and she'd still be like "How is it ever going to fit!?" and of course "OH MY!"

Christian stalks Ana and whispers things to her "threateningly". She's constantly afraid he's going to beat her, with good reason as he, on more than one occasion, tells her he's going to or wants to. Also, Christian constantly needs to be in control of literally everything. how charming.
This just gives me the need to say that, just because a man is rich and handsome, that doesn't make him a good person! Alright ladies, let's all think about Christian. Not about his money, or his looks. Let's think about his PERSONALITY and the things he does. And now picture he looks like THIS:



Not so turned on anymore now, are you?

GUILTY PLEASURES

So today I'm a very "I Don't care" kind of mood, which is a perfect time to write a post about my guilty pleasures. Cause everybody has them, right? NO, WRONG! Men don't! They just don't have "guilty pleasures". It's something I'm really envious about. I mean, take "wasting" an entire day playing videogames for example. Men will shamelessly sit on a mountain of pizza crusts playing video games for days and, if they go out, go everywhere in sweat pants. According to a friend of mine these are things that make him happy and according to him feeling bad about feeling good is stupid. The whole idea of "guilty pleasures" is really a woman-thing. And since I am a woman, I'm going to share mine with you!

First off al music. When people ask me about my taste in music I present them with a whole list of singer-songwriters and some bands, but I 'accidently' leave out some things. What I don't tell them is that I'm OBSESSED with 90's music (BRITNEYYYYYYY), Celine Dion, OLD (Disney) music and almost every boyband the world has ever known. I mean, cleaning the house or doing the dishes is almost fun when you've got N'SYNC, The Backstreet Boys or even One Direction playing on full volume. AND YES, I know: One Direction is just a Backstreet Boys knockoff, which is basically just a New Kids On the Block knockoff, which was basically just a New Edition knockoff, which was basically just a Jackson 5 knockoff... Well I've made my point, but guess what? I don't care. 'Cause I want it thaaaaaaat way'.

I've made it my specialty to change the subject as fast as I can when people ask me what I read. I like to read Harry Potter books, I've read them all 5 times A year. It's just something I started doing since I was 12 and now I still do. And they made me laugh out loud because they are just SO REDICULOUS but I read all the books in the Fifty Shades trilogy. Also, I'm deeply embarrassed over my celebrity trash magazine/video addiction. This love of snickering over pictures of Hollywood stretch marks is plain stupid and I feel terribly sorry for those celebrities. In 'Tabloid Junky' Michael sings the line "And you don't have to read it, And you don't have to eat it, To buy it is to feed it", and I KNOW that, but still I read this crap.

Needless to say these are not all my guilty pleasures, maybe I'll tell you about my Jersey Shore / Geordie Shore addiction another time (OMG these people make me feel SO SMART!). But for now I think I've embarrassed myself enough.

APRIL FOOLS'

It's April fools' day, so I couldn't let this day go by without writing about it! I don't really know where April fools' comes from, perhaps there's something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to light-hearted celebrations. I've pranked some people when I was little, but this year I was out of inspiration and out of time. This morning, when my brother screamed "April foooooooooooooools!", was when I realised that I hadn't done an April fools' prank in three years. Maybe I should've planed something, but I didn't so you're all left reading my April fools' pranks from previous years.

I really wasn't that creative, but at the time these seemed VERY funny: I'd change everybody's cell phone settings to another language; I'd add a few drops of food colouring to the bottom of a glass I knew one of my family members was going to poor his or her milk in; I'd fill soap dispensers around the house with yogurt; I'd put toothpaste on the doorknobs and I once changed my outgoing voicemail message to "Hello?… Hello?… April Fools!" It's a shame no one called me that day though. :(

Alright, enough about my amateurish pranks, I've actually stumbled upon some that are WAY better. Read all about the "Top 100 April Fools' Day Hoaxes of All Time" right here: http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/

GIVING GIFTS

Have you ever experienced the feeling of giving a really fantastic gift? The feeling that you know you picked just the right thing for that one special person. No? Me neither, or at least, not often. It's because giving gifts is just so HARD! You can't spend too much, because that could make the person who is receiving the gift feel very uncomfortable, but not spending enough could make you look really cheap (even though sometimes I don't really have a choice, read all about that in this blogpost). Giving a very standard gift (like a gift card or something) is going to make it look like you've put no thought in it whatsoever, but when you're a little too creative there's a good chance the gift receiver doesn't really get you gift.

This scene from new girl pretty much sums it up:

But guess what? We're all in luck today, because it's Easter, which means my whole family is here. So I asked them for some tips and I'm ready to share them with you!
- The little things can add a lot more value to your gift. I mean, you might've bought an amazing gift, but if you throw it into a plastic bag at the last minute, it'll lose a lot of its appeal. Just make it look like you put some time and effort into this gift (think: Fancy wrapping and a nice card). If you don't feel like doing these things or if you have two left hands you can also keep an eye out for gifts that already come in festive packaging or bags.
- It's not about the money, money, money (or at least, not as much as you might think). It really is the thought that counts. It's important to know the person you're buying a gift and find something that would suit him or her. Don't get caught up in this "the bigger, the better" idea. And if you're on a budget, keep gift ideas in mind all year round, that way you can keep an eye out for price drops.
- Use social media! This is coming from a full time Facebook stalker, but seriously: When you read peoples profile and watch their pictures you'll learn more about their various interests. That way you can get your gift to suit him or her.

- And last but not least my dad came up with this one: Think about what message you want to send the person you're buying a gift. Once you've figured that out, it's a lot easier to find a gift, since you only have to look for gifts sending that specific message.

I hope this was helpfull. Good luck!

SENDING YOU JOYFUL HUGS THIS EASTER

I hope this Easter holiday fills your home with peace, joy, and plenty of colorful Easter eggs. May all of your dreams and wishes come true!

HEY BIG SPENDER

Spend a little time with me.


As you may have noticed reading my first two blog posts, I'm a student. When it comes to my planning there isn't much time left to work and earn money. I'm actually busy enough studying, being social and going to the gym (yes I do that sometimes!). My parents help me out and I get some kind of student loan, so that should be enough. But here's the problem: I am TERRIBLE at budgeting. I do write down what I need to buy when I get my money, I try to make some kind of plan. And, I have to tell you, on paper it looks SO GOOD! It just never turns out that way for some reason.

I have some savings on a separate account, but those are meant for my trip to Thailand this summer. Yes, you read that right, I'm going on a packpack trip to Thailand this summer. I'll be traveling trough Thailand for 6 weeks with some friends. Maybe I'll write an entire post on that subject later, but for now I should get back to my money problem.
When, one week ago, I again had a lot of month left at the end of my money (see what I did there?) I had to take some money from my Thailand-account. I mean, I had to eat and pay my rent right!? But nevertheless I got really angry with myself. So this month I'm going to do things totally different.

Here's my plan:
1. Write a realistic list of what you spend your money on and how much it'll cost (you can't eat for only €15,- a week!)
2. Make sure you have €40,- left at the end of the month in you budget plan, that way you can pay for any unexpected expenses (like getting new locks because you lost your key AND spare key).
3. Go shopping for clothes at the end of the month, so you can see how much money is left. That way you avoid spending way more than you can afford.
4. No more restaurant meals! Or at least, keep them to one per month.
5. When it comes to food, buy only what you need and eliminate excess spending. (No, you don’t have to be an extreme couponer to save money on food costs!)

Hopefully it'll go better from now on: I'll keep you updated!

YOU SUCK!

I was shocked to see that over 60 people had seen my blog in the first 6 hours of its existence, since I only told three people about it. So I decided I should keep up the good work, and write my second blogpost. I put my study books back on the shelf and was ready to write and procrastinate (read all about that in my first blogpost) the hell out of the next 2 hours. But then..... NOTHING!

You want to know what happened? Well, ME happened: I am my own WORST CRITIC! Especially when I try to do something creative. That is the one thing I hate most about myself. Sometimes I critique things, before there is even anything to critique. So when I wanted to start writing this post, I just could not type the first sentence. Every time my fingers came even CLOSE to my keyboard something inside me screamed "whatever your poor attempt at writing is going to be, it is going TO SUCK". I've gotten into this bad habit of judging what I'm doing, while I'm doing it. And it's so frustrating! It's like the fear of judgement and the pressure to do things right has made me hesitant of doing anything at all.

Eventually I got over myself and just started typing. After all, I only told three people about this blog, nice people who don't critique me like I critique myself. The rest of the people reading my blog is reading it because they want to, so I've got to be doing something right then! Also, me critiquing myself has actually been a great inspiration for this second post and writing all this down made me come to grips with the fact that I'm maybe a little too harsh on myself sometimes. There is no reason in being like that, after all there are tons of people out there who'd love to tell you that you can't do this, or aren't good enough for that. But if you want to get anywhere in life, you've got to stand up to these people and tell them that you ARE good enough and that you CAN do these things. I know it's a BIG cliché but you can't expect other people to believe in you, if you don't believe in yourself.

PROCRASTINATION

So I came up with this idea to start blogging. But then I kept putting it off, and it just never got done.....

UNTIL TODAY! Because I found something even better to put off: Studying for the most difficult exam we're going to have this year! When we look up procrastination in the dictionary it states: "In psychology, procrastination refers to the act of replacing high-priority actions with tasks of lower priority". However I'd like to add to that definition that at the time you chose to do something instead of the thing you actually should do (in my case writing a Blog instead of studying), the thing that you decided to do first SEEMS like the task with the highest pryority in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

So here I am, attempting to write a blog while this feeling of guilt creeps upon me. So then I start to defend my procrastinating-self: "writing a blog will be great for my writing skills in general, that I will need for the rest of my life". And ofcourse: "I will learn a lot from writing in english" (since english is not my first language) and "writing a blog is just so cool! It will be like my own online diary!"

I don't really know where I am going with this quite yet. I think I'll just post something every once in a while when I have work or study to put off. ;p No I'm just kidding. I'm actually planning on doing this for some time and see how it goes. I've heard from a lot of people that they found blogging to be a lot of fun. So whenever I have something on my mind that I just have to get out: you'll read about it right HERE!

Now I should stop typing and start studying. But first i should DEFINATELY:

- clean my room

- read all seven Harry Potter books (again)

- text all my friends for no particular reason

- write a short story

- watch TellSell (the AhhBra is A-MA-ZING! besides the fact that it looks like a tent)

- do my nails

- Try to learn the pussycat dolls dance routine to buttons

- bake a cake

- grow a beard

- go online shopping

- watch all kinds of wierd stuff on youtube

- eat chocolate

- throw up from eating to much chocolate

And then I should start studying, that is, if I'm not too tired.