#4 my passion

Hey there again! Today is Friday - most people's favourite day, the promise of the weekend is too exciting! - and another wonderful day for our Blog-tember Challenge!

Today's prompt is a fascinating one: What are you passionate about?

This may be the most cliché thing ever, but I'm passionate about people and their stories. Last night I was watching an episode of ER, and they were interviewing some med school applicants who all said that they wanted to "help people", which made them sound dull and predictable. However, I don't think my passion is dull and predictable, so I'll try and put it into words as well as I can.

I wish to give people brighter days, by using the characteristics God gave me and the skills and knowledge I've been gaining throughout my entire life. When I was around fifteen, I decided that medicine was the best way for me to make myself useful to society. As a doctor - and no, I haven't decided my specialty yet - I'll be able to interact with people and, hopefully, improve their lives by improving their health. I'll have contact with a lot of different lives and stories, from which I'll surely learn a lot.

There's this saying that I've heard numerous times in medical school: "We shouldn't fix people to send them back to the conditions that made them sick", and I couldn't agree more with it. That's why I don't see myself as just a healer. I think everyone should have equal access to their basic needs and to opportunities in life, and I'm willing to do everything I can to help improve the quality of life of as many fellow humans as I can. Because we are so worth it. Humanity is so very flawed, but we are wonderfully made and we as the people of this world have potential for great things.

I'm also passionate about traveling, which may have something to do with my passion for people and their stories. I've been to quite a few cities in Europe, gone on a roadtrip to Italy and even visited New York, but my wanderlust is ever-growing, and I wish to visit as many places as I can in my life. That passion also reflects on my love for reading: it broadens my mind with countless stories and adventures that fill my imagination.

As a creative soul, I also express my passion through art, especially through photography and music. I still have a lot to learn, but I want to give as much of me as I can, in as many forms as possible.

What are YOU passionate about?

lots of love,

Mariana

#3 the inspiration behind the blog

Hello, lovelies! I'm glad you're back here with me for another day of the amazing Blog-tember Challenge, a brilliant idea by Bailey Jean of Brave Love Blog! I'm having a lot of fun writing and reading these posts so far!

Today's prompt is: Create a collage or inspiration/mood board that describes your blog.

This is my first ever inspiration board, so it's not very ambitious, but I tried to put this blog's purpose into images, and this is what came out of it!

More than a place to explore my own interests, I want this blog to be a place for people to relate to. I want to help people find out about things they hadn't heard about, and to have a good time reading my posts even if they've had a terrible day.

I think that, if I do this blogging thing right, it will be great for me because I'll be putting my writing and photography out there, but, hopefully, I'll be doing something good for other people by giving them something to think about or ideas on stuff to do. I'd also love to look back on these posts one day and remember the person I was in this season of my life. 

In terms of aesthetics, I love pastel colours and natural landscapes. I'd say my photography plays an important role on the visuals of this blog, since most of the pictures on my blog were taken by me. I still have a lot to learn, though, and, hopefully, a year from now, my blog will look so much better!

I guess that's it for today! Tomorrow I'll be back with some words on what I'm passionate about, a very exciting theme!

lots of love,

Mariana

#2 Oh, dreamy day

Hello, fellas! Today is a beautiful day for a new Blog-tember post! The prompt for today is:

Describe your ideal day. Where would you go and what would you do?

After quite a lot of thought, here goes a description of what would be a lovely - but pretty unrealistic - day for me:

I'd wake up early, but not too early - just in time for a calm breakfast with my boyfriend in a sweet coffee shop, in which there would be a fresh cup of orange juice. I love orange juice. And cakes. We'd talk and talk and talk and leave the coffee shop hand in hand, to explore the city, and that city would be Barcelona, London or New York (the cities I've loved the most so far).

At lunch time, there would be a massive picnic in a beautiful, green park, by the lake. All of my favourite people would be at that picnic: my boyfriend, my family, my best friends. Everyone would have a great time, the food would be splendid, and there would be people playing guitar and ukelele and singing along and taking pics and having a great time overall.

After that wonderful picnic, I'd magically transport myself to Disneyland in Paris with my boyfriend, my friends and my sister. I'd  go on all the rides and feel like a child all over again. I'd sit on the floor of Main Street and eat cotton candy with a giant smile on my face.

We'd have dinner in one of the Disney restaurants and then proceed to spend the night around a bonfire, chatting and laughing and gazing at the stars until we fell asleep.

I know that it's a lot to do in a day, but a girl's gotta dream, right? ;)

How would your dream day be like?

lots of love,

Mariana

#1 Introduction!

Today marks not only the first day of one of my favourite months of the year - September is the month when summer collapses into fall in beautiful colours and when new dreams arise with the new school year - but also the start of the awesome-sauce Blog-tember Challenge, a great link-up hosted by Bailey Jean of Brave Love Blog!




The prompt for today is: Introduce yourself however you like! Pics, collage, vlog, your choice!

So, without further ado, here are some facts about the girl in the picture above!

• I'm 19 years old, and people either think I look older (because I get along with older people quite easily) or younger (because I'm really goofy and not at all a "proper lady"!)
• I'm an INFJ, aka an outgoing introvert. I love people, but I need some alone time to keep myself going!
• I have an extremely tall and handsome boyfriend, who goofs around with me all the time, but also knows my deep dark stuff and loves me for that. He's such a huge part of my life!
• I'm a med student at the University of Porto, starting my second year in two weeks, which excites me a lot (I really miss the people, the learning oportunities and the uni activities!) but also terrifies me, because anxiety and exams.
• I also study music! My #1 instrument is piano and I take musical theory classes as well, but I also play the guitar, and hopefully I'll buy an ukelele in the next few months.
• I named my guitars Hannah Baker and Hazel Grace, in honor of characters from my favourite books at the time I got them (13 Reasons Why and The Fault in Our Stars, respectively). I'm naming my future ukelele after a character from Game of Thrones, even though I haven't decided which one yet.
• I'm a total bookworm!! I take a book pretty much everywhere. My favourite book so far is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Currently, I'm reading A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book of A Song and Ice and Fire (the Game of Thrones saga). I've been reading all these books since Easter!
• If you talk to me about Harry Potter, Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings, prepare for my massive fangirling and for a huge discussion. Seriously! This past weekend I started watching the first Harry Potter movie with some friends and had a massive fangirling and nostalgia attack.
• I secretly wish I could attend Hogwarts. In my dreams, I'd be in the Hogwarts Express as I type this.
• I love love love to sing.
• I am currently trying to learn as much as I can about photography. It's one of my favourite hobbies and I like to take my camera everywhere! I've recently invested on my analog camera and let's see how that turns out.
• My favourite time of the year is Christmas! Christmas stuff makes me so happy. My favourite season of the year is Autumn - I love the clothes, the falling leaves, drinking tea with scones and hot coffee.
• Panic! at the Disco have been my jam since the beginning of high school. Their most recent song, Death of a Bachelor, is soooo awesome!
• If I could go out and have coffee with someone of my choice right now, it would be Carrie Hope Fletcher, my favourite youtuber. Her book came on the mail yesterday and I can't wait to read it! She seems to be such a nice, caring and uplifting person, and she's a huge role model to me!
• God keeps me going, whether things are easy or difficult in my life. My faith is a huge part of my life; I'm a part of my church's youth choir, which has taught me a lot!

Wow, seems like I have a lot to say about myself. Thanks for sticking around and see you tomorrow, for Blog-tember Day Two!!

lots of love,

Mariana

on being an outgoing introvert

Ever since I was little, I’ve been a big talker. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been able to talk and talk and talk until my cheeks hurt and my throat feels dry. I smile and laugh a lot, even to strangers, sometimes. However, talking exhausts me. Socializing, in general, does that to me, but it doesn’t mean I don’t love people or that I’m anti-social. I only need to regain energy by being alone from time to time, and it’s always been a struggle for me to accept that.

It started when I was in middle school. I’d panic if people seemed to forget about me for a second, but on the other hand, I couldn’t “be cool” all the time. I felt really comfortable reading The Princess Diaries in the school library, but I knew that, if I just sat and read all day, I would lose my friends. So I would get up and make up topics of conversation in my head so I wouldn’t feel so awkward all the time. Those were dark days for me, because I couldn’t accept myself as I was. I had to be like them. I had to belong. (Spoiler: I belonged, as I was. Those friends were by my side through my depression. I just couldn’t see it.)

Things got slightly better in high school, because my friends were mostly as awkward as I was. I could feel that they were figuring themselves out as well. Oh, my. Those were happy days. I didn’t have that many friends, but they were all very close to my heart. There was no stupid small talk or awkwardness, even though we were pretty silly most of the time.

 However, most of them are highly extroverted, and they prefer going to big parties and clubbing all night than, you know, just sitting around talking in a small party. And that freaking exhausts me. Not that I can’t have fun at clubs, it’s just that, if I go to a lot of those parties, I start to hate them because I have no room to be myself there. And that kinda set me apart from them. It hurts sometimes, but that’s life, and I still love them a lot.

In college, I’ve found more people I can relate to, so right now, I’m really happy with the state of my life and I feel like I don’t have to pretend anymore! I still kept two of my best friends as well. They really get me. And my boyfriend, too. We are happy as long as we’re together, whether we’re discussing the ways of life or we’re quiet and gazing at the stars.

I still have to plan ahead to meet people, or else I'll get very anxious. Sometimes that's really stinky because I feel like other people don't do that, they just go with the flow, but I don't work like that. And it's okay.

I’m an outgoing introvert. I love people and I have fun talking, but I need my alone time (something my family sometimes doesn’t understand) or else, I’ll be all exhausted, annoyed and insufferable. And I’m okay with that. Even when people ask me why I've been inside my room all day, or if it's because of them that I want to be alone.

I'm writing this so that anyone who can relate with my story can know that they're not alone. Being an introvert doesn't mean that you're anti-social or unhappy. It's totally okay and normal! Remember to respect yourself and your needs, and to accept who you are - that's my advice.

lots of love,
Mariana

(this was adapted from a tumblr post I just wrote!)

wait for me, new york city

Two or three years ago, my parents promised me that, if I got into the college of my choice (which I did!), they would pay us all a trip to New York, and, in 24 hours time, that promise will be fulfilled.

(from weheartit.com)

Needless to say, I'm ecstatic. It will be my first time outside of Europe and my first long flight (8 hours in a plane!). I've been reading many traveling blogs and Pinterest posts and they've been making me even more excited. There's just too much to see and experience, and, sadly, I won't get to do everything in just a week.

The musical theatre fan in me is jumping with the prospect of finally seeing the Broadway lights. The Empire State Building, the 9/11 Memorial, the Statue of Liberty... the list could go on and on and on and still it wouldn't be enough. Because, whenever I travel, there's something else that makes every trip magical.

As usual in this blog, the answer is stories.

I'm fascinated by experiencing new cultures, and, even though I've had some contact with American culture in high school with exchange programmes, I've never been in it. I can't wait to wander around the streets of New York City, to sit in coffee shops and observe people. I want to create memories on those streets, with my family and the strangers around me. I don't want a tourist experience, I never wanted one.

I want to absorb every sensation, every word and every story! I want to be a part of that magnificent city, even if it's only for a week. I want to leave my mark and to bring bits of NYC back home. I just can't wait.

When I come back, I don't want to leave it all behind. I want to have stories to share with my friends, my boyfriend and the rest of my family. I want to have SO MANY STORIES to tell that my future grandchildren will tell me to shut up whenever I start talking about this trip.

Coming back won't be all that sad, because then my boyfriend will also come back from Japan, and we'll finally get to see each other after a month apart. But, meanwhile, I'll try and make the most of this incredible opportunity.

Lots of love,
Mariana

peace + quiet

As I mentioned on my previous post, I spent this past week with my family in Cerveira, a small town in the north of Portugal. Something that needs to be said about this region is that the weather is really, really inconstant, which may cause a lot of frustration - but, in this case, it led us to many new discoveries and adventures!

We stayed in a tiny house in the middle of the mountains, with barely any phone reception or wi-fi connection. It felt amazing to disconnect from social media, even for a week. As I may have mentioned before, I struggle with anxiety, and by temporarily removing all the social media checks from my life, I felt way more peaceful.

As an introvert (I'm an INFJ), I feel the need to take time to be alone sometimes, and this week was perfect to do that! I could just sit back and read my book (A Feast for Crows) without constantly checking my phone. However, now that I'm back, all those things are flooding back into my life, which can be kind of hard sometimes.

On the warm days, we'd swim in the pool and sunbathe. My aunts and uncles even came by one day, to share a meal of Cozido à Portuguesa (Portuguese traditional dish) made by my mum! It was a true blessing to spend these days with those I love the most.

On cloudy days, we had to find something to do, so we decided to explore the North of Portugal and Galicia, Spain. We went to Valença, Melgaço, Vigo, Santiago de Compostela and we explored the valley of the Lima river. 

My heart was in awe with all these wonders of my beautiful country (and, well, Spain). These places have kept their uniqueness through hundreds of years, away from all the confusion and mess of big cities. It feels so wonderful to look around and feel the presence of God everywhere. How could it not be the presence of God, when it amazes my heart so much?

It was also a great opportunity for me to develop my photography skills. I've recently started shooting on manual mode, and I would love to invest on a camera of my own someday. For now, I use my dad's camera, but that's okay because I love it! Here are some of the many pictures I took this week. Hopefully, one year from now, I'll look back and think they're terrible, but that's okay because it will mean that I've improved!

my aunt's family house in Seixas

chimney top in Valença

me "taking over Winterfell" in Melgaço

the castle of Melgaço

Viana do Castelo (traditional scarves)

me @ Ponte da Barca

the Lindoso Dam

the valley of the Lima river

Santiago de Compostela

my sister running through the fields near our house - she's my main model!

lots of love,

Mariana