voracious reader + full-time optimist
This year, instead of writing down resolutions, I decided on a few words and expressions that I would like to carry with me throughout the next twelve months. Besides having specific, more tangible goals, sometimes we need a quote, some sort of mental guidance to see us through our days, both good and bad ones.
It has been a challenging fall, a challenging year. Some ups, some downs and a handful of detours. Nevertheless, 2018 was full of new opportunities and learnings as well, the most important of which I’d like to share with you here:
“Yesterday I had dinner with my best friend and his crazy girlfriend”, he says nonchalantly when I ask him what he’s been up to during the weekend.
Soul mates. Other halves. Isn’t it funny how in a world that champions the individual, we were potty-trained to believe that we’re incomplete and have thus to spend our lives looking for the person that will make us feel whole again?
Life is too short to fall for people who don’t love you loudly, or for relationships that don’t set fire to your soul. Our time on this earth is impermanent and in those years we must love fearlessly. The person you’re meant to be with will challenge you, will push you, will drive you crazy. Make you happy and confused and show you what real, complicated love is, all at the same time. The person you’re meant to be with will terrify you because they make you feel something greater than anything else. So this is what you need to know about love – you must always chase the person who scares you. Don’t settle for comfort. Love wildly.
The quote above appeared on Instagram account humanlovers back in August underneath a black and white photo that shows a couple in a passionate embrace, followed by countless similar photos with their own melodramatic captioning. [Who all these couples are and why they’re allowing third parties into their most cherished private moments, we shall never know.]
I’m really bad at remembering names.
There are times when I look at a friend (my friend, not just someone that I met one time) and literally cannot recall their name. Luckily that’s pretty rare… but it does happen. I can’t remember celebrity names, athletes’ names, restaurant names, clothing brands, etc. In case I haven’t made it clear enough, remembering names is not my forte.
Moving to a new place can be both exciting and intimidating, especially if you’re moving to a place where you’ve never lived before and thus do not know anyone.
I read books like my life depended on it. Reading is something between my favorite past-time and my refuge from everyday life. [Even if she loves London, a girl might often need to escape to New York in the 30s.] In 2017, I promised myself to read 24 books, i.e. 2 books per month. I wanted a goal that would be doable but not stressful. By the end of December, I had managed these and a handful more. For 2018, I decided to raise the bar higher and aim at an ambitious 35! Let’s see how this works out.
One question that I’m always asked is how I get so much reading done. I’ve been a speedy reader since I remember myself, walking around with my nose stuck in a book at all times. However, I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks along the way that could do wonders, if your 2018 resolution was to read more:
We’re having drinks in a somewhat low-key, dimly lit Italian place in the heart of Soho. There’s mainstream jazz music playing on the background and I’m halfway into narrating a funny story. He listens attentively, leaning against the bar, head tilted with interest – or the red wine’s working its magic. Then his smart phone screen lights up for a split second; he’s distracted. He looks down on his phone, a new message has arrived. He scrolls up and down, quickly skimming it or simply checking who the sender is. In the meantime, I’m sitting next to him, slightly dumbfounded, hands mid-gesture in the air (this will teach me to not gesticulate so much while talking), looking around to check who’s noticed: I’m on a date and my date is unabashedly checking his phone.
So, here comes my question: smartphones on dates – yay or nay?
