[ad. because of mentioning of the brand name]

Hello sunshine!

Today I want to talk about something that has been in my head for a long time. For a few weeks I had thin one question in my mind: What means the EF mission 'opening the world through education' for me?
Why have I this question in my head? Pretty simple: I want to apply as a global intern at EF.

EF Education First is a company founded in Sweden, which organizes worldwide exchange programmes, language courses, academical courses,... and this internship. Their mission is to connect people, educate, motivate and inspire people but also to delight and turn strangers into friends. Honestly, I'm a huge fan of this company.

If I had enough money to go on such a language course, I would immediately jump on a plain! But I don't have the money for that und that is exactly why this internship is a huge chance for me. And everything I need to do to apply is to answer this one question:
What means the EF mission 'opening the world through education' for me?

What is education for me?

In German we have different translations, but none of them really describes what I understand.
It is not just basic knowledge we learn in school. It is also about common knowledge, a comprehension of the world and understanding why everything is how it is. It is about values we internalize, Soft skills we acquire aimed or not. It's about cultural behaviours we may not even notice.

Why don't I learn everything in school?

The human knowledge duplicates every seven years and our school systems cannot be changed that fast to provide all information we need to know. Science makes new discoveries, technology develops new progress and cultural exchange creates new values - this happens way faster than any minister (or who else is doing this?) can change the curriculum.

School gives us the foundation! Reading, calculating and writing are basic skills we could not live without. The knowledge about complex problems, physics, chemistry and biology enable us to conceive the earth. social studies, geography and languages teach us to really understand the world - or at least they try. But how can we understand the world when we have never seen anything else than home? How can we master something, we don't even have the creativity to imagine?

Scholastic knowledge is the foundation to explore the world and experience unexpected possibilities.

Our lovely teachers give us everything we need to know the go our own way. It is up to broaden our minds, shoot for something new, get to know the unknown and never back away from difficulties.
At the end of the day our academical knowledge is just a fraction of the information offered to us.
We nee experiences and adventures. To understand our world, we need to see, feel, smell - just experience!

How could education open the world?

To progress we need to push ourselves forward and never stop, we need to be brave and never fall into sloth, we need to make mistakes an never abide in out comfort zone. A classroom it not the only place where you can learn something!
We need to get out of our comfort home and go somewhere where have never been before. Try things we have never done before and eat dishes we didn't even know that they were possible to cook!
There is so much more in this beautiful world than our little bubble.
There is culture, language, humans, places, dishes, music, buildings, art and so much more we can explore!
Every person is different und with out knowledge, experience and impressions we collect in our live, we get a voice. We can connect people, make friends across borders. It gives us the freedom to travel wherever we want to go and to start over and over again, to be creative and not only to overcome barriers but also to break them down.

Language, culture and simple geography can push people apart... it is up to us to make the exact opposite!
Education brings together, connects and gives us so much more!

So, what does 'opening the world through education' means to me?

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." - Benjamin Franklin

We learn much more from each other than we see or realize. The world is open to those who never back away from new knowledge, possibilities and experiences.
Education ensures that we know what is happening in the world and how we can find our way in this mess. Whenever we discover (or experience) new cultures, meet new people and get to know them, we can take inspiration and motivation from all that beautiful things. I don't know anyone who ever regret staying abroad or who had negative effect for the future live (especially working live).

Knowledge and values are the key for success and fulfilment. Both can be expanded by traveling, discovering and scrutinising.

Opening the world through education and bring each other close means giving people the opportunitie to rise. Only broad-minded people can connect others and the world is open to those who are open-minded. If you want to connect people, you need to put education first!

Success is not about winning or losing - it's about living the best life you can imagine!

EF offers an internship for 3 months in 3 countries. We will see whether or not my opinion (or my video) was good enough and whether or not I get one of those coveted job offers.

Here you can see my video. If you want to see my video feel free to check out my YouTube channel and give me a quick feedback.
It was important for me to share not only my video but also this blogpost, because I cannot tell you all my thoughts about this huge topic in one minute!

See you next time!

[unbezahlte Markennennung]

Hallo ihr Lieben,

heute möchte ich ein Thema ansprechen, das mich persönlich schon sehr lange beschäftigt. Seit mehreren Wochen trage ich diese eine Frage in meinem Kopf mit mir herum: Was bedeutet die EF Mission 'Opening the World through Education' (deutsch: Die Welt durch Bildung/ Ausbildung/ Erziehung/... öffnen) für mich?
Warum ich diese Frage im Kopf habe? Ganz einfach: Ich möchte mich als Global Intern (deutsch: globaler Praktikant) bei EF bewerben.

EF Education First ist ein in Schweden gegründetes Unternehmen, das Weltweit Austauschprogramme, Sprachreisen, Akademische Kurse, ... und eben auch dieses Praktikum anbietet. Ihre Mission ist es Menschen miteinander zu verbinden, zu bilden, zu motivieren und inspirieren, aber auch zu begeistern und aus Fremden Freunde zu machen. Ganz ehrlich: ich bin ein großer Fan von EF.

Hätte ich das Geld dafür, würde ich morgen schon in einem Flugzeug sitzen und eine dieser Sprachreisen machen! Aber leider fehlt es mir genau daran und deshalb wäre dieses Praktikum für mich eine große Chance und alles was ich dafür beantworten muss, ist diese eine Frage:
Was bedeutet 'Opening the World through Education' für mich?

Was ist in meinen Augen eigentlich 'education'?

Rein theoretisch lautet die Übersetzung davon Bildung, Ausbildung, Pädagogik, aber damit habe ich für mich noch keine Definition gefunden!
Education ist meiner Meinung nicht nur Grundlagenwissen, was uns in der Schule beigebracht wird. Es ist Allgemeinwissen, ein Verständnis von unserer Welt zu haben und zu verstehen warum die Dinge sind, wie sie sind. Es sind Werte die wir verinnerlicht haben, Softskills die wir uns nebenbei oder gezielt angeeignet habe. Es sind kulturtypische Verhaltensweisen, die man selbst nicht einmal bemerkt.

Warum lerne ich nicht alles in der Schule?

Das menschliche Wissen verdoppelt sich aller 7 Jahre und so schnell kann das Schulsystem nicht umgestellt werden, wie die Wissenschaft neue Entdeckungen macht, die Technik fortschreitet und kultureller Austausch stattfindet.

Schule gibt den Grundstein! Lesen, rechnen und schreiben sind Grundfähigkeiten ohne die leben undenkbar wäre. Das Wissen über komplexe Probleme, Physik, Chemie und Biologie ermöglicht es uns, die Welt zu begreifen. Sozialkunde, Geografie und Sprachen bringen uns bei, die Welt wirklich zu verstehen - oder versucht es zumindest.
Aber wie will man die Welt verstehen, wenn man seine Heimat nie verlassen hat? Wie will man etwas erlernen, wofür einem die Kreativität fehlt, es sich vorzustellen?

Schulisches Wissen ist der Grundbaustein, um die Welt zu entdecken und ungeahnte Möglichkeiten zu erleben.

Unsere lieben Lehrer geben uns in der Zeit die ihnen zur Verfügung steht alles mit was wir brauchen, um danach unseren eigenen Weg zu gehen. Der Rest liegt bei uns, unseren eigenen Horizont viel weiter auszubreiten, Neues anzustreben, Unbekanntes kennenlernen zu wollen und vor Schwierigkeiten nicht zurück zu schrecken.
Am Ende des Tags macht unser akademisches Wissen nur einen Bruchteil aller Informationen aus, die uns geboten werden.
Wir brauchen Erfahrungen und Abenteuer. Um unsere Welt zu verstehen, müssen wir sie gesehen, gespürt, gerochen - einfach erlebt haben!

Wie soll 'education' die Welt öffnen?

Um voran zu kommen, müssen wir uns dazu bringen vorwärts zu gehen und nicht stehen zu bleiben, mutig zu sein und nicht in Faulheit zu verfallen, Fehler zu machen und sich nicht im gewohnten Komfort zu verstecken. Ein Klassenzimmer ist nicht der einzige Ort, an dem man etwas lernt!
Wir müssen raus aus unserer bequemen Heimat und an Orte gehen, an denen wir noch nie waren. Dinge tun, die wir noch nie zuvor probiert haben und Speisen essen, von denen wir noch nicht einmal wussten, dass man soetwas kochen kann.
Auf dieser Welt ist so viel mehr als nur wir in unserer kleinen Blase.
Es gibt Kulturen, Sprachen, Menschen, Orte, Speisen, Musik, Bauwerke, Kunst und so vieles mehr zu entdecken!
Jeder Mensch ist unterschiedlich und mit unserem Wissen, Erfahrungen und Eindrücken die wir im Laufe unserer Zeit sammeln, geben wir uns selbst eine Stimme.
Wir können uns mit anderen Menschen verknüpfen, Freundschaften schließen die über Landesgrenzen hinausgehen. Es gibt uns die Freiheit überall hin zu gehen und jedes Mal neu anzufangen, Kreativität auszuleben und Barrieren nicht nur zu überwinden, sondern sie einzureißen.

Sprache, Kultur und die reine Geografie kann Menschen auseinander treiben lassen... Es liegt an uns daraus das genaue Gegenteil zu machen!
Education führt uns zusammen, verbindet und gibt uns so viel mehr!

Was bedeutet dann 'Opening the World through Education' für mich jetzt eigentlich?

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ― Benjamin Franklin

Wir lernen von einander so vieles mehr, als nur das was wir wahrnehmen. Die Welt steht denen offen, die vor neuem Wissen, Möglichkeiten und Erfahrungen nicht zurückschrecken.
Education sorgt dafür, dass wir wissen, was in der Welt geschieht und wir unseren Weg darin finden können.
Wenn wir neue Kulturen entdecken, Menschen kennen und verstehen lernen, können wir Inspiration und Motivation für so viele andere Dinge schöpfen. Ich kenne niemanden, der einen Auslandsaufenthalt je bereut hat oder bei dem es sich auf das weitere (vor allem Berufs-)Leben negativ ausgeübt hat.

Wissen und Werte sind der Schlüssel für Erfolg und Erfüllung.
Beides kann durch reisen, entdecken und hinterfragen nur gestärkt und vergrößert werden.

Die Welt durch Bildung zu öffnen und einander näher zu bringen, heißt Menschen die Möglichkeit zu bieten zu wachsen. Nur aufgeschlossene Personen können verbinden! Mit einer weltoffenen Herangehensweise, steht einem wortwörtlich die Welt offen. Deswegen muss 'education' an erste Stelle gesetzt werden, wenn man Menschen mit einander verbinden will!

Erfolg ist nicht zu gewinnen oder zu verlieren - Es ist sein Leben so gelebt zu haben, wie man es sich erträumt hat!

EF bietet die Möglichkeit für 3 Monate in 3 verschiedenen Ländern ein Praktikum zu absolvieren. Wir werden sehen, ob ich mit meiner Meinung (bzw. meinem Video) einen dieser begehrten Plätze ergattern kann.

Hier findest du mein Video dazu. Falls du es sehen möchtest, kannst du gerne auf meinem YouTube Kanal vorbei schauen und mir ein Feedback dalassen.
Es war mir wichtig nicht nur dieses Video zu teilen, sondern auch einen Blogbeitrag dazu zu verfassen, denn dieses Thema beschäftigt mich sehr und in einer Minute kann ich dazu nicht alles sagen, was ich denke.

Wir sehen uns beim nächsten Mal!

Hello sunshine!

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on your troubles will be out of sight..."

Let’s get serious today: going abroad even for one trimester is expensive! I’m just a student relying on the money I get from the state.

bullet journal pages to save money

Todays post is about how I save money using my Bullet Journal.

Let’s be fair: me drawing my bullet journal has cost me more than I wanted to, but let’s call it a good investment. But if you really want to save money, you should probably start with not buying as many Tombows and extraordinary stationary as I do.

finance tracker

My first idea for saving money is a Finance tracker.

This is basically a page where you write down everything you spend money for. For mine the first column is for the date and the second for the description. Then I added a column for visa and cash. And at last the amount.
To make this work, you have to write down everything you spend money for and you can tick whether it was with credit card or cash. In my opinion a credit card is a false friend especially in the UK, where it just needs to hold up your card for paying without entering a key or anything.

If you want to save money you have to know where you spend it first. I like this page because during the month you will get to a point where the page is running out of space and you will realize how much money you spend. Even if it is just a pound or £3.60 for a train ticket (that’s what I pay to get to Glasgow)… buy 5 tickets and you already spend £18. And it will not stay with just the ticket… you will need food, maybe your friends want to go drink coffee … The list is long.
So try to write down the ugly truth and next month you will know where you can save money.

bullet journal saving tracker

The second page I use (sometimes) is a Saving tracker.

This page is very useful if you want to save money for something special. I drew you this example with events you might want to save money for. •holiday •black Friday •new camera •wedding
You decide how much one box will be. If it is £1 each, then you might be faster than £100 each. If you just have one goal, even better than you can focus on this one. If you have many such as I drew, you have to make sure that you save everything for the right purpose and avoid mixing it in your head, because this can cause doubling.

Honestly, I’m not the best for giving saving-advices. My best investments are shoes and if you ask my boyfriend I have too many. But theoretically I know how to use pages like these and one of my resolutions for 2019 will be to start saving!

How do you save money? And for what do you think it is worth saving for? Let’s talk about this in the comments below 😊

Merry Christmas!❄

Hello sunshines!

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on your troubles will be out of sight..."

Today I want to publish my first chatty article, to show you a bit more of me - the person behint the written words. I want to share my experiences of living abroad.
This time it is not about all the amazing trips I did, the places I saw and the people I met... It is about how it feels to be so far away from home

home quote and photos of my friends

Before you can understand how everything feels like for me, you have to know who I am.
I have lived at home with my family since I had to move to the city where I am studying. But that doesn't mean that I have lived alone. Actually I had my own 15m² flat, but honestly I have spend there three or four nights if at all. I spend nearly all the time at my boyfriends shared flat. We didn't had more space than in my flat, but it felt better. In march 2017 we moved together in a new flat and now we have been living together with our little dog since then.
So I never had to live alone are have been alone for longer than 4 weeks.

I feel like I have to excuse for this, but I won't! I feel lucky to have such a lovely family and an amazing boyfriend. I appreciate that my social environment is that stabil and reliable.
Since I ventured the step to go to Scotland I knew from the very beginning that I left my comfort zone. My home is my holy place, not connected to my bed or my kitchen or my washing machine, but to my parents, my boyfriend and our dog!
I never tried to build myself a home here, because it could never be the same... but I tried to make me feel homey and familiar. And I think I was successful.

cooking ideas page in my bullet journal

But honestly:
I miss my own kitchen and my washing mashine!
I live in a students accomodation with 5 other erasmus students from France, Holland, Italy and Germany. I really like them and if you have seen my videos on youtube, you may know that I had trouble in the beginning (short version: they gave me the wrong room and I had to move) and now I'm really happy that I met all of them.
But for me it is strange to have a shared kitchen. I mean ... I am one of those late-night-nutella-spooning girls, but I don't want to go in the kitchen in my pyjama. So either I keep the Nutella in my room or I dress up to go to the kitchen. First is to risky to eat to much and second is to effortful.
In the beginning I had the same problem with makeup, but now they have to bear my natural beauty :D

It is not just the late-night-actions, but also the fact that usually everyone gets hungry around the same time and than it's one kitchen for 6 people who try to prepare food... and we have only one sharp knife. Luckily I'm one of the early eaters and I'm already eating when the others start to prepare.
Moreover, I'm the worst cook and I don't want to be judged because of this. I tried new recipes before and I will do when I'm back home, but I don't want to ruin a kitchen when 5 other people are waiting for me to make space. So I stick to what I know and try to avoid cooking when I know that other people need the stove later.

home quotes for bullet journal

And then there is loneliness.
Not that I have no friends or no one who wants to talk to me... but when you are used to life with your family or your partner a room for yourself and just for yourself can be very quiet.
Of course I call my mama or my boyfriend or anyone else who has time, but I don't want to annoy them and life goes on. They cannot stay awake till 11pm, just because I'm in a weird mood. I have to handle this all by myself.

And this is when you start thinking about everything.
Why am I doing this? What am I doing afterwards? What will I do when I'm done with my studies? What are my goals in the next 5 year? Where do I want to go next? Do I want to go somewhere or will I start to build myself a real home in a new town? If so, which town?
Trust me, I had so much time to think about everything and I still have no answert to those questions!

I'm happy to be nearly home and dry and I can't wait to have my loved persones back!
I don't regret my decisions and I learned so much. I grew metally and I found some plans I want to follow the next weeks to finally find answers to all my questions. But I really want to have excitement all around me, and if it's just my little dog. I'm so done with all the silence!

What about you? Have you ever or do you live alone?
What do you do if it gets boring and you have no one to talk to?
Let me know it in the comments below (:

Merry Christmas!❄

Hello sunshines!

Es ist bereits Ende Oktober, was bedeutet, dass es Zeit ist für ein neues Bullet Journal setup! Während der letzten Wochen war mein Bullet Journal für mich meine enzige Hilfe, um mich in all dem Chaos zu organisieren, was bei mir grade so abläuft. Ich habe es sehr viel benutzt und die Seiten geliebt. Falls du noch nicht gesehen hast, wie mein letztes Setup aussah, kannst du hier klicken!

Diesen Monat wollte ich etwas herbstliches, aber ohne die klassischen Blätter. Ich mag keine Brauntöne und ich wollte eine warme und gemütliche Farbe haben, auf der anderen Seite wollte ich aber auch etwas dunkleres, schließlich wird es draußen auch immer dunkler. Ich habe mich für meinen Tombow 679 entschieden, ein dunkleres lila.

Und diesen Monat wird sich in mein Bullet Journal alles rund um Monde und Träume drehen.

Bullet Journal Setup für November mit Monden und einer Skizze einer Tasse Tee

Ich liebe alle Sternbilder und mein Setup für November 2017 hatte diese auch schon als Thema. Dieses Mal solte es verträumter und mystischer sein. Mein November wird sehr stressing und hektisch warden, mit langen to-do Listen und vielen Terminen. Es ist der letzte vollständige Monat in Schottland und das bedeutet, dass sich auch das Trimester langsam dem Ende neigt. Ich muss vieles Essays schreiben und dementsprechend viel recharchieren. Ich brauche einen Ort an dem ich all das sammeln und ordnen kann!

Monatsübersicht für November mit einem Spruch auf der rechten Seite "Wenn die Welt zu kalt ist, mach es zu deiner Aufgabe für Feuer zu sorgen"

Letzten Monat war meine Monthly Spread in “School” und “Travel” (reisen) unterteilt und diesen Monat habe ich es geändert in “Life” und “Uni”. Ich hatte das Gefühl, dass es so besser passen würde, weil ich dazu neige zu viel für die Schule zu Machen und dabei die Dinge zu vergessen, die mir Spaß Machen. Wie du sehen kannst, ist die Hälfte für Uni-Kram schon reichlich gefüllt, aber ich kann das System dahinter noch erkennen und das ist ja schließlich das wichtigste.
Ich habe für den November mal etwas neues ausprobiert. Ich habe eine große running-to-do Liste für all meine Abgaben (eine Liste die immer weiter läuft), und habe diese aufgeteilt in Wochen, damit ich sehen kann was ich jede Woche schaffen muss, um nicht am Ende völlig überfordert zu sein. Wenn ich also dabe bin meine nächste Woche zu planen, schaue ich einfach auch diese Monatsübersicht zurück und kann meine Aufgaben übertragen und auch die entsprechenden Tage aufteilen.

“If the world is cold, make it your business to build fire”

In letzter Zeit habe ich viele Sprüche für meine Instagam Seite gsechrieben und ich mag es diese hier und da in mein Bullet Journal einzukleben. Es tut gut ab und zu ein Paar positive und motivierende Vibes aufzufinden.
Diesen hier habe ich einfach mit Washi Tape eingeklebt und die Seite dahiner leer gelassen. Ich nutze sie als Braindump Seite um einfach alles aufzuschreiben, was mir in den Kopf kommt ohne dass es gleich jeder sehen kann.

Wochenübersicht mit einer Skizze von einer Tasse mit Tee und einem Papierboot darin.

Ich hatte schon seit Ende letzten Jahres keine solche Wochenübersicht mehr und wollte es unbedingt mal wieder ausprobieren. Der obere Teil ist für Events wie beispielsweise Vorlesungen, Seminare oder auch das Fitnessstudio. Der untere Teil für alles was ich an dem Tag Machen muss.
Ich weiß, dass die kleine Skizze unten einen Großteil des Montags “wegnimmt”, aber das war von mir so geplant. Wie du sehen kannst habe ich montags fast alle meine Vorlesungen und einfach nicht die Zeit um nebenbei noch viel zu schaffen. Ich möchte nicht bis mitten in die Nacht noch irgendetwas Machen müssen und alles was nicht mehr in die Spalte past, wird an einem anderen Tag Platz finden müssen.

Bullet Journal Wochenübersicht mit zwei Monden.

So sehen aktuell die moisten meiner Weekly Spreads aus. Genug Platz für jeden einzelnen Tag, eine kleine Skizze irgendwo und oben links eine Monatsübersicht. So mag ich es einfach und so kann ich es am effektievsten nutzen.
Wenn du sehen möchtest, wie ich meine Skizzen so male, schaue doch gerne mal auf meiner
Instagram Seite vorbei.

Bullet Journal Wochenübersicht mit einem abstrakten Mond hinter Wolken

Das ist meine Geburtstagswoche und ich habe die Hoffnung, dass ich Zeit finden werde, um an ein Paar Tagen einfach mal Spaß haben zu können ohne an Uni denken zu müssen.
Falls du an Sternzeichen glaubst, dann wird dir grade aufgefallen sein, dass ich ein Skorpion bin. Ich bin zwar nicht sicher, in wie weit man diesen Theorien vertrauen sollte, aber ich mag sie irgendwie und ehrlich gestanden, habe ich viele sehr typische Eigentschaften für einen Skorpion. Ich bin zielstrebig, entschlossen und hartnäckig (oder auch dickköpfig), und genau deswegen möchte ich auch immer mein Bestes geben und deswegen verbringe ich auch so viel Zeit damit all meinen Kram für die Uni zu erledigen. Ich lese keine Horoskope oder sowas, aber denkst du nicht auch, dass es irgendwie cool ist, dass dich jemand anderes ziemlich gut beschreiben könnte, einfach weil er dein Sternzeichen kennt?

Bullet Journal Wochenübersicht mit einer Sikzze von der Erde in einem Reisekoffer

Wie du vielleicht in meinem vorherigen Bullet Journal Setup bereits belesen hast, ist mein Leuchtturm 1917 Notizbuch mittlerweile voll. Ich musste mir also etwas neues suchen für die letzten zwei Monate. Ich habe zwar bereits ein neues zu Hause, aber dass muss noch etwas warten. Würde ich es jetzt anfangen würde ich nächstes Jahr zur selben Zeit wieder vor dem gleichen Problem stehen. Also habe ich mich für mein Leuchtturm1917 Softcover Notizbuch entschieden, was ich sowieso noch dahatte, weil es ein Abschiedsgeschenk meiner Freunde war. Auf den ersten Seiten sind lauter Fotos, Polaroids und Sprüche von ihnen und jedes Mal wenn ich dieses Heft betrachte become ich gute Laune. Wie viel Glück muss man haben, um so ein tolles Heft als Bullet Journal nutzten zu können?
Das war der Anstroß den ich jetzt brauchte um auch in den letzten Wochen in Schottland nocheinmal volle Power durchzustarten!

Bullet Journal Wochenübersicht mit einer Pizza als Planet

Für mich persönlich ist diese letzte Novemberseite ziemlich witzig. Wenn ich nach Hause fliege möchte ich “gut in Form” sein und wer meine Instagram-Storie verfolgt Weiß, dass ich aktuell versuche auf Süßigkeiten zu versichten. Und im Dezember werde ich das dann auf Fast-Food ausweiten. Mein kleiner Pizza Planet soll mich also daran erinnern noch die ein oder andere Pizza zu essen, bevor es in den endspurt in Schottland geht.

Um ehrlich zu sein hatte ich diesen Monat nicht die größte Motivation um viel zu malen oder irgendetwas besonderes zu Machen. Ich weiß wie viel Stress mir bevorsteht und bin mir sicher, dass sich die seiten ziemlich schnell füllen warden. Aber mir gefällt es sehr wie es jetzt aussieht!

Und das war auch schon mein komplettes Bullet Journal setup für diesen Monat. Ich hoffe ich konnte dich inspirieren.
Was denkst du über Sternzeichen? Glaubst du an soetwas?
Lass es mich gerne in den Kommentaren wissen.

See you next time!♥

Hello sunshines!

Writing a letter doesn't always mean writing a letter. The right font can enhance the whole page and create a different character of the message. In this post you can find 5 ideas for different fonts and how you can write them easily by yourself.

Before we start I just want to bring to your mind that I am not an expert. I have been practicing my handwriting for a few years now and I am still improving. Most of the times I use the Tombow dual brush pens (just as I did for the following pages) but with the time these get "used" - they are a bit frizzy at the tip. You can still use them but you will not get the thinnest lines. For smaller calligraphy I would recommend the Fudenosuke with a soft tip.

first trials of lettering

To get a nice handwriting you should know the pen you are using.

To try out the tombow or any other calligraphy pen you can just draw some lines.
First you paint a wavy line - just up and down. Try to make every up a small line while just the tip is gently touching the paper and for the down press a little harder so that a bigger part of the pen can give color to the paper.
You can try out the ups and downs separately to get a better feeling of how soft or how hard you should press the pen on the paper.
If you feel comfortable to write/ draw the wavy line then you are ready for the first letters!

Bullet Journal page for lettering tests

Let's start with the basic calligraphy. 

As you can see I drew 3 lines in the background. That way it is easier to assess the height of each letter and you have a little guide such as in primary school. The middle line is the "X-height" - this is the main body of the letter. The top space is for ascending letters like f, k or h and the bottom space is for descending letters such as g, p or j.
For the basic calligraphy you just write the alphabet as usual but every upstroke is a thinner line and every down-stroke a thicker one.

The more you practice the more you will find your own style. There are so many different ways to write e.g. an a, r or t ... You will find your personal way of writing with the time.

Basic Calligraphy

To spice it up you can free the letter from the lines.

Your font will look different if the main body of the letter does not always stick to the X-height. I like it if some letters are more tending to the ascending space or descending space. But honestly this is easier if you write words and not just the alphabet. With the time I found a good way how I prefer my letters and I wrote down the alphabet as I would think I would write it.

Bullet Journal spread for two kinds of lettering: free and beautiful

Now you have an idea of how it could look like. I know that there is not a huge difference but I hope you understand what I am trying to say. Sometimes I feel like some letters look better if they are completely out of the usual space and sometimes it's just a little more accenting/ descending to bring it to live. As long as you can still read the original letter, you are free to modify your base line as much as you want.
To get an impression of the difference I wrote the name of my blog: glitter is the new black
And as you can see I just changed up the base line and created a new look. It is not a huge difference but I prefer writing the second one.
This is something you will get a feeling for by practicing!

comparing the font sticking to the X-height with the free one

The third font is more playful

... or as I called it beautiful. I think this is a more girlish calligraphy because you add ornaments and wings to the letters.
Personally I don't like it that much for daily headings because it is too elaborate and usually I do not have the steadiest hand to draw so many thin lines. But it looks so pretty!
I use it for special headings or cards (e.g. Christmas cards or birthday cards). All you have to do for these letters is to find a way to add more "wings" to the letters and make it more artful. Sounds easy but it isn't! It took me more then one year to find a way to write just as this and to like what I am drawing not just accepting it. I am still dissatisfied but this is how you can improve - learn what you don't like and change it!

When you try calligraphy you should never forget the capitals.

Actually most of the times I am using lower case and just write them a bit bigger then the other ones to create the effect of a capital letter and in English you do not need capitals as often as in German but it is great if you know how to write them anyway. If you just use capital letters it will be a new font and you can enhance the look of your pages.

There are thousand ways to write capitals and I decided to just show you how I write them if I am writing words(!) with a capital as the first letter. This is important because if I am using a font with just capital letters I would write it different.
As always you make a thin line for the upstroke and a thick line for the downstroke. Some letters are more difficult and you have to learn how you want to write it so that it looks pretty for you. For example the K and the R are my final enemies... I write both of them with two downstrokes but I don't want them to be just a thick letter. So please don't take my pictures as the one and only guide! :D

Bullet Journal spread for two kinds of lettering: Capitals and cute&small letters

The last font is a bit different then the others.

It is small and cute.

And I don't want you to not know this beauty. I really like writing like this for subheadings because you can expand it through the whole page and it looks so different compared to the other fonts.
As you can see I didn't drew the lines in the background because you try to draw it as small as you can or as you want it to be.
As you can see in the picture this is one kind of lettering but in two different ways. Basically the letters look the same but for the first part I connected them by extending the lines and for the second I wrote each letter isolated. So I never raised the pen from the paper for the first one.

Comparing all types of Lettering

To give you a little overview about all the fonts together, here you can see them.
The first three ones are quite similar. You can exaggerate a lot more then I did to create a more extreme difference between them - however you prefer.
And to be honest I changed the capital letters again because as I said, if I am writing words just with capitals I write it different. So here you can see how I would do it. 

I hope you got an idea of how you can improve your handwriting and may try out some hand-lettering. For those of you who are already trying - never give up! There is not just one way to write a letter. As long as you can still read it, you can be as creative as you want to be!
And maybe you think that my way of writing is not as pretty as yours then this is okay! I am still learning and improving every day. My most recent project is to learn how to take notes faster while writing pretty and at that date I am crap :D

If you have some more ideas or thoughts about lettering and writing, feel free to tell them in the comments below. I would appreciate it!

See you next time!♥

Hello sunshines!

This post is for all the ones who are struggeling to manage their time, forget their appointments or have to many to-do's for far too few hours per day. Let me tell you something: I struggled with this for years and on some days I still do!
With the help of my family, friends and youtube I found a way to become more organized and structured. And I want to share my secrets with you!

Let's start with the most obviouse one: my Bullet Journal (or any other planner)!

Of couse I would not forget my appointments and to-do's without it, but why should I stress myself when I have a place to write down everything?
I learned to structure my journal so that I get the most out of it. So I have a running to-do list at the very first page of every month to write down what I need to do this month. Additional to that I have my little to-do list every day, to write down what I need to do today, tomorrow or every other day. That way I can split my tasks for the whole week to make sure that I don't have one day where I can't breath because of so much to do and another day where I am bored.
Sometimes it works - sometimes it doesn't.

Bullet Journal Time Log

Another page in my Bullet Journal that helps me to find out where my time got lost, is my time tracker/ time log. This is a page where I paint in every day how I used my time. I am currently using 5 colours to differentiate my categories. I decided for lectures, learning, sleep, workout and blogging. These are most of the activities I am usually doing and so I can get an overview.
E.g. I realised if I workout in the morning, I can spend more time learning effectively after this and feel more motivated.
In addition to that I added the categorie food, which is a little dot. This way I can controll when I eat and that I get a "real" meal instead of lots of snacks.

One of my worst problems with time management is the time I go to bed. After a long period of learning for my exams with long nights, I still struggle to fall asleep before 2am and this is not healthy when you have to get up at 7am! Thats why I often add a dotted line at 8am and 11pm, to detect the times I went to sleep and to challenge myself to strike the dotted line.
As you can see in the picture: the left one is an example of how it should/ could look like and the right one is a little weekly time tracker for one of my weeks in september. If you check out the grey lines you can recognize what I mean when I say my problem is the time I go to bed!

closeup of a daily routine overview

If you are writing to-do lists, fill out a time tracker and still feel disorganized, then this is my last helpful page: a time planner.

So this is for the ones who would really like to get a routine with the most effective use of your time and the rest you need. I would say that this does not work for everyone, but if you really want to change something, this could help you!
For me it was a great chance to get out of the bed habbit of wasting time watching series instead of learning for school and making good for that during the nights.
I drew one day to represent all week days (Monday to friday) and then I thought about how to use my time and how to combine this with the things I would like to do. Because the times of my lectures are not the same every day, I called the green times Uni. It doesn't matter whether I am in a lecture or in a library learning - the main point is that I am hardworking.
I blocked the times for lectures and for the gym - the necessary appointments and the ones for fun. Then I thought about how much time I would like to spend for learning and how I can make them fit in my schedule.

If you really decide to try this out, you should know that it would be pointless if you don't stick with it. Try to be realistic and don't make it to complicated!

Bullet Journal spread for daily routine with planner on the right side and a quote on the left that says "the bad news: time flies, the good news: you're the pilot"

So these are my secrets of how I try to manage my time. Honestly I am not perfect and I still have some days where I can't breath because of so many things to do. I should follow my own advices and try to trust in the things I already have.

I hope that this is helpful for you. So if you are struggeling with time management as I do - just try it out and you may see some changes in a few days!
If you have some other tips for time management please share them with me in the comments!

See you next time! ♥