#collegelife

Guys!

I am now officially a student! My school started on Monday and tomorrow is the last day of Orientation Week. Real classes start on Monday. I am so excited and ready to face whatever my new school throws in my face! (ask me again in a few months). 

In case you don't know, I study International Business at a University of Applied Sciences in my hometown of Lahti, Finland. If all goes according to plan, I should get my Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration in 3,5 years! Our class consists of a multi-cultural student body and it's so interesting and wonderful to go to school with people from all over the world! Most of my studies are in English, which is also great, since I loooove English. It's my thang! 

Hei moi!

Meikäläinen on nyt virallisesti opiskelija! Koulu alkoi maanantaina ja huomenna on orientaatioviikon vika päivä. Maanantaina alkaa oikee koulu. Olen oikeasti tosi innoissani ja valmis kohtaamaan kaiken, mitä tuo koulu paiskaakin päin näköä (tästä saa kysellä uuestaan sitten parin kuukauden päästä). 

Jos ette jo tienneet, opiskelen siis tradenomiksi Lahden Ammattikorkeassa, englanninkielisellä puolella. Jos kaikki menee suunnitelmien mukaan, niin paperit saan 3,5 vuoden päästä. Meidän luokka on monikansallinen ja on mielenkiintosta ja hienoa opiskella ulkomaalaisten ihmisten kanssa! Ja on ihanaa, kun suurin osa opinnoista on englanniksi; englanti on vaan se mun juttu! 

In Finland, University Students get overalls, such like these, and wear them to events. We get badges from the events and attach them to the overalls. Ours are black, but some schools have all different color overalls for each field of studies. Love 'em! :)

End of Summer

I'm sitting on my couch, eating Finnish strawberries. They are probably the last ones of this summer. Year after year I find this moment very bittersweet. The strawberries are so delicious, but fall is inevitably on its way, and I know I won't be eating these for another year. I have probably raved about Finnish strawberries before, but in case you've forgotten: they're the best in the world. Because the summers are so full of light and it doesn't get dark at all, the ground/soil keeps producing sugar even at night, and that makes the strawberries extra sweet and full of flavor. 

It somehow marks the end of summer here, when you can't find strawberries anymore. I was surprised to find these. 

Despite of missing summer already, when it hasn't even completely ended, I am really looking forward to the fall. I'm starting school on September 1st and I'll be moving to a new apartment on October 1st. A lot of new things happening here! This Friday I will be going shopping for school supplies; I've always loved doing that, ever since I was a little girl. That was my favorite thing to do before going back to school. Can't wait!

Istuskelen tässä sohvallani ja syön suomalaisia mansikoita. Varmaan tämän kesän viimeiset. Vuosi vuodelta tämä hetki tuntuu aina katkeransuloiselta. Mansikat ovat niin herkullisia, mutta syksy on väistämättä tulossa, ja tiedän, etten saa mansikoita taas vuoteen. Olen varmasti ylistänyt suomalaisia mansikoita täällä ennenkin (ja te suomalaiset lukijani kyllä tiedätte, että ne ovat ylistämisen arvoisia), mutta jos olette unohtaneet: ne ovat maailman parhaita. Jotenkin se merkkaa kesän lopun, kun mansikoita ei enää löydä kaupoista. Yllätyinkin kun löysin nämä. 

Vaikka ikävöin jo kesää, eikä se ole edes kunnolla päättynyt, myös todella odotan syksyä. Aloitan koulun syyskuun ensimmäisenä päivänä ja muutan uuteen asuntoon lokakuun ensimmäisenä. Paljon uusia juttuja! Nyt perjantaina lähden ostelemaan koulutarvikkeita; olen aina rakastanut sitä, pikkutytöstä lähtien. Se oli lempiasiani aina ennen kouluun paluuta. En jaksaisi odottaa! 

My future apartment will undergo a total renovation before I move in. Can't wait to show you guys the after-photos!

Tuleva asuntoni remontoidaan täysin ennen muuttoani. En malta odottaa, että saan näyttää teille jälkeen-kuvat!

What's Going On, World?

Well, haven't written here in ages... Summer has taken all my time. Work, friends, barbecue, strawberries, ice cream, endless light. Summer is such an amazing time. Especially when one gets to enjoy it to the fullest. Guess who only has three more days of work left until vacation! Sweet freedom starts on Monday, my four-week summer vacation, which I've already almost booked full. I'm having a friend over from Germany, I will be traveling to London and I get to just hang around. You have no idea how much I need a vacay. I will surely update the blog at some point as well, and hopefully by the fall I will get back to regular blogging. 

Oh, and I already booked a winter vacation, too (because why not?). Abu Dhabi and Dubai are calling for me in December! :)

No ei ole tänne tullut kirjoiteltua taas aikoihin... Kesä on vienyt kaiken ajan. Töitä, kavereita, grillausta, mansikoita, jäätelöä, loputonta valoa. Kesä on mahtavaa aikaa. Varsinkin, kun siitä pääsee nauttimaan kunnolla. Minullapa on enää kolme työpäivää jäljellä ennen lomaa! Maanantaina koittaa suloinen vapaus, neljän viikon kesäloma. Se onkin melkein täyteen buukattu; saan vieraan Saksasta, lähden Lontooseen ja saan vaan olla. Te ette tajuakaan, miten olen loman tarpeessa. Kuulumisia varmasti päivittelen tänne jossain vaiheessa, ja toivottavasti syksyn mittaan pääsen taas säännöllisen bloggailun makuun. 

Ainiin, tulihan sitä jo talvilomakin varattua (koska miksipäs ei?). Abu Dhabi ja Dubai kutsuvat joulukuussa! :)

Where I've Been

Sooo.. You may or may not have noticed I've stayed away from the blogging world for a while now. 19 days to be exact. 

In case you're wondering, I've done so intentionally. Not that I had too many brilliant ideas for upcoming posts, but my lack of motivation did strike at a good time for once. To be honest, I grew a little tired of blogging, because I felt like nothing was happening. Let's face it; where's the fun when no one reads your blog or writes their own? 

I hate to rant, so I'll just leave it at that, and tell you what I've been up to in the past few weeks. 

Nothing too significant has happened. I know, right? Kinda boring. While not wanting to blog, I didn't really have a reason to, either. I did book bus tickets and hotels with my friend Minna, for our upcoming trip to London! That's always exciting and fun :) Only a little over a month to go! We are super excited and happy about that. 

I've also been visiting friends, went to see an apartment I will be moving in in the fall, have made some plans as to how I will decorate it, I've done some reading and watched a lot of Orange Is The New Black, The Nanny, and Disappeared. I made a little trip to Staples with my mom, to check out what I would need when school starts. I swear, Staples is my heaven. I LOVE office supplies. 

I can't say I've enjoyed summer, because the weather is nothing like summer... it's been very cold and rainy so far, and I can only hope it'll get better by the time my vacation starts, which is July 21st. I'm having a friend over from Germany, and I would love for her to see how lovely Finland can be in the summer :)

This week I've been sick, and spent a few days at my mom's new house in the country side. Even though the weather sucks, she still found wild strawberries from her yard :) so yummy! 

So yeah, that's what's happening. I'm still a little ill, running a little temperature and coughing. I'll return to work this Saturday, though, and can't wait to get back to some kinda routine. Tomorrow I'm getting together with some old co-workers and that ought to be a lot of fun! 

And what comes to my blog's future; I honestly have no idea. I'm sure I won't stop, I just love this too much. I'm excited to share certain things with you, and would love to get back to regular blogging, but right now I can't make any promises. While I love blogging, I also loved not having to stress about it for 19 days. 

If you're reading this, and happen to have good tips on blogging (ideas, how to not give up, etc.), then please leave a comment below. Love you all for reading, and still remaining in my list of followers. It means a lot. 

Hope you're all having a good week so far!

Happy May: Summer & New Things!

Hi guys!

Ah! I am sorry for totally neglecting my blog and you all for soooo long. This past week I worked for six days, including today, and I hurt my back yesterday morning.. sad face here. It's much better already and I think within a couple of more days I will feel as good as new. Which is perfect, because SUMMER HAS FINALLY ARRIVED TO THE ARCTIC!

I am loving the warm weather, and am so happy I actually get to enjoy it, because I won't be working again until Saturday! Five whole days off! I'm psyched! 

Here's an Instagram picture from a few days ago, my hair has gotten so long! Yay!

My plan for the next five days is:

*writing

*enjoying the summer

*see some friends

*clean my apartment (I really have to...)

I do have another reason I haven't been blogging lately, but I can't share too much yet, because nothing is for sure yet... Let's just say I was working on another writing project and it might actually lead to something very exciting! :) I will definitely keep you posted. I don't know much yet, and am hoping to hear something within a week or so. 

Other than this my life hasn't been all that exciting lately, same old, same old. I am now cat sitting for my mom, as she is in Brussels for business, and I'm enjoying my time with that cute little hairball<3

I hope you all have had a great week! 

I snapped this picture the other night at 11pm. So light outside, I love it!!! :) 

Talk to you later!

Make It Happen March: I Made Stuff Happen!

Hey, guys!

March is coming to an end and I couldn't be happier, because it means only one thing.

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!

I don't know why, but I am really looking forward to summer this year. I'm always looking forward to summer, but this year particularly. It may have something to do with me having a full four weeks of vacation ahead of me. Or maybe it's the prospect of traveling. Of getting to spend time with my wonderful friends. I'm looking forward to the warmth, the endless summer nights, when it's light throughout. 

Make It Happen will be my theme throughout the summer, too. Here are some things I want to do:

*Stress less, enjoy the now, enjoy life and just have fun

*Spend a week at my mom's in the countryside. No internet for a week, except for blog and emails. The main purpose for this little excursion is to write. I want to work on my novel non-stop.

*Show around Finland to my friend who will be visiting from abroad

*Travel

*Read

And here's what I accomplished this month:

*Traveled to Germany and Estonia

*Bought that bag I've wanted since forever ago

*I had my first chance to collaborate with another blogger! You'll see more April 2nd ;)

*Invitations to entrance exams at a couple of schools

*Made more solid plans for my future

With March ending, it's time to reveal the theme for next month!

*Drum roll, please*

Express Yourself April

I have a feeling it'll be a good month:)

Are you guys as excited about summer as I am?!

Have a sunny weekend <3

A Quick Spin To Helsinki

Hey you all on the other side of the screen :)

I am writing to you from my mom's comfy couch, after a very nice and happy day! 

I headed out to Helsinki today with my friend. We didn't have much planned, just a few things. It was about lunch time when we arrived, which was perfect and we were both starving, so we had a great lunch at Vapiano. 

I meant to take a camera with me and take real good photos to show you guys, but I forgot all about it when I left home, so now we have to settle with my iPhone pics, sorry :(

After our delicious lunch break, we headed to our main destination, the Louis Vuitton store. 

And I left the store with something!

Oh my god, you guys, I can't even tell you how excited I am! I have wanted to own an LV bag for so many years I can't even count, and now I was finally able to get one. I will make a separate post about it probably tomorrow. Yay! 

Before going back home we stopped to get Starbucks. Ah, my favorite place to get coffee<3

What's you guys' favorite Starbucks drink?

Hope you've had a nice start for the week! I'll get back to you soon :)

Feel Good February: Go For A Walk

I'm not the most athletic person in this world. Seriously. I hate sports. I used to play soccer for a while when I was like 12, and also went to street dance classes for a while. But I've never been into physical activities.

But now I've decided to get more healthy and have started taking walks a few times a week. I actually think taking a walk is dead BORING, but there are ways to make them more interesting and fun!

*Listen to music while you walk

*Take a camera with you and take pictures :)

*Take someone with you and have a long, nice talk about whatever

*Make goals for yourself; if you see an interesting place on your way but don't have the time to go there right away, make a mental note to do it the next time, or make a decision to walk 5-10 minutes longer the next time around. 

*Simply take time for yourself and allow your thoughts flow free

Those things help; take it from someone who's very reluctant to taking walks in the first place. But I do it, because I know it's good for me and I know that afterwards I feel so much better. And you don't have to make it a marathon; I walk 20-30 minutes a day. Little time, but makes a lot of difference, I promise you. 

I hate snow, but it can be sooo pretty, don't you think? :)

So this marks the start of my Monthly Themes! Feel Good February is off to a promising start, and I am so excited to share my thoughts and tips with you all! Now, I know some of you are still in January, but here in Finland it's already past midnight, and it's officially February, so I decided to get started right away! 

Out with the old, in with the new!

Hiiiiiiiiii!

Peeps, it's January 1st, 2014. For an hour and a half more at least, here in Finland. I feel sort of disoriented and confused at the moment; I returned from my vacation yesterday, and am jet lagged + I caught a flu on our way back. It's surreal to think that two days ago I was in Miami, and now I'm here. Two days ago I was in warm and humid Florida, and now I'm in cold and dark Finland. Well, at least there's zero snow here, which was a pleasant welcoming gift :)

I will do a separate post about my vacation in the near future, once I get my head straight and pics uploaded. Now, since every other blogger in the world is doing so, I want to talk about 2013. I won't make an extensive post about every single detail of the past year, but will share some highlights with you! With that being said, let's get started!

2013:

*My dear friend from Germany visited me in Finland
*I visited her in Germany

*After promoting my blog on Instagram, I was invited to join Glipho and blog there, too. This was a major turning point and gave me a whole new perspective! Thank you, Glipho Team!

*I worked through the entire summer, which wasn't exactly ideal, but for a good cause ;)

*Despite working a lot, I got to spend a lot of time with friends

*I became more and more passionate about writing and working on my novel

*I made some new friends

*Some of my best friends moved abroad; again, not a highlight, but they're happy and that's what matters!

*I traveled to Florida. Here's a little sneak peek:

I managed to snap this awesome photo while in downtown Tampa. The lighting was just perfect!

Now I'm starting a new year. I never make any resolutions. I just hope things will look up and something exciting will happen. I'm fortunate to have experienced a lot in my life, but it has left me thirsting for more. So, I hope 2014 will bring something amazing to me, and to all of you. Make it your year<3

Here's an inspirational song I wanted to share before signing off. I will get back to you guys later! :)

New beginnings for everyone! (Not you, Iira)

So far this week has been crazy, and it's only Wednesday. Well, I guess it's a good thing; at least time goes by faster. And I could just skip right into next Thursday! 8 days and I'll be USA bound<3

Yesterday I started making serious notes about my novel. Seems weird, considering how long I've actually worked on that novel, and how much I've told you. But I've never been that good in taking notes about anything, so this was a big step ;) And the more I wrote, the more motivation I gained, which is always a good thing. I'm going to start working on the notes again in a few, but wanted to blog first! I feel like I've been neglecting you and that's not good :/

We dined out yesterday with some family friends, and it was really nice. It was a special occasion, too, because one of them is moving to Germany on Friday. Today I said goodbye to him, and to be honest, I feel kinda empty now. He and I have known each other since we were little kids, it's going to be so weird not being able to see him anytime I want to. With whom am I going to watch the Oscars from now on?! 

Seriously, I have to move the heck away from here, too.

Ok, I'm calm now. 

Next year is going to be different. I don't know how, but somehow it will. I can't wait! Oh, wait, I totally can. I have an awesome vacation planned before this year comes to an end. 

Talk to you soon<3

Indian Summer

This year we have been enjoying an unusually warm weather for this season (I'm sorry if I'm boring you out with my constant weather babbling! I kind of annoy myself, too, but I'm a Finn, and weather is a constant topic here.) It's supposed to start cooling down soon, though. It feels weird being able to walk around in tees and ballerinas when we're half way through September already.

Today was probably one of the last remaining warm days, and I got to enjoy it with a couple of friends after work.

Just a quick reminder: I can be found on Instagram as well, my username is grasshopper89 :)

It gets chilly almost right after the sunset. Almost time for the new clothes ;) I found a cute scarf today that I think I'll buy the next time. Why didn't I buy it today? It's blue with white start... or white with red stars. I think I'll go with the blue one.. feeding my americanflagobsession. American by heart<3

How's your weekend going? :)

here comes the sun

We don't have leaves on the trees, but other than that, spring is here! About time!! Today was the first warm warm day, and for us, it means the temp was around 68°F in the sun. And I was working, of course! But I will have the next two days off, and I'm hoping to have a little me-time. I noticed I've been feeling a little down lately, due to stress and some uncleared business, but I know that when I just get to reset, I'll be fine :)

My plans for tomorrow and Wednesday include cleaning, writing, reading, cooking, redecorating my apartment a little for the summer, maybe drawing if I find my pencils, and watching a couple of movies. Oh, and doing a ton of laundry. Doesn't really sound like relaxing, right? Well, it can be. Basically, anything but going to work can be relaxing ;) I'm actually really looking forward to getting started! What's gone into me? I used to loath the idea of cleaning on my day off, but now I can't wait. I must be turning into my mother..

Well, I've had a long day, and it's almost time to turn in. But first I want to share a photo with you, that I took today on my way home from work.

The day light increases every day and this is how our 11pm looks like now :) I can't wait to have those 19 hours of daylight again. Summer is such a short season in Finland, and even though I'm aching to move away from here, I always picture myself coming back for the summers. They're pure magic.

Take care :)

-i