Stuff I'm Thankful For: Autumn Love

Autumn is, by far, my favourite season. 

It's a season of change, which brings me great joy and excitement!

from Tumblr!

I'm going through some MASSIVE changes in my life right now. 

I'm trying to adapt to a completely different way of life. There's just SO. MUCH to study from 2000-page books - yes, Gray's Anatomy, I'm looking at you - so many new people to meet, so much effort to preserve my previous friendships, and to get to spend time with my lovely boyfriend in my free time!

However, sometimes I feel the need to stop, look around me, and give thanks for the beauty that Autumn brings.

Here's a list of things I'm thankful for this Autumn:

- golden trees

- sunlight (we hardly got any of that this summer!)

- libraries

- being in love

- gaining my independence

- having meals with new friends

- stepping on the fallen leaves

- random acts of kindness

- cups of tea

- coffee!!!

Well, these are just a few. Eventually, more will come!

love,

Mariana

New Beginnings

Here's to new beginnings, to scary challenges and to breaking out of our safe bubble!

I'm sorry for the lack of posts through the last week, but starting college can be overwhelming - thoughts and prayers are appreciated!

Day Five: Passionate

"I am passionate about (people)."

Today's Blog-tember post prompt asks me to tell you about my passion, and that, dear readers, is people.

from Tumblr

I am fascinated by people. I love how complex and unpredictable people are. 

I know there's so much evil in this world, and it breaks my heart to hear about corruption, murder and wars. I hate to hear that innocent people die everyday because of other people's thirst for money and power. It's disgusting that these two things are so many times put above real values: life, respect, love.

However, when I'm walking on the streets and I see an elderly couple holding hands, or a little boy picking up a flower to give to his mother, I see love. I see that human hearts can hold such beautiful, powerful feelings, and that those feelings should prevail instead of greed, hate and anger.

At the same time, I can't help but to marvel at the wonders of the human brain. How can such a small organ come up with science, music, stories, laws? I find that thought wonderful, even though we so often misuse our skills.

I know that a lot of us are hurting. There are so many circumstances that cause us pain and hopelessness. But no matter how dark things get, there's always a spark, and we've got to pursue it so that things can get better again. To me that spark comes from God's love, and I feel like one of my missions in life is to help people find that spark when all hope seems lost.

I'm currently feeling really tired, so I'm sorry if this post isn't as articulate as it should be!

How about you? What fascinates you in life?

love,

Mariana

Day Four: Fashion Trends

'Pick a fashion trend you love and a fashion trend you hate. Win us over!'

I am not quite the fashionista, but I do love to have my own style and there are some pieces of clothing that I wear a lot. 

Even though most of the time I'm pretty lazy when it comes to pick my clothes, I still have my preferences: flannel shirts, high waisted jeans, cosy sweaters, cute dresses... However, my favourite pieces of clothing are skirts. I love wearing skirts, which is not that common where I come from; most girls prefer sticking to their jeans and shorts!

This is a picture of me wearing my favourite skirt. Despite having to be really careful while wearing skirts, and not being able to feel as comfortable as I do in my jeans or leggings, I think this skirt makes me look pretty and elegant! 

A fashion trend I hate: besides the classics (Crocs, I'm looking at you!) a piece of clothing I find really ugly is that kind of dresses that look like rectangles. I have no better way to describe them. I don't think I would ever wear one...

from Zara website

What are your favourite and least favourite fashion trends?

love,

Mariana

Day Three: When I Grow Up

'"When I grow up I want to be...." Feel free to answer as your 5-year-old self or as of now.'

I was a dreamy 5-year-old. My dream back then was to train dolphins at the aquarium, because I loved (and still love) being around water and dolphins are cute (I know, those were really 'elaborate' arguments!). I also wanted to be an elementary school teacher because I loved bossing the other kids around and helping them with homework!

Now, at the age of eighteen, I can say a lot more about what I want to be. As I have said numerous times on this blog, I want to be a doctor. I feel called to help people, to be a healer. But there's more to it. I want to be a mom and to have a family. I want to give my contribute to society. I want to make the world a better place. I want to go on mission trips and volunteer to work as a doctor wherever I'm most needed. I want to stay involved with music in any ways I can, and to write at least one book. I want to cook and have a pet turtle.

I will fight to do it all, and I won't let nobody on earth stop me.
I will find strength in God to make a better person of myself.

One more post for the Blog-tember Challenge!

love,

Mariana

Day Two: What Makes Me Happy?

'Write about what makes you happy, from the little joys to the huge game-changers.'

One day last year, I was having it pretty rough, so I decided to write a list of things that make me happy, to cheer myself up. And guess what? It worked! So, I'm going to share it here, with some new additions that I have found over the course of my senior year:

Fall. Rain when I'm at home, looking from the window. Tea, cookies, hot chocolate, coffee, scones and cakes. Baking scones and biscuits during winter and making crepes with ice cream in the summer. Everything related to Christmas. My sister. Wearing costumes. Talking about the little things in life. Milkshakes. Feeling understood. Having projects. Music. Playing piano, guitar and singing. Belonging to the choir. Dance lessons. Dreaming of having a family. Unexpected afternoons. Deep moments at parties. Good books. Romantic comedies. Classic movies. Musicals. Feeling like everything is settled, for a bit. Stepping on dry leaves. Walking to school in the morning. Writing. Making lists. Reading poetry. Knowing that people think of me. Sunday night dinners. Watching soccer with my family. Watching gymnastics. Feeling in control of my body. Storytelling and hearing stories. Family lunches. Going to church. Feeling connected to nature. Meeting with friends you haven't seen in a while. Being in love. Being loved in return. Running into his arms after we've been apart for so long. 

What makes you happy?

love,

Mariana

Day One: About the Author

'Imagine the front sleeve of a hard cover novel. Give us your "About the Author" so we can get to know one another, and for fun tell us what your imaginary novel would be about.'

This is my first post for the Blog-tember Challenge!

Mariana is a curly-haired music lover with a passion for literature and helping others.

She is (hopefully) studying Medicine in the University of Porto.

Her main interests include: traveling, walking around with her boyfriend, playing music, singing in the church choir, dancing, reading and writing, cats and spreading positivity. 

Her favourite season of the year is fall and she loves Christmas very much as well.

She believes in love above all things.

I would actually love to write and publish a novel, but the inspiration hasn't struck me yet.

I'd like it to be an adaptation of my own high school experience: overcoming fears, finding myself, approaching problems like heartbreak, bullying, self harm, eating disorders etc. I would like that novel to give hope to teenagers like me and to make some people feel understood!

love,
Mariana