YouTuber of the month – Ebony Day

Hello lovely people,

I promise that I don’t only like female british YouTubers but for some reasons all the male YouTubers I’m watching are well known people such as Joe Sugg, Caspar Lee or Kian Lewly. So I figured writing about them and introduce you guys to them is a bit boring.

I promise I try to find somebody else for next time that is not as known as them.

But back to this months YouTuber of the month: Ebony Day

I first discovered her actually quite a while ago on a James McVey video and then I saw her on channels like Sam King and such. I always found her quite cool but for some strange reasons I never got around to check her out on her own. Until I discovered Sophie Louise. Sophie and Ebony have filmed videos together in the past and when I got into watching Sophie, I also had to check Ebony out. And it’s save to say that I fell in love with her music and her personality.

So for those who don’t know Ebony, Ebony is an English YouTuber who does mainly (or used to do mainly) music covers (definitely check them out on her old account: Ebony Days music and her recent ones, my fav is her ‘the 1975′ cover of ”Somebody Else’) but she also does regular main channel videos such as tags, challenges and beauty kind of videos. On her second channel she also tries to vlog on a regular basis. I especially like her vlogs because they are shorter than your regular vlogs (I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy a 40min vlog of Zoella, not at all). But the good thing with her 6 – 10min vlogs is that they are quick, still uplifting and positive and she still achieves to give us viewer a look in her everyday life. I also like them because you can watch them in between doing something rather then properly sit down and concentrate on the long vlog. And, I think, because they are short you can see how much effort she puts in editing these videos.

As I mentioned before I like that her videos are positive and uplifting but at the same time she seems also very genuine. Recently she had to have an operation which means that she might not be able to get kids one day, although she loves children and would like to have some one day she still managed to bring a positive message within all these things. Some YouTubers would probably not vlog these experiences and talk about, to their own right because it is a very private thing to talk about and everybody can decide themselves what to post and what to leave out, but I personally liked that she talked about it and raised awareness to young female or in general people to listen to your body and if you feel something is wrong go to the doctors and try to find out what it is. Because at the end of the day we all got only one body and we have to take care of this one.

On the other hand I also really enjoy her covers. Although she has kinda that style to slow down the songs, I absolutely digging her style. It just perfectly fits her voice and how she sings. Song like ‘Let me love you’ originally by Justin Bieber, is completely different to the original yet also as beautiful as the original, at least in my opinion. She achieves to bring a lot of emotions to the songs which let you see the songs from a different perspective.

All in all I can only, once again who would have guessed it, say that I’m totally hooked with her videos and every time I see a new video pop up in my description box I have to check it out. So I can only advise you guys to do the same and check Ebony out and fall in love with her as much as I did. 😉

Lots of love,

Jenny

Ebony’s social media:

YouTube channel

Instagram

Twitter

 

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Fears you have in your twenties

Hey my dear readers,

I don’t know how old you all are, but I’m in the beginning of my twenties and yeah … just as you thought you’ve survived high school and puberty and now life really begins and it can only gets easier…well it doesn’t. I mean congratulations to having survived that hard part of your life I’m honestly very proud of you, but there are new challenges and problems waiting and they’ll leave you just as confused and scared as before. At the beginning of this post I want you to know that it’s completely normal to have those fears and nothing to be ashamed of. Even the people who seem like they’re in total control of their life and everything is going great for them struggle with things. You are not alone.

1.”I don’t think I’m doing well enough at my courses”

Uni or School can be a hell of a lot of work sometimes. But I’m sure you’re doing great. Remember to recognize your hard work and treat yourself once in a while. For example have Pizza with your friends after a long study session If you really struggle with your coursework ask for help. Nobody will mind to sit down with you for an hour to explain stuff for the exam for you or read through your essay. Maybe study together, things are often easier to understand when you talk about them. If you’re struggling so hard you’re questioning if it’s the right for you, you should seek advice and go to study councelling. Realizing your course is just not for and switching after a few Semesters is nothing to be ashamed of. It might be frightening sometimes because everyone around you seems to be super bright and dealing well. I just want you to know you’re bright, too, and not understanding or being good at something doesn’t mean you’re not doing great.

2. “I’m scared I won’t get a job”

That’s a big fear of mine as well. Everyone seems to have a side job, is doing better at Uni, has the next 5 internships planned, has interesting hobbies and volunteers. And my talents include eating and watching netflix. The thing is : you still have time. You can still start doing internships or start looking for a Little job, that looks good in your resumee. Also that’s not the only thing employers look at. It often makes you interesting when you’ve spent some time abroad. An other essential thing is just to present yourself in a good way and be polite confident and good at talking. It’s okay when you haven’t worked and done internships since you’ve been 5 years old. Of course you won’t immediatly start in your dream job, but later you have time to work your way up.

3. “I’m scared I can’t get control of my life”

You don’t have any clean clothes left, you only dare to enter your bathroom with a gas mask on and you’ve lived of pasta with a ketchup the last three days? That’s fine. Nobody expects you to move out and immediately be super organized and great at living alone. And of course there isn’t much time, as you’re also trying to get course work done and have social relations. Just do one step after an other. Set a fix day for house work for example. Also there is no shame in calling your mum or dad and ask if you Need to know, how to do something. To get more organized it’s always good to write things down. Get a calender where you write down deadlines and appointments and write to do lists. You’ll get behind stuff with time.

4. “I’m scared I’ll end up alone”

Still single, haven’t had a date in like a year and every guy basically has run away from you after the second date. No change in sight ? That’s okay. I get that it’s sometimes frustrating to see all the happy couples while you’re alone with nobody to cuddle.But concentrate on yourself , your friends, your career  and just living.  Being single can be a wonderful thing, you can find out and experiment with who you are. You cantravel and meet lot’s of people and have more time for Hobbies. The love of your life will find you early enough and never let you go. So don’t give up. If you’re really keen on finding a Partner, maybe try new clubs or sports, or dating apps.

5. “I’m afraid to lose my friends”

After school you’ll all go different ways, that’s normal. You all have a different lives, meet new people and develop differently. At some Point you’ll realize how you all have changed so it doesn’t really fit anymore. The harsh truth is: you probably won’t stay friends with most of the people from school. But on the bright side you’ll meet new wonderful people you can have great friendships with. And the true friends will always stay.

6. “I’m afraid I’m missing out on something”

Yep I agree the twenties is the time to slowly grow up a bit. That doesn’t mean you have missed out on the thousand things you haven’t done when you were a teenager. You can still do stupid shit ( and it’s even legal now as Long as you don’t exaggerate it)). It’s never too late to be a child . And groeing up doesn’t mean your life Ends. You still have years and years to travel, to go to concerts, to learn new things. You don’t have to do all of it while you’re Young.

So I just want you to know I’m proud of you, because you made it here. Your fears are normal and you’re not alone with them. So try to just live your live,be happy and remember to always put your mental health first. If you’re really struggling with a fear that much that it influences you in your daily life there’s no shame in  seeking professional help. Societal pressure is hard and even the strongest of us break under it sometimes. But you’ll find back to yourself.

I believe in you

love, Alli xx

Pic: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/stevejobs416858.html?src=t_life

 

Trying Something New

Hey there,

I know it’s been a while. Uni has been taking over my life and I rarely get a moment to sit down and relax, which is annoying but obviously comes with the territory of going to uni.
However, today I decided procrastination can be productive so here we go.

Trying new things is incredibly scary, isn’t it? I mean you don’t know what will happen and if you are an over- thinker like me, you will often miss out on opportunities and experiences just because you get terribly scared of failing or making a fool out of yourself or getting hurt emotionally or physically.
This semester I started with an attitude of “hey I don’t really care anymore what people think, ’cause here at uni no one really seems to care”. And for once that attitude actually lasted longer than 5 minutes and I actually attempted something new.

I went to my uni’s Ultimate Frisbee club. Yes it is a sport and let me tell you it is a lot more exhausting than you’d think. So why was this a big step for me? I love sports yes, but sadly I am not that talented which is part of the reason that I have stuck with badminton for over 10 years because I am decent at it and it means I won’t make a fool out of myself when I play it. I would say I am okay at the other racket sports that I have tried too, simply because I felt like I knew what to do with a racket in my hand. Now going to a sport that involved throwing and catching and running a lot when you have no hand eye coordination whatsoever and are predestined to fall every five seconds because you fall over your own feet might not seem like the best idea in the world.

So why would I do it? Well I have a lot of friends in the club and I spend a lot of time with them and knew all their training times and for two years they were like “oh yeah you should come by, it’s fun” for two years I said no being too scared of making a fool out of myself. This year I jumped the biggest hurdle by actually going to the give it a go where there were many other people who had never played before, so I didn’t feel like I was the only person completely lost. Now 9 weeks into the semester I really enjoy going, I have been to tournaments with them and played outdoors in the freezing cold and I slowly don’t feel as lost anymore and now only second throw completely sucks, but hey it’s fun.

So what did I get out of it? Well a lot of sore muscles that is sure. An evaluation of how horrible my fitness level is. Less time for the uni stuff I should be working on. But on the other hand I have gained confidence, I have learned that yes it may be hard at first but the more I do it the easier it gets. I have grown even closer with my friends on the team because they are just happy that I actually tried it and admitted that I liked it, plus I spend so much more time with them which is nice. Also, I have made new friends, other people who just started playing and are just as lost as I am but if you are lost together it suddenly doesn’t seem as bad and became friends with people who were mere acquaintances before and I spend sooooo much time with now. Everyone has been really supportive and taken the time to help me.

So why am I boring you with this? Well what I wanted to show you is that trying something new is hard and scary in any part of your life, may it be academically, sports-related, love and relationship related or any other part of your life. But usually the hurdle of making the first move is the hardest because it means you have to make yourself do it. We have a great saying for it in German actually saying “den inneren Schweinehund überwinden”, which literally means to overcome your inner pig dog and figuratively means to take that first hurdle which is usually your own mind.
Yet it is worth it and you’ll learn something, make experiences and despite things often not being the way you’d want them to, it’s worth a try because it can always be better!

Happy Tuesday and happy trying my loves,
lots of love, Katie

Winter essentials

Hello you lovely people,

I’m sooo so sorry I haven’t written anything in such a long time but everything was quite chaotic and University stepped up 10 more levels up so it’s safe to say that I barely have any free time. Anyways, now I’m back and here’s another rant from me.

I woke up this lovely morning, thinking that this week is going to be better than last week and what to I see when I opened my curtains? It was snowing!! Whyyyyy???

As you could have guessed, I hate snow and everything that has to do with it! I hate the cold and I can’t walk for shit when there is snow.

So here are a few winter essentials from me to you to survive the cold and winter:

1. Scarves and warm hats

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When it gets only the tiniest bit colder you barely will see me leaving the house without at least a scarf. I love scarves especially the big ones that are basically blankets and you can snuggle in them. I get cold very easily and it’s the best when you sit in a lecture, you get cold, don’t want to put on your coat so you can put around you your comfy scarf. Hats, especially bubble hats are an essential for me as well. If my neck feels warm that’s good but a lot of head from your body also gets lost from your head. So put a big, snugly and cute one on, which does not only look cute but also keeps your head and your ears warm.

2. Hot beverages

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No matter if you’re a coffee, hot chocolate or tea lover, having a warm drink your hand when it’s absolute freezing is a blessing. But it doesn’t always need to be the typical three drinks. Starbucks and co make awesome winter drinks and I can only recommend to try as many as possible before they disappear again. In Germany we drink something like Glühwein or Kinderpunsch on the Christmas markets and I tell you if you can get your hand on this, or you want to make them yourself, go and do so! It’s totally worth it! For me it’s one of the best things in the winter time. Also, don’t worry, it’s super easy and I would say everybody can do it, just google a recipe and I’m sure you’ll find plenty of them.

3. Gloves

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Never, I repeat, Never leave your house without gloves!!!!! You never know when you need them. What I do, is I always have a pair in my pocket of my winter coat. So no matter which bag I’m taking with me I always have a pair of gloves with me. I’m sure everyone knows the feeling, when you have a walk and your hands feel like there are actually no hands anymore and they turn blue already. This walk could just be from the bus station to your home or just to the shop around the corner. For some reasons hands, my do anyway, decide to go absolute cold and it’s the worst when you get into a house or shop and your hands defrost again…

4. Lip balm

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I don’t know about you but as soon as it gets cold my lips decide to go totally nuts and chip like crazy. So to make sure it doesn’t get too crazy I always have some lip balm in all my bags (yes you can call me crazy) so no matter where I am and I have the feeling my lips are killing me because of the cold I can always put on some. Also there are pretty good ones out there with some Christmas flavours, so hello, isn’t this an argument in it’s own to have a lip balm always in reach? 😛

5. Moisturise

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Same as with the point before, my skin gets super dry in the winter so moisturising is an absolute must! It’s nothing worse than dry skin. Not for you to touch nor for your skin. Always protect your skin and make sure it’s hydrated!

6. Layering up

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This one is a pretty basic one but gosh it’s one of the things that get me through this cold weather. As I mentioned before I’m absolute not good with the cold so when I step outside I always need to have my biggest, comfiest and warmest clothes on. Only problem: when I get inside, then I’m absolute boiling because I obviously have too thick clothes on. So what I do, I get prepared against the cold outside when I put on quite a few layers, but once I’m inside I take off 1 or 2 layers. And in case I get cold whilst I’m inside I still can wrap myself up in my scarf or put back on another layer.

7. The Christmas spirit

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First things first: I bloody love Christmas! So there’s no wonder that the one of the only things that make me look forward in the winter time is Christmas. Call me crazy but I already put up some Christmas decoration in my flat and listened to Christmas songs. And if I would be allowed to eat sweets you could bet on that I already would have eaten Christmas themes sweets. So what this has to do with my winter essentials: Always think of the positive sides of this (or any other) season. For me it’s Christmas but maybe you like the snow (even though you must be crazy for that :P), or you like the prospect that a new year starts very soon, or you like the activities you can do in winter such as baking Christmas cookies, ice skating, snowboarding, skiing or whatnot. Every season has something good and you have the find the one thing you absolute love and remind yourself about these things. You will see once you found it it’s not as bad any more!

8. Friends

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Okay, you should have friends all year round but what I mean with that is that said activities, in the point before, you can do with your friends. No matter if you meet for some ice skating, snowboarding, skiing or you meet in your flat and you bake together or you just sit together with a nice warm drink in your hand and you snuggle up on the couch. In winter you can do some pretty cool stuff with your friends, so force them to do so with you! You can even do things like secret Santa or plan a New Years Eve party. This things are super fun!

How to survive autumn/fall

Hey everyone,

sorry for not posting last week, but yeah life is happening. As I’m struggling with missing summer and permanently having a cold recently, I thought I’d share some strategies how to deal with this wonderful season.

As you probably won’t like to go out when it’s all rainy and cloudy outside, you’ll need some good occupation for inside. I mean yeah you might have already spent all summer watching netflix (don’t even deny it), so how about getting the old boardgames out and beat your brother/sister/boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever in Monopoly or something else fun. Of course you’ll need the perfect drinks for that. One of the few advantages of autumn is that you can finally drink as much tea and hot chocolate as you want without dying from all the heat.Also mulled wine season is about to start, aren’t we all excited. Another thing it’s finally cold enough for is baggy, cuddly knitted Jumpers and warm cuddly socks. In these clothes it’s awesome to read a lot to forget cold, foggy November ooooor turn the music up and jump around (yes I know that’s my cure for everything). Recently I seem to like Oldies, because for me they just seem to fit for autumn. I can’t stop listening to Everlasting love by Love Affair or I want you to want me by Cheap Trick. They just have such a positive vibe that makes you forget about the cold. I would also advice you to get some nice lamps or fairylights. They give the room a nice light when it gets darker and aren’t as bright as the main light. Also make yourself a nice breakfast in the morning/ Snack in the evening, that’ll help you over the fact , that you leave in the darkness and come home in the darkness.Prefarably Halloween ssweeties or something with melted cheese. And if you really dare to go ouside in your free time, how about you take some Pictures of all the colourful trees or you walk through the leaves and try to make a melody. Okay yes I admit there are some good things about autumn.

This was short, sorry, but I have to get back to my very important work ( okay Netflix)

Hope you have a good November.

Alli xx

Pic : http://hypnogoria.blogspot.de/2015/10/folklore-on-friday-autumn-leaves.html