Finding North

«Door number two, I've already gone through.  I wanna see what's behind door number three...» Spring is upon us, much like anywhere else on the top half of the world. Here, that means the sun is getting warmer, but not nearly there yet. All the ice and snow are melting away ( although the fields are still almost completely white ), creating little streams of water in the most inconvenient places. But they're also not melting fast enough, which means the ground is still slippery, muddy and wetter than ever! Some days are amazingly sunny, the sky of a pure, deep blue, which makes me ache for proper spring to come: being able to go outside and enjoy the sun on my skin ( without wearing a massive jacket, which is currently how I can attempt to do that ) and feeling the green grass under my feet. But other days are cloudy and grey ( it even snowed a little yesterday ) and the setting around me looks incredibly brown, dirty and dreary. It's hard to define which season...

Ever since I created this blog, I have been thinking a lot about what defines me. I struggled to find words to describe myself in the "About Me" section and that caught me by surprise. Don't I know who I am? What is important to me? What is it that makes me different from others and sets me apart?  I stared into my screen, my mind working at ultra-sonic speeds to grasp at any sort of words that might come my way. Everything that came out of that search were relatively banal things, like my age and a sum of the things I love and are important to me. And that begged the questions: is that me? who am I after all? I'm convinced that at twenty-four I still don't know what to reply, because I simply have no idea. I really am still trying to figure everything out . What would be the fun in having all the answers anyway? ;) But today something surprised me in a good way. I put forth these questions and asked my boyfriend how he would describe me. He said I was k...

What is important to consider here is that the cold and the snow didn't win. They didn't manage to defeat me . I was strong enough to live through it, as I was managing so far ( to some extent ). I had embraced the winds, the snow and the cold. I had stopped being afraid of them, because they don't seem so powerful if you face them straight on. Those weren't the things that were going to stop me after all. If anything, my mind was what stood in my way. Life here in the north moves much slower, at a completely different pace from what I'm used to. I don't see anyone running around, feeling stressed. They just seem to have a very distinct way of living - taking things slow, not worrying about the things they can't change and enjoying a simple life. Which basically meant I had to adjust my entire way of thinking and operating. In short, my mindset would have to change completely ( and fast, for my sanity's sake ). I grew up believing that if I'm ...

Note: From this point on, I'm going to be referring to the place where I live (in the north) with the general term "Sweden" for the sake of simplicity. Please bear in mind that this is a big country and things vary a lot between the north and the south, so a lot of what I post might only apply or make sense in regards to the north. I'd also like to point out that I'll be sharing things I personally experience and the impressions I get from specific situations and people. I don't want to step on anyone's toes or make anyone upset by thinking that I'm generalizing in any way.   I arrived to my destination late at night on the 24th of January. I had planned to take the first week off to relax and enjoy some free time with my boyfriend and his family. But I couldn't do it...a mere three days in and I let my anxiety roam free - I became restless. Suddenly I had no time to lose and certainly shouldn't throw away those first few days away. The al...