Alright, so I’m a bit late to publish my Best of May video and blog but it’s just been a hectic month filled with 3,000 word essays, tedious group work and an unrelenting Eurovision obsession. The good thing about having been so busy was that I didn’t have time to ponder about life’s misfortunes. I was too busy stressing and being anxious over how I was never going to get everything done in time (spoiler: I got everything done in time because I may be a doubtful and insecure human being, but I’m also determined and pretty good at organising my time… ish).
Anyway, here are the things that really helped me to get through the busy month that was May.
1. Swisse Ultivite +Energy Effervescent Tablets
So this literally helped me get through the month of May. So naturally I’m a pretty lethargic person. I’m super sleepy and tired most of the time and it’s screwed up my sleeping pattern and my energy levels- not that great if you have a billion things to do in a short period of time. I’m not a heavy coffee drinker because the amount of caffeine in coffee literally makes me anxious and like I’m about to have a heart attack. One time I even found myself experience sleep paralysis due to my caffeine intake one morning so I’ve tried to stay far away from coffee when I can.
Anyway, my lovely, thoughtful and often very worried mum went out and bought me some multivitamin supplements in order to boost my energy levels and help me get through my tired and stressful month. She bought the Swisse Ultivite + Energy tablets that you drop into a glass of water and makes it all fizzy and orange flavoured. I’m not a huge fan of the taste but I like the bubbles and it really helped me feel more energised after gulping it down. I much prefer it to coffee and energy drinks, mainly because it feels a lot healthier and is packed with lots of vitamins. So yes, if you feel as though you need an energy boost, instead of heading for the caffeinated beverages, just get yourself some vitamin supplements! 🙂
2. Knitting
Ok so this isn’t an item, but it’s an activity! I have become obsessed with knitting. I don’t even know how it started! One day I was in Daiso and I was really craving dried mangoes but of course you can’t use your debit card for items less than $10 so I had to find things to add up to $10 just so I could fulfil my terrible craving, and I wanted to buy items that weren’t made in China or used unsustainable materials (gosh, being a consumer is hard). Anyway, the only item I could find was yarn that was made in Turkey and I was like, “Ok, I’ll just knit myself a scarf instead of buying a mass-produced scarf from Target or something”… I didn’t say that exactly but that was kind of my thought process.
EVER SINCE. My life has changed. I am an obsessed knitter. I’ve been mastering all the different styles of stitches- from knits to purls to garters to stockinettes… I am currently knitting myself a hooded cowl, or a “scoodie” as some people may call it. It looks terrible, but the process of making something from scratch is just so thrilling! People say that knitting is supposed to be relaxing… and at first I was like, “WHAT THIS IS RELAXING?! I KEEP DROPPING STITCHES! WHY ARE THERE HOLES EVERYWHERE?” But then once you get the hang of it, it’s like the best therapy to stress ever. So yes. Take up knitting if you feel like trying something new.
3. Am I Small?/Är jag liten? – Philipp Winterberg & Nadja Wichmann
I’m still in the process of trying to perfect my Swedish and I thought that a really good way was to start reading children’s books in Swedish. I was browsing Book Depository when I stumbled upon this bilingual book and I just had to get it. It is seriously the cutest book I’ve ever read and the illustrations are so vibrant and pretty. I would say that it’s probably not a book that you would get if you’re past the basics of Swedish, but it’s definitely a great book for beginners. It’s very basic, very simple and not a lot of text.
I figured that buying children’s books in Swedish is a very good investment, especially since I would like my future children to be bilingual- and perhaps, multilingual.
4. One Of Us – Åsne Seierstad
It was 2011 when the massacre in Norway occurred. 2009 was the year that I became obsessed with Norway. I remember when I heard the news that a bomb had exploded in Oslo and a lone gunman had shot over 70 kids on the island of Utøya. I was shocked because I had this image that Norway was the most perfect place in the entire world- so how could such tragedy occur? Well, tragedy occurs everywhere. Really shitty and morbid things occur everyday in life, but that doesn’t change the fact that Norway is still My Happy Place.
It’s probably strange that a book that recounts the lead up and aftermath of such a horrible event should end up in my favourites of the month, but I absolutely loved the book. It’s written so well and it’s incredibly captivating- from the very first page to the last. It gave me chills and made me feel empathy and hatred at the same time. It is intricately detailed and Åsne did such a great job of capturing the horror- for a second I thought I was reading a fictional novel, but then I remembered that it was all real. It all happened. And that’s what is so chilling about it. It really made me see things like politics, war, terror and ideologies in a different perspective. It made me realise that love, acceptance and tolerance are things that every child needs to be taught from the day that they are born.
5. The Pianist
On the topic of morbid and depressing events… I watched The Pianist with Mattias a few days ago. I vaguely remember watching this movie in high school during a history class but my mind was obviously too consumed with trivial things like ‘Why does everyone hate me?’ than to focus on world war history. Anyway, I watched it. And it made me hate the world. But then Captain Wilm Hosenfeld saved Władysław Szpilman so then I had a bit of hope left. But then the Captain became a prisoner of war and died and I hated the world again. Just like when I read One Of Us, this movie gave me chills. At first you kind of forget you’re watching a recount of history- you think it’s fiction. But then you remember and you just can’t believe how inhumane the people in this world can become.
I think it’s really important that we don’t forget how much destruction we are capable of so that we know not to repeat history. Anyway, after the movie I got super into reading about World War 2 and Nazi Germany and all that it entailed. I think anything that really makes me want to learn more and gain more knowledge is great.
Anyway, those were my favourites of the month. I’m super glad that the semester is over and I can finally knit as much as I please- although I am going to Malaysia near the end of the month and the thought of knitting in such a humid climate makes my hands feel sticky. But I will take all this free time that I get and make as many videos and be as creative as I can!
Until next time!
