In my previous two posts, I briefly mentioned that I have recently been trying to get better after going through some tough times. As I have pretty much gotten back on my feet and I've been feeling very happy and grateful recently, I've decided to share some tips with you. Everyone goes through bad times, some worse than others, and everyone gets better. Here's what I've learned in the process. 

Hey there. What's up? How have you been? I've been absent for a long ass time, I know. I've been through some awful shit and then I focused on getting my life in order and paying attention to the people in my life and having a good time and just becoming happy again. I feel like I'm at a much better place now and I hope I'll be inspired enough to come on here more often and write something fun. For today, I wanted to share a little epiphany that I've had. 

First of all, I think we can agree that the award for the most consistent blogger deffo belongs to me, thank you. Now that's out of the way, we can begin.

I don't know about you, but I've been having some concentration issues for a while. I've realised that it probably stems from the fact that I'm constantly getting quick and instant news, posts and photos on social media and I am used to everything being so fast paced. My biggest addiction was none other than Instagram. I'd been spending way too much time on there and opening the app countless times a day. It started annoying me because it became an instinctual thing that I did whenever I grabbed my phone. In order to prove myself a point and make sure that a little app didn't have too much control over my life, towards the end of January I decided to stop using it. I wanted to be realistic so my goal was to refrain from using Instagram for a week. The only thing I still used were messages, but I kept it to a minimum. 

Strangely enough, I didn't find it difficult at all. It actually felt quite freeing and I loved knowing that it was me that was in control, and not Instagram. I loved that I just decided to stop and I stopped. It was that simple. I removed it from my home screen and I forbid myself to give in. Once the week was up, I spent about 20 minutes catching up with all the posts that I had missed. Ever since I did the detox, I've found myself reaching for Instagram much much less often. I still don't have it on my home screen and I try not to let it gain back its power. At least now I know that I could easily live without it and not really notice a big difference in my life. 

Mowing forward, I want to continue not using Instagram (or my phone in general) when I'm in someone's company because I find that very rude and annoying. I also wanna stop staring at the screen when I'm walking somewhere and when I'm in public transportation (unless I'm extremely bored). 

As for my focus, apparently I can't blame it entirely on Instagram. I still struggled with it, but at least I had one less distraction to worry about. 

I would 100% recommend taking a break from Instagram or Twitter or whatever it is that is taking up your time and not really providing you with anything but a quick fix of fun. It's silly to let something as small as an app consume so much of your time, energy and focus. A break is a really, really good thing for your mind and feels pretty exhilarating.

Well, happy New Year everybody! Let's hope 2018 treats us all well. 

I've been the worst blogger ever these past two months and I will try my best to stop this little hiatus I've taken. I've been preparing exams, moving out of my apartment and into the student dorm and sorting my life out. Alongside all that, I've felt pretty uninspired, but I'm hoping that will all change in the new year and I'll get back on track with posting once a week. 

Today I thought I'd chat a little about some things I'd like to do in 2018. I'm not calling them resolutions because those never work out. These are simply some ideas and goals that I've compiled. 

1) Walk more and get out of the house more! I am someone who can easily not get outside for days and just spend all my time in my room, more specifically in my bed. Well, that is not good for my body or for my mind. So I've made it my mission to leave my house every day and at least take a walk to the grocery store and climb some stairs. 

2) Refrain from making negative comments. I consider myself a realist, but I think that can get just as annoying as being a pessimist. I think I need to stop pointing out faults and the negative sides of things because that brings everybody down, including myself. So, I'll try and keep those to myself and not rain on everyone's parade. 

3) Journal more. I absolutely love writing and I especially enjoy writing my feelings and thoughts down. I'm not a fan of talking about my feels, so writing them down is my kind of therapy. Even though I enjoy it very much and I love reading through the stuff that I've written from time to time, I seem to have stopped doing it as much. I think about doing it and then I don't because something always gets in the way. Well, that needs to stop. I really want to dedicate a bit more of my time to reflecting and paying attention to myself.

4) I think something I really need to start doing is speaking out my mind more and standing up for myself. I think this is a pretty obvious one because it's something everyone should do. We shouldn't care about what others will think and we should say what we're thinking, say if we don't agree and just say whatever it is we want to say.

5) Read more - an annual one, but also read the news more often. I think it's time I start being informed about what's going on in the world even though it's usually not the prettiest picture. Ignorance is bliss at this day and age, but it makes me feel a bit stupid not knowing what's going on around me and, luckily, there's a simple way to fix that.

6) Become better and more comfortable with people. This is something that I'm working on daily and I'm hoping that soon I'll overcome my awkwardness and/or shyness and be able to feel at ease with people. 

There, those are some of the things I'm hoping to better myself at this year and, hopefully this year I'll actually manage to come through with them. So, drink more water, drink your green tea, get enough sleep and write some of your goals in the comments. 

1. Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird

This one has been on my 'To Read' list for ages and I think it would be pretty nice to finally tick it off. It's sitting on my shelf ready for me to pick it up and hopefully I'll do that soon. Maybe the second half of September (after my exams) could be reading time. 

2. Jostein Gaarder - Sophie's World

I've started this book, but the amount of philosophy in it is kind of draining for me, so I can tell that it'll take me a long, long time to finish it. I don't know if I'll be persistent enough to get to the end of it, but it just feels so wrong abandoning it. *sigh*

I don't know if you follow me on Twitter, but if you do, you've probably seen that I've been complaining about how stressed I am basically every day. I'm currently preparing 3 exams, and it's definitely not a fun time. I'm a pretty anxious person as it is, and exams really bring it out of me. 

Lots of cups of coffee have been consumed, lots of advice type videos have been watched and lots of food has been devoured, yet nothing has helped. Then I came to a brilliant idea - why don't I start meditating? That was my last hope.

So I took to the Google Play store, I typed in ''meditation'' and downloaded a few apps. The one that stood out to me was Aware. They are all very similar in how they all provide breathing exercises, but this one has a few different courses and I'm excited to move past the foundation one and dive into more themed courses. 

I sat comfortably on my bed and let the man instruct me on how I should breathe and what I should be focusing on. The session lasted 10 minutes and after it I felt like I was floating on air. I literally don't know if I've ever been that calm. Of course, it did wear off throughout the day, but whenever I started getting nervous or stressed, I would take a moment to breath and block out the negative thoughts. 

I don't know if it was a placebo effect or if meditation actually does work, but I for sure will continue doing it if I want to keep my sanity. If you're going through a stressful period as well, I recommend you try it out as well. You have nothing to lose even if it doesn't work out. 

You probably know I tend to obsess over music and listen to the same album for months and months until a new one comes out. Well, recently 3 of my favourite artists released new records, so I've been able to mix things up a little bit more. Here's what I've been listening to.

○ Harry Styles - Harry Styles

This is absolutely no surprise to anyone who knows me. Harry has always had a special place in my heart and now, so does this album. I love how open he is in it and I love the whole vibe of the album. I was surprised to hear something so different from One Direction, but that's the beauty of it, I guess. Although my sister doesn't agree, I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that this album is a bit more of a rock record. I am obsessed with this album and out of the 3 that I'm listening to, this one is for sure my number one album. My favourite tracks are From the Dining Table, Only Angel, Kiwi and Meet Me In The Hallway. I think we can also agree that the album art is absolutely gorgeous. If you haven't yet, go listen to this album right now! If you're sceptical about it because Harry used to be in 1D, don't be. 

○ Halsey - hopeless fountain kingdom

I was very afraid that I wouldn't like this album and that I would have to keep listening to Badlands whenever I wanted to listen to a bit of Halsey, but luckily that didn't happen. I would say that this album is pretty similar to Badlands, but at the same time they're quite different. I still have to listen to it loads more to be able to describe it a bit more, but the gist is that I love it. As I've already tweeted, my favourite songs off the album are Heaven in Hiding, Alone, Strangers, Walls Could Talk and Bad At Love. If you're a Halsey fan and somehow haven't heard this album yet, wait no more, go and listen to it. 

○ Lorde - Melodrama

Finally! I've been waiting for this album for years literally, but unlike the Frank Ocean one, this one was totally worth the wait. I feel like she's stuck with her style and she sounds just as amazing, but I would say she's a bit more bold. I've heard it 2 days ago so I don't really have much more to say about it, but I'm sure I'll include loads of songs in my future playlists and stuff, so you'll definitely be hearing more about it. So far, my faves apart from Green Light are Perfect Places, Sober II (Melodrama), The Louvre and Hard Feelings/Loveless. Ugh, I love them all!

○ The Weeknd - Starboy

This doesn't come as a surprise to anyone because I've been going on and on an on about this album since the day it came out. It's got R&B, pop and some rap elements and I absolutely love the vibe that it has. It's pretty different to his older stuff, but it does resemble Beauty Behind the Madness slightly. I think this is my #1 favourite album at the moment. 

My favourite tracks are: Six Feet Under, Secrets, Rockin', Reminder, I Feel It Coming and Die For You (it's very difficult to choose).

○ Ariana Grande - Dangerous Woman

I liked the My Everything album, but I loved this one. It's pretty similar to the previous one, but it just a tad different which makes it much better in my opinion. I love the lyrics and I love the whole vibe of the album. It's very upbeat and it's a great collection of songs to listen to while getting ready for going out. At the moment, my favourite songs are: Thinking Bout You, Bad Decisions and Sometimes.

○ Ed Sheeran - Divide

Finally something new, huh? Before the album came out, I was completely in love with Shape of You, Castle on the Hill and How Would You Feel, but when the album finally dropped I wasn't really swept off my feet. I had been expecting it to leave a much grander impression on me. However, I listened to it a few more times and with time it grew on me. I absolutely love it now. I feel like it's pretty different to his previous work, but it's still a very authentic Ed Sheeran music. Here are some of my faves: Dive, What Do I Know, New Man and Perfect (not counting the 3 songs that came out first). I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven't yet and you're an Ed Sheeran fan.

Hey, babes, happy New Year! I hope 2017 will be an amazing year for everyone. We need a good one after 2016. As every year, I've written a list of resolutions for the new year even though I am aware that I most likely won't be accomplishing any of them. It's fun to pretend, though. Here's what I've decided this time:

○ be more present - spend less time on my phone when with friends
○ study more and better (lol) - procrastinate less
○ spend less time on the internet

○ stop giving in to fear and do more things

○ get better at meeting people and holding a conversation

○ write more, read more

○ save some money

I tried to be somewhat realistic and not set myself unachievable goals, these are just some of the things I'd like to get better at or change about myself in order to enjoy life more. What are your New Year's resolutions? 

Jeans - H&M
Shoes - Rome, unknown store
Focal point: socks - C&A

Velvet V-Neck Bodysuit - Zara
Black Cigarette Trousers - H&M
Lace Choker - Accessorize

Hoodie - Alcott                                                                Turtle neck crop top - New Yorker
Pink bomber - Bershka                                                    Jeans - H&M

As I've moved to a bigger city, I've been spending a lot of my time in public transportation, mostly buses. Sometimes there's simply no other way to survive than to take snaps of the beautiful buildings around you. Here are some of my photos:

As I keep repeating over and over again like an absolute tool, I no longer live in my hometown, but in Serbia's capital. I am a complete newbie to the whole big city scene - public transport, traffic jams, pickpockets, expensive cabs, etc - everything is new to me, so I thought it would only be right to share some of the things I've learnt the hard way over the past month. This might be helpful to some of you who are in a similar situation, so keep on reading to see what stupid mistakes I've made.

1) Starting with a simple one - always bring a water bottle with you. This sounds dumb and obvious, but you're gonna wish you'd thought of that when you're sitting in a 2 hour long lecture dying from thirst and counting down the minutes to when you can exit the classroom and buy some water. 

2) Try to always have a book on you in case you get stuck in traffic or find yourself in a really long queue or if you have a long gap between lectures. If you're not a huge reader, bring some sort of entertainment, even if it's a game on your phone, which brings me to my next tip.

3) Always, and I repeat, always have your phone charged! You never know when you're gonna get lost or take the wrong bus or lose your friend or simply get bored. The absolute best thing would be having one of those portable charger things - that would be a lifesaver for me!
4) If you have a companion (roommate, friend, boyfriend/girlfriend or anyone at all) that you spend a lot of time with, commute with or live close by to, learn their phone number by heart. I cannot stress enough how important it is to be able to call someone in case your phone dies and you get lost or simply need to call or text someone from somebody else's phone.

5) And finally we get to the good stuff - pay attention in buses! Try not to get distracted by your phone, nap or do anything that will distract you too much in buses or any other for of public transportation. Be alert and pay attention to the station you're at.
Storytime: It's 10 pm. Me and my BBF/roommate are sitting in a bus. We have one station left until we need to get off and get into the next bus. I am sitting behind my alert friend and slowly zoning out. I am googling something that must have seemed significantly important as I totally lost track of where I was. By the time I look up from my phone, we have arrived to the station and my friend has gotten out. I realize that I am also supposed to get out and I rush to the door. It closes in front of my face. I see the horror on my friend's face through the door. Oh, I have 5% battery as well. I call my friend and tell her that I'll get off at the next station and meet her in the next bus. I had to ask multiple people how to get to the station where I needed to take said bus and find a way to figure out where I was. Both me and my friend were freaked out and by the time I reached the station and wanted to call her to tell her that I'm okay, my phone died. Luckily, there was a nice girl next to me whose phone I borrowed to text my friend and we managed to meet each other in the next bus. 

Moral of the story: have a charged phone, pay attention & remember the phone number of the person you're commuting with.

I'd love to hear everyone else's experiences in a new city because at the moment, I feel like a total idiot. Share your stories and/or tips in the comments below.