Party in the USA

Good evening ladies and gentlemen....

I've left Belgium about a week ago, 3.30 p.m. on July 20th.
about 24 hours later me and my family were settled in Virginia, just outside Washington D.C., which means District of Columbia (not 'da capo').
Don't get this wrong: you have the District of Columbia (the state), which consists of Washington, the capital city, and then you have Washington (another state). Washington D.C. is NOT a part of the state Washington.
The first one is to be found on the east coast, the latter on the west coast.

Quite handy to know when you download the maps onto your gps.
We didn't at first and our gps went nuts.
But we got there.

Day 1 - Washington D.C.: the roadtrip.
Between 4 and 7.30 p.m. you can't park in most of the streets in Washington.

This is because the parking lane is then used as a regular driving lane. So we didn't, we drove around instead.




First cultural stop: the National Archives. Too bad for us, we arrived at closing time. Just to give you an idea on how big thing here usually are: the main door of the archives.
Pretty big, me thinks...

First actual stop: Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. (Quite a mouthful, don't you think?)
Also know as the museum from the 'night at the museum'-movies. Featuring in front of the elephant in the center of the museum is my 'little sister.





Extremely impressive: Arlington Cemetery. This includes not only miles and miles of military graves, but also the house of the stepson of the one and only chief himself: Washington.
One of the graves is the grave for the unknown soldiers. This on is guarded 24/7, every single day of the year, by the 3rd U.S. Infantry regiment. The changing of the guard happens every hour, every half hour during summer. The ritual that is use for the changing is an event on it's own. If you're ever there, be sure to watch it.
Also: this is where all the Kennedy's are burried.

We also went to visit the Museum for Indian-American History.  The top floor was quite interesting, the rest of them not so much. If you know that there are for floors... I guess you could say I wouldn't actually recommend it, but if it's in your field of interests go ahead.

Funny facts:
- everywhere you go you see chipmunks, squirrels and hundreds of little brown birds.
- Americans don't know 'small'. Building with 20 to 30 floors aren't unusual. Note: skyscrapers aren't allowed. Yeah, I guess when you compare with let's say New York, then Washington has no skyscrapers. At least not in the American sense of the word.
- Everywhere you look are threes and grass. Despite the huge building, there's way more nature in the city then there is to be found in Belgium.

That's it for today.
I'll keep you posted!

Love you guys!!!

Never lose yourself

"Some use make-up to cover up, to hide who they are, some use it to express themselves and to show the world who they truly are."
- Cassandra Bankson -

I could use all the make-up in the world, but it probably wouldn't hide my scars.
Even less would it hide all the times I've been in hospitals when I was younger.
And something make-up will never ever be able to hide are the scars that aren't visible to the eye.
Nothing can hide that kind of scars, of being imperfect.

I don't mind that I can't hide my scars, my past. Not anymore.
At least most of the time.
Those scars are part of me, and the moments that lead to those scars made me who I am.
It's part of how I think, how I treat other people, how I see the world, how I react to the world.

So I guess I don't really want to hide them anymore. Again... most of the time.
If people don't take me for who I am, in and out, if they are too superficial to get to know me beyond my looks, then I guess I don't need those people either.
Society bring to us this idea of beauty, this idea of what being perfect is like. You can be pretty, you can be hot, but beauty is quite something different.

"It's got to come from the inside, it's got to be personal. So if you are true and genuine, I find this beautiful."
- Rick Genest -

I'm finishing of with a great advice to all of you out there, also a quote from Rick Genest:

"Never lose yourself."

(And maybe... watch the video below.
A picture perfect to the saying 'there's more than meets the eye')

cloudy with a chance of rain

Hey guys,

I know my writing has been on a low lately, but I'm back...
and I've got quite some stuff to share with you all.

First of all, I've ended my internship at the city counsel.
I haven't seen the mayor at all, but what I can say with pride is that it was a really good internship, with amazing people to work with.

Second, I've graduated!
Yes, for real this time.
I can proudly say I've cot my second degree and looking for a steady job at the moment.
After 157 784 630 seconds of being a college student, college life is over...

In the mean time I working as a summer intern for the city pool of the neighboring town.
It's fun to do, but I like it better when there's a bit of a crowd attending the pool.
I believe you've already guessed: today was not that kind of day.
Not much people came to the pool and even less people needed a day pass.

I guess rainy weather and the big soccer game tonight aren't good for pool business.
As for me, I life the rain when it's hot outside.
The of the raindrops on your skin, the sound of it when you close your eyes, the smell of hot and wet... I just love it.

I was talking about it with one of my co-workers and he gave me a great quote from Bob Marley:
"Some people feel the rain, others just get wet."

It's going to be one of my favourite quotes now.
And with that I'm out.

See you later!!!

love is all you need - not what you think?

Think before you treat someone badly...
What if the roles were reversed?

Think about that for once.

sobre vivire

Today was my very last day of school...
All that's left is an internship and the finals.

So I guess it's time for me to grow up, to live in the real world...
And it scares me...
It truly does.

Jamie says it's not scary, just a big change...
Who says I'm ready for those changes?
Who says I'm good enough for the real world?

Being a student is easy.
Yes, you go crazy with every mid term or with the finals...
But still, being a student is safe.
And I'm not quite sure if I know how to be that kind of brave.

it's always a good day!

It really is a good time to be me.

I had good grades.
I just had a meeting with an employee of the city counsel and I've got myself an internship there.
And I really feel good about myself.

I don't know what it's like for boys (or men), but I know a thing or two about girls.
Big shocker, I know.

I know for instance that a lot of us girls try to mirror ourselves to cover models.
A lot of us try to be them, want to be them, look like them.
And I think that's wrong.
Don't get me wrong, I used to be one of those girls.
Never good enough.
I still don't think I'm perfect, but now I'm happy with how I look (most of the time), and I believe people should take me for who I am.

A couple of years back, I had this boyfriend who told me I was beautiful.
Deep down I never believed him, back then.
'Cause how could he think I was beautiful, when I myself didn't think I was?
I used to send him quite a lot of pictures, trying to make him say it again, that I was beautiful.
I thought that maybe if he said it enough, I'd believe it too.

Now I believe him.
(Thank you, Jamie.)
And no, I still don't look like a cover model.
But I've got no need for that either.

"If you want to change the world, start with yourself."
I started with myself, now it's up to the rest of the world to do the same.

xoxo.

Words you couldn't say

E.
I didn't know you.
But many people did and they're going to miss you.

Yet another girl chose to stop breathing...
Although, you can't really say it's a choice when you're not seeing any way out anymore...

"The World Health Organisation estimates that each year approximately one million people die from suicide, which represents a global mortality rate of 16 people per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds. It is predicted that by 2020 the rate of death will increase to one every 20 seconds."

One year is  31 556 926 seconds.
So that's 1 577 846 people who commit suicide every year (for now, sadly).
1 577 846 people who can't find their way back.

90% of suicides worldwide are cause by some kind of mental illness.
And befor you go all Hannibal Lecter on my ass, depression is considered a mental illness too.

NHS says that there are several factors who determine how vulnerable one is to suicidal thinking or behaviour: life history, mental health, lifestyle, employment, relationships and genetics and family history.


These factors don't have to lead to suicide, but when they do it's never just one single cause.
And stressful events will most likely push you over the edge.

Some people dare say those problems are all between your ears. I say they've never been low enough to know it's not like that at all.

Of course there's much more to this topic, but I really wanted to put it in the spotlight.


In memoriam of all suicide victims.
May their families find a way to move on, but never to forget.

Three Days Grace - Never Too Late