My goals for 2018.

Hiya and welcome to 2018!!!!!!

Hope you had an amazing new year's eve! Did you go to a rad party? Spend it with friends playing games or had a bit of me-time? Whichever way you spend the seemingly so important night that takes you from one year into another, I hope you had a good one!

I myself had the last minute plan to join a friend instead of spending the evening alone. Partly as everyone around me wasn't fond of me spending NEW YEARS EVE by my self (as if I care) and she was just going to hang out with friends which appeals to me much more than a party which is basically a high school reunion. Not a big fan of those....

But yeah, let's not dwell on the past. It's 2018 now! Big year I guess. For me it's going to be stressful as heck but also a LOT of fun. Stressful? Yeah, I'm kinda trying to graduate my nursing bachelor this year and both the thought of graduating and having to get a job plus the fact that I'll have to write a big ass dissertation aren't very fond thoughts. But for 2018 I also decided to say yes to things more, social things mainly. So to start that of right I booked tickets to see Ed Sheeran in concert and Dan and Phil on their new show both of which I'm incredibly excited for. Secondly I booked yet another surprise city-trip which is an exciting happening in itself. 

However back to the new year, together with fireworks and lot's of physical damage, the new year also comes with resolutions. Or goals as I prefer to call them. Resolutions seem to be meant to fail as all forms of media put them. So my goals for 2018. They're pretty simple and are all about me and taking care of me and making myself more happy. So let's take a look!

For 2018 I want to:

• Eat more plant based food; basically I want to eat more vegetarian/vegan and cut out a big part of the sweets and chocolate I tend to devour (rather regularly). This to both cut down the sugar highs (diabetes and otherwise), feel more healthy and give the environment some extra support. 
• Become more fit; a goal that repeats itself every year and is still relevant. During my time in South-Africa and my lack of sports there I noticed my mood go down, sugar levels go up, and average fitness become zero. Doing sports has such a positive effect on my physical and mental health that to me it is very important I keep up doing sports on a regular basis. For me this means a bit of fitness, pilates, and swimming. 
• Get my Hba1c to 45; this equals an average sugar level of 6.6 and helps me to avoid complications as diabetes wounds, heart failure or even amputations in the long run. It also helps me if I ever have the desire to have children. But overall decent sugar levels have a big positive impact on my mental health and physical functioning.
• Be kinder to myself; whenever something I really want doesn't work out I tend to become pretty down and can be quite harsh on myself. I have to learn to accept that life doesn't always come the way I want it and allow myself to fail once in a while. 

So much for the 'all about me and my health' goals. If you have been reading my blog for a while you know that both physical and mental health issues are part of my daily life and getting control or at least accepting their being will always be something to strive toward. Hence all the goals mentioned above. However there are also goals I want to achieve that are not health related. Thanks to the hobbies. Let's get into those!

• Get my bachelors degree; the most obvious and practical one. In June I want to have finished my nursing bachelor with a pass on an interesting dissertation. Writing my dissertation both excites me and scares the crap out of me, but hey, I'll have to do it anyway so better get over it.
• Go on at least 4 trips abroad; this one might be a bit of a cheat as before 2018 even came to be I already had three of them planned. I've grown quite fond of travelling during my time in South-Africa and wish to continue doing so the next years. Plus one of them was a birthday present to my sister while another is my annual holiday to France. But hey that still leaves that fourth trip to be planned.

And last but not least:

• Start my internet career; this isn't really meant in earning money and blablabla. For years now I wanted to start a YouTube channel however every time I was about to start it I bailed out. Why? I don't know, maybe because being a YouTuber has become this popular thing, or because all the very successful YouTubers have been doing YouTube ever since I was still about to hit puberty. Something just always stopped me but now I am 21 and I feel ready. So keep your eyes open for that in the near future! But then besides YouTube I want to put more effort into this blog, everyone reading this messy internet place deserves good content and funny stories and it's up to me to stop postponing writing those stories. It's time I took some real responsibility for this blog and 2018 seems like the perfect time to do so!

These are my goals and I am incredibly excited to start working on each and every one of them! Did you set some goals for yourself for 2018? Is 2018 going to be your year? Please share your stories with me and like that we can keep each other motivated!

Lots of love,

ThatDutchGirl96

I have returned.

Hello!

On the 4th of December, the day had come. My time had run out and it was time to go back to the rainy country of Holland. As I am writing this snowflakes fall down in my already white garden and the sunshine and warmth of South-Africa seem nothing but a faint memory. 

Do I want to go back? Yes, definitely. I really miss being surrounded by other students all the time, to be socially connected to more people than my family whilst I'm at home. I miss the friendliness of South-Africans. I miss having the shops close to my house so all I had to do was walk for 10 minutes instead of drive for 20. I miss the children I used to teach and play with at Inkululeko, the teachers I got to work with. Being an inspiration to others but also being inspired by other all the time. South-Africa was absolutely incredible and if I could go back right now, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this blog, I would be packing my suitcase and racing to the airport.

Everyday South-Africa is on my mind, I see my friends who are still there posting pictures on Facebook or Instagram. I look back through my own pictures as I'm putting together an album or as I'm showing the pictures to my friends and family. They smile and say I did some incredible work there but they never fully seem to understand. They weren't there so most pictures are meaningless to them. For me this has become a familiar struggle but that doesn't make it any easier on the South-Africa pictures. I'm showing them pieces of how my life was for the last four months and all they do is nod and smile. If I could only make them understand how great those four months have been. 

I wonder everyday, how are the children at school? Do they still ask where I am or when I'm coming back? Have they already forgotten me? Do they still know when and how to brush their teeth or wash their hands? How are my housemates doing? Are they still getting along? Is pizza Monday still a thing? Do they still hang out together or have dinner nights? At the moment I feel like I'm living two different lives at once. On the one hand I still feel like I'm the South-African me, teacher me that got to work with the best kids every single day and hang out with the most amazing housemates after work. On the other hand I'm Holland me, feeling cold all the time, surrounded by people who haven't left their normal lives for four months. Everything here is still the same even though it seems completely new to me. There are many things I don't seem to recognise and it kind of freaks me out. 

Have I really changed that much? Have I really become so different? Have others not left their place, did they not change at all? I thought time changes everybody no matter if you move to the other side of the world or not. I thought we should all be changing not just me because I had a different experience but it seems that way. It doesn't make me less proud of the changes I've gone through. 
During my time in South-Africa I became even more aware of cultural and social issues like racism, sexism and inequality. I also became more aware of how utterly ridiculous they are and how my and the following generations need to stand up and fight against them. We are the only ones that can change the world the way it is now and it is our duty to do so. We can and have to make the world a better place, starting with ourselves.

South-Africa was challenging but it was the best time of my life. It made me more aware of the world around me and allowed me to enjoy every single second I spend there. I got to work with the best colleagues and kids and live with the most interesting students. Let's not even start on the amazing sights and adventurers I got to go on whilst I was road-tripping through the country I used to call home. Yes South-Africa is amazing.

As the snow keeps falling down all I take comfort in are my cosy Christmas sweater and damping cup of tea whilst I keep looking at all the pictures of my time in South-Africa and remember the good times that used to be. 

Lots of love,
ThatDutchGirl96