July 22, 2017

22/07/2017


Watching it rain almost daily through the windows at work really makes me miss Australia. There will always be a part of me that desperately craves going back. And someday I will.

March 28, 2017

honey i'm home

I've lived in my new apartment for 11 days now and I'm slowly starting to get things organized. I still have a long shopping list of things I need/want to have here, but I thought I'd share a few photos of what I've put together so far. This apartment was brand new when I moved in, so since I'm the first person to ever live in it, everything is clean and new and beautiful. And I LOVE IT. There will be more photos (and possibly a video) once I manage to get a few more necessities and get the final moving boxes emptied and out of the house.

March 8, 2017

NEW BEGINNINGS

Hello friends and followers!
I thought it was time for a little update since my latest blog post is dated September 8, 2016.
First of all, happy new year! 2016 was such a busy and amazing year for me, I barely had time to blog about it. The beginning of 2017 has been incredible as well and i'm motivated to make this year the best one yet.
If you've been following my blog for a while, you probably know that I spent most of 2016 in Australia with a working holiday visa. Most likely Australia will come up in future blog posts but if you have any questions relating to that, I will happily answer them in the comment section of this post. Exactly 2 weeks ago I returned to Finland and for the first time I'm really happy and excited to be home after traveling. I've always felt more at home whenever I'm traveling and whenever I return home, I almost instantly start planning my next adventure. But this time being home feels different, and that's probably because I have many exciting and new things ahead.
In 9 days I'm moving into a brand new, beautiful apartment. A few years ago I lived with my friend Isa in Helsinki for almost 1,5 years, but this time I'm moving out all on my own. I have never lived alone before and even though it's slightly scary thinking about the fact that I'll have to take care of everything by myself, I haven't been this excited about anything in a long time. I'm also starting a new job in 12 days which will be fun as well. But since moving out and getting your own apartment sorted out is always a long process, I wanted to share some of it here. The next few days will be consumed with packing and going through my stuff that I haven't seen in a year. I've spent most of 2016 living out of a suitcase so it's really easy for me to get rid off stuff since I now know that I can manage without most of the unnecessary things I own. It's quite liberating being able to throw away old things and have a proper fresh start when I move out.
I already have quite a lot of inspiration for how I want my apartment to look like and I've spent many hours scrolling through Pinterest looking for ideas. If you want to see some of the home related photos I found interesting and inspiring, click HERE.
I'm so excited for everything that's happening in my life in the near future, so if you have any requests for blog posts, they're more than welcome and I will happily try to create them. I can't wait to have my own space and get back to a proper routine. I took a year off just for myself and now I'm back home more inspired and motivated than I've ever been. Bring it on 2017.

September 8, 2016

#nofilter


What I enjoy about photography the most is being able to show people things from your point of view. But since a camera lens doesn't always capture everything as bright and colorful as you perceive them, playing around with various editing softwares is fun too. Usually when I edit photos I keep the adjustments and retouching very minimal, but enhancing colors and lighting is something I usually never skip. Of course I try to use natural light and various lighting tricks when I first take the photos, but more often than not I feel like the photos look even better after a little editing. The same thing goes for videos. I love filming and capturing moments with my camera, but editing the clips and putting them together is my favorite part about the whole process. Seeing everything come together after you've had a vision of it in your head is very rewarding. But after looking through some of the photos I took of my beautiful sister, I realised that editing is not always necessary. I tried editing some of these shots but most of them looked better when they were left as their original, unedited versions. I feel most comfortable taking photos when I'm taking them with my own camera and using my own lenses since I know how they react to different lighting and how adjusting the settings changes the outcome. But these photos are taken with Nella's camera, and for me it was interesting to see the small differences in photos and the lighting in them when they're taken with a similar, but still slightly different camera.

June 23, 2016

10 benefits of traveling

Traveling is my favorite thing to do and I've been doing it ever since I can remember. My earliest memories are not from my home in Finland, they're spread out from all around the world. There are so many perks of traveling, and while some of you might already be able to relate to some of these things, i hope that by making this list I will be able to inspire others to travel more as well. Once the travel bug bites you, you will be consumed by wanderlust and you will always be longing for more adventures.



1. You are forced to step out of your comfort zone.
Getting out of your daily routine for a little while opens so many doors and you more often than not receive many different opportunities you wouldn't get in your home country. You will learn how spontaneity can lead to many wonderful things and learn to be more spontaneous back home as well. You get a chance to try and do things you never even thought about before, and the only thing you will regret is not trying them sooner. And if you've always been the type of person to stick to the things and places that are familiar to you, you will also learn to embrace change better in the future.

2. You learn new things.
Traveling expands your knowledge more than just sitting in school and listening to lectures. Getting immersed in different cultures around the world gives you an amazing opportunity to learn about other people's lifestyles, traditions, and mannerisms. Going to a different country where a language you want to learn is spoken natively and talking to locals is a more efficient way to actually learn to speak the language than learning to conjugate verbs in Spanish class. Not only will you be learning new things, you will be able to share your knowledge with other people as well. You will also realize how little you've known before. You will discover the beauty in learning, the kind of beauty you never experienced in math class.

3. You start to see the world differently.
After traveling around for a bit and experiencing different cultures and lifestyles, you start to realize how small your "huge" problems actually are in the world. You start thinking more broadly and seeing the world and your life in a whole new way, and you realize that a bad grade in school, a fight with a friend, or a breakup really aren't the end of the world. You become more open-minded and start to think more about other people, and you also learn how to see various situations from different people's perspectives.

4. You get to know yourself better.
Focusing on yourself and really discovering who you are is hard to do with your busy routine and lifestyle back home. When you get out of your regular environment, you get to express yourself in a whole new way without any pressure or expectations. You might realize what it is you actually love doing and what you want to do with your life in the future. When you travel you automatically learn new things about yourself without even trying, and you become stronger and more confident after the possible challenges you might face abroad. You also become more independent and the best version of yourself that you can be.

5. You make connections and meet people.
Even though everyone has been taught not to talk to strangers when they're young, that is exactly what you'll be forced to do when you travel. It is so much easier to start a conversation with the person sitting next to you on an airplane or bus in a different country than back home. Every person has their own story, and everyone is a stranger to you before you start getting to know them, even your best friends at home used to be strangers to you. You never know who you will meet and you might create lifelong friendships all around the world, which also has many benefits for someone who has been bitten by the travel bug.

6. You get to relax.
The stress and pressure you're faced with in your everyday life in your home country doesn't exist when you travel. You get to escape reality for a while, and even if you're just going on a business trip, getting out of your familiar surroundings makes you feel like you're on vacation and is an easy way to relieve stress.

7. You feel free.
If you've been feeling stuck with your life and feeling like your life has no direction, traveling is a great fix for that. Once you take that leap out of your comfort zone, you realize there is so much to see and do in the world and it really expands your perspective. Packing your bags and heading to a place you've never been to before gives you a sense of freedom that only comes from traveling. There is so much exploring and adventuring to do and you feel like you have no limits. You get to do whatever you want, whenever you want, with whomever you want. You don't need to have a schedule or a plan, you get a chance to do pretty much whatever YOU feel like doing.

8. You learn to appreciate your home more.
Visiting countries that are less wealthy makes you appreciate the luxuries you take for granted back home like electricity and clean water. You start realizing the differences in your homeland compared to other countries, and usually they are the things that you never even thought about before. You realize how lucky you are to have the chance to see the world and still have a home to go back to. Even though the world is full of incredible places, you will find that the saying "there's no place like home" is true to some extent, especially that first night back in your own bed.

9. You make memories.
Whether you're traveling alone or with friends/family, when you travel you pay more attention to your surroundings than in the places you see everyday and you are more likely to take photos and do something besides watch tv at home. I'm pretty sure that if you asked people about their favorite memories, most of them are from different vacations and trips. You get to experience things that the people back home only dream about, and then you get the chance to inspire others to travel more with your stories.

10. You learn that money can buy happiness.
In most cases that isn't true, but traveling is the one thing you pay for that actually makes you richer. You get to experience and see so many amazing things you had only dreamed about after reading about them in school books. You will have so many stories to share with people and memories to look back on, and by the time you return home you will realize how much you have gained by taking the risk and getting that plane ticket. You will never regret traveling or spending money on it, and once you're home again you will quickly realize that you've already started saving up money for your next adventure.

June 21, 2016

my favorite places i've traveled to

I've been extremely lucky to have visited so many incredible places in my life, and even though I still have a long list of places I'd love to explore, I thought I'd share some of my favorite places I've been to so far. This is a very short list compared to all the beautiful places I've seen, but I have a few other blog posts planned where some of the places I didn't mention now will make an appearance. But here are 7 places I fell in love with:


1. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

Obviously I had to mention my most recent home. I love how different parts of the city have a completely different vibe from one another and how social and friendly everyone is. I also love the busy big city life it has as well as all the beautiful beaches. A more in depth blog post of Sydney will definitely be coming up soon.


2. DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Dubai is such a beautiful place. There aren't that many cities where you can be completely consumed by the big city life and then being able to take a short drive to the middle of a desert. The breathtaking sunsets, tall buildings, and huge malls with aquariums and skiing slopes will leave you speechless. It's also a good place to try camel riding ;) haha.


3. HAWAII, USA

I'm pretty sure that out of all the places I've visited so far, Hawaii resembles paradise the most. In real life it looks exactly like all the photos you've seen of it, if not more beautiful. The turquoise water, the palm trees, the sunsets, and everything else there is very picturesque. Also the atmosphere there is so amazing, you won't be able to stop smiling for the entire time you're there.


4. LAKE COMO, ITALY

It had always been my dream to visit Italy and it was just as you'd imagine it; beautiful scenery, great food, great wine, and nice people. There are so many places in Italy I have yet to visit that I will definitely try to explore at some point in my life, but even after only seeing Lake Como and the small towns/villages in that area, I've already managed to fall in love with Italy.


5. CALIFORNIA, USA

A few years ago we went on a roadtrip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and the scenery was incredible and the sunsets would never disappoint you. The hastiness in the cities in California is pretty overwhelming but it's a place I think everyone should try to visit at least once to get a more realistic picture of it after seeing so many movies and tv shows that have been filmed there. Renting a car there is a must though, getting around otherwise is a challenge.


6. PARIS, FRANCE

There are so many famous tourist-y things to see and do in the city of love, and it's really fascinating to see the hundreds of beautiful photos you've seen of Paris come to life. I really liked the cafe scene there, ranging from small cute coffee shops to extremely fancy cafes where Audrey Hepburn used to hang out. People watching is also really fun in Paris, it's pretty astounding how many well-dressed people can fit into one city.


7. PHI PHI ISLAND, THAILAND

Such a beautiful place to relax for a few days, snorkel, or enjoy crazy beach parties with jump ropes set on fire. Phi Phi is also packed with travelers all year round so it's a good place to meet other like-minded people with the shared interest of seeing the world and trying new things. 

All of the photos above are my own.