Was 2017 kind to you?

All in all this year has been kind to me, although there were some moments that were quite challenging: for instance I was made redundant in the summer and the driving lessons I recently took were a bit scary sometimes (especially the teacher’s stories – or threaths – about theoretical frontal collisions).
However, I learned some positive and useful things and decided to adopt some new attitudes. One of those is to eat more vegetables, fruit, chickpeas, lentils etc…in a fun way. Instagram is a good source of inspiration for this, I’m completely pro the smoothie bowl trend for instance.
To paint a complete picture I also have to admit giving in to occasional sugar cravings. During the fall I compensated this by cycling the day after a craving session and during this season by consuming the necessary fruit & veg.

Several friends and acquaintances moved abroad this year (and the previous one). This provides opportunities both to travel and visit them, so I went to Stuttgart during the spring. Home to the porsche museum and promotor of Ritter Sport chocolate.

I visited central Europe for the first time: destination Warschau, the capital of Poland. The summers get hot, so if you like getting your tan on then this is a place to do that. Warschau has several great parks, ideal for walking and history is everywhere in this city. The food is good too, if you want to know more about this topic then read the blogpost on Polish pastry.

One of the most special and amazing events this year was my short trip to Reykjavik, Iceland. This country left me speechless and made me appreciate nature more. Iceland also treasures its history, you can easily find detailed information going back centuries about this island and its people.

What I would like for 2018

I would like to take more courageous steps, especially in the field of work. Thinking out of the box is not the big challenge, it’s acting out of the box. So, yes: #goaypau!

One of the topics that caught my attention in 2017 is the movement or attitude to produce less waste. This is my new year’s resolution because it seems realistic. And now that I’ve written about it I can be held accountable. I’ll publish my experience with this topic in January/February. It will be a combination of fun and necessary, with trial and error.

What I don’t want for 2018

What I don’t want to see next year are hate and exclusion. One may think: O, but those things have been around forever. Correct, but I’ve seen too much ignorance during the last year. Especially online. This hate and ignorance wasn’t directed at me personally but towards people whose work I appreciate and folks who simply don’t deserve that sort of treatment. I’m also done with reading false information. Information that sometimes deliberately twists facts and shows prejudice against people with a certain cultural, educational, ethnical,…background.