What I Am Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends. I hope you’re enjoying tons of yummy food and are spending the day with all your loved ones. Unfortunately, we don’t celebrate this holiday here in Germany, but that shouldn’t keep anyone from thinking about what they are thankful for.

Thank you

I am thankful for my family. Sure, we have our differences and sometimes, I just really, really, really want to move out, but overall, I have it pretty good. They all support me, no matter what happens in my life or what I decide to do. I always have a roof over my head and they help me out, whenever I’m in need. Especially my mom has always been my number one supporter. Some people say that’s what families are for but I know people where help and support like this isn’t necessarily a given, so I’m grateful to have it.

I am thankful for my friends. A life without friends would just not be fun. Over the years, some people have come and gone but some great ones have stayed and I love having them in my life. I have so many great memories that I wouldn’t want to miss for anything in the world and I’m always looking forward to making new ones. My best friend and I have known each other for over 18 years now so you can imagine how many memories we share. You really don’t need a ton of friends if you have a few good ones.

I am thankful for my education. Yeah sure, so far it hasn’t gotten me the job I worked hard for, but ultimately, it will pay off. So many children around the world would love to learn how to read and write but don’t have the opportunity, so we should definitely not take it for granted. And especially university was pretty fun. I learned so much that I was actually interested in and it also taught me a lot about myself. So if young people are reading this and you’re hating school right now, hang in there. It’s really not that bad.

I am thankful for travelling. To actually have the possibilities to travel the whole world is something that amazes me. I mean hellooo, airplanes? I will always be stunned like a little kid that they actually fly everywhere and stay up. It is a great privilege to visit places, get to know different cultures and to extend your horizon.

I am thankful for technology. I’m a blogger. How could I not be? Sure, I guess you can live a happy life when you’ve never known a phone, computer or camera, but once you do there is no going back. I have to admit that I have a pretty unhealthy addiction but I just can’t help myself. I can hardly go a day without being on my computer and not touching my phone is just out of question. It’s the first and last thing everyday that I have in my hand. I know, bad habit but oh well. I’m single and nobody cares.

I am thankful for being a godmother. The little rascal is turning six next month. They really grow up way too fast. It made me so happy when his parents chose me and I really love spending time with him. We have a pretty close relationship and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I am thankful for my room. I’ve always had a special relationship with my room. Until a year ago, it completely looked like a crazy pink Disneyland but after coming back from living a year abroad, I was over it. So now it’s not as crazy anymore but still very different from any room my friends have ever lived in. I’m just a little out of the ordinary. I just love being in it because it’s my sanctuary and my personal happy place. And oh the stories my walls could tell…

I am thankful for Disney. Yeah, I just absolutely had to include this. It is definitely one of my obsessions and I’m just gonna pull a Peter Pan and never grow up. Disney truly gives me happiness. The movies, the music, the characters – it’s perfection. And I’m always super happy when I buy something new to add to the collection.

I am thankful for media. And every form of it, which includes music, television, movies, books, newspapers and just anything. I’m sure nobody could live without music and nothing comes between me and all of my TV shows. It’s always nice to watch a good movie and I can easily get lost in a good book. And I want to be a journalist, so of course I’m thankful for newspapers and magazines.

I am thankful for being me. This might sound strange but I think it’s important to like yourself and I do. Not everything I experienced in my life was good, but in the end, it made me the person that I am today. If all people would learn to love themselves more, they would be so much happier. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect. Definitely not! But I can live with my flaws, something we all should learn to do.

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Photography: Strasbourg

I feel like it’s time for another photography post and this time I chose to share some pictures from the beautiful French city Strasbourg. I’ve been there once as a teenager but couldn’t really remember much, since back in the days, my main focus was on good shopping opportunities and not on beautiful architecture, which this place totally has to offer. So at the end of September, I went again, met with a friend and it was just a gorgeous day. The sun was out, we roamed around the streets and of course I took a lot of pictures. And not to forget the absolutely amazing merry-go-round that totally made me freak out. I can’t really describe it, but they always make me insanely happy and I just need to hop on. And this was a particularly beautiful one.

Anyway, I hope buildings and facades are your thing because you’ll see a lot of them in this post. If you ever visit France, make sure to include Strasbourg on your list and please, let me know of other beautiful places in this world.

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#BloggerProblems 2

Since my last post that listed #BloggerProblems was successful and many people were able to identify with most of it, I decided to put together another one. I love doing this because blogging and social media connects us all and I also like to find out what other people struggle with. I love blogging and I couldn’t imagine my life without it, but some things are just super annoying and since this is my own space, I can just get it all out.

Blogger Problems

  • When somebody constantly interacts with you in Twitter chats but just doesn’t follow you back.
  • When people unfollow you for having a different opinion.
  • When people are desperately asking for free stuff.
  • When companies don’t want to properly pay bloggers for their work.
  • When people are just purposely spreading negativity across social media.
  • When there was a beef on Twitter that you missed and you have no clue what happened.
  • When somebody hosts a chat and doesn’t really interact.
  • When someone just always pops into every chat to get attention but doesn’t really chat with anyone.
  • When somebody goes out of their way to tell you they commented on your blog and it’s one sentence.
  • When people are all about “I’m following back, let’s follow each other”, then waits for a few days and unfollows you.
  • When the community obsesses over some bloggers but you just don’t get the fuss.
  • When bloggers just kiss-up to popular bloggers and it’s just super obvious.
  • When you think that guest posts are cool but you want to keep the content for yourself.
  • When you really try to be positive and you admire people for being bold and unique, but sometimes you just want to ask “why the hell are you wearing that?” but don’t because even though you don’t like something, acceptance is key.
  • When you can’t be supportive of everyone and everything because you would be lying.
  • When you think your tweet is hilarious but zero people acknowledge it.
  • When fights erupt because people can’t have discussions like proper adults.
  • When you have to fight the urge to ask someone why the hell they unfollowed you.
  • When you have time and sit in front of your computer all day, but can’t manage to write up a post.
  • When at some point, another blogger had pretty much the same amount of Twitter followers and now their following is huge and yours is not.
  • When you realize you will never be one of the popular kids like it has always been in your life.
  • When you feel like your posts are not written colloquial enough to appeal to the masses.
  • When the light is just too bad to take a nice photo.
  • When you constantly ask yourself how some bloggers manage to pay for their lifestyle.
  • When you have so many drafts waiting to be finished but you just don’t do it.
  • When you just can’t find the time to read and comment on other blogs.
  • When you want your blog to look a certain way but can’t manage to figure out how to do it.
  • When Instagram accounts mainly repost pictures from Pinterest but have a lot of followers, while you actually make an effort.
  • When you feel like apologizing because you haven’t been very active on your blog or social media.
  • When someone offers you products but you just don’t do reviews.
  • When you think you’ll just write up a quick post and it takes forever.
  • When you just can’t understand how this whole DA score thing actually works.
  • When your head explodes with ideas but it’s just too much to handle.
  • When you have too many pictures to put into one post.
  • When there is still no option to edit tweets.
  • When you read about others overflowing inboxes but yours is empty.
  • When you’re just lazy.
  • When technology fails.
  • When you find a comment that you forgot to reply to.
  • When other bloggers just never reply to comments on their blog.
  • When you come up with something you want on every post and you have to edit everything you have published, so far.
  • When you don’t have a blogger bestie.
  • When you advertise on other blogs but your numbers are still not where you want them.
  • When you feel like you’re the only one who thinks Instagram themes are overrated.
  • When your blog posts are probably to long but you just don’t like discussing important things in two paragraphs.
  • When you feel bad about not putting much thought into SEO and Google Analytics.
  • When you want to comment on someone’s blog but the commenting process is super difficult and you need to sign up for yet another account.
  • When your computer decides to update.
  • When you can’t go to bed because you really want to finish a blog post.
  • When you’re never satisfied with anything blog related.
  • When your blog looks weird because you’re in the middle of making some changes.

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An Unimaginable Outcome – Presidential Election 2016

American FlagWhen Donald Trump decided to run for president, the whole world thought he was joking. And that’s what it was at first – a joke. But all humor aside, things got serious and of 11/9, he is the President-Elect of the United States of America and I’m sure that most of the world is still in shock. I mean, it was pretty obvious that it would be a close race between Clinton and Trump but almost nobody but him actually thought he would succeed. We were all wrong and have to accept the outcome, if we want to or not.

Yes, I am not American and you may ask yourself why I even care. I care because I am a woman, I’m a friend of the LGBTQ+ community, I have American friends that I care about and I am a human being living in this world. I’ve lived in the States for a few years, I have a Master’s degree in American Studies and I’ve always cared a lot about America. I am a person who loves diversity and celebrates open-mindedness and who is still stunned by the fact that Trump was able to run and actually won. I mean sure, I was aware of the hatred and racism that is still prominent in the US but the actual numbers leave me almost speechless and ashamed. Having been born in a country that has a terrible and hate-driven history myself, I feel deeply sorry for the 47% of Americans who did not sign up for this. Yes, I care and so should everyone else. America is not some small and powerless country, after all.

What I find most disturbing about the outcome of this election, is how many people are scared for their lives in a country that calls itself “the land of the free and the home of the brave” and rightfully so. If you read only through a few accounts on Twitter, you will read stories that sound unbelievable and will break your heart. A girl reported that people had hung a black doll inside an elevator on a college campus. Muslim women are considering taking off their hijab to protect themselves from all the hate. African-American and so many more children are scared to go to school. Hispanics and Latinos are crying because they fear deportation or for this to happen to family members. Women have to listen to men celebrating Trump as president because according to them, it means that they will be allowed to do whatever they want to females. Gay people question if they will be able to openly hold hands with their partners. And all this madness is happening in the 21st century, in a country that used to be considered the leader of the modern world.

This country will now be run by a person who has no political or military experience. He has spread hate and fear from start to finish. Donald Trump has insulted so many people that you can write a whole book by just listing them. He get’s into childish Twitter wars with anyone who dares to utter their anti-Trump opinion and has notoriously presented his racist, homophobic, islamophobic and misogynistic opinions. The new President of the United States was set to go to trial in December for raping a 13-year old girl in 1994, who dropped the lawsuit because of death threats. Not the first time Trump has been accused of sexual assault and rape. Throughout this campaign, he has never once shown respect for women or anyone else but white men. Donald Trump was endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan and if that isn’t scary, what is?! And to make things even worse, his Vice President of choice, Mike Pence, is a supporter of conversion therapy for gay people, meaning that they can be cured by electric shock therapy, only to name one of the many, many dehumanizing actions he supports.

Election Results 2016

So when I take all of this into consideration, it angers me so much how blind and how cruel people are. We are talking about almost 50% of the American people that said YES to these men, who don’t even understand the meaning of humanity. It also angers me that people decided not to vote for either one of the candidates because Clinton and Trump both were not ideal. Tell me one thing: when was a candidate ever 100% perfect? And yes, Hillary has made mistakes in the past but this is a woman who has dedicated all of her adult life to work for the American people, who doesn’t act like a stubborn child, who has respect for people. How could anyone not see that she was the better choice? This election is the best example for how dangerous the American political affiliation is. For most of the people, no matter how awful a candidate is, they cannot vote for the other party and this is just wrong on so many levels. In addition, the electoral college system often prevents the candidate with the most votes to actually win. In a complete democracy where every voice and every vote counts, Hillary Clinton would have become the first female President of the United States.

Unfortunately, what we have all learned from this election is that as a man, you just can’t do wrong, no matter how many mistakes you make or how rude you are. This is the ugly face of misogyny: The most qualified woman loses to a man who isn’t qualified at all. While you need a high degree and years of work experience to get a proper job in this world, apparently you only need a big mouth and money to become President of the United States. So please, don’t ever tell me again that America is the greatest country in the world because if something like this can actually happen, it clearly isn’t. Personally, right now I’m glad not to be in the States anymore. Although I would love to answer stupid questions about Hitler and how something as monstrous as the Holocaust could even happen with: “It only takes one crazy person and a few brainless followers.” And we’re currently talking about modern times and not the 1920s. A few years ago, I actually wrote a post, questioning what we as modern day citizens would do if a situation came up that we only know from history books. Well, I now know what half of America would do and it’s frightening.

Yes, I can accept different opinions. What I can’t accept is hate. I will never understand how women or anyone belonging to a minority group that has been spit on by Trump, could go out and vote for him. I also don’t think everyone should compare this to Brexit because, although heartbreaking for many people, these situations are not the same. I am also scared of a friendship between Trump and Putin and I think that all of a sudden, Kanye West for President doesn’t sound so terrible, anymore. And don’t even get me started on the expensive non-functioning educational system.

I am curious and frightened to see what will happen. Of course, I hope that Donald Trump finds a little humanity inside of him and doesn’t destroy America and the world. This will be very tough for lots of people in the US but I just want you to never forget your own importance, your values and your self-worth.

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Goodbye October 2016

Bye Bye lovely October,

and hello November. It’s only the 3rd of the month and it’s already raining. Soon, the beautiful colors will fade and until there is snow, everything will just look miserable. Yup, I’m not a huge fan of November. But who knows what it will bring us. A longer October would have been nice though because it was a pretty good month. I feel like I was out everyday doing something and although I’m not really used to it, it is good for me. It helps to prevent me from hiding in my room, doing literally nothing and feeling too depressed to even leave my bed. I don’t want to feel like that again, so I try to stay busy.

November 3rd means that it has been one year and five days since I came back to Germany. That also means, it’s been one year and five days since I’ve been unemployed. I really hoped to have good news by now, but currently it’s not looking all too well. There are still positions that I’m hoping for but considering my luck in this whole process, I’m not going to get my hopes up too high. I just live with it and I will sit this out until I find what I’m looking for. No, I will not consider doing something else, I will not let people pressure me and I will also not give up.

This month was packed with dates and I had lots of fun. I went to the movies like five times because there are so many great movies out, had some chill time with some lovies including food and gossip, spent time with my family, visited stores and was in general just a lot more active. And still, I managed to write some blog posts and catch up on all the TV shows I’m currently watching. (About 12 and don’t judge me.) It was just overall a good month and I hope that it will stay that way. I must admit though that I have pretty much zero love for November. I mean, it’s such a bla month. The beauty of fall fades, the full winter and Christmas spirit isn’t here either and there is just nothing really great about it.

But we can’t skip November and just have to make the best of it. I’m not fully booked yet when it comes to dates but there are a lot of ideas floating around so I’m sure I won’t just hide in bed, 24/7. And when I do, I just always blame it on how cold it is. Haha. That’s the benefit of being unemployed, although I really don’t want this to go on forever. From the bottom of my heart, I wish to receive some good news on the job front by the end of the year and who knows, maybe November will be my lucky month and then I will love it forever.

Have a fabulous month, everyone. Please make sure to get your winter tires rollin’ and just stay safe in general. Embrace the small things in life, do whatever makes you happy, don’t think too much about what others think of you because you are amazing just the way you are. (Insert Bruno Mars singing here.)

Colorful greetings,

XO Hailey 

Fall Quote Emily Bronte

Lovely life
 rainy lazy Sundays  that feeling when you take off your bra  tea  casual flirting  selfmade crêpes  SMS Für Dich  movie nights with friends  my new Nike jacket  donating to people in need  Kohlrouladen  when mom cooks something I love  The Royals  fall colors  babysitting lovely kids  a month full of dates with friends ♥ a nice clean room  Bad Moms  pretty prints from fellow bloggers  super fun Twitter chats  cute costumes  Donuts  my favorite text markers  onesies  Finding Dory  homemade waffles with whipped cream and hot cherries  House of Cards  creative presents  having a ton of fun with my godson  Hocus Pocus  the colors of fall Halloween ♥ mini golffinally reaching 1k Twitter followersbeing silly on Snapchatchoker necklaces ♥ cute storesmovie datesfinally finding new bras#GGMovieNighteverything 90s relateda constant internet connectionbeing tagged in postsGIFs GIFs and more GIFsonline shopping

 Songs I love
Lady Gaga – Million Reasons
Little Mix – Shout Out To My Ex
♪ Little Big Town – Better Man

Interesting articles and videos
14 (and a half) times when staying in bed all day is the only correct decision in life // Kylie Jenner In Plain Sight // If Rachel Green Had Instagram // If Joey Tribbiani From Friends Had Instagram // If Ross Geller From Friends Had Instagram // Thank You, Donald Trump // 28 Toys ’90s Girls Were Obsessed With // The 281 People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List // Nicole Richie – Untitled: and that’s the point! (Once again, not enough reading. I’m just too addicted to TV shows.)

My October posts 
Goodbye September // 10 Life Lessons From Mean Girls // Why Donald Trump’s Misogyny Doesn’t Shock Me // 15 Times I Feel Single AF // My Top 50+ Pet Peeves // Photography: Los Angeles // Mixtape #17 – 2000s Flashback // Reminiscing About My Days As A Partygirl // When In Agrabah – Tag // A List Of Books I’ve Read And Loved

My October Instagrams
instagram-october

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