It will have a bigger impact on your well-being than you might think.
As an avid tech-lover and internet enthusiast, I use my laptop and phone all the time. This sounds familiar to many other people as well. Big chance you are one of us, otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this story now, right?
In a time where the safest way of communication is through a screen, we use our devices more than ever. We work, study, and entertain ourselves by using our desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones. Nothing wrong with that, but slowly our devices start getting fuller and more disorganized. Over time, you find yourself deleting old photos because you don’t have enough space to install the Zoom app (guilty). …
Snuggled up on the couch with a warm cup of tea and a novel, anyone?
As I am writing this, it is a hot September day and heat records have been broken once again. On the Northern Hemisphere summer-y weather isn’t leaving yet, but the first signs of autumn are slowly creeping in. As my Dutch grandmother always used to say:
Als de R is in de maand, is het weer niet altijd meegaand.
Loose translation: In months with the letter R, the weather does whatever it wants. From September to April, forget about summer and get ready for some boisterous weather. This may include heavy storms with rain, hail, or snow.
Now don’t get discouraged, it is not as bad as it sounds. You can enjoy this time of year, but maybe you might need a little help. It’s about shifting your perspective. So sit back and relax, and make yourself a pumpkin spice latte while you’re at it. Let’s explore the wonders of the magical season that is…
You’ll get used to falling, after a while.
When I started writing the draft of this story, my muscles were sore, I felt a faint pain from the jellyfish sting on my ankle, and a rolling sensation of the waves in my body. It was a good day, because I went surfing for the first time.
I wanted to go surfing for a very long time. Sure, I had some experience in windsurfing and stand-up paddle boarding, but it just wasn’t the same. I did these activities on lakes and small rivers, but I had never experienced water sports in a salt, wavy sea.
My problem was that I never knew where to start. I questioned if it was even possible to surf in my country (the Netherlands), because the waves weren’t at least 3 meters (10 feet) high like you see on TV all the time. …
This is how I have been coping, and maybe it can help you too.
Idon’t know about you, but I spent most of my quarantine free time on my phone and laptop. Whether it’s scrolling through Instagram, bingeing series or reading someone’s heated argument on Twitter, after a while it’s all the same.
Once I realized I was fueling myself with negative content, escapism and laziness, I decided to get off the couch and do something else. It was the perfect time to change my habits. I am aware that this is a privilege and not everyone can focus on doing ‘fun stuff’ in the middle of a pandemic. …
Pick up the ancient art of letter-writing, but with the help of modern tools.
Pen-what?
Penpalling: the act of writing letters to someone you don’t know, usually to someone in another country.
Penpal: someone who writes letters to another person to share information about themselves, their lifestyle and their culture.
Penpalling has become very popular online in the past few years. You find someone (usually in the same community or with the same interests as you) and start writing letters to each other. You can add poetry, drawings or even tea bags to your letter to give the recipient a little surprise. Of course, letter-writing is not a new concept. Modern-day technology even enables us to do the same and send a digital ‘letter’ within seconds to the other side of the world. …
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