Do you ever look back to your old pictures and think how much you have changed over the years?
I didn't used to do any of this, because a part of me was scared of what I might found, maybe my past hold worst memories than I ever thought, but there was only one way I could ever figure out if it was as bad or as good as I remembered.
There are a lot of pictures and a lot of faces in there that I never thought I would ever look back, they hold a lot of memories, some good, some bad, but at the end they reflect a moment in my life and even when I know I made mistakes, I wouldn't change anything.







It may seem like a weird compilation of pictures, together they might not make a lot of sense, but everytime I look at them, I remember that moment of my life and how good it was, where I was and even the person I got to live it with, this pictures are amazingly valuable for me.

September came and went, taking away the last bits of summer that we had, but bringing the first signs of what promises to be an amazing autumn.
Before the month even started I knew that I wasn't going to have anything as exciting as I had in past months and to be quite honest, that excited me, I don't remember when was the last time I got time to focus merely on school, work and myself.
Most of my goals were pretty personal, I knew that my diet had to change because of my braces, I knew that I wanted to keep working out because I was starting to see some changes in my body, but I also knew I didn't wanted to put myself under a lot of pressure, I wanted to relax and let life follow it's path.
The first days I focused on work, I knew there was a lot that needed to get done and a lot more was to come and even though I'm grateful for having such a flexible job, sometimes it can become overwhelming, mostly because this was my first time going back after the summer.
Then there was school, I knew I had a lot to catch up on with, there were a lot of things I missed, a lot of things I didn't do during the first two weeks of the semester, but also a lot of things that I started to neglect for later, I hate leaving big projects and papers till last, because I know they are not going to be as good as others, so I invested most of my time into getting everything organised and then doing it.
Health wise everything was good, I haven't been having as much trouble as I've had in the past but it all went down hill in the last few days of the month, I got a stomach flu and I was feeling terrible, but as I couldn't eat for a while I started to feel horrible and dizzy, and my back pain is still there. But one thing I liked is that I'm actually doing more physical activity and eating cleaner.
Social wise, I wasn't pretty good this month, I figured I had a lot in my plate already to put more into the mix, but I indeed messaged them a bit more and it was nice to support them a little bit more through their back to school too.
It was a good month, a pretty chilled one, other than my sickness, nothing major happened and I'm quite happy with the things I got to accomplish, I have that sense of satisfaction over everything I got done, but I also feel like I can work a little bit better, I want to become that person I always dreamed of being.

Different people manage pain in various different ways, some people like to be more open about their lives and what's going on, some people like to keep it to themselves and try avoid worrying others with so said problems.
No matter what their decision is, no matter if they want to share it or not, no matter if they tell you anything or not, you have to respect their privacy and give them as much as you can, if they ask you to do something, do it, if they don't, then don't do anything.
It seems like an obvious answer, something that everyone knows, but how many times have we decided to talk and make it better? or even worse, how many times have we decided that the way we handled the problem is the way they should manage their problem?
Sometimes you just have to stay there, silent and listen to whatever they might have to say, because the biggest support we can give is being there for anything they may need.
The biggest support you can give to someone is your company and your silence, even when you have gone through something similar it doesn't mean that you fully understand what they are going through, pain is something really personal that you cannot feel for other person, you just have an idea of what they might be feeling.
This is a reminder for everybody out there and myself, don't give your opinion on a subject you don't know anything about, and don't give advice if you are not asked to, sometimes we only see a bit of the surface, when there's a lot more going on under that.

There's a lot that happened in the span of this week and my head is still wrapping everything around it, so bare with me, I may be slower than usual.
From the start I was quite confused, I realised that this week was not the last week of September, I still had one left, don't get me wrong, it was amazing to know that I had one week more to work and get everything done, but it was also really confusing and it really messed up with my schedule.
One thing I really wanted to accomplish this week was to actually be productive, that meaning, no unnecessary interruptions, no losing time, doing what I have to do, but more importantly going through my to-do list and leaving things that actually need to get done.
Everything was going great until Wednesday when my body decided to give up on food. I got a stomach flu, which wasn't bothering as much that day, but on Thursday I couldn't take the pain anymore, it was way to much and left me on best rest, without food for about 5-6 hours.
I took the best out of it, because I got the chance to hangout in my bed and be a burrito with no worries other than the pain going away. I'm not going to lie, when I was finally able to eat, it was amazing and I felt like a new woman.
And before I knew it, the week was done, at the end I was not happy with the amount of things I did, but I was happy that I really took care of myself first, I'm now feeling better, a bit tired and lagged but I'm going to go and have a good sleep, to start Monday filled with energy.
On other news, my health was one of the reasons of me not writing anything, but another on was my mum's health, she has been suffering from a lot of pressure from work and it was my time to support her and I'm going to keep on with her until she feels better.
Finally, one thing I'm happy to adress is that as this site and myself are going to be turning 2 and 21 respectively, and it's really exciting, so Day and Night Dreams is going to be under construction this week, to be ready for something really exciting for October.
Have a great week and give everything, it's the last part of the month, the last chance, remember to go big and keep on dreaming.

This is one of my persona favourites, I remember that sunset and how beautiful it was.

This was indeed different for me, I can feel that something's different, the aesthetic is not the same, I played a little bit more with the light and was not afraid of what the outcome might be, it was an amazing reminder of go with my gut and do my thing.
I love this walks down memory lane, but there are another things waiting up for me.

Having a small group of friends has it's perks, we all know about each other really easily, so when "Chef" told me that she was enjoying a time in Europe for the summer I got really excited because she was doing something she always dreamed of doing, but then someone asked me whether I was feeling jealous of her having that amazing opportunity.
The question was unnecessary, the answer tingled in my head from day one since I found out, no, I was not jealous, I was happy for her and to be honest, quite inspired by her.

Go for a walk, step out of your work zone, take a chance to be by yourself without having to think about that problem that's been bothering you, enjoy the view from outside, walking is not only a great way to distress but also it's great for you body and health. Take a few deep breaths and let your mind wander.

I don't remember when was the last time I had a lazy day at home during work days, this week we commemorated the 206 anniversary of our Independence, and that could only mean one thing, short week, "free" days and a long weekend.
This could have messed up all the plans I could ever had, but fortunately I didn't had anything planned, just a bunch of work, homeworks and papers that have been put back and needed to get done before Monday which is my due date.
As always, I had an amazing plan in my head, I was going to be super productive the first two days of the week, use Wednesday to clean and finish everything and enjoy the rest of the week, resting, reading, enjoying my family and just taking advantage of the long holiday, but I didn't took many things in consideration and although I was a bit frustrated, I was also really proud of myself for doing so much with so little.
Monday was a truly productive day, I went to class, worked out, cleared my mind and did a lot of work, but it all went downhill from there, unfortunately I'm a person that as much as I want to write and get something done, if I'm not feeling like it, it's going to show up and it's not going to turn out as good as expected and that for me, it's unacceptable.
Gladly, it all went back up on Wednesday when I realised that I totally messed up a lot of dates and I actually had one week more than I firstly expected, so with more hope, I picked my life up and did a lot more with a better mood.
Thursday was a really quiet day, I woke up late, did some morning yoga (which I miss doing) and spent the rest of the day with my mum before she had to head to her night event, we saw Christmas movies and enjoy the down time we had, it was really nice to be able to spend time with her and not have the responsibilities.
And here I am now, having a really slow day after a night of barely sleeping, we woke up late and I was like a little kid watching the parade as I always do since I was a little kid, it's my little tradition and I don't plan in letting it go any time soon.
It was a really good week, but I feel like I could've done more, be a bit more productive, but the only thing I can do know is push myself forward next week and keep on dreaming.

My first ever book from E. Lockhart, this was one of the first books I read when I started to immerse myself into a the books world, it was a change from really romantic novels to this one, it's still a Y/A novel but it has something different to it.

When they offered me the opportunity to come back to this amazing place to work in this amazing project, I knew I couldn't let anyone down, this took a huge part of my life during that month and a half, I'm more than grateful for being able to live something like this with such amazing people.

Giving advice is something that comes out of us quite easily, it doesn't matter whether you are wrong or right, or if you went through the situation or not, giving our opinion and telling the other person what would be best for them to do comes almost as something natural to do, but when it comes to following to our own advice, we just don't do it.
It becomes a vicious circle, we tell people what we think about it, we give advice, we fall in the same situation, we freak out and we tell someone else so they can give us their best advice, we then either follow it, or not, and we keep out lives going until someone else needs a new advice.
But why don't we follow our own advice instead of asking someone else, why do we go through all of those problems to help someone else if we are not going to do the same in times of trouble? Maybe we don't trust enough in ourselves to do it.
The answer? It's easier than we thought, we know too much, when you know too much about certain situation/problem you over analyse every part of it, we wrap our heads around it not leaving any space for it to cool off, we rumble through all the possible situations and we overthink.
That's why they always tell you to let you head cool off before making any decisions, or for you to ask your pillow and then make a decision, it's not that you don't want to follow your advice, it's just that there's no way you can be impartial if you have all the facts and things that may happen if you choose this or that.
It's healthy to give and receive advice, it's up to you whether you to follow it or not, it's healthy to ask for an impartial point of view, but don't let anyone push your decision.

Mornings are not enjoyable for everyone, not all of us can wake up before the sunrise, go for a run, come back, take a shower and head out the door before 9 a.m. smelling of roses, for some of us that isn't happening, but you can always improve the way you manage the mornings and make them that little bit more enjoyable.
Start the night before, there's nothing worst than waking up to a messy home and not finding what you need, reset your home every night, leave everything as you want it to be, clean and organise and you'll instantly feel a relieve when you wake up and you know where everything is.
Prepare in advance, if you know you are going to need certain things for the next day, leave them all together in a place where you can see them before leaving, you'll save time and you won't be browsing around trying to find something or even worst, you won't forget anything.
Create a sleep pattern, this is the hardest one to accomplish, when your body is used to going to bed around 4 a.m. it's harder to wake up before 9 a.m., don't force yourself into going to bed at 10 p.m. to be able to wake up that early, you are not going to feel rested and nothing good is going to come out of it. Try going 30 min earlier to bed everyday until you reach the hour you want to go to bed regularly, do the same with your wake up hour, you won't feel as groggy if you do it gradually.
Set a realistic alarm, don't leave way too much time to get ready, but also, don't leave too little time so you can't do anything, leave enough time to do whatever things you do in the mornings without feeling pressured because you are running late.
Create a routine, there are certain things all people like to do every morning, when you create a routine, you lose less time and you'll know exactly what to do and what to avoid, avoid looking at your phone or t.v. or computer, you'll lose time focusing in something that you can do later in the day, don't stress that early in the morning.
Embrace bad nights and bad mornings, if you had a crappy night sleep, embrace it, you can either be bitter all day, or you can treat yourself to something nice that day, don't blame you bad mood into anyone, try to make your day better than the night and smile, a bad night sleep is not the end of the world.
Breathe, take a moment to relax before the craze of the day starts, leave your problems at the door and don't stress before you even get to wherever you need to get, make that day, the best day posible and keep on dreaming.

This week was a blur for me, I had a lot of work left behind from taking the last few days of the last week to be lazy and enjoy my weird mood, unfortunately for me, life goes on and as exams approach I need to start being more proactive and organised which is something I quite struggled with.
Most people would say that I have my life all put together and in the right track, well, I don't, it has taken me a lot of hard work to get to where my organised self is now, and it hasn't been easy to keep up with, but I'm coming to a moment in my life where not only do I not care what other have to say about my weird schedules but I'm starting to figure out what I want to do with my life.
Half of this week was spent on my bed, because I was feeling quite sick and not in the mood, the worst part? I was having a super creative mind and I was in the mood to work but my body was against that idea and even though I was pretty good at battling that feeling, by Wednesday I was so tired and sick that I couldn't be bothered, so I did what any person would do, I did everything I had planned and then stayed in bed watching the Apple event before remembering that I had a meeting.
From there, the week started to pick up and I was able to comfortably work and not feel stressed, anxious or tired, which is always a nice plus for everything, and I'm actually quite impressed with myself, I can look back and say that I did most of the work I had planned and I don't even feel that tired or unmotivated as I would in other weeks.
I read a lot too, during those down days I read two books a day and during the week I only had the opportunity to read two but it was a good kickstart to my fall reading, I haven't been reading as much as I would want to, with the summer craze and the start of the semester, I've been quite lazy, but we are picking it up.
I now I got braces in, I got them on Tuesday and I have to say, even though I can't eat a bunch of stuff and have to brush my teeth a hell of a lot more times than before, they are not as bad as everyone says, of course they sometimes hurt and I can feel them, but they are more than manageable, although they make me look a tiny bit younger and I've been fighting for too long to look like a normal 21 year old.
I also been working out a lot more, I don't know if I mentioned this, but I was in the loop about working out and feeling sweaty, I was losing motivation, but know I can say that all of that is in the past and I've been feeling more motivated and into it, we'll see where it takes us.
That's the overall look of my week, it was a good week filled with nothing and everything, now I'm going to use the rest of my day wisely working and watching football because it's finally back! and that can only mean one thing, fall is around the corner.
Have a great week, stay motivated and keep on dreaming.

Getting up on Sunday is a task on it's own, it doesn't matter if you either went out or stayed at home, there's something about this day that throws everyone off, sometimes you can't even think straight, let alone get dressed in anything fancy nor look put together, but then you remember you have to go out and either run some errands or you have a family gathering.
Which is why I decided to make myself a guide on how to pick a decent outfit and not really put effort into it, I divided it into three parts which pretty much summed the different occasions that I may have through a Sunday.

Sporty
I called this one the "sporty" because it consists on sweats, this is my go-to look when I don't have much going on, it's comfy, it's warm and you look like you are about to go for a run, instead of staying on your couch all day.

Family at home
Every once in while people like to invite themselves to other people's home, you can avoid it until certain point, this is perfect for those days, your comfiest pair of jeans, a sweatshirt and some comfy shoes will make you look a lot more presentable than just some sweats but you'll stay comfy.

Family Gathering
Then there are those really weird occasions on which your relatives persuade you to leave the comfort of your home to go to their house for any reason, someone's graduated last week, someone came out of the hospital, someone is getting married, tree day, anything, the key to success are nice shirts and comfy jeans, choose a comfy top that looks like you tried is going to work amazing.


The best thing about this is that you can just tie your hair in a pony tail and leave out the door. You don't have to be fancy to look put together, you just have to try and know what's in your closet that may work for the different occasions that you may have, you don't need crazy fancy clothes or a really elaborated outfit for it to work out.

Unfortunately for a long time I though I'd lost this pictures, I never saved them, I just made a few collages and posted that, but lucky enough a few weeks back my DropBox sent me notification that told me that they were going to delete my account for lack of use, I didn't knew what I had in there so it was an amazing surprise going in and finding this pictures again.
This is a project that was left on the loose for a long time, for about two years I focused in workng and putting my life back together, but now that I'm about to turn 21 I'm really looking forward to bringing "CityScapes" back and travelling a bit more.
P.S. This pictures were taking with my old phone so they may not be the best ones that I?ve ever taken, but they mean a lot to me, it was a big step for me to take that day.