QOTW #13: Let's Get Political

First of all, let me say sorry because of this post. I know it's not the kind of post I usually write, but I really need to get this out of my system and I swear I'll try to make it entertaining for everybody.

The quote is funny and everything, but it talks about something that I really think is true. My older readers will know I live in Spain, and we had the Presidential Elections yesterday, Sunday 26th of June. If you watch the news they said it in some countries, but the thing is the ones who won were the ones already in power and I DO. NOT. GET. IT.

First of all, these were the second elections we had, because after the result 6 months ago the politicians just couldn't agree to form a government so we were sent to new elections. The ones who won have completely failed to run the country on the 6 months they've been the temporary government. They've done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Furthermore, the amount of corruption cases of that particular party is ridiculous. They've been involved on the most scandalous stuff and 1) The main media of the country have blatantly hidden it and 2) They haven't even apologised, let alone resign from their job. An audio tape has been leaked where the Interior Minister has admitted how they have fucked up completely the healthcare in Catalonia, the region I live in, and he doesn't even deny it. Or apologise. He's just so mad because it was a private conversation between two polticians and it was part of their job, why is everybody going so crazy over it? They have some important people from the party in jail. They are extremely right-wing and conservative, completely old-fashioned and closed to change (luckily my vocabulary in English is not wide enough to say everything I'd want to...)

And finally, the head of the party. He can't even speak. He just babbles stuff that makes no sense whatsoever. His best quote to date has been "The Spanish people, very Spanish and a lot Spanish!", something along these lines. If he can't even speak Spanish... other languages are out of question. It's so shaming that he represents Spain internationally when he can't utter a word in English. It's like when we were in high school and we voted for the most stupid one just for the laughs.

In other words, this party has been destroying the country for four years and six months, and MORE PEOPLE HAVE VOTED FOR THEM. MORE. It's not like they're still the biggest force but they're falling behind, which would be atrocious but acceptable. They went up. And they're just laughing at our faces while the people they have destroyed vote for them. It's so bad.

I swear, if Spanish people were dinosaurs, they would vote for the asteroid.

The way so many people are going to the extreme right-wing all over the world, even with evidence like the one we have in Spain about corruption, is scaring me. Mostly, it is a vote of hatred. Hatred to new things, to opening up and accepting everybody. It means closing in an age where it's about opening. With globalisation, people get scared, I guess. It's such a great opportunity and I'm really excited about the challenges it means. But they don't want to take the opportunity. They just want to lock up in their own world getting what they need and not worrying about the needs of others. I just hate it.

Okay, I think that's enough for today. I'm quite discouraged... things won't change if people don't want them to. But we'll keep fighting. What other option do we have?

A big big hug,


Acqua

Summer Goals 2016

Hello everybody! How are you?

Summer is finally here, so it's time to start spending time at the swimming pool, on the beach... and Summer also means we have a lot of time to kill. I wanted to put up a list of 6 Summer goals so I use that free time to actually do something. Here are my goals for Summer 2016!

1- Take care of my garden
So, my house has an inner open space with trees and plants, but my mum and dad don't really care about it (they're pretty busy and it's not their priority) so I've decided I'll put up a nice garden. I started by taking care of all the plants and flowers in the flowerpots, which took me several hours (they all look fantastic now though!) and I'm cleaning up all the weeds and plants that grew on the ground. And there aren't just some. The whole ground is covered by them and I've spent a lot of hours to only take out maybe 1/5 of them. I'm on my way though, and I'm determined to spend upwards of hours on it. It's my biggest Summer project!

2- Host dinners with my friends
One of the reasons I'm cleaning up my garden is that I want to have an open space so I can organise dinners for me and my friends. No excuses because I'm too lazy, or I'll regret not seeing them later!

3- Not get stressed out from my many jobs
I'm working on a Summer school during the mornings and I have several English and Violin students to teach in the afternoon. I love every single thing, but I tend to stress too much over them, so I just want to keep it calm and have a good time!

4- Go to the swimming pool often
I love swimming. It's my favourite sport. But some times I avoid going because I'm too lazy, even though I'm really happy when I get there. I've bought a ticket so I can go to the local swimming pool any time I want, and I plan on using it a lot! (I'm actually going now.)

5- Deal with a certain person better
You know me. It's really hard for me to hate someone. But there's a girl that just has the power to make me mad every time she opens her mouth. I don't like how she treats children, I don't like how she treats me and I don't like how she treats her friends. She's always acting as if she was the only one who does every single thing right and doesn't have any concept of responsibility or commitment. She just has a really negative aura and I find myself falling into negativity when I'm around her. I'll try to avoid it, because she works with me and I can't avoid her. We'll see.

6- Improve my Italian
I'm going to Tuscany with my family! It's a place I've ALWAYS wanted to visit and I'm really, really excited about it. That means I'll have a great oportunity to practice my Italian and improve.

That's it! Have a nice Summer and enjoy the holidays, I sure will!

A big big hug,


Acqua

My Blessing

I spent many years wondering what was wrong with me. I had this hope that one day I would find my place, and I envisioned it as finding the right friends for me, being able to party, go to dinner, and do loads of things with them. I saw myself doing the things that all teenagers were doing, like dating the cute boy I would find who would look past my armour and would love and accept me.

I never got that.

I never got what I wanted, but I got what I needed.

I wanted to find my place, but I saw my place somewhere I didn't belong. I didn't belong in those clubs partying. I didn't belong around lots of people. The problem was I kept looking for my happiness there, and I was never meant to have it that way. So I was left unhappy wondering why I was still lonely and deeply sad.

Don't get me wrong, I still wish I could do all that, and some times it gets me down. I'm in a better place now, but there are many things I'd want for me and I don't have. It's okay, though.

It's okay because then, I'm reminded that I'm blessed. I'm reminded that I have loads of stars guiding my way.

Last December, I thought there was a considerable possibility I wouldn't see 2016. I won't go talking about it because it's long and complicated, but it led me to balance what my life had been up to that point. And it made me see the things I cared about the most. And there were two that totally broke my heart (apart from the obvious, which is leaving my family and my friends): the fact that I hadn't taken writing more seriously and the fact that I would leave all the kids I've worked with behind.

I can't put in words how much these kids mean to me. When I'm with them, I can see every single word I say being taken into consideration. Of course, there are difficult kids who won't listen, but what one doesn't want to hear, the other will carry with them. The amount of kids who need someone to hug them, or pay attention to them, or make them smile, or just listen and show them that they matter... this amount is scary. I don't want any kid to feel lonely. Not happening while I'm around if I can avoid it.

As you know, I felt reaaally lonely as a kid, and it's really important to me that no kid feels like that. But asides from that... working with them just makes me really happy. Seeing life through their eyes, through the innocence and the brilliance of children, is amazing. Parents keep thanking me because they learn a lot from me, and I can't help but think I learn loads more from them. If you listen... there's so much they can tell you. And they're really grateful when someone is willing to hear.

I don't know where I'm going with this. The thing is... there's a particular generation of kids, those who are on their last year in elementary school (which finishes when you're 11-12 here) who are just my kids. They just are. I've had them at theatre, at summer camps, at the choir... I just have a very special bond with them, and because they're leaving school, they had put up a performance, so I headed to the village's school to see them.

They were so surprised and happy to see me there. The look in their eyes is something I will cherish forever. Knowing they trust me and I've been an influence to a small part of who they are is bigger than anything I could have ever imagined. There is where my happiness is at. With those kids. With the pride I feel when I see them grow to be these great boys and girls they are becoming. And with the way they show me they're grateful. That's my blessing.

I guess what I wanted to say is that you should keep your eyes open. I highly believe that happiness is something you make out of life, but sometimes, it comes from outside. And it might come from the most unexpected places. Your happiness might not be where you think you'll find it, and that's okay. There's just a different happiness waiting for you. And when you understand it... everything will change.

A big big hug,


Acqua

A French Kiss Bubble Bath Review | LUSH

Hello everybody! As you know, I went to Lush some days ago and I've been trying out some of their products, so I wanted to share my thoughts with you!

Lavender is one of my favourite scents ever, so I was really excited to try out the A French Kiss bubble bath. The main ingredients are lavender, rosemary, thyme oil and coconut oil.

The first thing you notice is the smell, as it is very strong. But on the moment you start melting it under running water, it becomes natural, more delicate and less overwhelming, and it fills your bathroom with the nicest scent ever (which, as a bonus, lasts for a whole day). It doesn't stay on your skin for a long time, but it does leave you smelling fresh.

When it comes to the bubbles, I was really impressed! It's true that I had never had a bubble bath before so I don't have a lot to compare it with, but I melted half of the product and almost my whole bath was covered. What I should have done and will do the next time is break a piece off the product and melt it, because I put the whole thing and then the humidity of the bath didn't help for the rest to stay solid and ready for the next time I use it.
 

Sorry it's blurry, I was really worried about my phone falling in the water!

Apart from the bubbles, it left a pinky-purply undertone to my bath which was really nice. The oils really do their work, because they left my skin SO immensely soft, I was quite impressed by that. I left my bath feeling relaxed and full of energy at the same time. Moreso, I always have problems because I breathe too quickly (my singing teacher always scolds me because of that) and I swear I left the bath breathing slowly and inhaling and exhaling looooong breaths.

The only downside it had is that I find it quite expensive for the amount of product you get. It cost me €5.95, and in pounds it's 4.25. I think that for just two baths, it's too much. Having said that, I think I'll repurchase it because it worked wonders on my skin and left me feeling immensely relaxed, it's been my favourite product from LUSH out of the ones I've tried so far!

Have you tried this bubble bath? Let me know what you thought in the comments!

And by the way, I finally have my blog twitter account! You can subscribe here so we can interact over there ^^ See you!

A big big hug,


Acqua

QOTW #12: Freedom and Respect

Guys, I'm not sure how this post will go down, but I feel like I have a lot to say and there's a lot inside of me that needs to come out, so please bare with me.

Two of the things I'm a huge fan of are the singing competition The Voice and Youtube. And two of my best friends are part of the LGBTQ+ community. So this has been a hard weekend for me emotionally.

Like most of you will know, Christina Grimmie, youtuber and contestant on the 6th season of The Voice US, was killed last Friday at her meet&greet with fans after a concert in Florida. On the following evening, over 50 people were killed on an LGBT bar, also in Orlando.

Apart from being a fan of whatever and friends with whomever, what I am to begin with is a human being. Both this events struck home, and they were quite painful, but there have been other news lately about people dying, and dying, and dying. And as a human being, I can't grasp the point of it all.

Why do people think that they even have the right to decide who lives and who dies? It's bad enough that people die of illness and accidents, but why do humans have to increase that tragic number? Christina was such a beautiful soul. Someone so grounded, so positive. She was one of those people that make the world slightly better. Why isn't she here anymore? And apart from the guy who worked at The Wizardring World of Harry Potter, the people who were killed in that bar might not have a name for us, but that doesn't make them less important. They had families, and a future. They mattered. And they're gone.

I don't get why it all is so pointless. I wish we could think more about the others. I wish we could let go of the differences and start treating others with respect.

Here's where I want to go with the quote I chose, which was an excuse to write this post but that doesn't make it less relevant. Freedom is important. You are entitled to have your freedom, but your freedom ends when the other people's starts. Freedom without respect is dangerous. If you're free but with no boundaries, you start acting like you're a god. And you're the only one who can put those boundaries.

I'm so upset. The world is upside down. I don't get it. I don't get why we can't all live with respect.

Go to your loved ones. Tell them they're important. Make sure nobody feels worthless.

I want to share a song with you, a song that Connie Talbot wrote as a tribute for Christina Grimmie and had me balling my eyes out. I hope you'll like it, here are the lyrics:

Sailing Safe [Original] – Connie Talbot
A Tribute to Christina Grimmie

Heartbreaking all around, 
We speak but there’s no sound. 
Black stains upon our cheeks, 
Our tears come falling down. 
Cry a river over you, 
And drown in its despair. 
I know I didn’t know you, 
But I know it isn’t fair. 

Cause we lost an angel, 
We lost an angel on Earth as well as Heaven. 
We lost an angel. 

And with this grief won’t you take our prayers with you please 
Now you have wings, you can teach the angels how to sing. 
And with our tears won’t you build an ocean back here. 
Sailing safe… 

You heal the broken hearts with your own melody, 
Taught us that it’s okay to not follow society. 
This world never deserved you so I say goodbye tonight. 
Good night, God bless you, rest in paradise. 

And with this grief won’t you take our prayers with you please 
Now you have wings, you can teach the angels how to sing. 
And with our tears won’t you build an ocean back here. 
Sailing safe…



A big big hug,


Acqua

HAUL | Primark, LUSH, Claire's

Hi there!

I want to start today's post apologising because I haven't been commenting on your blogs lately >.< I've been very, very busy with my Uni exams and I just wanted to focus on that! But I finished on Wednesday, so I've started to comment on everything I owe and I plan on doing it for the whole weekend! So if I haven't commented on your blog yet, I'm sorry, but I'm going to soon!

Wednesday finishing my exams also meant something else... I have the tradition that, on the day after my last exam, I go shopping on Barcelona because I deserve it hahaha I didn't buy much this time, but I still wanted to do a haul :) And it's my first haul, so I'm really excited!

Claire's

The first place I went to was Claire's, because I have a singing show on Monday and my singing teacher asked me to wear a flower crown, so I went and picked one up. I wanted to pick one I would actually wear on a daily basis, so I chose this one with the delicate pink and white flowers which I thought was really cute! I also picked up some hair bands and scrunchies, because you can never have too many!


Primark

This is usually where I spend most of my money, but I was saving for Lush so I didn't buy a lot this time! I just picked up a t-shirt (this kind of t-shirts with a little pocket are my favourites, I own some in different colours!) and some black shorts. I also picked up two t-shirts for my mum, a blender sponge, some white socks and a couple pairs of tights.


Lush

This is where I wanted to go all along! Let me say first, thank you all for the recommendation. Some of you have been telling me to go for ages and omg... I wish I had gone there before! It smells amazing, and the girls who worked in there were the NICEST PEOPLE EVER. I'm not kidding. When I go shopping on Barcelona I'm used to being ignored, but they just came to help but weren't too pushy about it, because some times you feel a lot of pressure when that happens! They just gave me a cute basket to put my items in and let me know they were there in case I needed any help. After having picked what I wanted to buy, they also asked me about my skin and gave me a couple of free samples of what they thought would be good for me! I was really happy and can't wait to try everything out!

Anyways, I'm rambling, so here's a list of what I bought!

- Butterball bath bomb
- Dragon's Egg bath bomb
- Think Pink bath bomb
- A French Kiss bubble bath
- Tea Tree Water liquid tonic
- SAMPLE Herbalism face & body cleaner
- SAMPLE Rub Rub Rub exfoliant shower gel


FNAC

FNAC is a place with electronic products and books and music and geeky stuff and I just love it. I went because my little sister is reaaaaally obsessed with the Falling Kingdoms saga by Morgan Rhodes, and the fourth book has just been published in Spain and she asked me to buy it. I also picked up Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, which I've been wanting to read for a while. One of my resolutions is to read more classic English literature in English, because if I want to translate books from English as my future job it's something I need to do :) And I'm quite enjoying it, although it's a bit hard not being a native speaker!

I actually went to The Body Shop after that, but I didn't find anything I especially liked (I tried on samples of their new Piña Colada range, but even though they were quite hidrating, I don't like pineapple so I didn't like the smell hahaha). I was also running out of time, so I left to get to the train.

This was my morning in Barcelona! I had such a fun time there :) Expect reviews for the Lush products soon! I've actually tried a couple already, so maybe on Monday?

I hope you enjoyed this post and see you on Monday!

A big big hug,


Acqua

Crepes and Ice Cream

I remember seeing you when I left the building. I remember there was a crowd of thousands of people, but I still saw you as clearly as if you were the only one there; at least, that's how it felt. I remember we started to walk, talking about everything and nothing at the same time.
When we got to our destination, you decided you wanted to eat and sat down on a bench. Then, shyly, you looked up and patted the surface next to you so I would sit down there. I remember it all, but the thing I remember the most is the look in your eyes when you did that. I might have blushed a little bit, but it was so endearing, so simple, so you.
I remember we went into the workshop and we sat silently next to each other. We took a selfie. I still have it on my phone. I remember that, when we had to turn around and look back, I moved a little bit closer to you, and you didn't move away. I felt that it was exactly my place. I felt like I belonged there as I'd never felt I belonged anywhere.
We left the workshop and still had time, so we found a place where we bought something to eat. It was December, so you ordered a hot chocolate crepe. But it was an unusually hot December, so I ordered an ice cream. Hot and cold. Somehow, that was the perfect depiction of how we were: really different, but coming from the same place after all.
We sat down on a hidden park bench and started to talk. The conversation flowed easily. There were no walls, there has never been any wall when it comes to you. I remember that, whenever I talked, you looked at me. You didn't just listen to me without paying attention, you were hearing every single word, and it felt like... like you saw me. You saw who I actually was, which is something not even I know. It was intimidating, because no one had ever paid attention to me that way before.
And we talked about that book we have in common, remember? That book that such few people have read and we both love so much. To some it could seem unimportant, but it was so crucial to us. That book explained something that was in both our souls. And we understood it.
After all this time, that's what I remember the most. That afternoon when I sat next to you and we ate a crepe and an ice cream. Still today, it's one of my most precious moments.


A big big hug,

Acqua

LUSH & The Body Shop Wishlist

Hi there guys! I've finally managed to go to Barcelona next Thursday and I'm finally going to Lush! I'm really excited because I've been dying to try out their products for such a long time... I'm also going to The Body Shop and Primark and I think I'll be broke by Friday!

I've been going through their products and I've put on a wishlist of some things I'd like to buy, but I also need your help! If you've been to Lush and/or The Body Shop, pleaaaase let me know what you recommend! I'd love to check out your favourites :)

Without any further ado, here's the list of things I'd love to buy from Lush!

- Angels On Bare Skin face & body cleanser

- Creamy Candy bubble bath

- Big Bang bubble bath

- A French Kiss bubble bath

- Blackberry Bath Bomb

- The Experimenter bath bomb

- Dragon's Egg bath bomb

- Think Pink bath bomb

Okay, I'm definitely not buying all of them because I have a limited budget, but... these all look so good! Do you have any other recommendations? I dont have a The Body Shop list because I'm not looking for anything in particular, but if there are any specific products that you love please let me know!

A big big hug,


Acqua