Don't Break the Chain *2014*

*Start*

Over half a year ago, I saw a video by youtuber Charieissocoollike about a concept called 'Don't break the Chain'. Basically, you put yourself a 'chore' you want to do daily and you write it down. Then, you take a calendar which shows all months and all the days and you cross off the day when you did your chore. As the year passes, your calendar will be forming a nice 'chain' of crosses. This is a method that may help you increase productivity.

I really liked this idea. I really wanted to do it. But I couldn't think of anything I wanted to set myself to do EVERY DAY. And things that came up in my head, would be hard to do, because I also have school and that doesn't really make it ease to put yourself goals for every single day.

So, after like half a year of thinking about it, I found the solution.

As I'm an Art&Design student who isn't very good at drawing, I wanted to set myself the goal for 2014 to get my basics right. But I couldn't set myself the goal of doing it every day. That would be impossible to keep up. So, I changed the idea around a little for myself, made it my own: Except of doing it every day, I'm going to put myself the goal of doing it every week.

Every week at least half an hour of drawing.

But I can't fill a whole year with just drawing (I actually could, but I wanted to make it a little more interesting for myself, don't mind me) so I got the idea of making 2014 the year of learning about new materials.

There are so many cool materials out there that could take sketches and drawings to the next level, but I have absolutely no idea how to properly use them. So, I told myself: Every month a new material. Of course, if one material takes longer to practice I'm going to take that extra time, but to give myself something to measure. 

So now I've made myself a calendar (as a graphic student I just COULDN'T simply take one off off the internet), I've put myself the goal, I've gotten myself a nice big sketchbook and I'm ready for 2014.

Have a very good new year and I would love to hear your new years resolution if you have one.

Have a nice life,

Xoxo

Winnie.

Ps. I put the calendar I've made with this, if you were interested to see. The months look a little strange, but that's because I built it up from the weeks, since I'm crossing those. It's not perfect, but it's my first ever calendar and I'm pretty damn happy with it. 

Also. To give myself another little challenge: I'm planning on every week posting on here what I've made. (Is that a sentence? Probably not. Sorry) This will give me a nice digital overview of what I have made and maybe give you some ideas of what you can make. 

I'm looking forward to the upcoming year, I hope you are too!

My Loves, Lusts, Faiths + Dreams of 2013

The year is coming to an end. The last month is flying past us with festivities and making up New Years resolutions. Everyone is preparing for a new year.
So I decided, as a music lover, to make a little list of my favorite albums that came out this year, to kind of let this musical year behind me and get ready for loads of new music to come.
So I made a top 10. I usually hate favorites. I just don't like putting one above the other because it would be 'better'. That's why there's a shared nr. 5 spot. I tried. I really did. But I just couldn't choose.

So let's get this going:
My Top 10 Albums from 2013.

Thoughts thrown together.

So. Hello.

I've sat down behind my computer again with (hopefully) enough peace in my head for me to ~finally~ write another blog. God, I hate myself for not posting anything for ages. And here come the excuses:
School. Fucking school. It has been way and way too much lately. Unbelievable. I just couldn't keep up. Impossible. Even if I would've wanted to, I wouldn't have been able to write a blog.

But here I am. Back on this glorious website. Throwing all my thoughts in one big story that hopefully ends up making sense to more people than just me.

Because school is slowing down again. Thank god. We have one more week to go before christmas vacation and it just feels so good. This period has been incredibly busy. Mostly because I just couldn't for a little bit.
Now I have a job, I loose one day of my week to working. This is one homework day lost. And when you have a LOT of homework to make, this sucks. A lot. This resulted in me not knowing how to swing it anymore and having several mental breakdowns.

But now I'm back up and going.
I have found an internship. ~after 12 billion years~
I have found some nice new music.
I have school going on schedule.
I have watched Artifact about 5 times to try and find peace. ~didn't work every time~
I have tried to do that with danisnotonfire video's as well. ~didn't work every time either~
I feel quite good.

This post is horrible. Sorry.
I'm just trying to get my thoughts straight. Not really working. But at least I'm trying.

Oh! Almost forgot: I got the 3 Tiny books of Tiny Stories!
These are amazing little books with tiny stories and amazing illustrations ~one of the artists is wirrow~
If you're creative, I would say: get them. Amazing. Big yes from me.

This babbling needs to stop.
I apologize for wasting your time.
But thank's for reading 'till the end.

Have a nice life,
Xoxo
Winnie

P.S. I'll try and write an interesting post as soon as possible. I hope I'll be able to do that in december. Can't promise anything, though.

Change of plans.

I hate it.
I'm trying to figure everything out and at some point I'm just 2000% done with everything that's happening because I just don't know what to do anymore.
It's getting too much.
It's becoming too vague.
It's becoming impossible to keep track of what I've done and what yet needs to be done.

So I break.
I can't take it anymore and I go to my teachers hoping they can help me get out of this whole of not wanting to do anything anymore because I simply don't even know where to start anymore.

I put the bar too high.
I make it too hard for myself.
I shouldn't make it too big.

Things I've heard the past few days that don't particularly make me happy. To me, this feels like failing. Al my life, I've been learned to keep challenging myself and put the bar just that little bit higher to keep it interesting en provocative for myself. And now, apparently, I'm going too far. This, to me, feels like I just can't do this. I'm just not good enough to do this. And that thought kills me. It makes me feel so miserable.

And then I have to make a change of plans. Change the whole idea. Make it simpler.
In my view, make it too simple, but I'm going to have to go with it. I have to start visualizing something completely different from what I was originally working towards and I have to get going on that, because it has to be done in 3 weeks. For an afternoon, my head is going everywhere, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess and I feel like I will never be able to.

But then it comes together. I find the challenge in the now idea and I start to appreciate it. I come to realize it's pretty close to where my head was going previously, but just immensely simplified. And I'm starting to get my energy and motivation back.

I can get back to work again. I know what to focus on. I know what to do. I'm going to do this and I'm going to do this right.

I'm going to blow their mind. By putting the bar just that little bit higher for myself.

Have a nice life,
Xoxo
Winnie