What It's Like To Reach A Milestone

This has been the best week of the year (so far), and yesterday it was one of the best days of my entire life. Are you ready? Because I'm about to tell you why. 

Australia Day is celebrated on January 26th, and I decided to make a video for the Embassy's Facebook page to celebrate it. They told me they wanted a video with photos and text, but they also told me they wanted something different. And I decided to follow those wishes. 

I've worked at the Australian Embassy for six months now, and I've learned so much about the country. I'm totally in love with it! So my goal on this video was to express how I felt about Australia. 

I spent last Sunday working on my ideas and ended up creating something I'm really proud of. My bosses were completely speechless when they saw it and showed it to the whole Embassy staff the very next day. We celebrated Australia Day with drinks at a bar, and it ended up being a celebration of my video. 

Everyone, including the Ambassador, came up to me and said "Congratulations, I loved your video!" They kept saying how talented I was and how big I was gonna be in the future (professionally speaking, of course). I honestly thought that was it, until I found out my video went viral and got more than 45,000 views! People commented on the video, they shared it, and they liked it. There was even another Facebook page who shared it and said the nicest thing about me! I mean, seriously?! That's totally insane!!

I ended my day with dinner and margaritas with two dear friends and three Aussies. And yesterday I went to work feeling the proudest. I've been feeling so amazing that I even shared it on Facebook! And I got more compliments! I still think it's completely insane and ridiculous, like this is just a dream I don't want to wake up from.

I guess the best way to describe how I've been feeling is one of my favorite songs called "Long Live" by Taylor Swift. If you haven't listened to it, please do because it's amazing. Like I said at the beginning, this has been the best week. I have loved every second of this experience, and I can't wait to live more like this one. This is definitely one feeling I don't want to stop having, and I'll do my best to keep creating things that make myself proud. 

When You Surround Yourself With The Right People

One thing I learned last year is how the people in your world can have a big influence in your life. Now, I'm not talking about liking Chinese food because it's your mom's favourite or wanting to go to Italy because it's your best friend's dream. I'm talking about habits and behavior. 

For about five years, I surrounded myself with people who were not so different from each other. You see, they all had one thing in common: they wanted to be great in life, but they didn't want to do anything to achieve greatness. They all had big dreams, but they didn't want to fight for them because of the idea of "we're too young, so we still have plenty of time to do things." Since I was surrounded by them, I started to live the same way. I really enjoyed my time doing nothing and fought to have more of it. Of course I believed it was the right thing to do because everyone in my world was doing it.

During the year 2015, I lost friendships and got a couple of new ones. I also became closer to others. I went through a lot of changes, which led me to creating this blog, getting my first job, and learning things I always wanted to learn. I also got to try new things and prove myself how capable I was of doing things I'm interested in. 

One day I woke up and noticed how changed I was because of all the things I had achieved in just a couple of months. And that's when it hit me. When you surround yourself with the right people, that's when you'll be better. All these parts of me that I got to improve were because I was surrounded by people who motivated me to be better. They taught me to fight for what I want, that change is good, and that I'm actually good at what I do. So, if I'm starting 2016 in the right path it's because the people in the pictures. They are all incredibly important in my life, and I'm the luckiest for having them.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Happy New Year!

There's a movie I really like, and maybe you've heard about it. It's called New Year's Eve. For the last four years, it's been a tradition of mine to watch that movie on the very last day of the year. There's this scene almost at the end, where the Time Square's ball is about to drop, but it gets stuck. Everyone get really upset, and the woman who's in charge takes the microphone and says this:

"And as you all can see, the ball has stopped half way to its perch. It's suspended there to remind us before we pop the champagne and celebrate the new year, to stop, and reflect on the year that has gone by, to remember both our triumphs and our missteps, our promises made and broken, the times we opened ourselves up to great adventures... or closed ourselves down to fear of getting hurt, because that's what new year's all about, getting another chance, a chance to forgive. To do better, to do more, to give more, to love more, and stop worrying about what if... and start embracing what will be. So when that ball drops at midnight, and it will drop, let's remember to be nice to each other, kind to each other, and not just tonight but all year long. 

-New Year's Eve movie

This quote is quite long, but it expresses everything I think about New Year's Eve. It's that moment when you think of the things you've achieved and the ones you haven't. It's that moment when you hope to do better next year. It's also the moment to have a chance to be closer to real happiness. 

The year 2015 has probably been the hardest I've had so far. I had many challenging moments, and I didn't know how to react on all of them. I made mistakes, but I also handled things the right way. 

I learned to be patient, to be more considerate, and to never give up. I'm in the process of learning to put myself first from time to time and to let myself be. 

In 2016, I want to continue having this attitude of trying new things all the time and change the routine. I hope I can be better at organising my time, so I can take advantage of it. I want to have more discipline, so I can be able to learn new things and make personal projects. I want to read more books, and I want to start to work out. And, last but not least, I want to ride my bike more often.

I don't want to be braggy, but I must confess this year I'm proud of myself because I achieved things I never thought I would. I hope 2016 is not as hard as 2015, but I do hope it brings me challenges. I'll have my last semester of university, so I'm sure it's going to be exciting and full of surprises. I sure can't wait to see what's coming. 

I hope you have a great New Year's celebration. I want to thank you for reading my posts. I also want to apologise for not writing as much as I wanted to or sharing projects as I said I would. I promise I'm working on that, and that's another resolution I have. I hope all your wishes and resolutions come true. Remember to thank people for what they've done for you this year and to remind them you love them. I'll meet you next year, my dear reader.

21 Things I Realised Before I Turned 22

Today is my birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! I've always been a huge fan of celebrating people's birthdays (especially mine) because I think it's a huge deal to start a new year. So, it would be like celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's all in one day.
This year has been different from others because it was full of life changing experiences, so to celebrate that I'm officially 22, I want to share with you 21 things I learned this year:


1. Real friends never leave you behind.
2. You know someone truly loves you when they see the worst of you and still want to see you the next day.
3. A cup of coffee per day is a good habit.
4. Sleeping is better when you've been busy all day.
5. Having a morning motivation makes your days better.
6. Finding a passion makes life way more enjoyable.
7. Napping is the most wonderful thing to do.
8. If you care about someone, making time to see them is easy.
9. Looking younger is not THAT bad.
10. It's very important to make time for yourself.
11. It's ok to put yourself before others once in a while.
12. Making a living doing what you love is not impossible if you really put an effort.
13. It's ok to worry about your future, but it's ok too not to worry about it.
14. Always enjoy every moment of your life because there's a big chance you won't have them again.
15. Take chances. Always take chances. You'll never know what happens if you don't.
16. It's better to have two close friends than 500 kind-sorta friends.
17. Surround yourself with people who make you want to better instead of the ones who make you worse.
18. Don't compare yourself to others. You are you and that's what matters.
19. Always hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
20. Never forget to remind people you love them and thank them for what they've done for you.
21. Smile and protect your happiness. Don't give up on things who make you happy.

When The Ones Who Left Come Back

Today I want to talk to you about a special tradition called Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead). I’m Mexican, and I have to say it’s one of my favourite traditions in the whole wide world. Why? Well, I’m about to answer that, but, before I do so, I need to explain what the tradition is all about.

Día de Muertos is about making a tribute to our loved ones who passed away to celebrate their lives. According to the tradition, it’s the day the deceased visit the living ones. The main way to do celebrate this day is by making an offering with nine basic elements:

• photos: in honour of your loved one
• candles: to light the deceased’s path
• cempasúchil flowers: to attract the souls
• salt: symbol of purification
• cut paper: symbol of air
• water: for the everlasting thirst
• calaveras: the acceptance of death
• pan de muerto: represents the body
• food and drinks: for your loved ones to enjoy just like they used to when they were alive.

These elements don’t need to have a specific order, you can put them wherever you want on the offering. The important thing here is to make them feel welcomed into your home. So, if your loved one used to be a fan of Coke and pizza, it’s totally ok to include them.

Other way to celebrate is going to the cemeteries and visit the deceased, put them some music, talk to them, and bring them flowers to color their grave. 

This is my favourite tradition because I love the idea of remembering and celebrating the deceased without feeling sad. It's all about making our loved ones feel welcomed when they come visit us. I know it sounds weird and maybe a bit creepy, but if you think about it, it's actually sweet.
This year I decided to make my very first offering, and you might be wondering why is it my first. Well, the thing is I never had someone to make the offering to. But at the beginning of 2015, my wonderful grandma passed away. So, I couldn't just pass this opportunity of feeling closer to her for one night.
I have to say I loved making the offering because it meant something. And I don't know how to actually explain this, but let me tell you something. It's true that the deceased come and visit you that night. I dreamt that my grandma was holding me in her arms, and I couldn't believe it was just dream because of how real it felt! It was one of the most surreal experiences I've ever had in my life, and I totally recommend you to try it someday.