Depreciation Society

During my university holiday, my boyfriend and I have decided to travel around Europe. One of our stops was Germany, which we both really enjoyed. We chose to visit Berlin because it was perfect in terms of allowing us to enjoy really lighthearted activities, some history watching as well as visiting places which felt like a new emotional experience.

More generally, Berlin is a lovely city which I would definitely recommend visiting. We stayed in a hotel in Charlottenburg, which was nice and accessible. The city is reasonably clean and it was very accessible and tourist friendly due to there being practically no language barrier. Over our stay I became a fan of the U-Bahn, especially in the evening when it got really empty and quiet. The pretty yellow trains definitely cheered me up on days when it was raining ( it is a win win situation really).

The food in Berlin was absolutely amazing. During the first night of our stay we decided to find kebab in Berlin and it might have been the best kebab I have ever had (at one point I just stopped counting all the different flavours). Whether we would plan our meals and look up the places we went to in advance or go on impromptu dates the food was great. I have been able to even try an amazing avocado milkshake with soya milkshake which was like a drink version of bounty but nicer. On our last day we went to a really sweet pancake place called 'A never ever ending love story' which was incredible. The pancakes were incredibly tasty, the place was full of very friendly staff and the interior definitely reminded me of some of the cute, little cafes in the narrow streets of Soho in London. I would definitely recommend it if you are visiting Berlin.

Besides mentioning all the breathtaking landmarks we saw on our visit ( and taking a lot of photos of them), I would like to mention those landmarks which really felt like an emotional experience. The Holocaust memorial was one of them. At first I was very afraid to walk through it and experience the claustrophobia of it for myself. Eventually, having gathered some courage I did it and by the end of it I felt some kind of relief. It was wonderful to be able to have a conversation with someone about why the memorial was constructed in the way it stands and what possible interpretations can be provided. The Jewish Museum in Berlin had a very similar impact of me. The beauty of the museum lies in its unusual nature; it is full of voids and physical artwork, which really make you experience something. Standing in a dark room, being able to feel the breathe of the air outside and hear the voices tens of metres above you really does leave you feeling small and helpless, unable to project your voice. By the end of all of the said visits I felt a huge sense of relief and was glad I was able to experience art rather then just feel it.

My relatively busy Tuesday consisted of a little trip to one of the Muji stores in London. Apart from the stationery being absolutely stunning, all of the Muji stores tend to have a very nice, minimalist atmosphere which is absolutely perfect if you want to relax a little or simply want to look at/buy gorgeous stationery you might have encountered on Tumblr.

I'd say that Muji is one of my absolute favourite stationery stores in London, primarily because the price is definitely worth the quality you get. It probably isn't the cheapest store but going there every so often became my own little reward ritual and I just generally enjoy going there for the aesthetic. Unsurprisingly, that is also the store where the majority of the study bloggers on Tumblr purchase some of their beautiful stationery, so it often is worth the trip for the aesthetic.

During my visit today I decided to pick up two notebooks - one black and one beige, alongside a few pens, one of which was the ultra thin hexagon pen. I also purchased a bright green pen to add to my collection, as I managed to run out of green ink over the past year and needed a good quality pen to replace the old one. I plan to use one of my notebooks as a bullet journal in order to make sure that I stay organised on busy days and encourage myself to get out of bed even on days when I have less to do, by having little notes to myself and minor tasks to do. I will be documenting my bullet journal journey soon on the blog too.

For my 18th birthday my friend Amber gave me a collection of modern poetry, which made me feel every emotion I have ever experienced and was very exciting for a poetry lover to read. A lot of the poems made me recall some of the best and less good moments in my life, but all of those little parts form a part of me and this book serves as a useful tool to remember that. This is a very special gift which is definitely worth sharing.

When I saw the front and back cover of the book I was given I was very excited. The words are very encouraging and make you feel incredibly special (who doesn’t like to think they are a princess, not just on your birthday but at any point your eyes come into contact with the book itself).

Interestingly enough, for someone who has been learning how to seek help but not emotionally overburden those close to me the fact that “the princess saves herself” encouraged me to consider dealing with the more minor annoyances by myself and only ask for help when it’s really necessary. So far, it has been helpful to me but like everything it is a learning curve which requires commitment and practice. The back cover of the book, as you can see in the photo below is just as fantastic, the girl’s ability to “turn into” anyone also serves as an incredibly strong and empowering message - you can be anything and anyone you would like to be and are responsible for moulding yourself. It is a message worth remembering on a day when you feel powerless, alone and demotivated because believing in yourself is key to everything you do as you are definitely the one stable figure in your life who will never leave or disappear without notice.

Now onto the poems, with physically fragmented form, because a lot of them became very memorable and quite special, despite being absolutely irrelevant to my own life. Having opened a poem and having seen a crossed out word at the start it started to normalise the fairy tale I was expecting to encounter. It suddenly made the writing in the collection of poems feel raw and honest - something I could identify as and find myself in. The normalisation of the fairy tale narrative I have encountered when I was little encouraged me to do both, replay the magical fairy tales in my mind and tell myself that anyone could be Belle, or Aurora or any princess trapped in her beautiful metaphorical tower. The poem about siblings is an example of a work which has absolutely no relevance to my own life and therefore did not feel deeply personal, however the physical fragmentation of “sisters”, “saviours” and strangers” alongside the alliteration made me consider this combination of devices a few times; despite there being a link there is a sense of physical separation felt by the reader, conveying the message of the poem incredibly well. The washing of “away” on the page itself, the uncertainty experienced by the poet when plucking petals and the breakdown caused by "trust" and "fall" made the writing, which already felt genuine become even more real and tangible in the world I live in. We all experience very pleasant and uncomfortable moments in our lives, but I guess seeing some of it as a compilation of beautiful, published words makes our experiences normal and shared by all.

Despite admiring some of the poetry based on its physical form, I have also been able to find poems which have reminded me of this year and how much has changed over time. It has been a year of incredible encounters, finding new friends and experiencing genuine feelings for the first time ( despite having been labelled as cold for a very long time). Going through some of the poems I have read line by line, encouraged me to recall all of the wonderful moments of the past year and come to terms with a lot of the feelings I have either struggled to admit or openly display. Seeing someone go through a similar experience on paper and guide you through yours, line by line, word by word made me normalise how I have felt and calm down. On the other hand, whilst growing over this exciting year I have had some realisations which I came to eventually admit. The truth is that you can never really please everyone, and sometimes you will fall out with people because you have different views or see your future differently, but having said that it should not be a reason for you to blame yourself for having the “wrong” view of the world or constantly causing conflict. You have the power to direct and change your life and are the person in control.

This collection of poems is a perfect overview of the experiences we all have in life ( some are less drastic for some people and for others they might be more severe) - a mixture of positives and negatives, both of which teach us something. Aside from the many learning points I took away from reading all of the poems in the mentioned collection there is one important realisation I have reached - the only person who is responsible for how your life turns out and how happy you are is you. Of course there might be circumstances which change patterns of events, but you are the one individual you can rely on - trust yourself and keep moving forward with self belief.

As my time at university approaches, I have been a little worried about feeling homesick so I've started a collection of items to bring with me that will make my dorm room feel more homely. I began by buying goldfish, fairy lights and scented candles, but found that photographs were really the best way to keep a piece of home with me wherever I go. I have mentioned my love of LALALAB in some of my previous posts, and was lucky enough to be sent some free prints by them which have really helped me develop these ideas.

I have always enjoyed making scrapbooks, and my mum and her sister always used to help me when I was a kid. As I've got older my scrapbooks feature more photos and postcards than drawings of people that are really just faces with stick legs. LALALAB's prints (my favourite kind are known as vintage in the app) are perfect for adding sentimental value to a page.

Another way that I like to make my room feel more homely is photo albums. They're easy to store too, so they're perfect if you don't have much room in your house. I have a few slot in albums, but I find for displaying the polaroids I'm so keen on square shaped scrapbooks are best. I use double-sided tape to stick my prints in and add little notes on the side to help me remember the occasion.

For looking at your photos on a daily basis however, both of these options aren't so good so I discovered pin boards and photo wires were best for displaying multiple photos. Photo frames are great but generally only allow for certain sizes or numbers of photos. The packaging that LALALAB uses is also gorgeous so I even cut parts of it out to feature on my pin board.

If you want to take advantage of Lalalab's beautiful photos, use our code PGWEKO7T to get £5 off!!

I had the cutest day with my friend Ana on Saturday when I went to see her in London. I haven't seen her for a few months, what with being ill, and both of us being quite busy, so it was lovely to catch up. The only downside was that Josh was off at a debating competition, or it would have been a proper family meet up <3

I have never had a bubble tea before, so on our way to the Tate Modern, we stopped off and got one, and they're so good! We went to Bubbleology, and here is a terrible photo we took on our way!

We opted for the Tate Modern over the other galleries and museums that we could have gone to, and I really enjoyed it. We un-ironically had some really in-depth conversations about the pieces, which is always nice, and I captured Ana's awe at one of the artworks. On the 10th floor, there is an observation balcony, which had some amazing views of London.

We also went to Wagamama and ordered lots of food to share, including the spicy chicken ramen, chicken katsu, duck pancakes and some spicy squid, and we also seemed to have a ridiculous amount of plates, as we dished everything out between us, but it was gorgeous.

We went on a really long walk around London and then to a huge tea shop, called T2 (you can find their online store here). They have so many different varieties, as well as a tasting counter, so we tried a variety of oddly named teas (including Up All Nighty Aphrodite). We may never be allowed back though, as we accidentally spilled tea over the floor while laughing too hard.

After that, we carried on walking around London (not making use of the Oyster card kindly lent to me!), swatching expensive powder foundation on our faces, admiring the amazing Easter eggs in the Selfridges food hall, and finally speed walking for my train home. I had such a good day, which made up for the fact that I had to stand up for an hour and a half on the way home!

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