Higher education and the importance of critical thinking

I clearly remember the day when, about a week after I signed a contract with Vilnius University, I received an invitation to study in Malmo University in Sweden. Three years passed since that day and, without any exaggeration whatsoever, at least a couple dozen people asked me why I chose Sweden over Lithuania. I have done my research, yes, and I knew that Sweden is known for "doing it right" in higher education quality-wise when it comes to humanities.

"Why so?" - that's the question that Swedish higher education taught me to ask all the time. I learned to re-evaluate the given, take a critical look at practices that are deeply ingrained in the culture, such as marriage, sexual orientation, traveling, education, family and religion. I never used to be active in conversations concerning these topics but now I do feel free to express my views even if they are not too acceptable among certain groups of people. In other words, I learned to love a good discussion which I always wanted to achieve, because these always make you see things in a different lighting.

Also, as I mentioned in some of my previous posts, I wanted to live surrounded by another culture and meet people with different backgrounds. Well, it's been three years and  I did check all the boxes in that list - I made quite a few friends, went to a gay party in one of those giant luxurious apartments they show in the movies, rode a bike home drunk at night countless times and wrote a BA thesis that I am pretty damn proud of. Oh, and flew to Italy where me and my uni friends spent a week together back in July, just caj,

Sweden is not on my travel list anymore because it wasn't about the country itself. It was all about the experience. Throwing yourself out there and growing into a really open-minded, social and self-confident critical thinker I became or am on the way to becoming, only time will show.

How I find motivation for running

      In this whirlpool of private experiences and philosophical thoughts, this will be something different, more lightweight. 

Sports is my passion - running, volleyball, cycling, badminton, you name it. However, I do it not just because I can. I have my goals and I work hard to achieve them, but this is the tricky part. This is where laziness comes in. I like to share my progress in social media and the response I usually get was my major inspiration to write this post. 

When I share my workout results, sometimes people leave a comment or message me saying they wish they were as motivated as I am. First of all, let's make this clear - my motivation is not a given. Just like everybody else, I have my lazy days and dozens of silly excuses in my head (it's too windy, the park might be too crowded, I have a lecture in five hours etc.). I am always on a hunt for good motivational quotes and tips and over the last couple of years I have developed a coping strategy for my laziness when it comes to sports (to tell you the truth, it's not 100% per-cent effective and will never be - after all I'm a human, not a robot).

So, here's some tips and tricks that help me stay motivated.

1. Set a goal. It can be absolutely anything from fitting into your favourite jeans that became too tight to a thigh gap, toned arms or a flat stomach. This is probably not news for you, but it really matters. However, it didn't work well for me on its own, so here's another tip from me - buy an item of clothing that will not be flattering unless you reach your goal. For example, my goal is to have a flat stomach until the middle of June, so I bought this beautiful crop top. I promised myself that even if I don't get a flat stomach, I will have to wear it at least once in June. So now, when I am all cozy in bed and I want to stay there the whole day, that's what I tell myself. Trust me, it works!

2. Earn your shopping day. I discovered this tip only a couple months ago and now I don't even know what I would do without it. I'm sure everyone knows the feeling when you see something you really like but it costs so much you would feel guilty if you bought it. So earn it! Set up a cute little jar and put some money in it after each workout. However, it is very easy to cheat here, so I would recommend to define what a "workout" is (is 20 crunches same as a 5k run?). For example, I put 10SEK (around 1€) for each workout that is no less than 25 minutes long. This has two major outcomes - you don't waste money on expensive things you don't need and it's a big pleasure to buy an expensive item you worked so hard for. 

3. Find a gym buddy. This is probably the hardest thing to do. I haven't found people motivated enough to run with me at least a couple times a week. Also, making a running schedule can be really complicated if you're both busy. However, now I know what it feels like to have a gym buddy and it's magical, especially on days when you feel really lazy. You just get up and do it, knowing that someone is counting on you. This one helped me even in my darkest times.

4. Find some motivational quotes that make you want to do a workout. These might be really cheesy, but there's something in them that gets me out of bed and into my running shoes. They're very personal and what works for me might not work for you. I usually find them on WeHeartIt. Here are some of my favourites at the moment:

And (surprise surprise) Ryan Gosling

So, that is all I have to share with you for now. Writing this type of blog posts is new for me, but I enjoyed it. If you would like me to talk more about sports, workouts and my lifestyle, let me know and I'll see what I can do :)

Thoughts about saying good-bye (II)

Until I graduated from high school, a good-bye was never a big deal for me. It usually meant "see you tomorrow" or "see you after the weekend". However, the concept and the aftermath of good-byes have been keeping my mind occupied for quite a while now.

Not too long ago "have a nice life" seemed like a cool phrase to throw at your enemy. Now it's something I say to friends. People have a tendency to be optimistic and say "see you soon" in all sorts of situations, but sometimes you just know you are never going to see them again, simply because you reach a parting of your ways. My university town, Malmo, is the only connection I have with most of the people I met after I graduated from high school. Everything is so unstable here - people come and go, knowing that even if they come back a year or two later, things will never be the same.

But what's been really bothering me lately is the classical situation - one person stays and the other person goes. I have been on both sides.  Leaving home for the first time, I looked ant my brother and tried to picture what he would do after I'm gone. He would go to the kitchen, grab a few candies from the yellow bowl on the kitchen table, lie down on the sofa and watch TV all afternoon. I left my classmate in a train station in Malmo a year ago and flew over to England, thinking how she would go home and wrap herself up in a blanket, just like every day. I left my housemates in England, knowing that nothing really changed for them and they will soon welcome a new person who will sleep in the same bed I slept in. With or without me, these cycles never stopped.

But sometimes I get to be on the other side. Looking at my boyfriend in the train window after he visited me, I knew it was just the beginning of his journey, and I just went back to my apartment. Nothing was different, except the fact that he was there, with me, only half an hour ago.

It just gets so confusing at this point - you always hear how important you are for people, but when you are gone, are you really missed?