A letter to all bitches and bullies

Hi everyone!
I'm in the mood for a bit serious post today, hope you find it inspiring or helpful in any way:

There are a lot of people I think I'll never be able to understand. There are so many ignorant, pre-judging, and straight forward mean human beings out there, that I don't know where to start.
Even though I've accepted it as a part of life, I still get mad when I think of all the fragile, young minds that get crushed by others. How can anyone be mean to kids that's just trying to find their place? They haven't done anything wrong, neither to you or anyone else.
I had a conversation with a younger girl the other day, and when she found out that I was a fan of anime, she got so happy! She said: "I thought no one else but me and my closest friends liked it! Everyone else thinks we're strange...we're a bit of loners."
Anime is still not very popular in Norway, so I'm also used to getting the "strange"-stamp.
But this girl seemed to be quite bothered about it. However you like anime or not, does not define your personality, intelligence, lifestyle, coolness or anything else. It's just a personal interest.
So why is it that a young, insecure girl has to choose between doing what she like or being accepted? I've met a bunch of anime lovers in my life, and they're all different.
I don't like Justin Bieber, but many of my friends do. That doesn't make them less worthy in my eyes!

Don't misunderstand me. It's okay to disagree, and I won't force anyone to like anime or anything else.
But don't bitch around about persons you don't know, and do certainly not bring others down because they got a different opinion than you.
Some people may handle that just fine, while others grow even more insecure and shy. Some people may look fine, but they're really not. You might be a bully without even knowing it.
Whoever gave you the right to put others in a mental jail like that?
It's terrible (believe me, I know the feeling) to feel like you have to hide who you are, or even don't know who you are yet, because the people around you never let you explore.
I know many people pre-judge and assume almost automatically, without thinking any more about it.
This is (sadly) what many parts of society tells us to do, consciously or not.

It touched my heart to see how that girl's face brightened up when I told her I love anime too.
Do people even take the time to try to understand?

It doesn't require much, you guys! Just smile, accept, and go through life with a open heart, and you will make the world a much better place.

Do you have any opinions on the topic? Let me know!

So long ~

How do you define fashion?

Hello dear readers! ^.^

Today I thought I'd make time for a bit longer post. This blog is growing steadily, and it's so much fun to be a part of it! Gulli and I have been talking about creating a Facebook page for the blog too, so you can follow us there as well. This, as well as a new header, will hopefully get into place during our winter vacation. (As mentioned earlier, I don't exactly have much to do.) 

I hope you'll support us in the future too :D

What I'm going to write about today is fashion. Not a particular style, tips and so on, but just fashion.

Have you ever asked yourself: what is fashion? 

Well, I have, and the answer turned out to be more complicated than I first thought. There is a lot to the term "fashion". Just imagine all those wealthy, high status women that buy out-of-this-world expensive designer items, and sit on first row at all the big fashion shows. They all claim to be true fashionistas, but are they really? What defines good fashion?

To me, it's not enough to buy some expensive clothing in a famous fashion store.

The fashion industry have become a billion-industry, and wherever there's a lot of money involved, there will always be people that are after just that. Just the money. 

It has become many meanings of the word "trend". You have the trends the public wear, and the trends you create yourself. In my eyes, a trend is something that occurs on the street, and not at the office of a big fashion brand. 

Don't misunderstand, there are a lot of amazing designers who really deserve their fame and money.

But I don't think that the trends that are presented in some fashion magazines and fashion shows should be followed strictly. It's wrong to claim that everyone can walk around with the same and still look trendy.

It's not just about body shape and appearance either, but what type of personality you are.   

Some are punks at heart, others are cute princesses or fierce businesswomen. 

To think that all would look good in long skirts and batik pattern is naive. People should use fashion that match themselves, not fashion that matches the public's expectations. 

I think that fashion is a perfect weapon to provoke and inspire others, and renew our thoughts and opinions. We need to be different, dress different, act different. 

Fashion should be a way to express oneself, and I can't help but notice that the fashion industry are moving further away from this principle. 

"This fall you should dress in leather and wine red." " Use the 80's inspired swimsuits on the beach this summer!" I don't think that's how fashion should work.

It can inspire, but why should all "fashionable" people ditch all the pastel colored items in their closet and start wearing olive green and bronze, just because some "representatives" of fashion told them to?

Even though you thrive much more in bright pastels? 

Dear fashion-loving and confident girls all over the globe: you have received a task!

Renew the term "trend", and go out there and show the world that fashion is art; living and unique, and it can't be defined by some rich designer or a big fashion magazine!

Oh, quite a long text there. I'll add some pictures form the fashion area Harajuku in Tokyo. While you look at the pictures, please bear in mind that they're all different, yet fashionable, and this type of art wouldn't be possible is everyone had to wear the same design. 

All photos are from Tokyo Fashion, except the two upper photos that I got from Nakagawa Juria's fanpage on Facebook. (Juria is a rather cool fashionista, you should check her out.) ^^ 

Hope you liked this long post, let me know if you want me to post something similar in the future. Also, if you have any thoughts or opinions on this, don't hesitate to comment! ^.^

Talk to you later ~ 

Encouraging pictures just for you!

Hi guys! :D

So, I had a big plan yesterday! It was about Gulli and I taking lots of funny pictures during the theater practice, and post them here for you to laugh of.
However, Gulli is down with sickness. (Does anyone remember the "tropical-flower-planted-on-the north- pole" description I gave of her immune system? Well, it hasn't changed.) This time it's the flu, so she'll probably be down for a while. Hopefully she'll recover enough to blog again soon! ^^
But it wasn't only Gulli. Almost everyone were down with flu! There were hardly anyone there at all!
And the pictures would get rather boring if I were all alone on them, right? This, however, is not an excuse for not blogging yesterday! I was tired and sleepy, BUT it is not an excuse for all you poor people who checked the blog yesterday just to find *nothing*.
That's why, to show how sorry I am (I'm doing this for Gulli too, since her blogging hasn't been too active lately), I'm writing "Sorry" on all the languages I've noticed our readers speak so far:

Beklager! Sorry! Traurig! 죄송합니다! Arrepentido! Désolé! Anteeksi! Förlåt! съжалявам! 失敬! 
ごめんなさい! Mi dispiace! Sinto muito! Przykro mi!

That was the languages I could remember for now. As you probably understand I've used google translate on most, and as we all know google translate isn't very accurate... Many of you might be laughing over whatever strange things I've written! Well, I'm sorry for that too :(

I hate the flu season. All of your friends are ill, and I think I'm starting to get it too! I had an awful flu in the beginning of December, and I hope it will be a long time until I get something like that again. Can you imagine spitting in a cup while you're in bed because your throat is too swollen to swallow anything? Yep >.<
That's why I've been drinking many liters of tea the last days, and worn my scarf as a paranoid. I will not loose to the flu! Especially since I got a lot of school work coming up, and this term I promised myself not to fall off.

I have nothing more in particular to blog about today, so I thought I'd put in a bunch of random encouraging and mind blowing pictures ^^

I read a great comment on this: "Life is a wave, and we'll get crushed unless we dive right into it."  ;)

This is me.

And here's one for all of you poor fellows that's struggling with school work out there!  (Including myself.)

Hope some of this pictures brightened your day, if even just a little :3
I would also like to clear out that during the time this post was written, Gulli told me she had recovered again. She even attended school today! Nice going, tropical flower! Evolution always have a solution <3

Talk to you later :D

Inspiring city life!

Hi sweet readers! ^^

So... Today have been a quite normal, busy day. Left the house at 08.20, returned home at 18.40.
After school I walked to a meeting in the other end of town, and after we were done I went to a cafe/restaurant-thingy with my friend. (I think it's a restaurant, but it's too ugly to be called that.) Afterwards we had to attend something called "dark driving", which is a part of the driver training in Norway. It's basically about us sitting in a car while the teacher/driver asks us questions about the signs we pass, and about how to use the headlights and what distance we should keep from the car ahead and such.
It's even more important to learn in Norway, as it's quite dark, snowy and icy in the winter time.
I'm not stressing about driver training yet though, as I have to turn 18 before I can drive.
To all you readers in the USA, and everyone else who can drive when they're 16; I kinda envy you, but at the same time it's kinda scary. I would never get driven by most 16 year-old's I know! Way too immature to be placed in a driver seat O.O
I don't think I want to start driving soon, either. I don't trust myself.
Sure, I'm going to take the driver license, but there's no hurry to get a car. I'm planning on moving to a big city when I finish high school anyway, and it's much better to take the metro or use the trains, in my opinion. A full packed metro is not my favorite thing, but at least you'll arrive on time. The rush traffic on the roads is a very different story! And it's good to the environment to use public transport too ^^

I'm looking forward to spend some time in the city soon! It's noisy and crowded, but the city life has it's charm. Personally, I enjoy watching other people. (Don't get it the wrong way).
There are so many different personalities on the street, and it's fun to look at everyone's individual style. I often try to guess where they are going, where they've been, and what's on their mind.
There are so many details many of us don't notice!
Like how cheerful a little girl becomes when she's feeding the birds, and the business man who is way too late for a meeting.
The couple where the guy is obviously in love and tries to hold her hand, show her things and talk to her, but the girl just keeps on talking with her friend on the phone.
You might find it weird that I notice all this, but all I do is looking outside my own world and see what's around me. I find these tiny glimpses of others life really inspiring! ^^
You can try it yourself! Find a nice spot in a park, at a street cafe, or another public place. Airports and metros are also interesting "melting pots" of many different people.

Shanghai, China

London, England

New Delhi, India

Now, you don't expect me to be the most experienced city girl, but I've always been fascinated by the modern, urban culture. Of course it has some dark sides, but living in a small place does too. It is, like most things in life, what you make it to. 

I was born in a city after all, even though I moved to this small town when I was only six years old. 

My father and sister still lives there, so I visit many times a year. And as mentioned, my family travels a lot, so I've been lucky too visit many world metro poles! ^.^

And this summer, I'm going to visit Tokyo, the world's largest city, and my expectations are sky high! 

I try to keep them low, so I won't get disappointed, but every time I think of it I get that silly little smile and bubbly feeling. It's just like I'm in love. With a city I've never even been too! 

Maybe it's good though? You often ignore your loved one's flaws, don't you? Maybe I'll be so dazzled by Tokyo that I won't get negative. Three weeks without any negativity? Got to be good.

Dear Tokyo. You happen to be all I think of at the time, so you better not let me down.
-Sincerely, yours forever, Silje Nikolina.

What do you think? Is the city life important to you, or do you prefer to be in smaller places? Please tell! :3

By the way, we made a little change on our commenting system now, so you don't have to prove you're not a robot to comment anonymous. We don't believe our readers to be robots, anyway. (Are you?)

Talk to you later! <3

Dare to live your dreams!

Hi cute ones!

Did you have a nice Saturday? Well, I sure had! ^.^ In fact I almost forgot to blog today, and I wasn't really sure what to write about. We are huge fans of self confidence and individuality here at Sakura Kiss, as well as fashion and beauty stuff, so I thought I was going to give you another reminder now. Honestly, I don't think it can be said often enough. Please, please, be yourself! And don't let anyone else tell what you can and can't do. I've heard plenty of discouraging things about myself in the past, and I hardly recognize the person I was before. Whenever I think back, I always think about how weak, naive and unsure I was. But it also hits me how cruel and despicable some people can be. Taking advantage of the ones weaker than you, is really some of the most cowardly and coldhearted things you can do. We hear about such people in the media everyday, but just think how many it actually is! People who lie, manipulate and destroy others self confidence to nothingness. .
I don't wanna drift too far away from the point here, but just don't let such trash ruin for you.

While I and a good friend of mine was taking a walk yesterday, we talked about opportunities and dreams, and how everyone should follow them. Since we live in a small town, far away from the worlds center stages, you really have to make a leap to get out. You need to decide on what to do. Some people leave for the city, and hardly ever come back Some move away to study and move back to start a family, and some stay in the area their whole lives. I'm sure many of you can relate no matter where you grew up.
In most communities, cities too, there are expectations of how you're gonna live your life. We also grow up in different environments of people, including our family, who all have an expectation of us.
I think it's important that we get a chance to think for ourselves, without any influence, on how we wanna live.

My father, for instance, is a very strict and proper man. My grades interest him far more than if I thrive at school. His biggest wish for me is that I get a good education and a well paid job, so I can live a comfortable life. He would prefer me to become a doctor, engineer or lawyer.
"But Father, my dream is to become an actress!" I told him once.
"That's just a child dream. In reality, it's close to impossible. If you try to become an actress, you'll end up poor, with no other options."
He didn't believe in me. Even when I called and told him I got a small role in a TV series, his answer was: "You just got lucky this time."
And when I told him I was learning Japanese, and that I wanted to go to Tokyo this summer, he just laughed.  "What is the point? What do you want to achieve there?" he asked.
"I want to learn a new language and explore a culture I'm fascinated by. I want to experience. That's all."
He still didn't understand.
"Japanese is a very important language in the modern business world, you know." I said.
"Then why don't you go to China? I think Chinese is more important."
Of course my father would never understand my real reasons to go to Japan. I convinced him that knowing Japanese would give me a big advantage in many jobs. And so he agreed to pay a third of my travel expenses to Tokyo. Believing that I wanted to learn Japanese in order to get a well paid job.
"Maybe I can live and study there too, someday?" I said.
"No. Stay in a culture close to our own. Don't make it difficult for yourself."
But guess what, I'm aiming on a year abroad in Japan, anyway. After all, how is he to decide how I'm gonna live my life? This is me, and this is what I want to do. And believe me, he is not the only one being skeptical about my Japan dream.

Despite what it may sound, my father encourage me greatly. I've always looked forward to the day I can look him in the eyes and say: "I've succeeded on my own. You were wrong."

Another quite personal post, but I hope some of you got inspired to follow your dreams! ^.^
I'm sure everyone has that special someone they wanna say "Look, I did it!" to. Who's yours?

Good night and sweet dreams! ^^

Living healthy the cozy way

Hi fellow candy-lovers!

Today I thought I was going to share with you my battle plan on healthy living this year! ^^
First of all, let it be said, I'm not the healthiest girl around. I'm a little to weak for chocolate, caffe latte and ice cream, and I'm very fund of having things cozy and comfortable. But I'm not the most unhealthy either, so this year I made it one of my new year resolutions to find a healthy way of living that I would really enjoy too! (People say that "without pain, there's no gain", but I'll find the most unpainful way)

That is why I made this list to follow:

1. Swap the cocoa or caffe latte with tea!
Tea is healthier and haw a lower amount of sugar and fat. Some people say that they don't like tea, but I'm sure that's a lie. There are endless sorts of tea out there! If you're having troubles finding one you like, I recommend going to a shop for nature medicine or another store where they are specialized in tea. I also recommend the brand YogiTea, as they have a lot of great tasting tea made for different types of problems: tea to help the digestion, tea to help against stress and so on.

2. Find a way of exercising that works for you!
Let's face it: you don't usually do your best if you hate what you're doing. Especially when it comes to exercise. In my case, I found yoga to be what works best for me. I don't really like team sports, as I feel like I'm letting my teammates down if I fail. Remember that this is highly individual, and only you know what works best for you! Once you find something you enjoy to do, exercising is going to be so much funnier ^^

3. Plan your meals to be healthy -and tasty!
I love food. I taste almost everything, and I'm always open to new ingredients. However, when something tastes bad, it tastes bad. And I don't believe in learning to like something either. Try to be a little creative with your meals. Fitness magazines are stocked with recipes, but you don't have to follow them strictly. Use recipes to get inspiration instead! You mostly know what's healthy or not anyway, so try to add the healthy stuff in the food you like. For example, use whole grain pasta instead of normal pasta. And you can also do some research to find totally new food to try out. Be creative, and plan and vary your meals.
Personally I love Asian food, especially Thai, and luckily that happens to be quite healthy too. Wok is my favorite dish, and it has so many vegetables in it. I'm sure there is a lot of healthy food out there you'll love too!

4. Treat yourself with spa instead of candy!
This line speaks for itself. I don't want you to ruin yourself on expensive spa treatment, but very little is needed to get a great home spa. A facial mask to use at home is much better for your skin than the caffe latte, and it's usually cheaper too. If you light a candle and add some aromatic oil to your bath, you'll have a luxury spa in no time. A simple foot bath does miracles to tired feet. So don't grab the chocolate bar when you come home after a stressful day, grab the massage oil!

This was some simple steps to a healthier life, which I'm going to follow myself. ^.^
I hope you find some of this helpful! If you're looking for a balanced and relaxed lifestyle, I also recommend meditation. I wrote a post about that some time ago, feel free to look it up :)

These are just supplements, I'm never giving up my precious Friday chocolate!
Bye bye :D

Simple step to happiness

Hi cuties! ^^

First of all, what am I doing? Eating a bowl of ice cream on a Tuesday? Well, in my new year resolution it stood clearly "NO chocolate or soda in weekdays!" But nothing about ice cream, so I've forgiven myself. :3
And by the way, I ate some tiny chocolates while visiting my grandmother today so, uhm... I'll work on it.
Why am I so weak for sweets? >.<

Let Rilakkuma explain: It's sweet, and it makes me happy! ^^ (I sound like a drug addict...)

Anyway, today I realized something. Why does so many people have a hard time accepting others?

I say many, because it is! Maybe you do it too, without even knowing it? 

And why is it that we have to accept others, anyway? Once someone told me: "I accept your taste is music. It's kinda cool." That really bothered me. Somehow he felt like he had to approve my own personal taste in music. Like it wasn't my decision! Like he was saying "I allow you to play that music on your iPod."

Here's what I think: There's no need for us to accept others. Just respect them, be amazed, or walk away. 

It's really that easy! And I know some people really want to be "accepted", but that's where they already went wrong. Don't give anyone the power to decide if you're good or not. It's not just giving ammo to your enemy, it's handing over your whole war plan! (Did that make sense?)

I mean, what if the guy had told me: "I hate your music. It's total crap." Should I've stopped listening to my music then? Switched to something else? Some people actually do this, and it's so sad. One should never change that much for others. 

People are different, and we all have our special talent! How can you know the talent of that not-so-popular girl in class, if you never talk to her? If you blindly go along with the flow all the time, you make it difficult for yourself to see both others and your own talent. You don't know what you're good at before you try it, and you don't know what others are good at before you give them a try! ;)

There are so many thing to amazed about in our daily life, but sadly many never notice it. 

Hope you all dare to be open and honest to yourselves! ^.^ 

By the way, what to you want to read about on this blog? If you have any suggestions or thoughts, don't hesitate to comment! : > 

Bye!

Going back on track! ^.^

Hi again everyone! :D

Sorry for not blogging yesterday, Gulli is still a bit sick, and wanted me and a friend to join her, crushing her ginger bread house! We had a fun time together, though I was a little bit devastated to crush something that pretty :/ Both Gulli and our friend Audun are superb chefs, and make lovely cakes and muffins. I am, on the other hand, just happy if the kitchen doesn't burn down in the process. The house was so cute, and I can't imagine how long time she spent to decorate it. Just to crush it with a hammer. Because we didn't want crumbs to fly all over the place, Audun put a plastic bag over the house, while Gulli hit it multiple times.
It was just like an execution!! I sat on the couch covering my eyes, and waited for it to be over. If you didn't understand that yet, I'm a very compassionate soul.

Look at the pretty little house :3 Before it was smashed to pieces, and eaten up, that is.
She even melted lollipops to make multicolored window glass! My house hardly had any windows at all...

Anyway, I'm finally starting to get back in my everyday routine. My teachers obviously haven't heard of "a smooth start", and packed us up with tests and homework already. It seems like everything has started like a big explosion, and it gives no time for laid back persons like me to get back on track.
Well, I guess you just have to go with the flow sometimes ^^
The Christmas snow has melted away in our town now, and in the previous days it's been raining a lot.
No idea why, but it makes me so happy! I think I might be in love with rain. It's perfect for getting back in the normal routine, and after a long Christmas inside, it feels so refreshing. Also, raindrops drumming on the roof is my ideal lullaby :3

I haven't told you about my New Year resolutions yet, maybe I'll write a post about them later ^^
But I picked up a lovely idea from Rainbowholic, a super cute and inspiring blogger and fashionista I'm following! If you're having troubles staying encouraged throughout the year, why don't you write down what you're happy and grateful for on small pieces of paper, whenever you remember something?
Then you can store them in a jar or something similar, and read them at the end of the month or whenever you feel down ^.^

I'll try to do this, as you never know when you'll need some encouragement and inspiration!

Hope you all have a nice beginning of the new year, and stay tuned to us! (Gulli will be recovered soon too, believe me, I'll force her to)

Until next time <3