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Eight Months Later – Life After Writing a Master’s Thesis

Hey Guys!

I know it has been a long time since I wrote to you. To be exact it has been eight months ago. Do you want to know why? Well, I was starting my master’s thesis in March… And while writing a thesis every day for six months, I just had no energy and inspiration left for writing a blog post. I did not think that this would happen, but it did. I still went for walks and continued my home workout though. I even started to run once or twice a week and to cycle regularly. But as with the blog posts I also had less to share with you via Instagram... Less time to cook so there was less to show… And when I took photos to share them and their recipes with you… Well, I obviously did not do it. But I want to change that now! I will just give you an update in this Blog Post. Then I will write the next one about convict conditioning and how it turned out.

Writing a Master’s Thesis

First of all, the experience of writing a master’s thesis was something else! It was harder than a bachelor’s thesis, but at the same time way more interesting! As you might know, I studied Logistics. I wrote my master’s thesis about predictive maintenance at the intralogistics of Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG. Predictive maintenance is about predicting future failures and future wear of machines. Then you can plan maintenance activities only when they are needed. Companies usually use corrective or preventive maintenance methods. Corrective means repairing machines or parts when they broke down. Preventive includes time-based or performance-based maintenance activities to prevent breakdowns. It was a very interesting and technical topic which was challenging as I have no background in computer science or technology. I learned a lot about machine learning, artificial intelligence, and maintenance. But mostly I learned about staying concentrated and motivated for long periods of time. And what can I say, I succeeded and achieved what I was working for since March 2020. I completed my master’s degree with an average grade of 1.1 and was the best of my year. I am kind of proud but mostly happy that I learned so much.

Ready for Vacation

After finishing my master’s thesis I was ready for the holidays. So I went to Croatia for three weeks. I have never been on holiday this long. I went to Vinišće in the North of Split for two weeks with my best friend and our boyfriends. It was beautiful there, a small village in the middle of hills, olive trees, and fig trees. We just lay in the sun, swam in the sea, and ate a lot of food. I especially enjoyed lying outside in the dark, looking at the sky and the stars. Around here you can not see them as good as there. Bright and clear. After two weeks we separated. My friends stayed in Vinišće, while we moved southwards to Dubrovnik. I always wanted to go there, even though I have not watched all seasons of Game of Thrones, which was partially filmed there. The town is just amazing and definitely worth a visit! You can also visit Montenegro and Bosnia from there. We wanted to do this too, but I had an accident after two days. I think it was the need to climb, as I have not been bouldering for more than two weeks at that point. So I climbed a fig tree to get some figs. The branch cracked, I fell, and I sprained my ankle pretty badly. That was the end of visiting cities and the beginning of lying in the garden in front of our apartment, reading harry potter and being bitten by tiger mosquitos. I still enjoyed every bit of it.

  • The Wine in Croatia is just delicious
  • View from the appartment
  • At the beach
  • Beautiful Croatia
  • Me taking Photos all the time
  • Croatian Fish
  • Pink Latte and Matcha Latte
  • Canoeing
  • The fatal fig tree
  • Still enjoying Croatia

New Familiy Member

One night after the accident, after visiting the hospital of Dubrovnik and after going to the sea without swimming (thanks to my sprained ankle), it happened. We just arrived in front of our apartment and there she was. A small, thin kitten ran towards us. She asked for cuddles and did not leave for hours. When we went into our apartment, she came with us. She left during the night, as we left the door open. We did not have any food or a litter box. But we have already fallen in love with her. The next day we thought about getting a cat. We could not take her, of course. We were more than 12 hours away from home and we did not know if she belonged to someone and if we were even allowed. So we decided, we will just get a cat in Germany. Okay, so far so good.

We came back later that night after visiting a restaurant. I limped around the car with my crutches. Then I saw her. She jumped down from a terrace and ran towards me. She ran right into my arms. After stroking her once, I knew I did not want any cat from Germany. I wanted her. She felt like family. Once again she followed us into the apartment and we cuddled for hours. I contacted our landlord and found out that she did not have any owner. She was a street cat. This night we did not leave the door open. The next morning we went to a shop with our kitten and bought everything we needed. Then we went to a vet. She got vaccinated and chipped, and we got a passport for her. We stayed for four more days, and she never tried to leave. At the end of the week, we got into the car with the cat on my legs and drove for two whole days. We spent a night in a B&B in Ljubliana (also a city you should visit, it is just breathtaking!). We even went to restaurants with the cat. She behaved perfectly! Arriving in Germany we had to visit the vet very often as she got some sicknesses from the streets (ear mites). But she grew into a healthy, strong, beautiful cat that is now part of our family. We called her Mlini, after the village where we found her.

  • Sleepy Mlini
  • Loves Cuddles
  • & Hanging Around

Start of a new Phase in Life

So, the master’s thesis was finished, the family was enlarged and my foot was injured. The next step was starting my very first job. I did not plan to start my first job with crutches, believe me. But as I am working in the office, at least I can work anyway. I started to work as a Junior SAP Consultant in the logistics/production area. As I have gained experience in maintenance and learned to be interested in that field, I was asked to work in the maintenance team within the logistics project. So now I am to become an SAP Consultant in Logistics and Maintenance. I am excited about everything that I will learn. I started to work for a Start-up, as I wanted to work in a small company. I have worked for big companies like Bosch, Porsche, and Lidl and I needed a change (I enjoyed all three companies, don’t get me wrong). It was the right decision. A small company can be so much more agile. You can participate in improving the company and when you have ideas you can actually realize them rather than only address them.

For now, I am happy. I make tons of photos of Mlini. I enjoy working and learning a lot every day. I started to go bouldering again (very slowly because of my foot) and I still do convict conditioning. I just started working on some personal ideas, too. I hope I can realize them soon. Of course, I will tell you about them, when they are ready. You will definitely hear from me soon. And as always, feel free to leave a like, a comment, and to visit my Instagram account, where you can watch photos of Mlini and stay up-to-date!

Love, Eileen

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14 Days of Vacation at Home – Part 2

Hello Guys,

and welcome to the second part of my blog post about my vacation at home in Kempten, Bavaria. As we spent the first week visiting cities, playing games, and bouldering, we decided to hike some more in the second part of our vacation.

On Monday (09.07.) we visited Isny and Wangen, to see some small cities in the region of Kempten. Isny is a very small place with nice stores. After visiting the shops, we ate Asian food from a small Vietnamese shop called Hung & Khang. They prepare their food fresh and it is very tasty. At the moment, because of Corona, they only offer take-away. If it is not too cold, you can get it and eat it next to the pound, 3 minutes from the store. The parking is free in Isny, while you have to pay for it in Wangen. Wangen is a little bit bigger, but also very nice. I think the houses are even more beautiful than in Isny. We drank Cappuccino at the Fideslisbäck while sitting in the sun. The coffee is very good and you can get small things to eat, like salads or sandwiches, if you are hungry. As we were in the mood to walk in nature, we decided to walk along a river near Wangen. The hike actually ended more in an adventure than planned, as we once took the wrong path. We started climbing a small mountain which made us lose time. The path was steep at some points, with ropes to help you mount it. As we started our hike near 4 o’clock, and the sun went down at 8, while the hike takes more than three hours, we had no time for detours. Being in the dark in the forest is not very funny. One more wrong path and we would have been lost in the woods in the dark, with no battery left on the phone. Happily, we were lucky and took the right paths to go back to the car. We arrived right before it was dark.

As we decided to use the rest of our time to hike and see nature, we went to Baad (Austria) on Tuesday (09.08.). Actually, we only realized that Baad is in Austria when we passed the border. The hike we chose takes around three hours and offers incredible views on the Kleinwalsertal. We mounted a mountain until we arrived at the Stierhofalpe, where we ate regional food and drank fresh milk. They offer fresh cheese and sausages from their cows and homemade cake. Do not expect real meals, as there are none. But, you have a beautiful view from there, plus horses and cows walking free. The whole trip was not too tiring, while I recommend the Kleinwalsertal, which is truly beautiful and a must-see.

As we enjoyed the market so much (see part one of the blog post), we went back to eat Weißwurst and Brezel again on Wednesday (09.09.). After the unexpected hike on Monday, we wanted to experience some more adventure by trying a via Ferrata (Klettersteig). We found a Klettersteig near Garmisch Partenkirchen, which was described as easy and adequate for beginners. Furthermore, you do not need special equipment and there is another way down. Sounds perfect! We just bought some walking boots for Julia, as they are necessary for hikes. As the hike starts in Ettal, you can start by visiting the monastery of Ettal, which is astounding and for free. After the visit, we started our hike to experience our first Klettersteig. How exciting! Well, the hike was exhausting, even if it lasted only for two hours. Then the surprise: the via Ferrata was not what we imagined. We thought that it is a very small path next to the edge with a rope to secure yourself. Like the trail, we used on Monday. In reality, it was a steep stone, you had to climb up. As we knew there will be another path down, we still decided to mount. I mean, we went through two hours of exhausting hiking just to experience a Klettersteig. While mounting we met a couple which was secured by climbing equipment and had problems to decent, as the girl was scared. I said: well we will definitively take the other way down. The girl answered: what another way? Julia and me panicking. The couple then said that they did not take a good look, so maybe they did not see the other path. Also, they mentioned that the view is worth it. As we were already near to the top, Julia and I decided to continue and to hope that there really is another path. When I arrived at the top, Julia (which was behind me) asked if we are gonna die. I answered yes, duck, and sat down on the ground. I have to admit that the view was the best one I have ever had. The problem was, that both Julia and I are a little bit scared of heights. Ok, maybe a little is an understatement. As the surface of the top of the mountain was not very large, we both just sat there and tried not to panic. It was difficult to enjoy the view. Also, we realized that we really have to go back all the way down, with only a rope to secure us. Right above the edge with a height of 1633 m. Not very reassuring. We spent some time on top, trying to calm down and prepare for the descent. At least I took some pictures, trying to make the trip worth it. Happily, we made it safe and sound back to the ground. What an experience! And maybe not only our first but also our last Klettersteig.

After the adrenaline of feeling as if we were gonna die on Wednesday, we decided on an easier hike on Thursday (09.10.). Therefore, we went to the castle Neuschwanstein to walk around the lake. The hike was very beautiful and less tiring than the hike of the Ettaler Mandl, even if our legs still burned from the day before. There are some small paths next to the edge, but nothing dangerous. You should still wear hiking boots to have a good grip. While hiking, you pass several nice spots and have most of the time a great view of the castles and the lake. As the castles are next to Füssen, we went there afterwards to visit the city. While the parking at the castles was very expensive (8 euros), you can park for free in Füssen in the evening. The streets are very beautiful, especially at night. As we ate nothing since the morning, we went to an Italian restaurant called La Perla for dinner. The food was incredibly good and the servant was funny and polite. We shared two meals and had a Tiramisu for dessert. The Tiramisu is the only thing I can not recommend, as it was not as good as the main courses. If you are not a fan of Italian food, there are many well-rated restaurants in Füssen. Therefore, if you are in the region you should really visit the castles and Füssen.

After all the hiking we were tired on Friday (09.11.). We just went to the Hopfensee near Füssen. It is a very clean and small lake, where you can go for a swim. As we were so tired, we just played Carcassonne and relaxed on the grass next to the water.

Well, we became big fans of the Weißwurst breakfast on the market, so we went back there on Saturday (09.12.). Right next to the coffee stand is a bakery stand, where you can buy fresh cake and bread. We bought two pieces of cake, which were very tasty. After the market, we left for a quick hike around Oberstdorf, which is only 30 minutes away. The city is bigger than, for example, Kempten and offers many shops and restaurants. The mountains around Oberstdorf are high and beautiful, with many hikes to discover. It is a great choice if you do not want to drive until Austria to hike. In the evening a streetfood festival started in Kempten. We tried multiple dishes such as buffalo burger, potatoes chips, and pulled beef. The burger was with meat and mozzarella from buffalo and was different than other burgers. Normally I am not a big fan of burgers, but this one was just incredible. Maybe you try it one day, it is worth it.

At first, we wanted to go to a lake for a swim on Sunday (09.13.), as it was a hot and sunny day. As we were not in the mood, we first went bouldering in the morning and then went back to the street food market in Kempten. We again ate a buffalo burger and potato chips, as they have been so good. Then our trip was at the end and we went back to Stuttgart.

So, now you know how we spent our two week holiday at Kempten. The time was amazing, also as I have not spent as much time with my best friend since 2014. When you are older, you just do not have as much time as when you are still at school. We enjoyed the time and the region of the Allgäu. There is a lot to do, so it never gets tiring. There are endless mountains to mount, cities to visit, restaurants to try, and cows to stroke. Even when it is rainy, you can go for a walk, visit a city and go shopping, go bouldering or at a therme to relax. Maybe I will see you one day here. I am already sad that I will leave in February (suspense), but I am definitively coming back!

Love, Eileen

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14 Days of Vacation at Home – Part 1

Hello Guys,

as I have been on vacation for several weeks, I was not able to write a new blog post until now. Normally I would have spent the last two weeks on a road trip with my best friend Julia. We wanted to travel through Europe, maybe to the south of France or throw Italy. Sadly the van of her dad, which we wanted to use for the tour, broke one week before our trip. Also, more regions were declared as risk regions due to Covid-19. That is why we decided to spend our vacation at my place in Kempten, Bavaria (Germany). In this blog post, I will show you how we spent our two weeks. Maybe you get inspired to travel to the Allgäu, too. Especially if you can not travel far this year and you want to stay in Germany, here are some insights into what we did. I split the blog post into two parts, as I give a quick summary of each day with some tips of mine. Without splitting, the blog post would have been way too long. 🙂 In this blog post, I talk about the first week, while part two will be published in two weeks.

We arrived in Kempten on Monday, the 31st of August. As we arrived later that evening, we only went to the store to buy supplies and cooked a mushroom ragout with bread dumplings (Semmelknödel), a specialty in Bavaria. You can buy them, for example, at Aldi for a small price. They are not too bad when you add a nice sauce.

It was very rainy on Tuesday (09.01.), so we stayed at home. We only tried to visit the downtown for around 30 minutes, which was enough to get us soaked with water. We spent the day playing games like Carcassonne and Qwixx, which are very funny even when you play them with only two people. Especially Carcassone was our favorite, which is why we played it like 3 times per day. In the evening we went bouldering in the Swoboda Alpin at Kempten, which is a good thing to do when it is raining. To finish the evening right, we went to Orange Octopus to get a party pizza. If you go there to get it, you only pay 14 euros for a party pizza, which is a great deal. Also, it tastes soooooo good!

As the market in Kempten takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays we decided to visit Kempten on this day (09.02.) by starting with the market. You can buy very good meat and sausages from a stand which only sells organic products. The price is more expensive but it is worth the taste and high quality. I recommend Bauernwurst and Knoblauchwurst. We also bought some olives and cream cheese called Schwiegermutterkäse with Fladenbrot for our lunch and strolled along the streets of Kempten. There are many shops to visit, surrounded by beautiful houses and streets. The next place we visited is called Burghalde and is something like the ruins of a castle. It only takes some minutes to mount to the top, where you have a view of the city and the mountains. The last place we discovered was the Cambodunum. In fact, Kempten is declared as the oldest city in Germany. The Cambodunum park includes ruins from gothic times and a museum of a therme, which we did not visit because of the high price (4 euros for a small museum). As it was a beautiful day, we decided to eat in the park of Kempten, where you have a nice view and benches to sit on. We took some coffee, the cream cheese, Fladenbrot, and the olives and had some nice picnic. We finished the day with ice cream and again some games.

To do something more exciting, we went to the Alpsee Bergwelt near to the large Alpsee on Thursday (09.03.). For 32 euros, it is possible to take a ride to the top of the mountain, go to the climbing park for three hours and go back down by coaster or by chairlift. We fought our fear of heights in the climbing park and had a great view while descending with the coaster. It is the longest coaster in Germany! Just so you know, when you are using the coaster in the afternoon in summer, you have to wait up until one and a half hours. We think that it is worth it. If you get hungry, you can reach a nice Alm within 10 minutes. The food is regional and very tasty for an adequate price. Also, you can take beautiful hikes around there. Next to the climbing park is a playground for children and there are many cute alpacas. Therefore, Alpsee Bergwelt is a nice trip for everyone.

  • View while mounting to the Alm
    View while mounting to the Alm
  • The Alm

Maybe you already heard of Lindau, a very beautiful city at the Bodensee. As it takes only one hour to go there from Kempten, we spent Friday (09.04.) visiting the city and enjoying a boat tour on the lake. The boat tour starts right at the bus station and takes one and a half hours, for 15.80 euros. It was very nice to sit in the sun, watching the sea and the mountains around it from another view. If you go to Lindau by car, I advise you to park your car in a parking lot next to the city and take the bus. It costs 5 euros for the parking ticket, including a bus ticket for the day (up to 5 people). We parked our car at the (P+R) Blauwiese parking lot, as this is where the shuttle bus starts and as there is a WC.

On the morning of Saturday (09.05.), we went back to the market in Kempten to eat Weißwurst and Brezel as breakfast. This is a traditional food in Bavaria. Also, there is a stand with fresh coffee such as Cappuccino and Latte Macchiato next to the church. They offer normal milk and oat milk, in case you do not drink cow’s milk. To enjoy the sunny weather, we went back to the large Alpsee after breakfast. This time we went for a swim and again played Carcassone, our favorite game. The water is very clear and not too cold. You have a great view from the lake and you can either sit on a bench or lie on the grass. It is easy to get into the water, with no disgusting mud on the ground of the lake. I hate that muddy feeling you get in many small lakes. Also, there are small stands with fresh coffee, something to eat (like Käsespätzle), and Ice Cream. The only negative point is the missing toilets. In the evening we watched the movie Das schönste Mädchen der Welt, which was so good. If you like romantic films and rap music, I recommend this german movie!

As the weather was rainy again on Sunday (09.06.), we decided to play games and go bouldering again, like on Tuesday.

So that was the first week of our vacation in Kempten. I hope it gives you an idea of how to spend your holidays in the Allgäu. Feel free to click on the links to get further information if you want to visit the places yourself! If you have any questions or want some more insights, just write me a message. 🙂

Love, Eileen

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Do You Tinder?

Hello Everybody,

I am sure that you know Tinder. The platform to meet new people, find dates, and maybe even love. One colleague of my best friend Julia, for example, met a woman on Tinder, and now they are married, expecting their first child, and have both a tattoo of the Tinder symbol on their bodies. Do you use Tinder or any similar dating platform such as Bumble or Lovoo? I used them a while ago. I even have been in a relationship for almost three years after meeting someone from Tinder. Now I am not interested anymore in using these kinds of apps and I will tell you the reasons for that in this blog post.

First of all, I do not have much time as I am studying and bouldering most of my time. Therefore, time is very precious to me. I want to spend my time with people I know and that I love or that are worth it. I do not know the people on Tinder or Bumble, so I do not know if they are worth my time. Maybe I will spend hours writing with some stranger just to find out that he is a jerk. I realized that I have no motivation to write people on such platforms as I prefer to spend my time with people I know. I also prefer to get to know people in real life. When I go bouldering I meet so many people. They are always friendly and we already have something in common: our passion for bouldering. So even when I downloaded Tinder just for fun some months ago, I did not have an interest in responding to any messages or in matching.

The second reason why I do not want to use Tinder anymore is that I am somehow too romantic. I know how that sounds and I am not believing in faith or something. But using Tinder to find a boyfriend just feels like dating people until the first “best one” is found. I mean it is wonderful when you meet somebody great you are falling in love with. But I keep thinking that if you did not match with this person, it would have been someone else you would have liked the most. Maybe, maybe not. I have this strange belief that the more coincidental the existence of your relationship is, the more it is as if it should have been. So when there were many coincidental incidents necessary to meet your partner, I feel as if it had to be. I know that sounds like faith, but I just like this idea. So on Tinder, it was not coincidental that you met, but you were looking for someone, swiping right several times, chatting to several guys, and maybe even going out with several people until you chose the first person you liked the most. You can not know if it is the person you should be with. But then you do not know when you met in real life either. I do not believe that there is this one person that is made for you, but that there are multiple that could be right. I also do not believe that the right person has to be perfect, but that you should love this person with his/her faults and that you could live with him or her without changing anything. I think that you should not be with somebody if you want to change him/her from the beginning. People change if they want to, but you can not force them.

The third reason against using Tinder to meet somebody is that when you meet somebody in real life, you have a better story to tell. Imagine your grandparents asking where you met and your answer is Tinder?

Of course, there are positive arguments for such platforms. For example, when you are older, it is more difficult to meet someone. Many are already married and you might meet less new people than when you are still at school or university. It also helps when you move somewhere new. You can find new friends or even learn new languages. Also, if you are just looking to find someone for something loose, it is the perfect platform to do it.

Please do not think that I want to say that if you are in a relationship with somebody you met on Tinder means it is not the right person for you. It can be the perfect fit, as it was for the colleague of Julia. I just wanted to share my romantic point of view on this topic and the reasons why I, for example, do not use these platforms anymore (besides that I am in a relationship 😉 ). I am also very interested in your opinions so please feel free to leave comments.

Love, Eileen

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No Regrets.

No regrets

Hello Guys,

and welcome to the shortest blog post I ever published. I just wanted to ask you if you have any regrets? Maybe you are ashamed of something? I think we all do have something we are not proud of. Maybe, you hurt somebody or did something stupid or embarrassing. I think that we should only do something when we know that we will not regret it. If you do something, stand by it. And if you did something wrong which you regret, learn from it. You can not change the past. The only thing you can do is to learn from what happened and do it better in the future. I know what I do and I know when I make mistakes. But I am not doing something carelessly. And I do not waste my time to regret, but rather to reflect so that I am sure what I want to do and who I want to be.

That’s all I wanted to say. Maybe you think about it. 🙂

Love, Eileen

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Don’t Wait to Live – Start Living Now!

Enjoying life

Hello Guys,

as I am writing my exams at the moment, I didn’t have time to write a long blog post. But I thought that I will at least write a short one, so you don’t start missing me. 😉

Do you know that feeling that you are eager for something to arrive? Like Christmas, your birthday, or the next holidays? That feeling makes us happy and excited. But sometimes it’s not just that you can’t wait until the holidays arrive, but you also wish the days until then to pass faster. Maybe you experience a hard time at work or at school. Maybe the weather is very bad at the moment, so you can’t go for a swim although it’s July. Or maybe Corona annoys you as much as everyone. In times like these, I start to think: only two months left, then I will have my bachelor’s degree and the stress will be over. Only one month left and I will be lying on a beach in Italy. Only two days left and it’s the weekend. I am sure you can relate to some of those examples. The thing is, life is short. Furthermore, we sleep a third of it. So why should we spend our time hoping that time passes faster? Last year I thought about this and what would happen if I dropped dead tomorrow. I know that nothing would happen as I wouldn’t think anymore. But imagine that I would, then maybe I would see that I spend the last week of my life hoping that it will be over soon, working day and night. Frankly, I don’t want to spend half of my life, hoping that time passes faster, only waiting for the next pleasant day to arrive. That’s why I decided to make each day a pleasant day. Even when I have endless work to do, I try to do something that makes me happy. I try, for example, to take at least one hour for a walk or to watch a movie before going to bed. When I have to work the whole day, I need to do something which makes the day a good day before going to bed. I also try to stop hoping for something to arrive soon. When I finish my master’s degree, I will have more money to spend, so my life will be more comfortable. But I don’t want one year of my life to pass fast so that this day arrives sooner. I want to enjoy my studies, learn a lot, make friends, get better at bouldering, and eat delicious food.

I hope that you get what I am trying to say. If you are always waiting for something to arrive, I am asking myself if you are living at that moment. If you have too much work to do to take an hour to eat something you like or to go for a walk, then maybe that’s a sign that you need to change something. Unless you want to wait until you are older, maybe even until you are retired, to enjoy your life. So, when the weather is bad and you can’t go to the lake as planned, why don’t you read that book you still have on your shelf or watch that movie you were waiting to see? When Covid-19 prevents you from going out and seeing your friends, which for sure is pretty annoying, maybe you could use that time for yourself. Start doing sport or go for a hike and see the nature which surrounds you. Spend more time with your partner and enjoy the time together, which is only possible thanks to home-office. The best thing is that if you start enjoying every day, the days will automatically pass faster, so the holidays arrive sooner. That’s because when you are happy, it feels as if time passes faster. But then the days were at least worth it.

I hope that you are all healthy and that you enjoy your day! If you are also writing your exams, I wish you good luck. If you are having a bad time at work or personal problems, don’t lose faith and try to enjoy small things.

Love, Eileen

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Over 7 Years – That Means Forever!

Besties

Hello Guys!

I have a question: do you have a best friend? I mean a real best friend who knows you the best and for whom you would do anything. You know until recently I have never really thought about this, but some people don’t have one. I realized that when my best friend once came to my house late in the night although she had to work early the next morning. That night my relationship ended after almost three years. I can tell you that I wasn’t in a good mood and I just didn’t want to be alone. So she came after 11 pm to be there for me. She told me then that when she had said to her boyfriend that she has to go to see me, he answered that he understands even if he can’t understand because he doesn’t have a best friend like that. There is nobody he would do such a thing for. Not a friend anyway. That’s when I started thinking about how life would look like if I didn’t have her. This is pretty unimaginable for me, as we have been best friends for 14 years now. She is my family and she means the world to me. That’s why I decided to dedicate this post to her, as she deserves it for supporting me for all those years.

We first met in September 2006 on the first day of school. In Germany you have the elementary school which lasts for four years, then you have either the “Hauptschule” which lasts for five years, the “Realschule” which lasts for six years and the “Gymnasium” which lasts for 8 years. The last school I mentioned gives you the possibility to study after finishing high school. I went to a Gymnasium near Stuttgart where you can mature in arts or science. I love the arts, that’s why I chose this school. So when it was the first day of school, I decided that I wanted to make new friends. So little Eileen sat on a table where nobody sat and hoped that children she didn’t know would sit next to her. That’s when three children from my elementary school came to sit next to me. Wow, that plan worked well. But then there was the moment which changed my whole life: the teachers told us that they would go out for five minutes, so we could change our places and decide where we want to sit for the rest of the year. I have no idea why they decided to do it, but it was my chance. So when they went out, I jumped up and looked for a place to sit. And there it was, a row where only one place was left as there were already two boys and a girl sitting. If I sat there my old friends couldn’t come to sit next to me as there was only one place left. So I went there, looked down at the girl, which had long brown hair and brown eyes. I asked: “Is this place still free?” She looked up and said: “yes”. And that, guys, was the moment Julia and I became best friends. I will never forget that moment as it changed everything. Also, I can tell you that my old friends weren’t very amused about my choice to sit next to new people so these friendships didn’t last very much longer.

Julia also told me her side of the story. She sat next to the only children she already knew, which were two boys from her old school. She wasn’t very happy looking forward to sitting next to two boys for the rest of the year. She was too shy back then to sit next to somebody she didn’t know. Then a blond girl suddenly stood next to her and asked: “Is this place still free?”. Well as you already know from above that girl was me. The funny thing is that we both remember this moment as the start of our friendship. We just don’t remember what happened afterwards and how we became friends. We just remember being friends ever since.

Having a best friend changes your life. For example, it’s harder for me to make new friends. We are so close, that it is difficult to feel the same about other people. I do have other really good friends, but not many. I am used to having only a small group of very good friends. Before I met Julia, I was used to having a larger group of friends so that changed. The reason why is that when you know somebody that well you extremely enjoy the time together. Spending time with people you don’t know that well will automatically be less fun, so I rather spend my time with her and other close friends of mine. I don’t know if you can relate to these feelings or not. Everybody is different so everybody experiences friendships in different ways.

The thing which is the most outstanding is the feelings I have for this girl. She is not only my best friend but more like a sister. My soulmate. I know this post may be very schmaltzy, like a romance novel, but it is like a love story, just not in a sexual way. And you know what? Even we had a moment where we were distancing ourselves and not talking for almost one year. That was in 2014, right after finishing our high school diploma. We just started arguing and being annoyed without any reason. We didn’t talk to each other until I send her a message for Christmas that year. Maybe it was puberty. Today we are closer than ever. I always say that we are so alike as we have grown up together. If you met us, you might think otherwise. She is calm whereas I am more turned up. We have different jobs and different lifestyles. But we have similar thoughts, we understand each other without words and can talk endlessly, even about nothing.

There is one last thing that’s interesting about friendships. I once read that if you have been friends for more than 7 years, the chance that you stay friends forever is very high. I hope that’s true and not just a saying, because then Julia and I, it really means forever.

So I would find it very interesting to know if you have a best friend. Just fill out the survey below if you want to know about other people and their friendships too.

Love, Eileen

Survey about Best Friends