Looking back on the time we spent together
I remember who you were to me
What you meant to me
The feelings you sparked in me
The touches I felt from you
But who was I underneath you
Other than a place of comfort
A sense of relief from the loneliness
And sparks of desire
Sometimes I still wonder
If I was ever more
Than meat and bones
Served on a convenient
Plate of bedding
*
©️Christina de Vries
So I went to London, I ate plenty of good food, drank the whisky and met some wonderful people too.
But Christina, you went to London to write! I didn’t see a lot of Insta stories of you doing that, so how fruitful was the trip really?
It was even more fruitful and creative than I imagined it would be! And the thing is, when I get into the mood of writing, that’s pretty much all I focus on, so that’s why I don’t show that much of it. And I can imagine that me posting a lot of pictures and videos of just me in a bar with my computer would be very repetitive and not really all that interesting to watch in the long run.
But I got down over 10 000 words on my novel! 10 000 words in 5 days!
There’s something magical with the relationship between me and London. My creativity blossoms as soon as I get a little bit of that London feeling.
A nice walk by the Thames, a coconut latte from Pret and then I’m all set. The words just pour out of me, and it feels so good!
And the best part of it all, is that the words have kept coming since I got home. It feels like I took a little bit of that London magic with me home this time around, and I’m so grateful for it!
I will be sharing more about my trip in the next couple of days! Have some wonderful restaurants to recommend to you guys, and maybe also a few personal stories to tell!
But now, I have to get back to my novel!
Hope you are all doing well❤️
Oh, and let me know; Do you have any places you go where you just get instantly more creative, or is that just me? And if you do, where is it?
‘Can I get a double Laphroaig on the rocks please?’
It started there. The bartender looked at me questingly. I’m used to that by now. I guess I just don’t look like the girl who would order a smoky whisky. Apparently he wasn’t that used to selling any kind of whisky apart from Jack or Jameson, because he slowly turned around and his eyes searched the rows and rows of bottles.
‘It’s the green bottle next to the Jameson on your right.’ He smiled, and asked me if it was any good, and we ended up having a brief conversation about whisky and then he went on to serving the bar that was starting to fill up.
I found a small table close to the dance floor. Not because I had a need to be close to all the dancing bodies (Although that is pretty entertaining in itself), but it was one of the smaller ones available.
My whisky and I sat down and was accompanied by my Mac, and then I started punching those keys. I lip synced to the music the DJ was playing, wrote words and words, and enjoyed every sip of my smoky whisky. It didn’t take long before people started looking, and very obviously wondering what the hell I was doing.
There I was, freak of nature, in the middle of a buzzing bar/club, but I was sitting by myself, not trying to make contact, I was writing, and to top it all off, I sat there with a whisky instead of a beer or a drink. There was a mixture of curiosity, confusion and dislike. How dare I behave in such an unnatural manner?
And when one guy (drunk would be an understatement) came over to me and actually asked me;
‘What the hell are you doing sitting here all by yourself? You should be out there dancing!’ You can add the drunken slurring, cause I’m not even going to try to write it in.
I laughed out loud, and told him that I was too busy at the moment making my dreams come true. He gave me a confused and angry look, walked on, and I kept on laughing while I punched the keys. So if people didn’t think me crazy already, they sure as hell probably did now.
But I’ll let you in on a secret; I couldn’t care less!
Let them look! Let them ask questions! Let them wonder, or make up stories, or dislike me for no other reason than doing things differently! Because the truth is that they know nothing about my dreams, and how important they are to me. They know nothing of my passion, and how creating makes me feel alive! And they certainly haven’t tasted a really good smoky whisky😜
But if you ask me nicely, I’ll tell you all about it! I’ll even let you have a sip😉
We are so quick to judge other people as soon as they do things differently, but how about we stop making harsh judgements and ask nice questions instead? Let’s learn from each other instead of making assumptions. Because we’re all just trying to figure stuff out our own way, and that’s the beauty of it❤️
Take inspiration from the ones who dare to be different. Those who dare to try, dare to dream and dare to not care about what everyone else thinks!
There’s something about it
The sound of water
Waves rolling
Fountains dancing
Boats dipping
Ripples moving
Something that warms
That feels like home
And never fails
To make me smile
☼
©Christina de Vries
Like the unbecoming of a pearl
With every drop of salt
She shed another layer
Of what had been
But every new smile
was a promise of what
Was yet to come
☼
©Christina de Vries
It’s been way too long since I’ve had the time to sit down somewhere, outside of my own home to do some creative writing. So to finally have a weekend where I don’t have much planned, and also was able to get out of the house at a reasonable time, feels amazing!
And one of my favorite places to write in Oslo (Kulturhuset) isn’t overpacked for once! Some Saturdays I find it impossible to get a table there, but because of the winter sports that are going on today, people seem to be elsewhere to enjoy that.
Me, I’ve never been much into winter sports. Probably one of the most non-Norwegian things to say, but it’s the truth and I’m sticking to it.
I grew up in a household where my mom had winter sports (and other sports for that matter) constantly on the tv, and I think that’s what put me off watching sports. I just don’t find any joy in it. I could maybe join in for the party and the atmosphere, but other than that, I don’t really give a rat’s ass about who crosses that finish line first or last.
But today I’m very grateful for the big love of winter sports that most people here have because it got me a nice table at Kulturhuset, I didn’t have to stand in line forever to get my oat milk latté and for the quiet and relaxed vibe. The sun even showed up for a little while when I was walking over here.
This is a good Saturday, and I’m so happy I made it out to have some change of scenery. I definitely needed it to get my creative juices flowing more easily!
Now it’s time for me to get down to business and plan some interesting stuff, and to keep writing my novel!
I hope you’re all having an AMAZING Saturday!
How big this stage seems
When the spotlight
That used to shine on two
Is brightly fixed
On a solo act
☼
©Christina de Vries
She found herself
In a weird place
Where the idea of falling
Was scarier
Than that of losing someone
Had ever been
☼
©Christina de Vries
Behind locked doors
She turned off all the lights
Closed the curtains
Filled her tea with salt
Whispered to the empty
And asked the only question
She feared an honest answer
How broken am I?
☼
©Christina de Vries
Back in the day, when I was a kid, I had so many plans for my future. I had plans to be exactly where I wanted to be by the time I was 25, and I would not even think about starting a family before that had happened. Needless to say, things didn’t really go as planned. I’m pretty sure that’s the truth for most of us when we look back on our lives.
I am now 30. I have a 10 year old son. I’m a dedicated YouTuber. I’m working on a poetry collection. The first draft of my first novel is almost done. I’m working in retail and I’m dying to travel more, see more, live more!
This wasn’t how I pictured my life would be at all. Some days that thought happens to get me a bit worried, but most days I enjoy life for what it has offered me so far. How I’ve come to be the person that I am today. And even though I haven’t reached all of the goals I set for my self as a little girl, I’ve already accomplished a lot.
I love the fact that my wanderlust just grows and grows. A lot of the things I thought would be important to me when I was younger, I’ve come to learn aren’t important at all. And some of the things that I never thought I’d care for, has become solid foundations in my life.
But there is one thing that has never changed, and I can say with damn certainty it never will, that is my passion for writing. I found it when I was so young that I can’t even remember it. I’ve been chasing it, and living it ever since. Writing and writing and writing! And I’m just as much a writer as everyone else who loves to write.
Fall Out Boy together with Elton John has a wonderful song (one of my absolute favorites) and in that song there’s a line that always gives me goosebumps:
"You are what you love, not who loves you!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cnBxSB1jUE
I love that line! And I find it to be so true that it sometimes hurt just thinking about it. We let ourselves be defined so easily by other people’s idea of who we ought to be. I know way to many who have given up their dreams for more sensible and safe options, and they almost always feel like there’s something missing. But HEY, that’s what growing up is all about, right? To that I say HELL NO!
I know my passion, my dreams! It has evolved over the years, for sure. Making videos for a passion in addition to writing just grew organically, and now they go hand in hand. Every single day I practice gratitude. And one of the things that I’m just as grateful for, every single day, is the fact that I still have that spirit of the dreaming child that was me so many years ago!
I look at my son now and I hope that he never loses it either. I see the sparkle in his eyes when he dances, or when he creates something, and I always promise myself that I will go down, kicking and screaming, for his right to have his dreams, to chase them, and to live them!
I will try my very best to teach him to LIVE A GREAT STORY, just as I am teaching and reminding myself to do the same, every single day!
YOU ARE WHAT YOU LOVE, NOT WHO LOVES YOU!
Don’t ever forget that! And I will be here to remind you of it, for as long as I can!
FIND IT! CHASE IT! LIVE IT!
Christina de Vries 