Personal topic – erverta

Food photography

If you read my posts or at least look at them, you can see that in my last work I described Alfredo (RIP Alfredo). Alfredo was a good friend of mine and he was tasty, what made him wonderful pizza. But let’s move on. In this post I want to tell you a bit about my small hobby

If you read my posts or at least look at them, you can see that in my last work I described life and death of Alfredo (RIP Alfredo (you will live forever in my heart)). Alfredo was a good friend of mine and he was tasty, what made him a wonderful persona. But let’s move on. Nothing lasts forever. In this post, I want to tell you a bit about my small hobby.

I enjoy cooking and watching how people cook. I follow so many people’s accounts on Instagram, related to food and snacks. The food industry is enormous and so demand on it, so you can find food you like anywhere on the Web. I take my inspiration from social media, videos and pictures.

Once I prepared a bolognese pasta for a family dinner. I was so drawn in a process, so ready pasta came out really good. I decided to take a photo of this small ‘masterpiece’. And since that time I take a photo of literally all food, cooked by me or my brother. By the way, he is a chief in our home. Abylai is a master of cakes, biscuits and other delicious stuff.

Below you can see some of my favourite shots. Another level of enjoyment is to eat nice and good-looking food. I can say I am an aesthete. It is important for me to see, listen or make beautiful and charming things around me. I enjoy the process of finding a suitable angle, accurate background and setting lightning. It is a creative process and I am fully engaged in it.

Ginger cookie tree
Chocolate fondant
Alfredo’s right leg
Caesar salad
Trout with vegetables
Lasagne
Ginger cookies
It’s not my cake, but candles are so magical haha

In future, I plan to upgrade my skills in order to make more professional photos. There is plenty of online courses, which allow us to study online. I hope one day I will organize a small exhibition with the photos I made ^-^

Brief history of International Women’s Day

Every year dozens of countries celebrate the first holiday of the spring – International Women’s Day on the 8th of March. Shops and city malls are full of flowers, perfume, jewels and pink/red stuff. Men run all around to find presents for their beloved wives, daughters and mothers. People wish to young girls to be pretty, always smile and find their “female happiness”. We forget about the real aim of this day, which originally was not in gifts and wishes. I made a small research on this holiday and I am going to tell you a little about it.

On the 8th of March 1908, thousands of NYC’s women went out and marched for the first time. Their demand was in gender equality in the labour sphere. That time women worked for 14 hours and earned less money than men did for 10 working hours. At the same moment slogans about gaining of suffrage started wide spreading.

A year later, on the 28th of February, America’s social party declared National Women’s Day, which was celebrated on the last Sunday of every February. In 1910, Clara Zetkin and Rozalia Luxemburg suggested a Women’s Day to be held annually, it happened in the International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Clara Zetkin and Rose Luxemburg, 1910. Picture was taken from Google with free licenze.

On 23 of February (old style) 1917, textile workers started a protest, local Bolsheviks joined them, they were protesting against harsh working conditions. In 1921, by the decision of the II Communist Women’s Conference, it was decided to celebrate Women’s Day precisely on March 8 in memory of the participation of women in the revolutionary movements.

After some time, enthusiasm decreased. Day, when women had to participate in a marsh, turned into the day, when beauty and tenderness are carolled. Only in 1966, Leonid Brezhnev signed a document, which says that 8 of March is an official holiday.

I typed “8 march” and these are results from Google. Flowers, pink background and nothing more.

Since 1975 the UN supports this day and declared it as International Women’s Day. There is a subject or issue, which is discussed every year. In 2019, the topic was ‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’.

God is a woman

Ariana Grande released a track, named “God is a woman”. After listening to this song, I thought a lot about the title. I am not a religious person, but God is truly a woman. Wondering why? Who else on the Earth can be so diverse, wonderful and strong, if not women? I wouldn’t say that I was raised around women, vice versa, I have brothers and uncles all around. As a result, respecting women was an essential part of nurture in my family.

From the old times, patriarchy maintained it’s role as a main society’s regime. As a reason, women were presented only as housekeepers and mothers. In Germany, a traditional woman had four functions – so-called 4K’s: Kinder (children), Kirche (church), Küche (kitchen), and Kleidung (clothes). Throughout all the history of humankind, we know that women were strong and caring. Women worked without stopping or complaining in the period of wars. They healed and nursed wounded people, gave strength to the exhausted. There are multiple examples of women, who invented or explored new theories and technologies in the scientific and medical areas. We can’t underestimate the power and influence of women in today’s world.

I am not a stalker, honestly. Occasionally, I look at girls in public transport, in queues, in streets – everywhere they walk. I see how they smile looking at the screen of their smartphone, I see how they fix their hair standing in the front of the mirror, trying to see insecurities that they actually don’t have, I see how they sincerely laugh at friends’ jokes and wrinkles appear near their eyes. The problem is that they don’t see themselves from the side. They see flaws, that are invisible for others. They create for themselves boundaries. They don’t see beauty in the reflection of the mirror. Beauty is not about perfect body proportions, clear skin or long hair. It is about the state of the soul.

This text is so messy and my thoughts are hesitating. I am very sorry about that. I have flu and my brain doesn’t work properly haha

The person you really need to marry

Half a year ago I spent my time scrolling YouTube. I found a video with a very intriguing title “The person you really need to marry”. It was a TED-talk, spoken by a woman who was married three times, had some relationships and at the moment has a boyfriend. The reason why every marriage failed was not in her partners. Tracy McMillan, the speaker, understood that all the relationships could end happily, if only she built a trusted relationship with one special person. That person was herself.

Marrying yourself means to commit yourself with all your flaws and feel whole. As said Tracy, marrying yourself is not just for a couple of years. We live with ourselves till death. Until that moment comes, we should accept the fact, that sometimes there are failures and achievements, but we should love ourselves without depending on circumstances. For better or for worse. Loving yourself means to pay attention to whether you feel comfortable in this situation with these people or not. It is putting your needs and feelings higher than society’s opinion. We have to love ourselves the way we want someone else to love us. Low self-esteem is the root of every bad relationship.

I see many people searching for their special person, their pair and a half. The problem is that we are already one unit. The unit that has its desires, personal qualities and a vision of the world. Sometimes I was envy for my classmates or friends for having boyfriends and girlfriends. They were going for dates, giving each other presents and many more relationship stuff. I wanted to have a person who can always support and love me, comfort and care about me. But this someone was near. Yeah, that was me. You are the only person who knows what you need or what is better for you. Why do you still try to get someone’s love when you got yourself right there?

This mini-article is more like a monologue. I am not as perfect as I wanted to be, so I sacrifice about every part of me. It is hard to love yourself, you need courage and time. I am still working on my self-esteem, I have downs and destructing thoughts. Nobody said it would be easy. So cheer up and go love yourself. Are you married? Cause I am already.

The school times

At the year of 6, I went to the school for the very first time. Everything was unfamiliar to me, I met plenty of kids, who were confused by the new environment, strict adults and rules as I did. That was the day when I got to a “jail”, but I didn’t understand that.

Many of my friends from university miss their school times, they say everything was much easier, smoother and friendlier. I don’t agree with them at all. My school times, especially the middle school period, were tough and emotionally hard for me. The first school, where I went, was private and my parents supposed that education’s and teachers’ level would be higher rather than in public school. At one point they were right, but surrounding kids existed and they didn’t fit in my parents’ expectations.

I remember two of my classmates, two girls, who were sisters. They were very mean and evil, as a six-year-old child could think. Amina and Karina (names are changed) used to mock at other girls, who were shy and quiet. When one girl celebrated her birthday, they played a serious trick, so that girl had to change school. Sometimes I was their victim, but I didn’t pay that much attention, because their jokes didn’t go beyond the limits of what is permitted. In the second grade, the PSP game console gained popularity. My parents bought it for me as a present. I and my friends used to bring PSPs and play games together. One day boy named Arman (the name is changed) came to me and started teasing and threatening me. He aggressively told me to give him my gadget and money. It continued for two months. Only then I could tell my parents about bullying. Later we found out that this boy was an elder brother of Amina and Karina. I was scared that they will turn all the class against me for a complaint at their sibling.

Fortunately or not, next year I transferred to the public school near our house. In the beginning, everybody seemed to be friendly and kind. The first impression is false, though. Without getting into details, I can say that at this vulnerable period, when a little person is formed, I faced criticism, rumours behind my back, betrayal. I started hesitating about me and my self-esteem gradually fell down. People, whom I considered being my friends, didn’t like me at all. Maybe this is the reason why I never had close friends in school times.

A school is a place where different children are forced to study and communicate with each other for 11 years. It is hard to adapt to someone’s boundaries and vision of the world. I am endlessly glad that the school is over and today I study with people who are on the same wave with me.

Why BTS are more than artists

If 2 years ago somebody told me that I would be a k-pop fan, I would have laughed. The only thing that came to my mind after hearing k-pop was just “plenty of boys with make-up”. I used to form my opinion depending on some people’s judgments. Luckily, people grow up and their vision of the world changes accordingly. Today, I can confidently say that I am an ARMY, a proud fan of the BTS.

BTS is a South Korean boyband, consisting of 7 members. They debuted in 2013 and since that time create and produce music that is encouraging young people to follow their dreams and give up on society’s borders. Every song is full of meaning, BTS translate social messages to their listeners. They went through the majority of hardships that formed their personalities and gave them an opportunity to make their music more personal. That is the thing that caught me in them. I can’t help but mention that their performances are spectacular and breath-taking, as well as their choreography. All these factors make BTS special artists, who endlessly love their fandom. Nevertheless, they also actively participate in social campaigns. I want to tell you more about this.

UNICEF’s campaign #ENDviolence, November 2017

BTS said many times that their purpose is to show the young generation that they are able to achieve anything they want and that self-love is the most important kind of love. Each of the members had hard times, they suffered from depression, parental pressure, a censure of society, destructive thoughts and many more. In Fall 2017, BTS released the first album of a series with the concept of Love Yourself and talked about the meaning of love. After release, BTS and their label Big Hit Entertainment became partners with Korean Committee for UNICEF in a purpose of sponsoring #ENDviolence campaign. #ENDviolence is a global campaign funded by UNICEF whose aim is to provide children and teens worldwide with a safe place to grow up and fulfil dreams without violence. At the same time, BTS created their own campaign LOVE MYSELF, which pursues mercy and love for everyone.

United Nations General Assembly, September 2018

In September 2018, BTS were speakers at the United Nations Office. RM, leader of the boyband, spoke about his own childhood struggles and shared that music was his medicine. He motivated young people to speak themselves and not to be afraid of who they are. With the help of the ARMY, many people who weren’t familiar with k-pop culture learned a lot from RM’s speech and even got enthusiasm to be confident.

BTS taught me to appreciate every day and find happiness in the simplest things. Their music calms me and gives me strength and energy. The reason why I love BTS is that their aspiration is to make the world better without any self-serving goals. After the rise of popularity, they are still guys from a small company with big dreams, who are humble and diligent. For sure, there are many more hardships in the future but I believe that whenever they are together, they can come through anything.

RM’s touching speech at UN

It’s not a film, it’s a reality

I am pretty sure that many of you watched American films about teenagers and school drama. I think that you noticed that many antagonists act way too violent or rude, they use their force and power to oppress ones, who are weak. People are seeking a punching bag to express their anger and hatred, that they often receive at home. This is called bullying and it is the issue of all generations. Bullying is a type of aggressive behaviour, that involves a use of force or psychological terror, commonly happening in educational institutions and workplaces. There are also types like cyberbullying, gay bullying, disability bullying and etc.

Unfortunately, there is no place in the world without bullying, in Kazakhstan, every third school student experienced bullying and more than 3000 offenders were prosecuted. I have three little brothers. Almost every day my mom tells me about conflicts happening in siblings’ classes. All situations are related to bullying, even though there are undergraduates. It means that since small age kids are passing through with violence and dealing with their bullies. A classmate of my youngest brother is offended by a group of kids, who are throwing his bag, ripping his notebooks and calling him with insulting names. The worst thing about this situation is that his parents found out it not long ago. Adults are too busy to nurture their kids properly. It leads to a deficiency of attention, teen depression, aggressive behaviour and suicide. A kid wants to boost self-esteem so he or she starts bullying. Bullies are usually represented as a narcissistic, non-confident people who need to feel the power over others. It is important to understand that violence mustn’t be justified.

I personally think that all problems with self-acceptance and self-esteem are rooting to the aura inside of the family. Children who grow up surrounded by love and attention rarely become abusers in future. The point is if you ever have kids, raise them with proper values and always talk to them.

I was inspired by a video of The Village Kazakhstan. You can watch it here

Why I chose this topic

Since our teacher told us about personal blogs, I was thinking about a topic, that can be interesting not just for me, but also for my groupmates and friends. For the first time, I considered a theme about self-love. But later I declined this thought because it would not be useful for my audience. Yesterday, while I seated in the kitchen choosing topic, my father gave me a great idea. He said that nowadays in Kazakh society young people are creative and ambitious, but factors like corruption, nepotism and full control from parents are slowing down their potential. I know examples of families, where kids are threatened as a lost dream compensation. My friend’s parents forced her to study medicine just because they did not have a chance to fulfil their dreams. It is just one example from thousands of cases.

As a 17-year-old girl, I face misunderstanding from the older generation in many questions. In particular, there is a huge generation gap, which aggravates our relationship with parents and grandparents. They were raised in times when every coin was valuable and they had no choice. Furthermore, scarcity was everywhere. Our parents are using methods of nurture which are irrelevant in conditions of the 21st century. Change of consciousness will take decades. Nevertheless, I think that everything depends on a particular person. Some open-minded adults are ready to adapt to the new times, some are categorically against innovations. We can’t blame them because it is their view of the world. Instead, we can explain to older people why they should let us make decisions by ourselves.

Teenagers are afraid to make mistakes, to challenge themselves because we’re given no chance to a try. I am happy to know personally so many talented and vigorous youngsters, who don’t stop because of circumstances and prohibitions. I also hope that in this blog I will widely light up the topic about the young generation. If you have any suggestions or questions, contact me. (◕‿◕)