Author: Hannah Kate

Vampires, Tattoos, and Hackers… Oh My!

~ Hannah Kate ~ 2 Comments

So here’s a fact about me, like a lot of  millenials   people, I don’t really watch TV in a traditional sense, I can’t remember the last time I sat down in front of a TV and watched a show all the way through with *shudder* commercials. (This could also partially be because I have been living in another country for the past 5ish months, but I digress).

Most of my television watching is via Netflix or watching the highlights the day after on YouTube. However, I miss the rush of filling up a week’s worth of new shows on my DVR and slowly weeding out the terrible Fall debuts like my own personal Hunger Games. 

And it seems the networks are trying their hardest to make sure I was aware of their new shows. Billboards, ads before I’m trying to catch up with my favorite YouTubers, ads before I’m trying to watch a movie in the cinema, etc., etc.

I have hit a bit of a slump, so used the majority of my Christmas iTunes gift cards to experiment with a few new shows. I tend to give shows a little leeway and won’t make final judgements based on their pilot (everyone deserves a second chance). However, there are shows that have immediately captured my attention and I actually rewatch the pilot (I don’t even know how many times I’ve watched the pilot for Suits). Here are my initial thoughts about the shows I purchased (in no particular order): Continue reading →

Urban Survival Kit (aka What’s in My Bag?)

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I always like to be prepared for any situation that arises, but this can be problematic as it’s hard to fit everything “for any situation” into a bag that doesn’t weigh 20 pounds. Living in a city for the past few months has caused me to whittle down to the absolute essentials, but still be ready for the unexpected. Below I’m going to share what I carry in my bag every day for my everyday life (i.e. school, days out, day trips, etc.).

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Aggregated Advice: February

~ Hannah Kate ~ 1 Comment

A bit delayed I know, but better late than never, right? February had this fantastic energy and it really felt like society was making strides towards improving issues with equality. Hopefully, this positive tone continues for the rest of the year! Plus, some advice about love because Valentine’s Day happened. To me, February shouldn’t just be a month about celebrating your love for others, but your love for yourself, so there’s some words to encourage you to be who you are.

“We have permission to be anything.” – Gwyneth Paltrow 

Seen in her interview with Glamour. 

“If you hang out with chickens, you’re going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you’re going to fly.” – Steve Maraboli
“People say I love you all the time – when they say, ‘take an umbrella, it’s raining,’ or ‘hurry back,’ or even ‘watch out, you’ll break your neck.’ There are hundreds of ways of wording it – you just have to listen for it, my dear.” – John Patrick

Seen on Soul Pancake’s tumblr.

Don’t you dare
Shrink yourself
For someone else’s comfort
Do not become small
For people who refuse to grow.

Seen on my tumblr dashboard, it reminded me of something Amandla Stenberg said in her interview with Solange for her Teen Vogue cover. 

“The truth is this: No one stays the same forever. Girls grow up, and sometimes we do it with a bang.”

Seen on Crushing the Teen Dream on rookiemag.com.

3 Unconventional Views of the Eiffel Tower

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Oh La Tour Eiffel, an instant reminder that you are in Paris. It’s probably one of the most photographed monuments in the world, and anyone who has been to Paris has a picture of it on their Instagram to prove it. And while there is nothing like a picture of the Tower from a distance either from the Champ de Mars or Trocadero side, some of my favorite views of the Tower create views and pictures from a different angle.

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Aggregated Advice: January

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I read and hear a lot of things and think, I should probably write those things down. This will help me in the future. Then I thought, I should collect all of this information and put it on my blog to help other people. So here is the first “Aggregated Advice” post, which will be posted at the end of the month. Be sure to check out the links, as they might be the source of the content or something else that ties in nicely with the piece of advice.

“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn 

Taken from this Lifehack article on finding your passion.

“The standards by which you live must be your own standards, your own values, your own convictions in regard is right and wrong, what is true and false, what is important and what is trivial. When you adopt the standards and values of someone else or a community or a pressure group, you surrender your own integrity. You become, to the extent of your surrender, less of a human being.” – Eleanor Roosevelt 

Taken from the February 2015 Rookie Editor Letter.

“To make living itself an art, that is the goal.” – Henry Miller 
“If you don’t imagine, nothing will ever happen at all.” -John Green 

Seen on Upworthy’s Facebook.

“Goals are dreams with deadlines.”

My mom sent me and my sister an e-mail to encourage us to go after our dreams and make them come true by turning them into goals. (Thanks, Mom!) I encourage you to do the same and make 2016 your most successful year.

What to Do If You Have Already Broken Your Resolutions

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…(And it’s only a week into 2016)

The first step is not to panic/give up/have an existential crisis, you haven’t failed. It’s only been a week, and maybe you are trying to do something you have never done before, which is really hard. So give yourself a break. It is commendable that you have decided to make changes (most likely positive) to your life, and you should give yourself a pat on the back for that. Have your feelings of panic been eased? Great, let’s move on to the second step. Continue reading →

Pages of the Past, Present & Future

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At this time of the year (or however many hours are left of it) there are numerous lists published, looking at what happened in the past and some predictions for the future. I wanted to do my own version of this, but with books. Books have always been a constant in my life and have always offered me a place of solitude when I need to get away from the buzziness of the Internet. So here are a few of the titles I read this past year, and some that I’m looking forward to reading in 2016.  Continue reading →

3 Things to Do When You’re Missing Home

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As the end of the semester quickly approaches, you may find yourself thinking a lot of things: how quickly the time passed, how you wish you could stay longer, and how excited you are to return home. I’m torn between not wanting to leave and being super excited to see all my friends and family again. There are times when you miss those everyday things you are used to back home. Here are three things I do when I want a bit of home in Paris.

Find something to read in your first language – While I’m all about reading in French, it’s nice to curl up in bed with a great read (especially on a cold, rainy day). Reading in English, makes me feel closer to home as it reminds of the countless days I spent reading a new favorite. If you’re more into physical books, try Shakespeare and Company (Metro: St. Michel or Cluny-La Sorbonne), which is an English bookseller that stocks both new and classics in a variety of genres. But don’t forget about e-books or audiobooks, which are nice options for long journeys.

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Some purchases from Shakespeare & Company

 

Eat some comfort food – If you enjoy cooking, making your favorite dish is a great way to feel connected to home. A fun thing to do is invite friends over and have a potluck, where everyone shares their favorite meals. This is especially nice as it gets closer to the holidays as you might not be with family, and it’s nice to celebrate with a group of people. If you’re like me and prefer going to restaurants, find one that serves similar food as your hometown. I recently went with a friend to Breakfast in America, which is an American-style diner in Paris; the food was so delicious, I forgot how much I loved pancakes! 

Also, since I have not yet gone to a Caribbean restaurant in Paris, it’s also nice to eat similarly in restaurants as I do back home. I really love Italian food, and there are some really great Italian places where I’m from, and I had been craving a particular restaurant’s spaghetti bolognese. Luckily, when I was in Lyon, I found this really great Italian place and enjoyed a delicious spaghetti bolognese. IMG_0668

Watch something familiar – Back home, I use to go to the cinema with friends at least every other weekend. Luckily, most of the movies I would want to watch are shown here in France in the original version with French subtitles. It’s nice because for two hours I could be anywhere in the world, watching a good movie with good friends. Use allocine.fr to find movies that are currently showing, showtimes and theatre locations.