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Psychology

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Lifestyle

All the bad reasons to live in Paris

Mid-September marked the fifth anniversary of my move to Paris. The strange feeling, coming with the special occasion, made me think about all the years I’ve lived in France. And looking back from the perspective of half of the decade, I realized all my reasons for coming here were statistically uncommon, if not bizarre. It should come as no surprise that, over the years, I’ve had many occasions to see why other expats moved to Paris, either friends or complete strangers on the internet. Only to find out the reasons are surprisingly repetitive, sometimes combined, but they had something in common. All these reasons made me feel like an outsider in a group of other expats, supposed to be alike. No wonder I started thinking about why. As a result, I came up with a quick review of the most popular reasons why people decide to leave everything behind and…

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Lifestyle

Merry Covid Christmas and how to survive

The pandemic has drastically changed our lifestyles. We swapped our elegant outfits for comfortable sweatpants, and we stay at home instead of roaming around the city and sipping coffee at our favorite cafés. Most of us got pretty much used to this extraordinary way of living and have it all figured out by now. But with Christmas approaching, it’s difficult not to feel a little bit down as many of us decided to stay in France for safety reasons. For the non-Parisians like us, it means spending Christmas alone without our families, friends, or annual pilgrimage to our hometowns. These are our few tips on how to survive this year’s covid holidays. This year’s Christmas season, we all feel like Kevin from Home Alone.Source: Home Alone (1990) Get a “Holidate” If you happen to be alone, it’s good to remember that you are not the only one in this situation. Even…

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Lifestyle

2020 is the year to stop going gluten-free just because

We all want to look great and hit the streets of Paris in style. But getting in shape also means wise food choices, and this is why we often try various diets that offer us health benefits and attractive bodies. One of the most popular diet trends is the gluten-free diet, even though the number of people who can’t consume it is relatively small. Many celebrities were claiming that it helps them losing weight or that avoiding gluten is healthy. That made gluten-free products and restaurants omnipresent, and some of us decided to follow this no-gluten path because it felt right. But should we? Here are the reasons why it’s high time to leave gluten-free fashion in the past. Photo via: Camille Yolaine’s Instagram (@camilleyolaine) It doesn’t impact your health at all… No research proves any health benefits coming from avoiding gluten (except for people with celiac disease). While it’s…

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Lifestyle

Lockdown stories: how I found my soulmate during lockdown

As far as I can remember, I was always fascinated by France and its culture. It was like a dream come true when I got accepted to a university in Paris last year. It was a big shift since I was about to start my adult life: living alone for the first time in my life (not to mention that I was going to start it in a foreign country). My life in Paris began pretty smoothly. I managed to adapt pretty quickly. As soon as classes started, I befriended some people from the group, and my social life kicked off. At some stage, between picnics by the Seine and crazy soirées, I met my French boyfriend. We clicked immediately. We had a lot of common interests, shared tastes, and ideas for spending time together. We could spend hours just lying down and talking. Of course, there were some arguments, but…

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Lifestyle

Lockdown stories: I will never say “later” again

My life has always been revolving around hard work. My parents put a lot of pressure on being practical, rigorous as well as frugal. Many people also praised me for being pragmatic. I never overspend money. I’m always focused on excelling in everything I do. I’m a perfectionist. If I need more time to complete a task flawlessly, I don’t hesitate to spend hours checking everything. Every day is planned to bring as many fruits as possible. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a workaholic. I like to go out with my friends or travel like everyone else. It’s just that I always privileged down-to-earth matters over pleasure or fun. Time is money, so I wanted to spend my time in the most productive way possible. I never perceived it as a problem. In fact, I was always proud of myself for being well-organized. Unlike my friends, I didn’t waste…

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Lifestyle

Lockdown stories: Paris taught me how to be grateful

The beginning of the lockdown was very hard for me. The bad news was hailing down on me. My soon-to-be graduation ceremony was canceled. That was a pretty big blow given the fact that I was supposed to celebrate the end of an eighteen year-long period in my life. Instead of seeing my classmates for the last time and savoring getting my hard-earned diploma, I found myself being a prisoner in my own home. For some, it might seem like a small problem. “People are losing their jobs, some even lives” friends and strangers were saying everywhere. But when you lead a stressful life, such “small” things can save your life. Going out, being around people, meeting for co-working sessions with other freelancers helped me keep my life balance in check. Suddenly I was separated from my boyfriend, friends, and activities that made me manage overwhelming stress and anxiety. Deprived…

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Lifestyle

Chic girl’s tips to surviving the quarantine

The current situation has struck us hard. Suddenly, our lives had to stop overnight. Our daily activities became limited to hunting for food and toilet paper. But as much as we love our Parisian life, we want to protect our friends, neighbors, families, and everyone around us even more. As all the bars, restaurants, and shops remain closed, it’s tough to adapt to the new reality. It’s hard to feel alright while being confined within four walls away from our friends, but we’re trying to stay positive as always and find the best (chic!) possible ways to survive this pandemic. Photo via: Reforma moda! (@modareforma) Try on clothes and play with makeup Do you remember these mornings when you hesitate to try some risky new look but gave up because you didn’t have enough time to try it on? Maybe you always wanted to get that perfect line instead of…

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