Isolation

A year ago, I had decided to move to London and study. I had no relatives or friends there or anyone else that I would know. Because of my introvert character I am not the kind of person that can make friendships very fast and I didn’t even look for that. Not that I didn’t want friends but it wasn’t my priority at that moment, I had so much studying to do and it would be a waste of time thinking on how to make friends with people, something I disappoint myself in every time.  City life is a busy life and it is very easy to get lost in the crowd and feel so lonely, even with so many people around. I was stepping each day further into isolation, being trapped in my room’s four walls and loneliness. Many people have had the same or a similar story to me. It’s not difficult to find yourself in solitude when living in a big city with no friends around.

Loneliness is feeling like you are a drop of water in the ocean, a spot in the crowd. It is the lack of contact with people and in advance the lack of friendship, understanding, compassion or even identification. A lonely person feels like is not wanted or maybe that is not recognized. When being in such a situation for long it might possibly have consequences on your physical and mental health. Studies have shown that chronic loneliness may be responsible for a variety of heart diseases or cancer. It can also impact your learning or memory because it is harder for the brain to develop when you have no contact with other people.

In addition, if you are in such a situation where you are all alone having no relationships with other people and living in your inner world rather the real world, then depression is probably knocking on your door. Depression is a state of low mood accompanied by low self-esteem and loss of interest or pleasure for things that used to be enjoyable. It leads to negative way of thinking, not being able to sleep and anxiety. It might sometimes lead into the feeling that you are of no value or that there is no reason to live and lead to suicide. 

Once you realize your problem you are in a very good way. It is said that knowing your situation is the 90% of its solution. It is essential to change your way of thinking and think positively, look at the things that can make you happy rather the negative things and think of ways you can make someone happy, even if that is just opening the door for someone. Further more physical exercise can be very helpful in making you feel better and positive. Go for a walk early in the morning or late in the afternoon when its dawn or when it’s sunset and enjoy the benefits of a good walk and you never know, you might meet a positive person going for a walk as well.

Human nature is created in such a way that we have the need to contact and have relationships with other people. Friendships constituted to the happiness and well-being of an individual. We are designed to interact, bond with other people and socialize. It is essential for human beings to communicate with other human beings to survive.  People feel like they are not valuable when they don’t have anybody else to give attention to them and they feel like they don’t exist if there is nobody else to recognize them and care for them.

Connections are of great importance in life. Real connections with people that care and are always there for you can make you happy, healthy and complete. Don’t let yourself get lost in the crowd. Always look for a person to connect with. Remember you are not the only one that needs a friend, maybe you are the person someone else is looking for as well. Be positive and in good spirits. Life has it’s ups and downs. The problem is when you stay down too long.

Arxontiko Kimis Boutique Hotel

Driving through the winding road, the sea view disappears hastily at the next turn, all I can see are thick trees on the hills.

A picturesque town emerges between the curves of the mountain, traditional tall buildings with delicate lacy balconies and wide bright windows; an imperial stone church with it’s’ distinguish bell tower and the burgundy roofs of the dense little houses.

Near the town square with its whitewashed tables and chairs, we finally found our hotel, a baby-blue building with a wooden opened door and welcoming lanterns on both sides and on the pavement. The Boutique Hotel «Αρχοντικό Κίμης», is a luxurious hotel in the center of Kimi and promises an unforgettable stay.

My goal for this holiday was to relax, enjoy the delicious Greek cuisine, experience luxury, without the stress of everyday life’s routine, not worrying about a list of things that needed to be done. Kimi’s Boutique Hotel certainly had the way of fulfilling this experience at its best.

When entering, what impressed us at once was the unique way the interior was decorated, the black and white chess-like floors, the gold-lined and elegantly carved ceiling, the selected handmade furniture in a classic line, the chandeliers and the decorative detailed paintings on the walls.

In the morning we would have a rich breakfast, with a variety of biological and deliciously tasteful food. Afterwards we would go to the finest places in the area, such as beaches were you could rest under the shade of the trees, the river where the whole town got fresh water from, the historical church with the amazing view of the sea and others, all recommended by the extremely hospitable Hotel owner. Then we would return back and relax, have a shower in the Jacuzzi and in the evening we would be again advised to go to the best traditional cuisine restaurants with great views and biological Greek cuisine, just a couple of minutes drive away. At night, we would go for a walk along the harbor and dawdle at the books at the markets. When back from a lovely day, we would sleep in our queen-size bed to continue our dream.

I certainly had the holiday I was aiming for and even more, as I spent three luxurious days, with no worries, had great food and visited wonderful places. The «Αρχοντικό Κιμης» Boutique Hotel has distinguished by far from all the other hotels in various places I’ve been to, because of its artistic character and uniqueness. I do advice you, if you ever decide to go on holidays in Evvoia, it’s the best place to stay!

Versace

You don’t have to be interested in fashion, to know or at least have heard of Versace. It’s one of the most well known fashion brands in the world and has been loved and worn by many famous people such as Elton John, Jenifer Lopez, Princess Diana and many others.

Versace is known for its great quality, the elegance of the clothes and fresh style. However, quality and style are not the only things to hold up a fashion company. Business management is a family thing for Versace and they proved to be very good at it.

Donatella Versace, who is the head and designer of the company, owns the 20 percent of it, her brother Santo owns the 30 percent, while her daughter Allegra has inherited the remaining 50 percent from her uncle Gianni Versace, who loved her so much. 

Gianni, the founder of the Italian house, who was murdered by Andrew Phillip Cunanan, on July 15, 1997, was a legendary figure that had brought revolution in the fashion world of his time. He had a unique style and loved his job. He wasn’t afraid of making a change or using unusual material. He had learned the craft of dressmaking from his mother and knew what he wanted to do from a very young age. It was something that came within him and one of his favorite things to do when he was young was to watch his mother’s clients trying on dresses.

His mother, Francesca Versace, a dressmaker, with whom Gianni had a very special relationship, had her own shop in Reggio Calabria. Although his father was a merchant, he loved poetry and opera so he took young Gianni to the theatre and the movies, elements that were afterwards shown as influence in his designs.

Gianni’s siblings were Tina and Santo. When his sister died at the age of ten years old from peritonitis his mother was devastated. Some years later, Donatella was born and Gianni developed a very special bond with her. Unlike his brother Santo, who was his father’s favorite and had studied business administration and economics at the University of Messina while helping his father with his business, Donatella seemed to be a lot like Gianni. He made his first designs for Donatella, who was his muse. Donatella began studying literature at the University of Florence, but then abandoned her studies to follow and help her brother. 

Gianni started helping his mother as a buyer for her boutique. He then worked for some other large companies and in 1978 Versace got his own label. His brother Santo was there to help him out with his first contracts and business matters. Along with his brother Santo and his sister Donatella, Gianni Versace marched a road of rise and success.

After the terrible incident of Gianni’s murder, Versace was in a very crucial stage. Donatella took over since her daughter who had inherited the largest percent of the company was only 11 years old and tried to gather the pieces and continue the work her brother had began.

“I had two choices” Donatella admits in an exclusive interview for net-a- porter “to follow Gianni’s steps completely or to become my own person. That was a bit difficult for me at the beginning because everybody was expecting me to follow Gianni’s steps and at the same time to compare what I was doing with Gianni.” Donatella, like all the Versace family, is daring, original and with a strong personality and what she did was that she continued what her brother had started in her own way.

Problems though came on the surface very soon. The company was gaining almost half of what it gained before Gianni’s death and some of the Versace houses had to be sold. The whole company and family was scared by the drug addicted Donatella who was not much of herself anymore and at some point later on the press was informed about Allegra’s eating disorders. Fortunately with the help of her dear friend Elton John, Donatella decided to fight her addiction and has been sober since 2004.

The amazing thing about Versace is that they have their own “family way”. It is of great significance for the Versace family what they leave behind for the next generation to come. Like Francesca Versace taught her craft to her son and gave him a starting point, so Gianni imparted his skills to his sister and left his great fortune to his siblings and beloved niece. All the Versace family members were loyal, active and took part in making this work. The question now remains of what the future holds for this famous Italian house and if Allegra Versace is going to keep the tradition.

How did the life of Charles Dickens influenced his works?

Few writers had achieved such immense success such as Charles Dickens. Dickens’ experiences in the early years of his life played a crucial role on the formation of his character and, consequently, his writing. Dickens unique and highly descriptive writing have made him one of the most loved and inspiring writers of our times.

     Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. His father John worked at the Navy Pay Office of Portsmouth, a job which granted him a substantial amount to spend on his family but primarily on himself. Having everything at his dis-posal, Charles began to interested in reading books. He was fascinated by the colourful pictures the books had. He recalls later that this hobby developed in him the ability to have photographic memory.

     Changes began to occur when Charles’ father was put to jail for debt. Charles was force to go to work in order to sustain his family. He was initially working 10 hour shifts in Warren's boot-blacking factory and earned six shillings a week. After some time, the economic condition was stabilized but Charles’s mother wouldn’t let him resign from his work. This created a huge wound in Charles’s heart and he would never forgive his mo-ther for this act.

     It was in that factory that Charles Dickens saw the conditions, the poverty, and the daily toil a social worker went through. Later in his life, Charles clearly describes his experience in the factory in his novel David Copperfield. At his 12 years of age, Charles had to see what it was to earn for a living and what it is to be working when you are not supposed to. This experience had a tremendous influence on his life and his works. A remarkable example can be Oliver Twist. In Oliver Twist, Dickens accents our attention on the evils of his society such as child labor and child crime.

     When Charles father was free, he let Charles quit his job. Charles, already in his 17 years of age began his career as a law clerk, a job that would prepare him to enter the world of writing. After a short while, Charles left his occupation and became a journalist for Morning Chronicle. There he wrote articles in forms of sketches. These sketches were known as Sketches by Boz. Also, while he was in Morning Chronicle he compiled his first novel, the Pickwick Papers in 1836.

     The Pickwick Papers proved to be a huge success. In the same year, Dickens got married to Catherine Thompson Hogarth. The relationship in the couple was usually not good. They had different characters and their relationship didn’t seem to work out. During the twenty years of their marriage they had 10 children which Charles most dearly loved.

     One of the reasons that Dickens’s work was successful is the fact that most of it was sequentially posted in the newspaper he was working with. The reader was eager to see what was coming next and couldn’t wait for the next issue to come out. Such tremendous success gave him the ability to travel around the world with his family and look for new inspirations. The product of such inspirations were many exceptional novels such as the American Notes and Pictures from Italy.

     After his divorce with his wife, Charles got to spend his time with a young actress named Helen Ternan. Charles writing time decreased and he began to tour Europe and USA to perform readings of his works. Charles’s readings were very vivid and interesting to listen to. He used to use various tone qualities and different voices for all of his characters.

     Constant touring caused great exhaustion to Charles. Charles died of a stroke in Gad’s Hill Place on June 9, 1870. Charles Dickens has been remembered as one of the most brilliant, vivid and creative writers History has ever know. It has been said that the works of Dickens could only come second to Shakespeare because there was so much passion, life and truth in them.