LETS LOOK BACK
Just look around you, next year everything will change. Your worries, your work life, your thinking. Things change so fast that one year flies by but so many things happen. There is so much space for improvement, and who knows whats in the future. Isnt it inspiring to just think about all the changes that have happened in the last 366 days? As per our tradition, on the last day of each year I like to rewind the film back and reflect on everything that happened to me. That happened to us. This helps me understand my path better but also sets a nice base for the goals I have. Without being soppy, I must say that 2016 brought me a lot more than I expected it was for sure a year I will remember forever, and here is why.
Looking in the rear mirror I figured out that I am not sure where my home is anymore. I spent 178 days away from the conventional home, that means I spent only 188 days waking up in my own bed. If you think about it, half a year I spend on the road and other half catching up with real life. I took over 70 flights and numerous trains. I explored the parts of the world I never even thought of before. Places like Dubai, Phuket, Zurich, Costa Rica, New York, Milan, Paris, Venice, Belgrade, Banja Luka, Dallas, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Las Vegas, Crete, Maldives, Nice, Monaco, St.Tropez, Cannes, Rome and Palm Springs. Some of these places such as Dubai, Belgrade, Nice, Cannes, New York, Milan, Monaco, Paris and St.Tropez I visited several times. Costa Rica and Dallas are new discoveries for me, places which enriched me for another new experience.
Now at 27 years I can say that I finally managed to figure out who I am and what my real interests are, I managed to declutter my life from all the unnecessary stuff and to focus on my passion – my blog and travel. As every year before I only committed to work with brands I truly love, I clearly said more NO than YES to proposals and brand collaborations, because I chose only brands I am truly in love with, brands like: Cartier, Dior, Fendi, Bulgari, Versace, Missoni, Estee Lauder, Casadei, Pinko, Farfetch, Jimmy Choo, MAC, Tods, Loreal, Maje, Acqua Di Parma, Net-a-Porter, Benefit, ghd, Aquazzura, Elie Saab, Zimmermann, Avenue32, Hogan, Monnier Freres, Givenchy, Revolve, Luisa Via Roma, Tory Burch, The Outnet and many others.
I realised that working with brands works only if its in line with my own story telling and the message I want to share with you. I really enjoyed this process so much and it was a huge learning curve for me. The year started with a big bang in Swiss alps where I worked on last minute details for the website relaunch. The year and continued the dreamy start of the year in Dubai and Thailand where I got the chance to really work on my photography. February was the month of fashion, I started it in Paris on a beautiful trip with Givenchy and then dedicated all of the time to fashion weeks, New York, London, Milan and Paris taught me so much yet again. Once fashion month was over I celebrated my birthday and headed to Venice to shoot one of the most exciting projects of the year a beautiful necklace Amulette De Cartier. This was the moment which made me extremely proud.
April was the month of travelling. I headed to Dallas for the first time ever for a conference and then headed to LA with some of my international blogger friends. This was the time I felt true happiness. I had things under control I enjoyed every second of being on the road and felt so independent. More than ever before. Then I experienced Coachella festival with ghd. I had so much fun at the Revolve parties and figured out what the fuss was all about. It was magical, but May was around the corner and I headed back home for more projects.
I thought I travelled a lot in April, but May started in Barcelona, I was a special guest of Pronovias for their annual fashion show. You know this city is very dear to me so I had a marvellous time. After Barcelona I headed to Las Vegas with Benefit for one of the best trips of my life. Just imagine a huge hotel suite overlooking Vegas, helicopter ride over Grand Canyon and finest restaurants in the world. I couldnt belive this was my life. Straight from Vegas I flew to South of France where I had the most exciting and nerve wracking opportunity ahead of me. Walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. Wow. Still cant believe it happened. Wearing a beautiful Elie Saab gown I was a gust at the film festival and this still feels surreal. I stayed longer in Cannes because I was shooting a project for the Selfie’s magazine which came out in September in German speaking countries. Have you already seen it?
Costa Rica, Crete, New York and Maldives, those were the next trips on my schedule, and they were all for my soul. I managed to really feel the excitement, to rest and focus on my YOuTube just like I promised at the beginning of the year. This was really crucial for me as the September came sooner than I thought and it was again time for Fashion Weeks, New York, London, Milan and Paris felt great because I had a huge honour to do some of the most exciting fashion shows and events including the incredible amfAR gala in Milan with Ermanno Scervino. End of month we also reached 100 000 subscribers on my YouTube channel. I say we, because you are the most important factor to me on that platform.
I thought things were going to get quiet in October, but it just started getting busier, but then it all got even better. The end of the year was more than I could ever dream off. British Fashion award with MAC, attending Victoria’s Secret Show and going on a dreamy trip to Paris with Dior. This was all I could only dream about last year. Big goals that I managed to tick off. A big Christmas shoot with Cartier something I am extremely proud of. All of these are things I thought could happen to someone else, but not to me.
On the personal note this was a year of realisation. It was a wake up call for me. Year in which I found all of my energy and focused it on work. You know that this was the year of changes. After the traumatic trip to South of France I managed to take my life into my hands and figure out who I was and what I wanted to do with it. I know it sounds very dramatic but the honest truth is that sometimes we need bad things to happen to us, to see all the good things in our life. My three year long love relationship came to an end, it was all very abrupt and sudden, but it is what it is. I started working more, dreaming more and giving every single atom of my energy to work and learning.
This year wouldnt be the same without my friends. I realised what a huge family I have all around the world, and I went on trips with people I consider my best friends. I spent more time with my sister who now also officially works for me (or I work for her since she bosses me around all the time haha). I expanded my team, invested more into giving you good content, learning how to be better. I focused a lot of video content creation and spent days replying to your comments there.
I learned in 2016 that the beauty isnt in reaching your goal, the beauty is in the journey, in learning new things, spending time with your loved ones and never forgetting who you are while adapting to other people. I learned that happiness isnt determined by how much you have, what colour are your eyes or where you travel, but happiness comes from inside. I realised that my parents are my best friends and my biggest supporters and how grateful I am to them for the roots they gave me. They thought me to be a fighter. I learned to listen and that no matter what happens to me, there is nothing that cant be fixed by a happy face of my nephew.
Hope you enjoyed this way too long look back onto 2016. I am wishing you Happy New Year and many more together!
Pogledajte oko sebe, sledece godine nista nece biti tako. Vase brige, posao, vase razmisljanje. Stvari se menjaju tako brzo, vreme leti i za godinu dana desice se toliko toga. Ima mnogo prostora za lepe promene, a ko zna sta buducnost nosi. Izuzetno me inspirisu promene koje su se desile u poslednjih 366 dana, pa u ih po nasoj tradiciji sumirati u jednom postu za vas. Sve ovo pomaze mi da bolje razumem moj put i da postavim dobru osnovu za ciljeve koje imam. Moram priznati da je 2016 godina bila puna iznenadjenja, a evo i zasto.
Gledam u retrospektivu i razmisljam o tome gde je uopste moja kuca. Provela sam 178 dana 2016.godine putujuci a 188 kod kuce. Ako razmislite o tome, to znaci da sam pola godine bila u koferima a pola se budila u svom krevetu. Sa preko 70 letova uspela sam da obidjem neke lepe delove sveta. Mesta kao sto su Dubai, Puket, Cirih, Kosta Rika, Njujork, Milano, Pariz, Venecija, Beograd, Banja Luka, Dalas, Los Andjeles, Barselona, Las Vegas, Krit, Maldivi, Nica, Monako, St.Tropez, Kan, Rim i Palm Springs. Neke od ovih mesta posetila sam vise puta, kao sto su Dubai, Beograd, St.Tropez, Kan, Njujork, Nica, Milano, Monako i Pariz, dok sam Dalas i Kosta Riku posetila po prvi put.
Sada sa punih 27godina mogu da kazem da sam pocela da shvatam sta je to sto me stvarno zanima, rascistila sam svoj zivot od nekih nepotrebnih smetnji i fokusirala se na ono sto mi je ogromna strast – moj blog i putovanja. Kao i ranijih godina radila sam iskljucivo sa brendovima koje istinski volim i vise puta rekla NE nego DA kada su u pitanju ponude za saradnju. Neki od brendova sa kojima sam saradjivala ove godine su: Cartier, Dior, Fendi, Bulgari, Versace, Missoni, Estee Lauder, Casadei, Pinko, Farfetch, Jimmy Choo, MAC, Tods, Loreal, Maje, Acqua Di Parma, Net-a-Porter, Benefit, ghd, Aquazzura, Elie Saab, Zimmermann, Avenue32, Hogan, Monnier Freres, Givenchy, Revolve, Luisa Via Roma, Tory Burch, The Outnet i mnogi drugi.
Shvatila sam da saradnje sa brendovima imaju smisla samo ako su deo price koju pricam vec 6 godina na blogu. Zaista sam uzivala u procesu i naucila mnogo u toku ovo druzenja sa vama. Godinu sam zapocela na Alpima gde sam se igrala zavrsnim detaljima oko novog dizajna sajta. Posle ovog sjajnog pocetka, isla sam u Dubai i na Tajland gde sam zaista radila na fotografiji. Februar je bio mesec mode, a pocela sam ga u Parizu na putu sa Givenchy-jem a onda se posvetila nedeljama mode u velikim gradovima kao sto su Njujork, London, Milano i Pariz. I tamo sam mnogo naucila. Kada se mesec mode zavrsio, proslavila sam rodjendan u Veneciji gde sam takodje radila na najuzbudljivijem projektu do tada, slikanju za Cartier i njihov Amulette de Cartier.
April je bio mesec putovanja. Vec prve nedelje ovog meseca krenula sam u Dalas na konferenciju a potom u Los Andjeles sa nekim od mojih prijatelja iz ove industrije. Ovo je trenutak kada sam osetila istinsku srecu. Uzivala sam u ovom putovanj, u svakoj sekundi slobode i osecala se jako nezavisno. Vise nego ikada pre. Onda sam isla na Coachella festival sa brendom Ghd. Toliko sam se dobro zabavila na Revolve zurkama da sam shvatila zasto svi toliko hvale bas ovaj festival. Sve je bilo carobno ali sam se uskoro vratila u Evropu gde su me cekali novi projekti.
Mislila sam da nista ne moze nadmasiti april, ali maj sam pocela u Barseloni kao poseban gost Pronovias brenda na njihovoj cuvenoj modnoj reviji. Znate da mnogo volim ovaj grad pa sam se sjajno provela. Posle Barselone krenula sam put Las Vegasa sa Benefitom i ovo je bilo jedno od najboljih putovanja na kojima sam ikada bila. Zamislite ogroman apartman u hotelu iz kog imate pogled na ceo Vegas. Zamislite voznju helikopterom iznad Velikog Kanjona, a onda jos i zamislite sjajne zabave i vecere u najboljim restoranima. Tada sam pocela da sumnjam da je ovo zaista moj zivot. Pravo iz Vegasa letela sam za jug Francuske gde me je cekao ozbiljan zadatak. Po prvi put hodala sam crvenim tepihom na Filmskom Festivalu u Kanu. Bila sam jako uzbudjena i pomalo uplasena zbog ovoga. Nosila sam predivnu Elie Saab haljinu i osecala se kao princeza. U Kanu sam ostala i par dana posle festivala jer sam tamo slikala nekoliko editorijala za Selfie’s casopis koji je u septembru izasao na nemackom jeziku. Da li ste ga videli?
Kosta Rika, Krit, Njujork i Maldivi, ova putovanja sam ubacila u raspored za sopstvenu dusu. Zaista sam uzivala u svakoj sekundi i koncentrisala se na redovno snimanje YouTube videa bas kao sto sam i obecala pocetkom godine. Ova putovanja i opustanje bilo mi je bitno jer je septembar opet dosao pre nego sto sam mislila. Njujork, London, Milan i Pariz cekali su iza coska a ja sam ovaj put dobila i one pozivnice o kojima sam do sada samo sanjala. Najvece zadovoljstvo bilo mi je da prisustvujem amfAR Gala dogadjaju kao gost Ermanno Scervino brenda. Krajem meseca dosegli smo 100 000 pretplatnika na YouTube kanalu, kazem mi jer ste mi vi najznacajniji faktor u mom radu.
Mislila sam da ce sve utihnuti u oktobru, ali su se stvari pocele zakuvavati. Kraj godine bio je caroban. Prisustvovala sam British Fashion Awards sa MAC-om, potom bila gost Victoria’s Secret-a na reviji u Parizu a onda se opet vratila u Francusku prestonicu kao poseban gost Dior-a. Ovo je sve o cemu sam sanjala prosle godine. I najvece snove sam nekako ostvarila, a posebno draga mi je ostala Bozicna kampanja koju sam uradila u saradnji sa mojim omiljenim brendom nakita. Da, u pitanju je Cartier. Sve ove stvari bile su nesto sto sam mislila da ce se desiti drugim ljudima, ali nikako i meni.
Na privatnom planu ova godina je bila godina spoznaje. Otvorila sam oci kada su neke stvari u pitanju, skupila potrebnu energiju i fokusirala se na rad. Znate da su se mnoge stvari promenile kod mene ove godine. Nakon traumaticnog iskustva na jugu Francuske uzela sam zivot u svoje ruke i tek tada shvatila ko sam i sta zelim u zivotu. Znam da zvuci jako dramaticno, ali zaista su negativni dogadjaju neophodni u nasem zivotu kako bismo shvatili da je samo jedan i da vrednujemo one lepe trenutke. Moja veza od tri godine zavrsila se istog meseca. Sve se desilo odjednom, ali sta je tu je, radila sam vise, sanjala vise i trosila i poslednji atom svoje energije da naucim nesto novo i primenim u radu.
Ova godina ne bi bila ista bez mojih prijatelja. Shvatila sam da imam ogromnu familiju po svetu, te ljude smatram pravim prijateljima. Provela sam mnogo vise vremena sa sestrom koja sada i zvanicno radi za mene (ili ja radim za nju s obzirom da mi stalno nesto naredjuje hahaha). Prositila sam tim, investirala u bolju opremu i bolji sadrzaj. Naucila da budem bolja. Mnogo sam vremena potrosila trudeci se oko videa i uzivala odgovarajuci na vase komentare.
U 2016. naucila sam da lepota nije u ostvarenju cilja, vec u putovanju i trudu koji ulozite da biste dosli do njega. Lepota je u vremenu koje provodite sa dragim ljudima, a najbitnije je da ostanete dosledni sebi pa cak i kada nalazite kompromis sa drugima. Naucila sam da sreca ne zavisi od toga koliko ste uspesni, kako izgledate ili gde putujete, vec dolazi iznutra i nista je ne moze nadomestiti. Shvatila sam da sam neizmerno zahvalna roditeljima koji su mi podarili jako korenje i naucili me da budem borac. Naucila sam da slusam i da bez obzira sta mi se desilo, nema te stvari koju osmeh mog necaka ne moze da popravi.
Nadam se da ste i vi uzivali u ovoj retrospektivi. Zelim vam Srecnu Novu godinu i da jos mnoge zajedno docekamo!
