FOCUS Student Magazine - Issue 16

ISSUE NR 16 / SUMMER 2016

GRADUATE CHECKLISTGETTING READY TO GRADUATE? USE OUR NIFTY CHECKLIST!

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: OPLEVO BATTLERARENA, ESCAPE FACTORY, YOU NAME IT, OPLEVO WILL HOOK YOU UP.

INTERNATIONAL TEACHER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTTEACHERS CAN BE JUST AS INTERNATIONAL AS YOU!

TREND SOCIOLOGYA TREND EXPERT’S ADVICE.

HERNINGSTUDERERVI

IN THIS ISSUE...

PERSPECTIVE

16 10 TIPS ON HOW TO FIND YOUR EXAM INSPIRATION / Searching for that elusive exam muse.

22 BUSY IS OVERRATED / The cult of busy debunked.

24 POWER COUPLE / Meet Alexander and Aleksandra.

CULTURE

6 INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS / Teachers can be just as international as you!

28 FUN WITH INTERNATIONAL IDIOMS / In case you ever hear someone say they went cucumber on you.

32 COPENHAGEN FASHION SUMMIT / All about it for you fashion aficionados.

40 DANISH SUMMER DINNER / Quick recipes for bringing out the Dane in you.

CAREER

10 IN THE SPOTLIGHT: OPLEVO / Battlerarena, Escape Factory, you name it, Oplevo will hook you up.

20 GRADUATE CHECKLIST / Getting ready to graduate? Use our nifty checklist!

LIFESTYLE

14 WHAT KIND OF STUDENT ARE YOU? / Professional & powerful procrastinator or control freak?

36 10 TIPS FOR WHAT TO DO WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING / Make the most out of your sunny times in Denmark.

38 WHAT TO DO DURING THE LOVELY DANISH SUMMER? / A traveller’s guide.

42 FITNESS ABC / Get that bikini body ready in time for summer!

44 TREND SOCIOLOGY / A trend expert’s advice.

47 ON THE RUN / Our contest winner story.

WHO ARE WE EXACTLY?

STAFFEXECUTIVE EDITOR Alexandra Munteanu

SUB-EDITOR

Cristina Maria Loredana Musat Wojciech Żmijski Ileana Cocos Ieva Ozolina Aela Nikolova Alexandra Munteanu

Alexander Moroz Janis ZirnitisIeva OzolinaOlga MangurovaTatiana Coelho de Oliveira Ilva IndrikovaPlamena SomovaOdette Charles El-Hayek

SALES MANAGERAlexander Moroz

CONTACT [email protected]

Copyright © 2016 FOCUS Student Magazine. All Rights Reserved.Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited.

CONTRIBUTORS

Aleksandra AbratańskaKiril ProykovAela Nikolova

Sara Præst Cristina Maria

WRITERS TEAM

SALES TEAMMARKETING TEAM

CREATIVE TEAM

Hi! Hello! Yes, that’s you we’re talking to, dear reader. Whether you’ve been following us since our first issue in March, 2013 or have just picked up your very first FOCUS Student Magazine copy, we want to welcome you!

FOCUS has been founded with the purpose of connecting all the university students on Birk Campus – with each other and with the best opportunities that Herning has to offer. Our motto is “by students for students” and it distils our work ethic in order to show that we are responsible volunteers dedicated to providing peers with a free of charge magazine that is able to both entertain and educate.Published four times a year, FOCUS features lifestyle, career, perspective and culture articles that will help you survive

university life, showcase the talents of VIA Design and BTECH students, offer career advices from established figures, and cover any other subject relevant for local university students. The magazine is available as this beautiful, high quality copy you’re holding right now as well as online if you missed us some other time.

Go on, dive into the magazine and see what we have to offer you!

Ragnar RoostaluAlina Liliana VlaicuDiana VõruLouise Byg Kongsholm

Cristina Maria

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

MARKETING MANAGER

Aleksandra Abratańska

Sara Præst

CREW QUESTIONWhat is your spirit animal?

My spirit animal is the sloth, because he can fall asleep in any place at any

time.

My spirit animal is the fox, because when I was a little girl, my dad would

always call me a sneaky little fox.

My spirit animal is the dragon, because they are magical and nearly extinct (there are some specimens left out

there, no doubt)

My spirit animal is the dog, because they are the kindest animals and the

man’s best friend.

My spirit animal is the pug, because they are always worried just like me.

My spirit animal is the bear, because I could go to sleep again and again and

again …

My spirit animal is Captain America - fictional characters don’t count as spirit animals? No? Whatever, I’m

loyal, kind and awesome, just like Cap.

My spirit animal is the crab, because I always protect what is most precious

to me.

My spirit animal is the wolf - because they are loyal and passionate.

My spirit animal is the sea turtle, because I like to take life easy and go

with the flow.

My spirit animal is the bat - I am sure you all know the answer. - Stay

Awesome Herning.

My spirit animal is the cow, because it has the same colour as my soul.

My spirit animal is the panda, because - eat, sleep, repeat.

ILVA

OLGA

ILEANAKIRIL

IEVA

ALEKSANDRAODETTE

JANIS

WOJCIECHTATIANA

SARA

PLAMENACRISTINA

AELA

My spirit animal is the cat, because I talk to them.

LOREDANA

My spirit animal is my own arrogant, fat and fluffy ginger cat Rishko,

because we share similar views about life.

Being an international student is an experience that we can all appreciate as being incredibly difficult but oh, so rewarding in the end. For students, the reasons behind embarking on such a journey might seem obvious: a different style of education from the one in a home country, an opportunity to meet like-minded souls, obsessed with travelling and novelty, maybe even a test of one’s abilities to adapt in a completely different culture. But have you ever stopped to think that the “international” label can be attached even to one of your teachers? Have you wondered what made them seek a path similar to yours? Read on and find out.

Text by Cristina MariaPhotos by Janis Zirnitis, Sara Præst

Illustrations by Tatiana Coelho de Oliviera

1. What motivated your decision to teach an international class, in Denmark of all places?

Why Denmark? A short answer is that I fell in love with a Dane; however teaching is my purpose in life, wherever I live and whatever I do. The opportunity to teach students who had chosen an international program was intoxicating. The students and their motivations, the diverse cultural backgrounds, the educational approach in Denmark and that of a practice-based higher education model makes for a rare and powerful learning platform. I wanted to be part of this.

2. Are there any differences in your approach to international students in Denmark as opposed to students in your native country?

Short answer, no. Teaching in itself is a complicated art form and its focus is on supporting the student in the development of his or her own knowledge, and consideration of the different experiences, motivations, and expectations of students. In a sense, it is a contract between a teacher and a student about their learning. However, due to the nature of a Danish international program, one must also consider the following in approach: the support students need to continue the development of their skills in the English language to a level appropriate for a higher education, the purpose of the international education program, and the richly diverse cultural environment of the classroom.

3. What surprised you most when you started teaching international students?

The courage, determination and adaptability of international students. The first year of higher education is not easy for any student, and for the international student this is compounded by not being able to speak Danish nor understand the cultural differences. This can make student life difficult for a variety of reasons. International students are amazing because despite this most international students are highly successful at the end of their education.

4. Are there any valuable lessons that YOU learned from your class?

I learn something every time I interact with a student. The most enduring valuable lesson is the importance of getting to know my students the best I can.

5. What would be your advice for international students in order to have a successful career after graduation?

Even though your formal education may be finished, do not stop learning. Be a lifelong learner in your area of education, your personal life, and your work. Engage in work that gives you purpose, fulfills your interests, and makes you happy throughout your life.

Age: young at heartCountry of origin: USASubjects taught: Marketing, Management, Economics, and Concept Development

CULTURE6-7

1. What motivated your decision to teach an international class, in Denmark of all places?

Throughout my working life I have travelled extensively, to over 40 countries, actually, and lived in several for extended periods of time so I’m used to working in an international environment. Taking ECCO Sko A/S, a Danish company I worked for prior to teaching at VIA Design as an example, our development department would have typically 10 or more nationalities working together at any given time. This multi-national environment contributed to the depth & diversity of ideas and gave us a global perspective. Something I believe also transfers to the classroom here at VIA Design.

2. Are there any differences in your approach to international students in Denmark as opposed to students in your native country?

Well language can be an issue for some students, especially in the early stages of the course. For many international students, English is their second or even third language. Many are fine with reading and understanding English but don’t speak it as well. I have to consider this when planning lectures, recommended readings and evaluating presentations. It can lead to some amusing misunderstandings. While discussing assignment grades from a previous course with one of my Asian students she suddenly announced: “I got married”. I said, “Congratulations, was the wedding ceremony held here in Denmark?” To which she replied, “No, I got MERIT!”. Also skills learned at educational institutions abroad may not match those expected in Denmark, some may be more advanced, others less so. Our classroom and participation methods may be unfamiliar to some students.However, I’ve learned to be patient, the vast majority of students will get where they need to be with their language & other skills eventually. I’m often surprised by the rapid progress most students make in this area – learning is not linear.


How quickly most students adapt to the way we teach at VIA Design, which is often very different to what they are used to: problem based learning, group work and the less formal student – lecturer relationship.

4. Are there any valuable lessons that YOU learned from your class?

Yes, in addition to learning from students’ perspectives on marketing & branding, often using examples from their own country, I’ve learned to ignore cultural stereotypes. We have all read about national cultural dimensions, (Hofstede and others), but I just don’t think they apply in any meaningful way to students at VIA. Instead most international students seem to be united by what Daniel Pink calls the Third Drive: ”Our deep seated desire to direct our own lives, to extend & expand our own abilities & to live a life of purpose”.


1. Choose the right company.2. Choose the right boss.3. Repeat steps 2 & 3 as required.

Age: 59

Country of origin: United KingdomSubjects taught: Branding & Marketing, Strategic

Design Practice, Leather Technology

1. What motivated your decision to teach an international class, in Denmark of all places? I have to say that I also teach Danish students as well (Danish line) about ¼ or so. My background is some sort of a strange mixture between informal education and academia that mostly took place abroad, in Denmark where I have been studying, working and living for 12 years. Thus, my motivation to teach in an international class is mostly because of my background. I am an international or I could also say an immigrant (I was not an expat when I arrived in Denmark) and an international environment to me is exactly what water is to a fish. 2. Are there any differences in your approach to international students in Denmark as opposed to students in your native country? I have worked with young people in Moldova prior to my arrival in Denmark, but I did not teach per se in higher education as I am doing it now in Denmark.My general approach, but also teaching philosophy is quite simple: “I cannot teach you anything – you can teach yourself!” My role as a teacher is to stimulate learning, sometimes provoke and engage students to learn about themselves and the world.Of course, there are differences in approaches, I can say there are quite big differences in teaching international classes and the Danish ones (Danish line). I have to admit, I simply adore teaching international classes, it is so much more fun where I feel at home and I feel myself.International students come from all sorts of educational backgrounds. It is not black and white, but some come from more controlling systems (“the whip”) others from educational systems based on trust (“the carrot”). I have always preferred the “carrot”, a system in which we are free but responsible. I want to trust my students as much as I can, and I am exercising this daily. Although, trust can fail, too and then I have to use some forms of legitimate control.


I am not sure if it came as a surprise to me, but I convinced myself repeatedly, whatever one has learned in those first twelve years of life constitutes the “truth”. Let me give you some examples.After a specific exercise with my international class, (I will not go into details), I was asking the students “to doubt everything”. After 30 minutes, I approached two students and apparently, they simply could not understand what “to doubt” is. Their response was something like: “we know the truth, and we are very sure about it, are you crazy, Anatolie? How can we doubt when we know?!”Another example: after a lecture, in which I typically ask many questions so that I can start a discussion, one of the students approached me and said: “in 22 years nobody has asked my opinion, until today”.

4. Are there any valuable lessons that YOU learned from your class? - One should never take anything for granted.- Every educational system is contextual (cultural, social, historical etc.)- Education can be dangerous, a burden or enlightening.- There is a very thin line between education and indoctrination.- We all are highly indoctrinated and most of the subjects are highly ideological.


I happen to come from the poorest country in Europe. My wonderful parents are illiterate peasants, but they strongly insisted I got some education. Because we did not have money, I used to pay for my lessons with milk and cheese from our only cow so that I can learn English. I did not know how to use a washing machine when I arrived in Denmark. I was kicked out of two universities before coming to Denmark where I had to start from zero. I paid for my Master’s degree in Denmark, with the money that I worked as a cleaner in a factory for 6 years. I wanted to be a teacher in Denmark and I am today. I have a very good job and a great career ahead of me – if I could make it, ANYONE can! You can become whoever you want to become, no clichés here.

Age: 33Country of origin: Republic of MoldovaSubjects taught: Culture and Ethics, (all sorts of) Communication, Culture and Communication in Organizations, Net-working, Theory/Philosophy of Science, Linguistics, CSR, Semiotics, HR

CULTURE8-9

OPLEVO

It was one year ago when the founders of Oplevo came up with the main idea of a platform that would facilitate the process of finding a fun activity. If you wish to participate in Secret games, Battlearena, Escape Factory, Minigolf, you can do this now with just a few clicks. The story of Oplevo is definitely compelling and fascinating, and the company itself stands as an example for all aspiring entrepreneurs. We talked to Rehmi Kristensen, CEO and Martin Klausen, CFO, about what it means to run this kind of start-up in Herning. Read on and find out for yourself!

Text by Loredana Musat & Alexandra MunteanuPhotos by Janis Zirnitis

How did you start Oplevo?

Oplevo started as a platform where customers could buy experiences, such as activities and events from merchants. We wanted to aggregate this into one platform, so that users could have easy access to all the experiences. We started in Aarhus last year with a mobile application. Right now it has 3000 downloads and approximately 950 users. In February this year, we launched our website and it’s quite similar to the app.Right now, we are 6 members: 3 owners and 3 freelancers. Everyone contributes with a special set of skills. We are two web and app developers (Niclas Hedam and Daniel Poulsen), one graphic designer (Victor Kristensen) and three business men (the two of us, and Rasmus Simmelkjær, who is contributing from Vejle).All put together, we are Oplevo.

Could you describe the process of starting it up?

It was actually an idea that came up during our student time. We were two business guys, Martin and I, and we came up with all these crazy ideas and how we could implement them.Next, we figured out the concept and we wrote it down. And only then did we thought about how we are actually going to do it. We decided to go mobile first, so we went to an event in Silkeborg, where we met the first developer, Niclas. It was a startup competition. We were supposed to be able to come up with a mockup of an application in two days. All of us in the team were really excited about what we did that day, so we decided to continue working together. One year later, we got the app launched on the market. From the very beginning until the launch, it was a mess. We had 20 000 ideas about how this app should look like and what this app should be able to do.We also talked to 42 companies in Aarhus about contributing to the app with the experiences. We spent several nights in Aarhus, and we had 4-5 meetings a day, on a 2 month period. Afterwards, we had the specifics on how the app should look like and we started to develop it from there. It was a good time, but we were new to the application development set up. So we didn’t actually know what we wanted. It all got a bit messed up, but we managed to put it down into one application.

Which technology do you use?

Our application is basically build up in Laravel, a PHP framework. We have built it in iOS – it’s an iPhone app that deals with object C programming.

On top of this, we added this payment application called Stripe that made us able to split payments in a kind of a marketplace with no administration at all on the money flow. We did no manual processes, like transferring money from one account to the other. Every time we took a payment to the platform, it got automatically transferred to the bank accounts. We managed to put together a lot of new technologies that differentiated us from our competitors. Our customers were happier to use our services than the competition’s.

What is the most challenging part?

It would be putting together the right team. It’s important to spot the people who are actually entrepreneurs, like ourselves. It’s not enough to have the skills. You need to have the right mindset when approaching your startup with your competences or workforce. Leadership is also challenging – it’s hard to lead a highly-skilled person in technology.

CAREER10-11

What about the most exciting part?

It is seeing your idea happen, seeing that your customers really benefit from it. We saw one of the customers on a mini-golf course in Aarhus once. They were very happy with our product. Seeing how we contributed to that one special day, making it possible for them to be on the mini-golf course and seeing the joy in their eyes – that was one of the most fantastic and amazing experiences that we’ve ever had. We will always remember those moments.So, the most exciting part of a startup is to create true value.

Any future plans for Oplevo?

We have made a pivot and we’ll twist the product into a new customer segment. Instead of approaching companies and customers, we’re trying to make a product for companies, employees and staff associations to handle activities and events within the company. It regards private events and membership benefits. We’re approaching larger organizations to get more users on board than we’d be able to have just with our marketing efforts. We’re going to approach B2B instead of B2C.

What advice would you give to prospective entrepreneurs?

Just do it. Start developing your idea, but start at a stage when you can handle it. Start with the minimal viable product, just to get into the market. Obtain the necessary knowledge, so you can develop the product that you really want on the market, instead of wasting time to just make your concept better and better before you are launching it. Remember also that it takes approximately 7 years to develop a fully functional company. You will have to reinvent yourself 7 times before actually launching what you have, to create the true value that you’re looking for. If you fail, see it as a success. Start early, and fail often. And learn from your mistakes.Go out and find the greatest team members that you can think of. Always approach the kind of people that you think are better suited to do the job than yourself. Be passionate about it. Don’t do something because of the money. If you don’t have passion for your product, stop today. It’s much easier to earn money in other ways. Do it only if you think it is fun and if you have the passion to create something, to change things or to solve a problem.

SKRAEDDERIFILOFTEIAS

Gabriela Casian +45 5276 8044

Design Patterns Embroidery

�[email protected]

14

It’s project hand-out day, and you have 2 months to do it. What now?

Vacation time! Anybody up for a trip to CPH?

I will start planning. After this episode. Season, I mean.

Library. Research. Now. Start. I must.

2 months? Pls, I can do it in a week. Chill!

Deadline is getting closer, and you haven’t even started writing yet. You…

You are halfway through the introduction and get stuck. What now?

Take a few days off. At least I have something

done.

Have a quick existential crisis and continue. I am not giving

up!

Go to Bilka for coffee and energy drinks. It’s on, b*tchez!

What tomorrow is for anyway? Besides, I have a date tonight.

You are a week ahead with your work schedule. What do you do?

You are finally deep into research, but your friends ask you out for a beer. You...

I will use the extra time to proofread and make sure I hand in

on time

Plan a little trip – you have deserved some rest!

Go. I need some distraction to clean up my mind #noragretz

It can wait. We will celebrate later, once I hand

it in.

Relax. Caffeine’s got your back. If not… Are they

still hiring at McDonalds?

Panic. After that…

Hope for a miracle.

Are you even human?

What does that even mean?

Can you function without caffeine?

Due date is tomorrow, and you are still not ready.

You…Yes.

No.

Profile A Profile B Profile C Profile D

Text by Aela NikolovaIllustrations by Olga Mangurova

PPP master or a control freak? Take the test to find out the student species

you belong to!

Chill out, man! Why so serious? I am sure you are already ahead with your study plan, as you are one of the most hard-working people there is. You have the plan, you have breakdowns along the execution, you live inside your work and thrive only on success – but some rest and a beer with friends is not something that will ruin your life. On the “work hard, play hard” scale you don’t even know what “play” stands for anymore. Make sure you include some time for breaks in your study plan, because your genius mind might overheat at some point! Otherwise, you are most likely to succeed in carrying on all the workload even before deadline, and save yourself last-minute panic. Keep the good work, but don’t forget it’s a beautiful world out there, summer is coming and a walk outside can only do you good (unless it is raining. Or snowing. Or there is a hurricane. Wouldn’t be surprised by a tsunami either. I wouldn’t bet on Danish weather, but still it is supposed to be a beautiful world out there, I guess).

You are a very conscious person, and you know yourself way too well. When it comes to studying, you always have a plan ready – even though somewhat theoretical, but anyways. You have the needed focus, persistence but… after all, you are human, and it is normal to get distracted. You know you cannot function without having some breaks from time to time to let ideas settle and breed inside your head, and you know how to capture them and make them work for you in the best possible way. You find inspiration in your inner strength and, of course, coffee (tons and tons of coffee) but, after all, you have the formula of success inside you. You are a brave warrior and you always make it through times of struggle, one bit thanks the constant fight you lead with your own procrastination. Even when the game gets tough, you never lose that spark of humour that helps you see things from the brighter side. Keep the spirit, fight your fights, less distraction and less caffeine – and you will be totally fine, my love.

Congratulations! If not with a formal qualification, at least you will graduate with a PPP (Professional & Powerful Procrastination) degree on a master level! Deadlines for you are something like Fata Morgana in the educational desert – you might see them in times of desperation, but otherwise they look too delusional to be real. You have insatiable desire for life, travelling, and, well… anything besides sitting on your desk for days in a row stuck in the debris of academic literature. We admire your special spark, and you might actually be able to pull it all off with inhuman amounts of caffeine and energy drinks in the end (usually 24 hours before deadline). You are one of the rarest, luckiest college species there is, alma mater’s one and only Houdini, but keep in mind that sometimes luck and hoping for a miracle is rather provoking karma in a negative way. Some beforehand planning of your work process can do you no harm, rather the opposite – it may even help you schedule more time for rest and save you a lot of prayers and stress at the final crossline.

Are you by any chance practising yoga? Meditation? Zen? What is your secret, you marvellous study creature? We can’t help but admire your total chill – you seem immune to panic, breakdowns of any kind or healthy, normal student-life crisis. You are a special gem of “f*cks not given”, and you are the one that laughs at all these nervous, un-showered student species coexisting in library habitats weeks before their deadline. You live by the principle of “work hard, play hard” (well, mostly play hard, but still) and you believe in balancing real life to school obligations. You believe there are more important things in life, and stress is just not worth it. Besides, you have the inner belief that you will manage to pull it off somehow in the end anyways. Keep that confidence, don’t lose the chill - but sometimes putting your professional future as a priority will pay off a lot more in the end.

LIFESTYLE14-15

Sometimes finding the inspiration to study is like looking for that one missing sock that disappears every time you do laundry – you have no idea where it got lost and when will time-space continuum retrieve it from the black debris of the unknown. This article is a priceless painkiller that will hopefully help you see the light in the end of the final exams tunnel by alleviating the doom and gloom lingering in the thin Danish air like the gentle smell over the summer fields around Herning (if you live in Hammerum, you know perfectly what kind of smell I am talking about). The following inspiration-retrieving

pieces of advice are proved to work* 100% effectively on your procrastination levels and have been kindly provi-ded by experts in the field of academic productivity who have preferred to keep their anonymity. For reasons. *Working for the better, however, not guaranteed. Please do not contact the author of this article in case of failed exams and shattered dreams (unless in connection with consuming C2H5OH-containing substances known for their ability to remarkably handle these kind of situations).

Text by Aela NikolovaIllustrations by Plamena Somova

If work is not going well – why not take time to keep up with the Kardashians? They are known to hold immeasurable sources of modern-day wisdom and are the ultimate example how a person with no talent and a certain interest in personal exhibitionism can marry a celebrity, make their own clothing line and even manage to pay their celebrity spouse’s 53-milion debt off their make-up advice app/game/whatever. If the Kardashians succee-ded, I bet you have every chance of outperforming them by the simple fact that you are at least c o n s i d e r i n g writing a hard-core academic report. If you are not into the Kardashians, maybe you can find your inspiration elsewhere. Feeling „Lost“? Well people managed to survive a plane crash ending up on an island inhabited by a weird smoke monster that turned into a fucked-up travelling machine and I bet they would literally die to make that market analysis instead of you. Still whining? Leo had to sew up his own throat while fighting with that bear over his Oscar for two and a half hours and I bet he wouldn’t complain over spending a few quiet hours in the library. If you still know nothing - John Snow doesn’t either, and that’s perfectly fine – there is no need to panic yet. May the odds be ever in your favor.

If binge-watching your favourite series

doesn’t help, then maybe you are just lacking the

right non-visual background to inspire your working process.

The ideal inspiration tunes are dynamic, non-obtrusive, non-distractive

and played on repeat for days in a row. A survey among relevant participants proved that 79% of students point out Rihanna’s „Work“as the best inspiration-unlocking single of the year. Results come as no surprise - there is hardly another ANTI track worth playing, so you have no choice than putting it on repeat; it sends a simple, motivating message and you won’t get the

rest of the lyrics anyway.

PERSPECTIVE16-17

You have probably heard about the fact that humans are only using around 30% of their potential brain power levels? Well, it is a scientific fact that caffeine is the secret ingredient that makes brain cells work in unexpected, inexplicable ways, transforming an ordinary human being to an immortal colossus capable of producing works of pure genius, especially a few hours before his deadline. News flash - our beautiful city of Herning actually possesses magical power-hubs, called coffee shops, where unicorns exist and mermaids would go as soon as they could magically obtain a pair of legit legs. Cafe Aroma for example is known to make tired students’ dreams come true – after several cups of magic your inspiration would not only come back wagging its tail, but will show you tricks that you would have never guessed it was even capable of performing.

If not in the mood of changing looks or even getting out of your pyjamas, experts point out that looking for love in hours of desperation can actually raise your chance of finding a person that is willing to stay with you for who you are, simply because he has already seen you at your worst and it can only get better from there. There is your opportunity – why not reinstall Tinder shortly after you got stuck on your project introduction and suffered from a major life-crisis? They say love is the biggest inspiration of them all, and finding your soulmate might actually help you retrieve the shattered pieces of motivation you lost along the way by providing you with a brand new, inspiration-sprinkling muse.

Beautiful mind in a beautiful body, or however the saying goes – think disruptively and start the process of getting your life together outside-in. Maybe your hair is so long that it overheats your brain cells and they cannot function to meet its full potential – the shorter, the lighter, the smarter! Need to get in shape for the summer? Working out is scientifically proven to boost up energy levels that facilitate mental activity and overall efficiency. Refresh your wardrobe, polish your nails, do your squats, paint your hair blue as a summer sky – whatever! Any type of change has the potential of unlocking inspiration and, besides, you will still be fa- bulous, no matter if you fail your exams or not. Investing in your looks is a way to a certain success (for a Kardashian reference – see tip No. 1) and holds enormous ROI opportunities.

If your room looks cleaner than usual, you have done laundry at least three times this week and you can’t wait to get the feeling of satisfactorily productiveness after washing every single plate or cup immediately after using them – inspiration is on its way! Cleaning your physical surroundings is directly connected to freeing up much needed space in your mind for all these complicated thought processes you are about to experience. If not – at least you will become the world’s best flatmate to win eternal love and respect, strengthening friendships to last a lifetime!

The oldest mathematical equation on earth goes as the following: the more work you haven’t started doing, the more likely your brain would wish to just take a nap instead. As they also say, in critical moments it is best to trust your instincts, as they always know what is essentially right for you. Taking power naps regardless of the task urgency level will not only boost your intellectual capabilities in the long-run, but also raise the chance of inspiration visiting you in the subconscious realm of dreams. Brain activity can do magic in your sleep, so why not let it do its job?

T h i s a r t i c l e h a s wasted a lot of your procrastination time already. What are you still waiting for?! Just get your… behind to work, finish what you have started as quickly as possible and go enjoy the summer!!

If the only person you can actually hold a conversation with these days, due to severe attacks of uncontrolled

antisocial behaviour, is yourself, then worry not - the Internet holds unlimited sources of

information where you can get to know your inner self even better and find inspiration

within your beautiful, if not yet emotionally stable, unique persona. Academic experts advise you on checking your horoscope on a daily basis – maybe the core of the problem is not your inability to sit down and put your brain cells to work, maybe it is just cheeky old retrograde Uranus that is playing tricks on your feeble, sensitive mind. It is also

crucial to check your Tarot card of the day, calculate your ascendant correctly, adjust the

right colour of your aura and meditate for at least 3 hours a day to set your mind on the right

track. If esoteric mantras don’t work, then maybe it is time to rethink your whole spiritual approach.

It is also scientifically proven that practising Zen-Buddhism during exam times helps students realise

the transcendental, illusive nature of reality which inspires them to concentrate on the present with a mild,

healthily nihilistic view at the tasks at hand. If still in doubt – take our lovely test on the next page to find out what will

work best for you!

If not feeling like finding a new muse, you can always seek support from those that already love you the most, even in dire moments. Calling your mom five times a day to inform yourself about the ongoing health status of your cat can bring only positive sides to your spiritual and intellectual development – your mom would be happy you are still in need of her emotional support, and you have higher chances of reconnecting to your spirit animal (in case it is a morbidly obese feline diagnosed with clinical laziness that never even noticed you relocated homes… well, at least you can relate your procrastination tendencies to another living creature’s). Moreover, a great majority of dads have at least one of „those“college stories when they went

to an exam after a solid night of ethanol-consummation and miraculously passed it without

having the slightest idea how. If yours is one of them – then you

have at least 50% chance you inhe- rited a similar set

of lucky genes. Isn’t that inspiring?

Okay, we tried our best. If even that didn’t help, our experts suggest you get the next cheap ride to Billund or a Rødbillet to Copenhagen, get on tomorrow’s flight to Cuba, open a bar on the beach and never ever look back. You are welcome.

PERSPECTIVE18-19

3Make good use of the services provided by your A-Kasse...

Graduate Checklist

Being a student in Denmark is fun, easy and quite simple. Follow the basic rules and you are guaranteed to be one-step closer on the path to your dream future. Doing everything by the books will ensure you have a smooth submerge in the career path you have set in front of you.For those of you who are already picking out an outfit for your graduation day and are almost ready to step on the stage and pick up their diploma, I suggest you take 5 and see if you can check everything on the list below. You need to ABSOLUTELY consider the following, even before you officially stop being a ‘student’.

…as ‘Unemployed’ (if that is the case, if not – go all the way down to the last point in this list), and you need to do that from DAY 1. That technically means on the last day of your very last exam. In some cases some students might have their graduation celebration in early June, just after handing in their final projects, but their exam might be scheduled before that, so the day of the last activity as a student counts as that DAY 1.

Text by Ileana Cocos Illustrations by Olga Mangurova

1…just before you graduate or at least 14 days after your last official activity as a student. Being a member of an A-Kasse will ensure you receive your monthly unemployment benefit, remunerated according to the education level that you own. Your chosen A-Kasse will ensure your financial security as well as other services meant to optimize your career.

Your A-Kasse will provide you with assistance regarding your CV and Cover Letter, hold individual meetings with you in order to help you better market yourself and your skills and eventually help you find a job. They will answer and clarify any questions you might have regarding your benefits, your unemployment situation, holiday, legislation or rights.

What you need to consider before and after you GRADUATE.

2

Register to your local job center...

Register to an A-Kasse...

4 You can still keep your study job...…if you had a study job before you graduated and you would prefer to keep it after as well, you can do that. The A-Kasse will just deduct the weekly hours that you have spent working on your student-job and compensate the remaining hours up to 40 hours a week with the unemployment benefit.

5When planning your next holiday as a fresh graduate...…you need plan ahead of time and make sure you let the job center know at least 14 days before about it. If the previous year you have worked a paid job, then you are also probably entitled to the so-called ‘feriepenge’ or the ‘holiday pay’. Before you leave on vacation make sure you log-in to your Feriekonto to apply for your holiday pay or contact your previous employer, who can tell you more about how you can get ‘feriepenge’.

6If you want to brush up your professional skills...…do some research and see if there are courses related to your university qualification that could help you develop new skills and talents. This could seriously boost your chances of finding a job faster or finding the perfect job for you. Your A-Kasse would probably already offer a series of courses, seminars and workshops focusing on personal development, and you can ask at your job center what are the options for you if you want to still be on a learning curve even after you graduate. Learning Danish is one of them, so if you didn’t have time to learn Danish during your study years, now is your chance! What else are you gonna do with all that time?

7If you cannot find a job in Denmark...…there are plenty of other fish in the sea or… jobs in the world! You can choose to go to another country to try out your luck. And if this is something you might be considering, you should know you can do that, and actually your A-Kasse will pay for it. You can do so for 3 months, you will continue in the meantime to receive unemployment benefits and you can travel to any country within the European Union, Norway, Switzerland or Liechtenstein.

8If you already have a job before you graduated, then LET EVERYONE KNOW...…and by everyone I mean all the organizations dealing with workforce in Denmark: your A-Kasse and your local job center (and sure, whoever else you feel like). But the main idea is to let the authorities know that you are already employed on the job market and not have them be all confused about your whereabouts and send you weird letters trying to figure out what you’re up to. And remember, if you invest enough time, effort and passion into your future, if you follow your dream:

“Choose a job you love, and you won’t have to work a day in your life”Confucius

CAREER20-21

Quick memory exercise: think of all the people you’ve met with lately and how many of them have said something like: “I’ve been so busy”, “I’m so busy”, “so busy, don’t have any time for anything”, “busy,

busy, busy”, “been keeping busy”. Or you know, anything else including the B word… Our generation’s messed up, man.Have you noticed how everyone around you is so busy letting you know they’re busy lately?

I get it. I understand the exciting feeling of ha-ving something to do. It’s healthy to get really caught up with your own stuff, so submerged into it that you forget about everything else around you, but just for a couple of days at a time. No matter how much you may think busy is a lifestyle worth having – it really isn’t. If I had to get to the bottom of it, I’d say the hype around this new phenomenon is in fact about something else: proving yourself and the rest of the world that… well, you have a life. Putting the “busy” coat on can really make you feel like you serve a purpose, like the world needs you to take care of this and that, and it’s only you who can do it; after all, aren’t we all desperately searching for a meaning? The idea that you’re going to find mea-ning by burying yourself in more activities than you can handle is a tad crazy though.

Yes, I do understand that some people are indeed extremely busy in their everyday life and can barely catch their breath while running errand after errand; it’s unfortunate, but it happens. You have to admire and at the same time, feel sorry for those people. Obviously, it’s your choice how you want to spend your days – if being buried in work is your cup of tea, by all means, get on with it; but please, spare us from hearing your cries of martyrdom – you made your bed, you lie in it. It is not the actual state of being busy that I’m ranting on against, but the vociferation of it as something to be proud of, especially when it’s not even accurate. I’ve witnessed people bragging (or complaining – I think there’s a very thin line between meanings in this case) about busy schedules, only to mention their week’s plan of being a couch potato seconds later. I mean… what?

Text by Loredana MusatIllustrations by Ilva Indrikova

No one will envy you or think of you as infinitely superior just because you’re repeatedly stating you’re busy. Think about it for a minute: what’s there to envy about doing a lot of things all the time? Not much, really… Best case scenario, you’ll give the other person a mini anxiety attack thinking they’re not doing enough with their life and they too, should become busier. Worst case scenario, they’ll feel pity for you, thinking how you’re exhausting your life away instead of enjoying it more.

People like being busy and bragging about it for all the wrong reasons. Some genuinely enjoy overworking themselves and let me tell you, there’s something seriously wrong with you, if you’re in this category. Some are more or less simply following the herd – what describes our culture better than “efficient”? This trend lying at the foundation of capitalism, brought to us by the industrial revolution, has shaped modern society. If it’s not efficient, we don’t want it. People have been brainwashed into becoming more efficient: keep up, keep up, stay behind and you lose. We are not machines!You are not machines! Stop trying to be so efficient!You run around all day consuming massive

amounts of caffeine, typing this, buying that – meetings, projects, errands and you end up exhausted at the end of the day; you go home and have the satisfaction of complaining to whomever is willing to listen how your day has been so incredibly long. Surely, there must be more to life than this?

Lastly, some people are forcing themselves to keep busy when they’re in fact trying to run away from something. Sometimes, people wish to escape their own minds so badly that the only viable option seems occupying their brain with so many activities, it won’t have time to dwell on the one thing they’re trying to push away. And you know what? It’s not even working

that well. Because you can’t escape your mind forever.The spectrum is wider and you know better that I do just where on the line you find yourself. But next time you think about proudly announcing your to the world– think again.

Stop this madness from spreading around. Take a break. Call a friend, grab some coffee and enjoy its taste. Take the day off. Go for a walk. Have an absurd conversation. Watch a movie in the middle of the day. Wake up and linger in bed for 3 more hours. Pick a random book and read it for pleasure. Stop in the middle of the sidewalk and stare at the sky. Sit on a bench and just observe people around you. It’s worth it!

PERSPECTIVE22-23

DANISH WORLD CLASS PAINTING AND... ...MODERN CONTEMPORARY ART AT HEART

heart herning museum of contemporary art

HERNING MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ARTBIRK CENTERPARK 8 · DK 7400 HERNING · WWW.HEARTMUS.DK

Visit HEART Museum for great art experiences - right here in Birk!

As a student in Birk

you have free entrance

- just remember your student ID card

FREE ENTRANCE

KASPER SONNENEW RELIGION

troels wörsella pittura12.03.16 - 21.08.16 12.03.16 - 21.08.16

DANISH WORLD CLASS PAINTING AND... ...MODERN CONTEMPORARY ART AT HEART

“They can not get enough of each other.”

Alexander Moroz Aleksandra Abratańska

Text by Ozolina IevaPhotos by Janis Zirnitis

PERSPECTIVE24-26

Mrs. A: “8,5 years! ! !”

How long have you been together?Mr. A: “8 years! ! !”

“On a scale from 1 to 10, how happy are you as a couple? (10 being perfectly happy and 1 being totally miserable)Mr. A: I am a simple man, words simply can not de-scribe my love. Lucky for me numbers can- 10,01/10Mrs. A: I think we are happy taking into consideration that we’ve been together for so long and still love to be around each other and we are not getting bored any time soon. We cannot get enough of each other. I would say 10/10.”

Describe where did you first meet and how everything started?Mr. A: It was a beautiful day. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and delicate fog was slightly covering the street. It was the small town in Poland, by the seaside. I was 7 or something like that and I was with my parent‘s aunt and some family friends at the beach. Of course it turned out that the previously mentioned friends brought their niece. And of course it was Ola (wow, such surprise much unexpected, so wow). She was sitting and watching me eating and as I am quite shy I was not speaking at all. I was acting like I was not able to speak and act like a human. You know it was one of the situations when your IQ drops below 0. So mostly that was it. Just before going home I started to talk and then after I spentthe most intense 3 minutes of my life talking, we went home. Thank God that she was there every day for the whole summer, every year. I could practise my speaking skills for next few years.Mrs. A: We‘ve known each other our whole lives. We met 16 years ago as a small kids during holidays at the seaside. I remember that when I saw Alex for the first time I knew that, he will be mine at some point. It sounds funny now: “6 years old girl found her prince“. After 2 years of spending summers together with our families, we have ended up at some birthday party and Alex was acting so weird. I didn‘t know what was going on, and then suddenly he knelt down and asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend. I remember that my heart was pounding so much, but of course I said no - I played inaccessible 8 years old girl. After a while I agreed, but then I remember that I said that I met a lifeguard - and Alex believed that a 8 year old girl is dating a lifeguard.Then when we were 14, we met as friends. We were going to the beach for a walk and at some point Alex kissed me for the first time and since then we’ve been a couple. How honest are you to each other?Mr. A: I am perfectly honest. Of course I don‘t lie but rather I BEND reality from time to time but still- I am as pure as Madonna before starting her music career. Also my secret is that I often play

games at night and watch cartoons.Mrs. A: I think we are honest. Maybe there are some things, no there is actually one- Alex has a really deep connection with all his stuff, even if they are used, he still keeps them, so sometimes I have to throw away some clothes or other useless things that he sees as important for some random reason. Oops...

Now, more about yourselves. What are your hidden talents?Mr. A: I can play video games for 2 days straight. Of course i can no longer train this god’s gift as I live with my dear Ola. Of course the console has to be hidden and of possible unplugged.Mrs. A: I can clean our apartment 3 times per day and I love ironing clothes and of course while I am doing that Alex is playing games and I scream at him. Our common secret is that we love to sing together and we usually make up a random text for the melody. If you could switch your lives with someone else, who would you be?Mr. A: You, Ieva and I would prevent you from asking me this question.Mrs. A: Haha. Definitely with Alex to see what he thinks and why sometimes he’s acting so weird.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? As a couple? As individuals? Mr. A: I see myself and Ola as a couple with 13 years of experience. Surprisingly, my sister in 5 years will still be younger than this relationship. And I see my as a bored graphic designer doing crazy shit on the computer. Oh, and I would like to have a fancy kitchen. Papa loves to cook a lot.Mrs. A: Together, of course, and living by the seaside, enjoying our time. I see myself working for a big company or maybe even own one- I didn‘t figure this out yet, but definitely, it will be connected to fashion or design.

PERSPECTIVE26-27

When did you start you missions at FOCUS and what are your responsibilities?Mr. A: Layout and illustrations. Hmm... Yup, that was it.Mrs. A: A few months ago, I became the Sales Manager. I have to find new business opportunities in order to print out the magazine so mainly b2b relations. In addition to that, I lead the Sales team, who is doing their best the keep FOCUS going at full speed. What are your biggest accomplishments in life?Mr. A: I went to the toilet with a full battery on my PSP and sat there until I zeroed it. What can I say, life goals… But honestly, I managed to do some good graphic work in the field for a big company and I am really happy about it.Mrs. A: I am very critical with myself. Even if I had a great accomplishment I still wouldn’t be satisfied with the outcome. As a part of the FOCUS community, what gives you your drive to create?Mr. A: My woman. I am so lazy that I often think that I would have died from starvation or I would simply forget to breathe without Ola. That statement about how behind every man stands a woman is totally true.Mrs. A: For me, it is the opportunity to meet interesting people and connect with those who are working in the business field.

What would you like to share with our readers?Mr. A: I am a gamer and my spirit animal is the Mighty Lion Sloth. I love sleeping, eating and watching TV series. I love to cook and sometimes to draw a bit. But just a bit. I am always connected to my computer and my mobile phone. My life motto is “when life gives you lemons you sell your grandma’s jewelry and go clubbing” “with great power comes the opportunity to fuck things up”. My funny fact? Hmm... I believe my sloth lifestyle prevents me from having any funny moments.Mrs. A: Your questions are tough ones. Let me think about some of Alex‘s secrets. When he was younger, he used to attend a karate club and he was really good at it, he almost earned the black belt. However, back then he always had really long and golden hair so sometimes they thought that he was a really pretty girl. Regarding me, as I mentioned before, Alex thought that I had a crush on a lifeguard, so afterwards, since I was supposed to be so passionate about lifeguards, I actually became one. Now Alex doesn’t have to be scared of anything bad happening to him – I can resue him anytime!

THE ENDFinito la comedia

THE END

Did you know that you never annoy a Romanian, but that you pull him out of his watermelons? No? Don’t worry, we didn’t expect you to. That’s why FOCUS Student Magazine is here. This article will teach you all about blending in with the international crowd, from drilling holes in Polish people’s stomachs (strictly metaphorically speaking) to holding candles for the Brazilian crowd.

HAVING FUN WITHINTERNATIONAL IDIOMS

LATVIAPasaules naba - Bellybutton of the world

We’ve never met a Latvian who could be addressed as such to be honest, but just say those two little words out loud: ”paaa-saaau-lessss naba” and you’ll start feeling the endorphins running wild. Keep in hand and feel free to use anytime someone thinks they’re the bellybutton of the Earth.

Ej bekot - Go pick mushrooms

Adding to those nice Latvian idioms you might have heard your friends using in moments of extreme happiness, comes this one. People constantly spamming you with messages? Housemates slamming doors while you try to catch some shuteye? Obviously, you need to tell them to go away so why not do it in a more original way? Something with a bit of colour. Go pick some mushrooms!

Du hast ein’ an der Waffel = You have something on the Waffle

We can’t imagine why having something on your waffle would be a bad thing, but those charming Germans use it as a way of saying you’re crazy, albeit in a more colourful way. We think there might be something on YOUR waffle.

Das ist doch klar wie Kloßbrühe = It’s as clear as dumpling broth

Has anyone ever seen an actual bowl of dumpling broth? It’s nothing more than water mixed in with some meatless meatballs that someone had the marketing sense of calling a broth and selling it as food. What we want to say is that yeah, that thing is pretty clear. Just like this idiom.

GERMANY

Text by Cristina MariaIllustrations by Odette Charles El-Hayek

CULTURE28-29

Varză = Cabbage

We don’t really know what’s the deal with Romanians and cabbage but one thing is certain – they don’t like each other much. In Romanian, you can say that anything is cabbage – your life, your friends, your cooking, it doesn’t matter. If it sucks, it means it’s cabbage. Bonus word: “praf”. This one means dust and can be used much in the same way as cabbage, depending on your mood.

Cu musca pe căciulă = With a fly on his hat

We’ve been told that there is actually a story behind this one. There was once a man whose wallet got stolen and three of his friends were under suspicion. He rounded them up and said out loud that the guilty one has a fly on his hat. Without realizing the ploy, the thief lifted his hand to swat the fly away therefore revealing himself. Hence, when you feel guilty about something, you too may think that you have a fly on your hat.

ROMANIA

BULGARIAпари като вестници = Money like newspapers

It doesn’t take much to figure this one out, does it? Bulgarians sure know how to spend their money and when they also happen to spend a lot of it, they say that they’re wasting it like newspapers.

умря ми коня = My horse died

Relax, no horses have been hurt in the making of this article. And yet, a Bulgarian’s horse might have died considering how long it took us. You can use this idiom for the friend who always takes ages to get dressed and makes you wait for an hour or more, outside in the freezing cold.

Co ma piernik do wiatraka = What has gingerbread to do with a windmill?

Gingerbread? Windmills? We’re getting a Don Quixote vibe here. No one can deny that the Polish language has its way with words so if you’re ready for some tongue twisting fun, you can try to impress your friends with a random “co ma piernik do wiatraka” in order to ask what has that to do with anything. We’re pretty sure you won’t be fooling anyone with your atrocious pronunciation but at least they’ll have someone to laugh at.

Wiercić komuś dziurę w brzucho = Drill somebody a hole in the stomach

For those of you with violent inclinations, here’s a good one. If a person keeps nagging you, you can say that they’re drilling a hole into your stomach. Sounds like fun.

POLAND

Break a leg

In case you ever want to tell someone good luck and you simply don’t know how to put it in the most awful way imaginable, simply wish them to “break a leg”. Our sources say that it’s simply because of the irony behind it but we have a feeling irony is the last thing on your mind when saying this.

Bend over backwards

Whenever you feel the need to point out how hard you worked in order to help someone, you can use this lovely idiom, courtesy of pure, unadulterated American English. Works best as a reproach in the form of “I can’t believe I bent over backwards for you and this is how you repay me!”

USA

Acabar em pizza = To end in pizza

When a corruption scandal ends up with nobody being held accountable, Brazilians say it “ended in pizza”. We have no idea why something that ends in pizza could be a bad thing but then again maybe they don’t really like pizza in Brazil? Is that even possible?

Segurar vela = To hold a candle

Has it ever happened to you that there was supposed to be a small reunion with friends but then things happened and it ended up with only you and the love-struck couple? As those third-wheel waves of awkwardness wash over you, you can say that you’re holding a candle for them.

BRAZIL

CULTURE30-31

Nagu kits kahe heinakuhja vahel = Like a goat be-tween two haystacks

When you can’t decide between two awesome things, let’s say a vanilla mocha frappuccino and a white chocolate mochaccino, you too might be feeling like a goat between two haystacks, at least if you’re Estonian.

Kopsu üle maksa ajama = To make someone’s lung go over the liver

This is another one of those human biology related idioms because science is always fun. And if you’ve paid any attention to classes in high-school, you’ll know that when your lung goes over your liver, it’s not because you’re doing swell. In Estonia, it means that someone pissed you off enough to make your organs do the conga.

ESTONIAIkke sælge skindet før bjørnen er skudt = Don’t

sell the skin before shooting the bear

We all love to sing our own praise, we’re Millennials after all and if no one’s there to do it for us we can certainly take care of ourselves. But be so sure of a positive outcome, kid, or you might just be selling the fur before you actually shoot

the bear. At least if you’re a Dane.

At gå agurk = To go cucumber

You’ve probably heard of going bananas, but how about going cucumber? Who are the English to say that bananas are the ultimate fruit equivalent for having the crazies? Danes will stick to cucumber, thank you very much.

DENMARK

Dear readers, Focus Student Magazine attended the Copenhagen Fashion Summit 2016 edition. This year we received the accreditation the second time and it has been an honor to cover the largest fashion event in Denmark and probably the worldwide meeting spot for sustainable developments in the fashion industry.

More than 1,200 influential decision-makers in fashion, business and politics have gathered at DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen on the summit day. The building provided an alluring atmosphere and a spacious foyer where creations from the Design and Denim Challenge were exhibited. The summit stage and the entrance hall were covered with sustainably produced carpets by Herning-based company Ege Carpets. The carpets were made of abandoned fishing nets that have been drifting in the ocean, collected and turned into strong and hardwearing yarns together with used plastic bottles.

‘Since its first edition, back in 2009, the summit has grown both in size and importance’, declares the CEO of the Danish Fashion Institute, Eva Kruse. Eva Kruse initiated the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in 2009 with the reason ‘to establish a platform for likeminded people to meet, for sustainable brands to shine, a forum for sharing knowledge, innovation and solutions’ and this year’s edition of the summit felt just like that.

The theme of Copenhagen Fashion Summit 2016 was ‘responsible innovation’. On the 12th of May, more than 50 speakers and panellists discussed the fashion

industry’s social and environmental responsibility. The day was dense, with an eight-hour program which included speeches, panel debates and breakout sessions. Among the speakers and panelists were Livia Firth from Eco-Age Ltd., Renzo Rosso from OTB Group, Vanessa Friedman, fashion director and chief fashion critic of the New York Times, Suzy Menkes, Vogue international editor, Hannah Jones, CSO of Nike, Inc. and Anna Gedda, Head of Sustainability at H&M.

Through this report, we would like to pass on to you the most inspiring ideas

that were shared on the summit stage by brand representatives, journalists and politicians. We have selected 5 most bold statements, knowledge tools and inspiring ideas that were discussed on the summit day. These were shared by Hannah Jones - Nike, Rick Ridgeway - Patagonia, Burak Cakmak - Parsons School of Design, Vanessa Friedman - The New York Times and by Anna Gedda - H&M. Plus, few outcomes from the breakout session ‘Will technology save fashion?’, where Adidas and G-star shared their latest innovations.

more than 50 speakers and

panellists discussed the fashion industry’s

social and environmental responsibility

Since its first edition, back in 2009, the summit has grown both in size and

importance

Let’srestartfashion!

Text by Alina Liliana VlaicuPhotos provided by CPH Fashion

Summit Press Office

CULTURE32-33

The Summit took off with the

welcoming speech of Her Royal Highness

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.

Her Royal Highness finds us all responsible for changing the fashion

game and considers that ‘it is fundamental to the evolution of the fashion industry that the next generation of designers, business leaders and consumers is engaged and leading in this journey (...) we all hold a responsibility to rethink the fashion industry.’

Hannah Jones is the chief sustainability officer and vice president innovation accelerator at Nike Inc. In her speech she was talking about designing the future

and supported the idea that design is the most powerful tool to create change. Thus, it is not a surprise to hear that Nike employs between 600 and 700 designers, which makes it the largest design company in the world. In order to support such a team and other design enthusiasts, Nike recently launched an app that helps designers make better choices when comes to materials. Find more information about the app on www.nikemakers.com. Moreover, Nike published their sustainability report which is available on www.nike.com and they also became a world pioneer in showing the addresses of their suppliers.

Another noticeable speaker was Burak Cakmak, dean of the Faculty of Fashion at Parsons School of Design. In his speech he focused on the role fashion has in our

society and presented design projects made by Parsons students. Sustainability was found in different areas from delivery (trousers and skirts that can be delivered in an envelope) to printing (bacteria printed images). Check their sustainability section on www.newschool.edu.

Patagonia’s vice president for public engagement, Rick Ridgeway gave a speech on ‘Good for Business & Good for the Planet’. He started out by outlaying his 2- step plan for responsible fashion: build the best product & cause no unnecessary harm. At Patagonia, Rick Ridgeway developed the 4 R’s model - Repair, Resell, Recycle, Reduce - which can be visible in the company’s actions - check www.patagonia.com for more information about their strategy and also google their ‘Don’t Buy This Jacket’ add. Just to make you more curious, Rick Ridgeway was the founding chair of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and he also created the Higg Index.

Vanessa Friedman, the fashion director and chief fashion critic of The New York Times gave a speech on ‘sex and sustainability’. She considers that sustainability language and terminology requires patience and that it has to be communicated in an user-friendly and sexy way. Thus brands should use stories to communicate their responsible actions and to create emotions. Her simple advice - ‘it takes Margot Robbie in a bubble bath to explain’ ;) Have you not watched ‘The Big Short’ yet?

The environmental footprint of a shirt

or dress or pair of pants decreases exponentially

as its usable life increases

As head of sustainability at H&M, Anna Gedda wanted to mark the company’s

quick response to consumer demand of transparency and ethical production methods. Together with the launching of their latest sustainability report, which is available on www.hm.com, H&M made public the list of their 1st and 2nd tier supplier, being one of the few fashion companies in the world to do this. Funny fact is, the list was kept in a safe up until now. ‘We want to use our size and scale to lead the change towards fully circular and truly sustainable fashion’, declares Anna Gedda.

During the breakout session ‘Will technology save fashion?’, the CEO of the Sustainable Fashion Academy, Michael Schragger and his 5 guests offered examples of new technologies within recycling and product development. The guests were from different areas of the industry such as James Carnes - vice president of strategy creation at Adidas, Miroslava Duma - founder of Buro24/7, Lewis Perkins - president of Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, Cyrill Gutsch - founder of Parley for the Oceans and Shubhankar Ray - global brand director of G-Star. I will try here to sum up most fun and interesting facts that I had the chance to learn and I hope you will investigate more about them.

Parley for the Oceans, for example, represents a forum where creative industries act to protect our life-sustaining ecosystem. What inspired Cyril to start this project, was

a 2012 meeting with captain Paul Watson, the co-founder of Greenpeace. One of Cyril’s missions is to draw attention to plastic pollution and its devastating consequences for seabirds, marine life and the human food chain. Together with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, they reclaim ocean plastic debris and only in the first month of activity they collected 160 tonnes of plastic. Parley for the Oceans is now a strategic supplier for brands such Adidas and G- Star. James Carnes from Adidas brought a sample of a prototype sneaker woven entirely out of ocean trash. This shoe is knitted using the same technology as for Primeknit sneakers and creates zero waste. Knitting is a zero waste technique as there are no patters to cut into fabric, thus no waste.

Shubhankar Ray from G-Star talked about their collaboration with Parley for the Oceans and how they are using the plastic waste in their clothing, by weaving denim fabric from recycled polyester and cotton yarns. G-Star also started connecting their sustainable actions with culture. Shubhankar considers that approaching their audience through channels such as music and film, can get their message through. It doesn’t take Margot Robbie in a bubble bath, but it does take Pharrell Williams. Pharrell is the creative force behind Bionic Yarn, a company which is focused on finding solutions for the plastic waste in our oceans. Together with Bionic Yarn and Pharrell, G-Star created G-Star Raw for the Oceans, a collection designed to recycle the plastic in the Big Blue. On www.rawfortheoceans.g-star.com you can see the collection, watch the documentary the ‘The Plastic Age’ or download the game ‘Battle for Big Blue’.

Additionally, Shubhankar Ray launched the Ocean Clean Wash charter in partnership with Plastic Soup Foundation, which focuses on reducing the ocean plastic pollution, especially micro plastic released into the ocean from washing clothes. The declaration was signed by Danish Fashion Institute, among others.

By gathering key players from the global fashion industry, who shared their

knowledge and ideas on new and sustainable solutions, the mission of the summit was to inspire, motivate, and give tools to implement a sustainable mindset and create a brighter future for the fashion industry. As Hannah Jones from Nike put it, ‘nobody doesn’t know anymore, is about what we do with that knowledge’.

Text: Alina Liliana Vlaicu Photography: Alexei Patrascu and Copenhagen Fashion Summit

We want to use our size and scale to lead the change towards fully circular and truly

sustainable fashion

CULTURE34-35

1. Don’t check the weather forecast.

Now, you might claim that it is not really a tip of what to do outside and I totally agree with you, however, I am 100% sure that it’s needed, while planning your outdoor activities. You might ask why, but the answer is very simple: if you check the weather then you will probably see that it will be raining and because of that you will probably stay inside instead.

2. The beach!

It is rather simple, but some people forget that the seaside is more or less an hour away from Herning! It’s basically right there, so

why not spent the day on the beach and enjoy your time. And, if you are actually ON the beach, the activities will basically come to you on their own so you don’t need to get inspired.

3. KICK IT, HIT IT, PUMP IT!

Let’s talk about balls. There are different kinds of balls, round, big, small, round etc. All of them can provide you with a lot of fun. Of course, in case your mind is somewhere else, I was talking about football, volleyball and others. I personally think that taking a ball with you while planning activities outside is crucial for entertaining and for socializing, especially volleyball since it’s very simple and

basically everyone can play along!

4. Food on fire!

Barbecue. I think that barbecue is the best excuse to plan something outside. Barbecue should be usually used as a base for other activities. However, I think it’s also quite important to experiment with the barbecue, try different dishes during the day; if you need more ideas regarding how exactly to make a barbecue, you are more than welcome to find them in one of the previous issues of FOCUS.

5. Bike trips!

Another great idea for summer: jump on a

10 tips for what to do when...

the sun is shining!Summer is coming, it’s right around the corner. Can you see it from here? It is right there, right behind that... cloud, and that rain, and that wind. But it is there! That is why I will try to provide you with 10 tips on how to spend your time outside.

Text by Wojciech Tomasz ZmijskiIllustrations by Odette Charles El-Hayek

bike and just ... bike. It is rather simple, there is no need to make a particular route plan or anything like that, you can just freely bike around. Biking is good for two reasons: you spent some time outside and and put a check on your daily workout plan.

6. Look for location.

It all depends on how much time you have (even though lack of time is never an excuse if you truly want to do it). If you have an hour available, you can easily just go outside your door and spent some time there instead of on the couch. If you have more time, then of course you can combine it with point number five and find your own favourite location for the summer time.

7. Read a book!

Now, I know for some of you it might sound boring or outdated, but I really think that reading a book or FOCUS Magazine (of course) in the so called wild is way better than just reading a book at home. I’m sure not of all of you have tried it. And if you combine reading that book with an accidental nap, life cannot get any better. Nap and some fresh air at the same time!

8. Picnic.

This tip is also used as a sort of base for the list because you can basically combine all the points and be able to create your own crazy picnic!

9. Explore the surroundings.

In case you are spending some of your time in Denmark or Herning in particular during summer, I advise you to explore the city and the surroundings. I am quite sure that you can find many places around where you will be able to spend quality time and enjoy the good weather.

10. Kayaking!

It is one of my favourite activities during summer (ask my girlfriend), if we are talking about Herning you can rent kayaks in Herning Tourist Centre and go kayaking. I think it’s a great chance to spend time outside and enjoying the day while swimming.

P.S It is always more fun to go kayaking with more people so you can create your team of kayak buddies! What are your best outdoor activities? I hope you’ll share your ideas over Instagram! Remember our

HASHTAGS!

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If you want to have a tasty bite of good music and 3 unforgettable days of festival bohemia with your friends and another 25 000 people, NorthSide is the right place for you to put some color in your Danish summer. You will be so pleased to show off your best moves next to Jamie xx and Iggie Pop’s music beats and, as a dessert for your soul, Flume, Damien Rice, Alex Vargas and many others will perform. Don’t forget to take with you your credit or debit card because from now on, NorthSide is cashless festival.

The music life in Ikast started back in 2003 with the Ikast music scene being taken over by the ‘Rock in May’ event. Since then, the Ikast Association has made a mission for itself to put together a music event each year in the third weekend of June. The Ikast Music Festival is for everyone, a common celebration for the locals to see the upcoming local musicians on stage.

Jazz heaven, more than 300 concerts in 7 days, located all around the city. You can enjoy this amazing event as a jazz lover or as a volunteer. The festival will surprise you with jam sessions, midnight concerts in cathedral, even jazz for kids. Maybe you will find there your favorite jazz band from Germany or United States? What can be better than 7 days of musical pleasure? Don`t worry, if you forget to buy tickets, most venues will sell tickets at the door.

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AarhusDENMARK

IkastDENMARK

AarhusDENMARK

Text by Ozolina IevaIllustrations by Alexander Moroz

With a history of over 10 years, the Grim Fest brings a personal touch with a nice garden party located on a privately owned farm in Brabrand. It has been, over the years, a platform for new and exciting local artists to play on smaller stages to an enthusiastic local audience. There a possibility to come as a visiting guest or camping.

The summer vibes take place in 2 nearby locations this summer. You can visit the lake city of Midtjylland and experience a lot of beautiful music and a variety of experiences in Silkeborg on the 13-14-15 of August, when the city lights up with music, good atmosphere and fun for everyone. The Summer Vibes then comes to Herning and is guaranteed to please any music lover, with live concerts mixing up everything from DJs, rock, pop and reggae. The event will be split up into 2 locations in the city, the mainstage will be located in the main square in the Herning city, and a chill lounge location will be set up in the green area next to the police station.

Just got to Herning? School is starting? Maybe before that you should close your summer with some musical vibes. Even if the city is small, it is always more than happy to welcome good music. The Herning By Festival brings many local artists and some bigger names to fire up the party, with Go Go Berlin, DODO & THE DODOS, Nabiha and many more.

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AarhusDENMARK

HerningDENMARK

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Mashed potatoes - Kartoffel-mos

1½ kg potatoes1½ dl sour cream / 3 dl milk

25 g butter½ teaspoon of salt

Topping - Drys200 g bacon

2 onions (ca. 500 g)

Side dish - Tilbehør1/4 cup chopped chives

400 g pickled beet240 g rye bread (rugbrød)

Ingredients

“Burning Love”

If we were to talk about a traditional Danish dish that can brighten up your summer evening, then we should definitely mention “Burning Love”. A rather uncomplicated meal, Brændende Kærlighed consists of three main ingredients: potatoes, bacon and onions.

Or as the Danes call it, Brændende kærlighed.

If you have lived in Denmark long enough, then there’s no way you couldn’t have

noticed that Danes have a very interesting cuisine. Their tastes might surprise

you from time to time, especially when you hear of lakrids and pork crust. But

the way they cook shows a lot about their identity and interests. Trying to

understand the Danish cuisine is yet another way to get into the Danes’ hearts.

With Denmark being a mobile society, most of its inhabitants have their

breakfast and dinner at home, with their family or close ones, while lunch is

regularly eaten somewhere else.

The following suggestions are suitable for preparing a pleasant dinner in the

Danish summer weather, be it outdoors or indoors.

Danish Summer DinnerQuick recipes for bringing out the Dane in you.

Needless to say, there isn’t only one method of cooking it. Who ever chooses

“Burning Love” for their dinner, will adapt the recipe to their own way of cooking

and taste.

In order to cook the mashed potatoes, peel them and cut them in cubes. Add them

in a pot with boiling water and boil them until they become soft. Once they are

boiled, pour the hot water out.

The potatoes need to be smashed, you can pick whatever instrument comes in

hand, either a mixer or a traditional potato smasher. Add the salt and the sour

cream (or the butter and the milk). Spices would also be a good idea.

“Burning Love” wouldn’t be complete without the topping, of course. To prepare

it, you need to fry the bacon, which is cut in small slices or cubes. The onions

need to be peeled, cut and fried as well, but in a different pan than the one used

for frying the bacon.

If you really feel like cooking, you can complement it with a side dish, consisting

of chives cut in small pieces and pickled beet, and enjoy it with a slice of grainy rye bread.

Undeniably, Brændende Kærlighed can taste ambrosially. Especially if the dessert

will be Koldskål.

How is it prepared?

Text by Alexandra MunteanuIllustrations by Ilva Indrikova

Koldskål with Vanilla and Lemon flavour:

1 l Buttermilk (kærnemælk)0.5 l Curdles milk (junket)

0.5 l whipping cream 5-6 tablespoons of Sugar

2 teaspoons of Vanilla sugar3 teaspoons of Fresh lemon juice

Crispy biscuits - Kammerjunkere

250 g Flour1 teaspoon of Baking powder 1 teaspoon of Vanilla sugar

½ teaspoon of Salt 50 g Sugar

100 g Butter or Margarine1 Egg

½ dl Milk or Cream

Ingredients

or the Butter Milk Dessert

Koldskål

A traditional Danish dish, usually served in the summertime, Koldskål is a dessert, but it could

also be eaten for breakfast or a light dinner. It seems that Koldskål became common in the Danish households in the 1900s, shortly after buttermilk became a frequently used ingredient for cooking.

Light and rejuvenating, the Butter Milk Dessert is an excellent choice if you desire to spend your summer evening tasting the most exquisite flavours.

After having had this wonderful dinner, I can only say that Brændende Kærlighed and Koldskål are indeed a delightful combination of tastes, which could enliven any-one’s summer evening. Should you ever wish to try it out, I hope that my mere suggestions proved to be helpful.

So, are you going to try it out this summer?

Koldskål can be bought in most Danish stores, but if you wish to prepare it yourself,

you can use the following steps:

Add in a bowl all the ingredients from the list on the right, in the same order as

they are presented. Mix them all together with a hand whisk. The result will be a

creamy, smooth and savoury mixture. Add afterwards your favourite fruit or some

crispy biscuits.

If you’d like to bake Kammerjunkere yourself, here’s how to do it. All the ingredients

should be mixed until the dough will have a steady and puffy consistency. After

forming small balls of 3 to 5 cm put them in a baking sheet and keep them in the

oven for 10 minutes, at 180 degrees.

Mix them all together and there you have it.

How is it prepared?

CULTURE40-41

EAT. You probably thought that this article starts with training, exercising and moving. It’s also one of the things I hear most, that training is so hard, and how can someone train 4-5x a week? But let me tell you what is the actual difficult part – eating. And by eating I mean, eating good nutritious food. Forget about endless crunches, if you want to have a flat stomach just take a few steps towards the kitchen, because this is where the abs are actually made. Here you’ll find some simple things to keep you healthy and your body happy.

Don’t skip meals – skipping meals can lead to unhealthy choices, where you grab junk food and surrender to your cravings, to make up a missed meal. It also lowers your energy levels and you risk deficiencies in nutrition. It is also a good idea to have 3 main meals and 2 small snacks in between, as your body needs food to properly function and to get the metabolism to work.

Avoid processed food - if you are reading the ingredients list and there are things that you don’t know / have never heard of / cannot pronounce, then better put that product right on the shelf you took it from. It probably won’t give your body any good nutrients or fibre and is high in sugar. If anything, it might make you feel like a big, lazy, heavy ball.

Eat lean protein – You can find protein in every single cell as it is an important building block of your body. Just to name a few, you can get your protein from lean animal products such as chicken, turkey, fish and eggs. Vegetables have a lot of lean protein in them as well: beans, dried lentils, edamame beans, green peas, chickpeas, quinoa, etc. And if you like milk products, greek yoghurt and cottage cheese are the way to go.Don’t avoid carbohydrates – It’s the main source of energy and your body needs it. Especially before an intense training where you need your body to raise up to the expectations. A good tip here is to choose complex carbs, which often are rich in fibre. Eat for example whole grains, green vegetables, beans, lentils and starchy vegetables, like sweet potato.

Not all fat is bad fat – good fats are essential for your health, so be sure to eat avocado, salmon, and peanut butter to name only a few! Nuts such as peanuts, almonds and cashew make for a good snack of unsaturated fats. Make sure you get the natural ones, with no extra salt added. That thing is bad for your bones, and you don’t want any excess. Just remember, healthy or not, it’s still fat, so don’t overeat it.

Drink water – water helps you stay hydrated, makes your skin look healthy and glowing, increases your energy levels, flushes all the bad toxins from your body, and generally helps your body run like a well-oiled machine (where water is literally the oil). If plain water gets too boring for you, then try flavouring it with your favourite fruits.

Fitness Being fit is not only about heading to the gym, training and sipping on a protein shake. There are three important components (at least in my fitness book), and each has a role to play. One of them is so simple that we don’t even think about it, another one is falsely believed to be the most difficult while the last one is the real challenge, but also offers the best reward.

AFitness AAA

TRAIN. Like I mentioned, many people assume that training is the difficult part. But think about how often you train. If you train 3x a week, you only need to push yourself 3x a week. But how often do you eat? I eat 5x a day, so that makes it 35x a week. Now training doesn’t look so difficult after all, does it?While it might be difficult to get started, when it grows into a habit it becomes really enjoyable. Physical activity and regular exercise improves your strength but also boosts energy and loads your batteries, as well as being a great way to “rest” your mind.

Use a workout plan – It’s a great way to get started with exercising but it also helps you to stay focused. You can train alone or with a training buddy. For those who love the extra push and a bit of healthy competition, training with a friend could be a nice way to get your training levels where you want, and why not, sometimes even go over them. Two minds will also guarantee a more entertaining time and a better workout overall.

Warm up - It’s vital to warm up your body before you start with the planned exercise ahead. You need to make sure you stretch your legs, give your bones a clear signal that you are about to rock them. Think of your body as on an engine that needs to start - warm-up before you can push that gas and run it on full speed, otherwise you risk injuries.

Don’t be afraid to try something new - if you find a workout that fits you and you really like, it is nice to stick to it, but remember your body will very soon get used to it, and won’t be that challenged by doing the same things all over again. Change things up, the previously mentioned training buddy could be the answer and bring some fresh ideas into your workout time.

Be creative – You don’t always need to go to the gym to get your fitness on. There are a bunch of home workouts available or use some outdoors stairs, a bench, or whatever angled object you can find for training your body against. You can also add a gamification element to your program, for example you can use a dice where each number has its specific exercise with a duration.

REST. It might not seem like a very important factor in being fit and healthy overall, but how wrong you are here. If you train and eat healthy but still can’t achieve the goals you have set for yourself, then lack of sleep might be the one sabotaging your efforts. Sleep is crucial in your performance, reaction and recovery. Even the fastest man on earth, Usain Bolt, agrees: “Sleep is extremely important to me - I need to rest and recover in order for the training I do to be absorbed by my body" You would be surprised what a well-rested body can achieve, not even mentioning what it does to your mind – we all have heard that training is 90% mental, so don’t torture yourself and let your body recover. In addition, don’t we all just love to relax and sleep?

Conclusion: Just do it.Nike got it right – just do it. Don’t worry about not knowing much about different exercises or not liking spinach and broccoli, just get started, build a habit and enjoy it. And most important, don’t forget to have some fun!

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The understanding of a trend can be a crucial competitive parameter. If you are able to understand upcoming trends -

and at the same time able to respondto them - you have a much greater chance of adapting products, services, designs and communication and thereby ensuring a higher probability of success. This is especially beneficial in the lifestyle industries that need to stay ahead of trends to ensure they hit the mark in a consumer-driven world where the pace of change is very high.

T H E C R E A T I V E A N D C O M P E T E N T C O N S U M E R

The internet has revolutionized consumer behaviour. Consumers today are far more informed, selective, creative, and willing to share more personal information than in the past. This obviously places greater demand on companies and their skills - not only in relation to the specific product, but in particular also to the knowledge of their market, customers and where the trendsetters are going. The requirements of modern consumers are of great importance for businesses and it is therefore important to draw a picture of the market and the modern consumer - their needs, desires and actions.

S O C I O L O G I C A L C O N T R I B U T I O N S T O T R E N D R E S E A R C H

“A trend is the combination of various different innovation data points, which allows one to conclude that there is a critical mass of change afoot”. Ja m e s B i d we l l , B r i t i s h t r e n d s p o t t e r.

Sociology offers trend research a critical and systematic description and an understanding of the underlying processes and structures in society.By focusing on the social processes, structures and patterns that affect humans, sociology gives a different view of modern society, which is often regarded as being very individualistic. From this perspective trends are not just something that occurs out of nowhere. They are social phenomena that follow certain patterns.

T R E N D S O C I O L O G Y - A N I M P O R T A N T T O O L

To stay ahead in the game of success and economic growth, it is essential that it evolves in parallel with the overall trend development. If companies understand trendsetters, the evolvement of society and the trends that are created in the wakes of this, then they will be far better equipped to make the changes needed, not only in terms of product development, but also in terms of design and communication strategies. As mentioned, it is particularly lifestyle businesses that can benefit hugely from what the trend sociology has to offer, this in order to influence, work with and maintain their markets and so it is precisely here that the trend sociology and trend sociologists can help uncover who creates new trends, how they develop, how they occur and why, and, not least, the role the trendsetters play in relation to each company’s market.

s o c i o l o g y

YO U R B U S I N E S S C A N

B E N E F I T G R E AT LY B Y

K N OW I N G H OW T O R E S P O N D

T O E M E R G I N G T R E N D S I N

O R D E R T O A D A P T P R O D U C T S

A N D S E R V I C E S A N D

M A X I M I Z E O P P O R T U N I T I E S

F O R G R OW T H A N D S A L E S .Louise Byg Kongsholm

Writer of the ultimate book on trend forecasting:

Trendsociologi v. 2.0.

T R E N D

Text by Louise Byg KongsholmIllustrations by Plamena Somova

Q U I C K I N T R O O N P E J G R U P P E N

INDUSTRY: Lifestyle industriesCLIENT: Professionals within the lifestyle industries in Scandinavia(primarily Norway and Denmark)MEDIA: Pej Gruppen publishes TØJ, 365DESIGN and TID & tendenser, all industry magazinesADDITIONAL SERVICES: keynote speeches, trend conferences, bespoke consultancy

LIFESTYLE44-45

Text by Cristina MariaIllustrations by Odette Charles El-Hayek

She didn’t count the miles, she never did. Not the minutes either. Hours was a better word, though. The city scenery

had made way a while ago for the neighbouring forest. The sun had risen past the horizon, but the thick summer foliage wouldn’t allow it to fall through, over the noisy birds and past the old branches, on the path that lay ahead of her so it was mostly dark still. She didn’t need the guidance anyway. She had been through that forest a hundred, a thousand times. Today she was going to go past it. The forest was a challenge. “It’s all in your mind, Dee, it’s all in your mind.” She said to herself the way she had seen it in others. She meant the pain, the one she had gotten so used to that it wasn’t a dreaded fact anymore but only an expectancy. It would start as if it radiated from the earth itself, when every stone that her expensive running shoes hit felt like an ice pick through her feet. Her calves were next to tense up, covered in dust but they were just as dutiful as ever in jumping over a puddle. Mud splashed behind her, just like her thoughts. The same pain was swelling now, radiating upwards, where her chest was struggling to keep the air moving in and out of her lungs. Her heartbeat was the only rhythm she needed now that it was pounding in her head too. A burning sensation was creeping over her lungs now too, the result of her oldest conflict, the one between having to stop and not wanting to. Since the pain was creeping its way into her bones, now it was really just a battle of wills and a matter of time until her throat would thicken and the air would simply refuse to go in. Each step made a crashing noise more akin to a boom inside her head. She had given pain a lot of thought, trying to put it in words what was it that drove her, first out of the house and on the street, next past the downtown stores, out on the edge of the highway and now into the forest and preparing to go through it. She had laughed off at the word “vanity” and the way others got stuck on it. Vanity could only get you so far, maybe out the door and into some shiny gym, where the mirrors reigned supreme and the chatter never stopped. She’d gladly take the cacophonous highway any day over that. The thrill of the competition? No, this was not a race. There were no rivals, no stopwatches and there was definitely no fi-nish line. Her vision was getting blurry and she couldn’t tell if it was because of the little, salty beads of sweat slipping into her eyes or just the beginning lack of oxygen. She dug her nails into the palms of her hands, trying to bring some focus to the world and for a little while longer it worked. The sunshine fell on her bare shoulders, doing its best to dry the soaked t-shirt. It meant that the trees were thinning, leaving the space free for the field that lay ahead. The grass started to cover the earth, greener and healthier where it didn’t have to compete with the greedy roots of the forest. She raised an arm and wiped the sweat off her brow without missing a step, but irony made it that it was exactly the step that she was supposed to miss. Those expensive running shoes caught up in a wayward branch which had fallen off some days or years ago. She tried to grab at something but the momentum was just too strong, propelling her forward with more speed than she could have imagined. Even so, there was no fear. How much more pain could there be?Exhilaration was a good word. It was big and meaty and it rolled out of her mouth with practised ease – it was the best way to explain it to others as well as to herself. Euphoria worked too. It bubbled up from the same spot in her core where the pain was born as well, and it worked its way up much in the rhythm, soothing the aching muscles. It was the joy of being better than she had been yesterday. She could see the sun now that she was laying on her back with no trees around her.

LIFESTYLE46-47

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Let’s World!conquer the World!conquer the

So far, FOCUS Student Magazine has...

changed business contacts in Tallinn

enjoyed breakfast with a view in sunny Corfu.

and literally left a mark of itself in Barcelona!

done some sightseeing in Schwerin

climbed to the top of Rockefeller Center in New York

1.capture a photo with it

2.POST IT ON INSTAGRAM3.MARK THE LOCATION4.tag it with #FocusAroundTheWorld

Corfu

New York

Barcelona

Tallinn

Schwerin

If our magazine is traveling with you...

...and we’ll make sure to publish the best ones! Ready,steady,

travel!Ready,steady,travel!

Let’s

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FOCUS Student Magazine - Issue 16

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