30 Random Facts About Me
I've been writing this blog for almost a year now, and in that time, I've never REALLY taken the time to introduce myself. Sure, if you're one of my readers (hi, and thank you!) you'll have a bit of an idea, but perhaps not a clear one? I for one know that I really like to get to know the people who's lives I read about... so what makes me any different?
I wasn't entirely sure how to do this, but my friend Alex did a post similar to this a few months ago (which sparked my interest in creating one myself) and I feel like the format she used was a good one. So, I'm keeping it along the same lines as that!
My full name is Olivia Amelia Anne Bossert. Yes, I have two middle names. One of them is random, the other is was my great grandmother's full name.
I'm Swiss, British and Italian. I speak fluent French and English, but my mum never spoke to me in Italian, so I never learnt to speak it.
I'm 24 years old, a May baby. I love having my birthday in May; it's always when Spring really comes alive, flowers are out in all of their glory, and the air warms up again. Everyone's always happy in May!
I like a huge array of music. My favourite genre is always Alternative Rock though; my favourite band is Snow Patrol.
When I was little, my mum bought me a guinea pig. I'd just been watching Pocahontas, and had a mad crush on John Smith. I wanted to name my new guinea pig after him, but I couldn't pronounce the name properly... John Sniff seems hilarious now, but looking back, it's quite fitting!
I've been able to ski since I was about 4. The moment it was possible for my dad to get my on ski's, he did! Needless to say, during my teenage years, I kind of hated skiing (because we would go every weekend), but now I wish I could go more often.
I didn't learn how to ride a bike till I was 10.... I was too scared!
I moved to Cornwall, UK from Geneva, Switzerland when I was 18. I intended on moving back to Geneva when I was done with university, but when it came to leaving, there were too many things pulling me in the other direction.
Tom and I have been together for two and a half years. He's Cornish. He's definitely partially to blame for why I haven't moved back to Switzerland!
I co-founded Atlas Magazine with one of my best friends, Megan. She and I met online thanks to our mutual love for photography, fashion and magazines. We never met until two years after starting the magazine, and have still only met in person twice. We talk every day, and I feel like I've known her forever.
I'm not religious, but sometimes I wish I had something to believe in. I'm not sure what that would be, but it's something that occasionally makes me wonder.
If I hadn't studied Art and Fashion Photography at Uni, I would have studied Geography. It was one of my favourite classes as school, and I enjoyed learning about the Earth and Human geography so much! I miss it.
I have Dyscalculia. Dyscalculia is like the dyslexia of maths. It's not a very well known learning disabilitiy, but I was diagnosed by a very forward thinking Maths teacher at school, and it changed my life! I have a very hard time counting (even basic Maths), struggle with using change in shops, and even sometimes struggle with reading a clock.
I went to an International school, which is why my accent sometimes sounds weird. It used to sound a lot stranger, but as I've been in the UK for so long, it's been dumbed down. If I speak to someone from North America though, it can go back to sounding a bit more American.
I'm a huge introvert. A lot of people tell me that they don't believe me when I tell them that, but when I know someone well, I open up a lot more. After a long day out, or on a shoot for example, I really need quiet time to recharge, or I feel totally overwhelmed.
Photography changed my life when I was 15. I'd always loved Art, but hadn't ever felt very talented when it came to drawing/painting. Photography gave me the power to create art in a way that I loved.
I still struggle daily with my IBS. Although it's a lot better than it used to be, it can still flare up badly at times, leading me to feel incredibly ill, and unable to leave the house.
Four years ago, my IBS got so bad that I began to suffer with panic attacks. I didn't know what they were for almost a year when I was reading an article in a magazine about them, and I ran to my mum saying that these were the things I'd been having. I went to see a psychiatrist and she also diagnosed me with depression. I took medicine for a few months, and had some counseling, and my life was completely changed.
I started horse riding when I was 5 years old. My mum had a horse, and I was totally obsessed with them. I got my first horse when I was 14, Kwintus, and we competed briefly in Dressage. We were pretty good, but I hated competitions; they made me too nervous, so we didn't do many. I haven't been able to ride very much for the past few years since moving to the UK, but I hope to start again soon.
When I was 11 years old, I was badly bullied by a girl in my year at school. She made a fake email address under my name, and sent mean emails to the few friends that I had, telling them I hated them all and didn't want to be friends anymore. Thankfully, they knew me well enough to know I would never say anything like that, let alone in an email, so alerted me to it. I was devastated, extremely embarrassed and very sad. After a few days off school, I went back and got on with it. She was obviously told off. Thankfully, she moved away at the end of that year, and I never saw her again! Don't bully people, it's not nice.
Places to visit on my bucket list include Australia, Alaska, Brazil, Japan, all of Scandinavia, the Galapagos Islands, and New Zealand. And then I read about a new place and my list keeps getting longer and longer.
I don't have any tatoo's, but if I did, it would be something really cheesy like all the first letters of my family, or the letter "K" on my wrist as a momento to my horse, Kwintus. Yes, I did say it was cheesy!
I love my horse so much, that I named my company after him. If you look at any issue of Atlas, you'll see that it's owned by Kwintus Publishing Limited. Yes, I'm a serious horse girl!
I didn't lose my last baby tooth until I was 16. And even then, it's roots were so long that the dentist had to pull it out!
I've started and deleted about 5 blogs throughout my life. I probably had my first one when I was 12 years old, via a website called Piczo. Does anyone remember those?! I loved playing around with internet things, but most of them never stuck. This is the first one which has! I started a fashion blog when I was 17 (so almost 8 years ago) and I wish I'd kept it up because I'd love to be able to go back in time and see myself develop. I was too shy to get properly into it then, but I'm ready now! :)
My favourite colour is blue. People make fun of me for it, because it's so obvious with all the imagery I share, the clothes I wear and the rings on my fingers. I'm a bit obsessed!
I'm addicted to magazines. That might not be surprising seeing as I run one, but when I say obsessed, I mean OBSESSED. I buy all of them from British Vogue, to Glamour Magazine, to Women's Health, to the most indie magazine out there. It's fair to say that I spend more money on them than I should.
I hate online shopping. It's something that I can't seem to get into! I love nothing more than heading out (on my own!) to a shop and slowly browsing the rails for pretty things.
As someone who spends most of their day in front of a computer for work reasons, I really don't find it that hard to disconnect from the internet when I'm on holiday. I know that a lot of people really struggle with this, but when I want time off, the best way for me to do that is spend as little time as possible on my computer, so that's exactly what I do.
I've made more close friends via the Internet than I have through "real life." Make of that what you will, but I love that I can connect with people who have similar interests as me at the click of a button.
I hope that gives you a bit more insight into me and my life. I personally love reading things like this (because let's face it, we're all mega nosy!), and I hope you've enjoyed reading my version. Thanks to Alex from On Serpentine Shores for the idea :) You really must have a read of her blog if you haven't already!
