A story about finding my lost motivation in the bathroom and simply hanging it on the wall.
This post has existed in countless forms over time, but somehow I’ve never felt that I expressed properly what I’d like to say. I knew I wanted to write about women who inspired me. But somehow I felt it had nothing to do with the rest of my blog. And then, I realized that I was totally wrong. Of course, all of these inspiring women have something in common with my blog. And that is that all of their lives are connected to Switzerland. So let me introduce you to my new series, called ‘Women’s montage’.
The Background of the series
Originally, in March 2021, I wrote a DIY post showing how I created a photo montage for my bathroom wall. I have chosen portraits of women who in some way have had a great influence on me. Then I figured that I should write about their lives. I wanted to explain why I made such a montage. But as said before, I had the feeling that it had nothing to do with the main purpose of my blog.
My inspiration came from the fact that I was living through the toughest waves of COVID away from my friends and family, in our home in Switzerland. I really missed my old life and I started to fall into depression. But soon enough I decided to fight it: I started doing sports, listening to podcasts, re-reading my favorite books, listening to fun music, and fooling around with DIY projects.
At first, I had to push myself, but really slowly I started to get into it. It was an essential part of my daily routine to get up on time in the morning and get ready as if I was going to the office. That’s how the bathroom decoration came into the picture. I wanted to feel as comfortable as possible while I was getting dressed and putting on make-up. The timing was also great because we just moved into a new apartment, so I was decorating everything anyway and the bathroom was no exception. I decided to hang a montage on the wall. I selected portraits of women, who, in one way or another, helped and inspired me throughout my life.
The next step, let’s get to know those inspiring women
The montage looked great, and these women really gave me a big energy boost every morning. But I felt that on its own it wasn’t enough for a post. For a long time, I couldn’t get my head around it. These women didn’t have such a powerful effect on me because they were hanging on the wall; it wasn’t just their portraits that helped. In fact, their stories inspired me. Their difficult moments, triumphs, struggles, and joy gave me strength. I had only a vague knowledge of their lives. I knew, however, that almost all of them had a period in their lives when they were living abroad, struggling with a culture and language that was not their own. On top of all this, some of them were living in the midst of historical events that turned the whole world upside down.
The montage of inspiring women comes to life
So on weekends, in my spare time, and at night, I started reading autobiographical novels, watching interviews and documentaries. I just couldn’t get enough of them. The funny thing is that the deeper I dug into the pasts of these legendary figures, the more stories I found that I could fully identify with. Comments on the accent of non-native speakers, rude salesmen, different social conventions at work, with friends, family, and so on. Decades, sometimes centuries, passed since these remarkable women walked this earth. Yet, when I was in trouble, they came to help me as quickly as if we had just met at the local café. They told me that fitting in is as much about me as it is about the people around me. They taught me that sadness is as much on your face as determination and happiness. And that despite it being a cliché – if you smile, the world smiles back at you.
They came to help me as quickly as if we had just met at the local café…
Inspiring women
As the months went by, I slowly began to feel that I had strength again, that I had the will to live. And so I decided to dedicate a special section on my blog to inspiring women who had helped me so much. I plan to start by sharing bi-weekly posts, alternating between the lives of foreign and Hungarian women. I will announce each new blog post through Instagram. First, here’s the story of Audrey Hepburn and Mileva Marić.
