Can I make it up to you with pictures?

Hello possible readers. 

So, I apologise for not blogging for the last long while- firstly I was on camp for 5 days but I have been back for an equal 5... so no excuse. 

Anyways, something that comes with Blogging are days filled with laziness and the lack of ability to be able to pour out what you are thinking and feeling, and unfortunately the 21st of August has irritatingly decided to be one of those days. SO instead of leaving a blank space, I decided to fill it with some (hopefully?) pretty pictures... (mostly) Instagram ones to be exact, because I don't know about you, but when I'm lazy and have no intention or will to think- pictures do the trick... 

So here are a few photos that illustrate whats been happening in my life lately: 

Me, at Origin for breakfast

Possibly my favourite photo of Zach and my mom whilst having
coffee at Origin

Coffee and a Red Cappuccino (best drink EVER) from Knead
with Zach before school

The most incredible view I luckily caught on camera at camp

The beautiful wintery lake we passed on the way to camp

Playing put-put (I used to play it almost every
weekend when I was younger) with Zach.
It turned out to be so fun and such a nice way to spend
a Saturday afternoon.
... I won

My favourite way to start to the weekend.
A berry mojito at Hudsons in Greenpoint!

So worth stopping the car for this view on the Seapoint promenade!

Winter looks good on the Waterfront

A silly group photo of a few friends and I at a friend of mine's
'Breakfast at Tiffany's' themed 18th birthday breakfast

Smiles with him

The full moon view outside my window

The morning trees outside my school

 3 happy-shots taken at my adopted sister's 16th
surprise tea-party that I planned for her


Stay tuned for various blogposts coming this weekend.
X Zo
Instagram: zoevivesjancou

My Top 10 Current On-Repeat Songs:

10. Kendrick Lamar- Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe (Not a new tune but a mentionable one that never ceases to stay on my 'Most-Played' playlist)


9. Daughter- Medicine (A friend of mine recently happen to make me listen to this old-ish tune... you could describe it as almost melancholicly beautiful with its deep lyrics and amazing beat)


8. Katy Perry- Roar (Well she certainly knows how to create catchy, hit-singles! this fun.. classical-Perry tune is a good one for light-hearted situations)

7. Avicii- Wake Me Up (Overplayed... but still can't take away the fact that this is a top-class new song and such a nice variation from Avicii's usual stuff, as well as the cherry on top- the fact that No Diggity himself accompanies)

6. MKMT- Thank You (This song was recently released and has been climbing the charts ever since- It's super upbeat and has very catchy lyrics which make it an addictive tune)

5. Outkast- Ms. Jackson (Hitting you with an old, outcast (excuse the pun) classic song. Complied of Big Boi's harder rap complemented by Andre 3000's lighter pop choruses. Definitely a winner)

4. Coldplay Ft Jay-Z- Lost (I was always a huge fan of this original but recently I was introduced to the Jay-Z featuring and it blew (and continues to blow) my mind! It's such an incredible song with such beautiful lyrics and adding the King of Hip-Hop has made it one of my current favourites)

3. Ellie Goulding- Burn (This was one of those songs that as soon as I heard it, I wanted it in my music collection! It's got such a cool beat, intro and break and couldn't be a better choice to bring out Goulding's magical voice)

2. Jay-Z- Somewhere in America (Jay-Z's second most famous song in his long-awaited album- Magna Carter, after Holy Grail, but personally my preference! Jazz mixed with hip-hop... not to mention a Cyrus-twerk mention. I've been listening to this since it came out and still haven't got enough which just proves it!)

1. Lorde- NUMBER 1 CHOICE: Tennis Courts (BEST song I've heard in a long time; completely un-expected release but I sense a big hit from this tune. Alternative, electro song... starts off slow and escalates at the perfect pace. Plus: AMAAAAZING effects used for the lower voice!)

Get listening! 
X Zo

Food for Thought: Unreasonable Comparisons

I must admit, one of my guilty pleasures happens to be that occasionally, I like read tabloids.. as trashy and brainless as they are. 

So anyway, the other day, whilst paging through my last  idiotic-compilation I came across a very finger-pointed article about teen-sensation, Miley Cyrus.
Essentially, they were comparing Cyrus during her Hannah Montanna days to rock-girl Cyrus at this current stage.
They mentioned how such a big adolescent/ teen role-model was setting such a bad example. They backed-up their argument by showing photos of Cyrus "twerking", snapshots of a few of her tweets that they deemed highly "inappropriate" and photos in which the star is out clubbing and drinking- All with the aim to try and shock their readers.

Now, without even touching the Miley Cyrus subject, I'd like to compare myself from the age of 13 (In the midst of her HM career) to myself now, (in-fact, much less of an age-gap between her comparison... so my point stands to be doubly proven) but nonetheless, the way I speak, the things I do and the people I surround myself with are all completely different- and this, by society (not that society focuses much on me, haha) is accepted as it is classified (if occurring in the right way) as the natural process of "maturing". 

BUT 

Society thinks very differently about this "maturity" when it comes to celebrity stars growing up as they seem to believe that because they are being watched (some by children younger than them and who want to follow their every move) they should conduct themselves in an opposite way during this phase and by this I mean they should not be seen experimenting or making mistakes in any way by drinking, smoking, taking drugs, dancing inappropriately, showing too much affection publicly etc etc etc.
Don't get me wrong, I do believe that celebrities know what comes with the job that they have chosen and that is being in the public eye and having to conduct themselves in somewhat of a respectable manner BUT, in my opinion... it is just a career, just like a vet or an engineer and doesn't give people the right to take away their right to make mistakes and experiment with certain things. Also, something else I'd like to add is if you take away everything you celebrities with... what makes most of them famous? Its the fact that they are actors, singers, comedians and socialities etc but thinking deeper... all this really is is a job-title they inhibit because of their talents etc and although this specific job-title puts them directly in the public's eye it SHOULD NOT take away their right (even if they are different), much like any other their age to be able to act their age.


I believe strongly that people cannot forbid celebrities (like Cyrus) to experiment with things that most probably their children or even they, themselves experienced with at the same age by backing it up saying they should do it more privately- but what is private to a celebrity? seeing as their every move is stalked.

Think about it...

X Zo

Drastic Changes

If you're a regular on my blog, you'll know that I (quite often) have completely random thoughts and questions to which I then have to subject all of you... 

So, here goes... 

Have you ever been in love and made someone the centre of your world? 

... told them all your secrets, your opinions, all about your past? 
... let your guard down around them and become entirely vulnerable? 

For those of you who have...isn't it just the most intoxicating part of a relationship, be it a friendship or romantic bond? 

Now what I am talking about is the risk that comes with the rewards of this kind of close relationship: A hurtful breakup. 

I don't know about you, but in my personal experience and in that of many people I know, breakups are painful, messy and confusing and whether you want it or not, you end up being either the receiving or giving end of a post-breakup routine. 

Because what usually happens? 
Do the two people in question carry on seeing each other as friends and talk to one another? Do they only say good things about the other? Do they carry on seeing only the best attributes in each another? 
Most of the time, NO. 
As more often than not, these two formerly enmeshed souls begin to ignore each another...pass each other and pretend to be less than strangers (who might at the very least be curious), then they start to justify the breakup and cover up the hurt to varying degrees of denial, from outright bad-mouthing to pointing out flaws that they had either ignored or grown to accept/love. 

When I went through it myself, I lacked the distance to see what was happening and just fell into step with the whole routine. But when I see others do it, I ask myself why such a drastic change occurs? How can we go from being someone's absolute everything to their complete nothing? 
And this may seem obvious to some of you, but I have (only recently) come to the conclusion that it's because of the magnitude of the pain followed by anger we experience.

Let's say someone cheated on you - you end up imagining the situation a hundred times in your head and analyzing every single minuscule detail... and this obviously builds into such a powerful, pain-provoked anger that you don't even want to see the culprit's face anymore because all it will do is remind you.
Or another situation may be that your significant other dumped you out of the blue, for (what you consider) 'no reason'- the pain causes you to feel completely and utterly confused, you question what you did wrong and what may have caused a change of heart and carrying this unanswered question around with you makes you angry. 

These are just two situations I've experienced so I am candid in my descriptions... but there are many more that all have the same thing in common: 

BECAUSE OF PAIN (FOLLOWED BY ANGER) WE CAN, (FROM ONE MINUTE TO THE NEXT) COMPLETELY DISTANCE OURSELF FROM SOMEONE AND ACT (ON THE SURFACE) AS IF THE RELATIONSHIP NEVER EVEN HAPPENED.

I think pain has the strength to do this because we humans usually choose the easier route around most obstacles instead of trying to understand ourselves and the other person and grow from the experience. 

And it's sad, but what can we do? It's more powerful than we are. It's our natural way of protecting ourselves. So while I will never underestimate pain, all I'm trying to say is try not to burn the bridges you built . 

X Zo