Did you ever thought your boy or girlfriend might be a serial killer? Especially when you got no good reasons to believe so? Personally, I never thought this would be possible, until last summer vacation. My boyfriend and I went on a holiday to Greece. Everything started out perfectly: it was a really joyful and romantic holiday. Until that one night: in my experience, that evening was really horrifying.
“That evening was really horrifying” My boyfriend and I both like watching crime documentaries. We were talking about serial killers and came up with the idea to stay in our apartment and watch a documentary about a serial killer. We watch the horrible story of Rodney Alcala. He is a convicted rapist and serial killer of more than eight women. It was an unpleasant documentary. So to get a little bit relaxed, I was drinking a glass of Malibu mixed with Cola that my boyfriend made for me.
and constantly asking my boyfriend if he was asleep already. At some point, he needed to go to the bathroom and I immediately asked what he was going to do: “better be safe than sorry” was my attitude. I was really scared something bad was going to happen.
“I thought he was going to kill me” The morning after I woke up snapping back to reality, knowing what had happened: my mind and fantasy biased reality. It was a bit of a dream I was stuck in, but at the same time I was awake. When I told my boyfriend that I thought he was going to kill me, he was not shocked at all (opposite to what I expected). Instead, he laughed and explained that this was a natural process; he studies psychology. He being understanding and cool about it relieved me. Reminding me of the sweetheart he really is.
At one point, I fell asleep during the documentary. When I woke up, I did not feel so well. My stomach was growling and I felt like throwing up. Luckily this did not happen. My boyfriend wanted to take care of me. Providing me with a glass of water. At that point I got into another mind-set: I thought my boyfriend wanted to kill me! I was thinking: "what if he poisoned my Malibu Cola and water, maybe that is the reason why I am so sick at the moment!" He knew so much about serial killers, and just like Rodney he is a normal and charming guy. So I refused to drink. On top of this, I could not fall asleep anymore. I was alert, keeping my eyes open
The “Crime Scene” I’ve always enjoyed dancing. It all began when I was as a child. Frequently, I was dancing with full excitement on the beat of the music. My parents recognized my passion while I was dancing. When I was 6 years old, I started by taking Jazz dance lessons. I thought it was fantastic, because I really got the hang of it. Besides, dancing in a group with peers was a new experience at this age. While I was getting older, I really wanted to take streetdance lessons. Unfortunately, in the small village I come from, called Eys, there was no possibility to do so. Jaimy and me introducing my own designed poster
“I got the offer to teach children streetdance in the small village I come from”
That all changed at the age of 18. I got the offer to teach children streetdance in Eys. This together with a friend of mine, Jaimy. Obviously, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.
“You learn so much more” At the moment, we are almost three years further and we still have a lots of fun. “Streetdance Eys” has had a lot of dance shows with the children and we also participated in some of the shows. We have two dance groups: one of 9 children of the ages 8 till 10 years old and another group of 5 children of the ages 11 till 14 years old. It’s not only dancing, you learn so much more by teaching streetdance. It’s my passion and my job: the appreciation you get from the children is fantastic.
“I slept about three till four hours a night” Stressful me
Giving a presentation: there aren’t many people who enjoy it, especially me. Really, if you want me to stress out, assign me to do a presentation in English. This happened the first period of school this year. For my study, it’s necessary to pass this part. In the presentation one needed to pitch the assessment, which one created in an assignment in the first year of the program. I experienced this presentation as a real burden. Let me describe my stressful experience, and in conclusion what I’ve learned from it.
“I didn’t passed the presentation the first time” Unfortunately, I didn’t passed the presentation the first time. That really hit me, but I knew exactly what went wrong: I wasn’t confident enough during my presentation, my speaking wasn’t fluently and the presentation itself was way too long. I had to do a resit, better luck next time.
A few months later, the date of my resit presentation was set: it was time to take drastic measures. But what happened next was not what I had expected: a week before the presentation, I couldn’t sleep because of the stress. Four nights in a row, I slept about three till four hours a night! That was really stressful because I knew how important it was to get enough sleep. And off course, I was getting exhausted.
“Stress less and practise a lot” In spite of my lack of sleep, I practised my pitch constantly. I wrote down what I wanted to say, kept a structure, and practise a lot. This really helped me, I was getting more confident. It paid off, I got my reward: I passed the English presentation! The lesson I learned from this experience is to stress less and practise a lot: this way the presentation is not a big deal anymore.
Madrid at night Year two of my study: it’s time to make decisions. Next year, we need to do a minor and internship. And I especially want do an international internship. Unfortunately, my dream internship really is a dream, because I would never be able to afford it: an internship in America. Why America? Because, in my opinion, America is the place to develop myself and find possibilities to start a career (after the internship).
“I’m one of the lucky ones who’s going to Spain” Another place I’m interested in, is Spain. At the moment, I’m taking Spanish lessons to learn the language. And it’s just my luck, because I’m one of the lucky ones who’s going
to Madrid during the third IEMES week! It’s a good opportunity for me to figure out Spain is a potential place for my international internship or minor.
“My dream job is developing and creating new television formats” The field I want to work in is the television industry or film industry. I’m still considering which I like most. My dream job is developing and creating new television or movie formats. Furthermore, I think it’s important to work efficiently and to be motivated during work. But it is also important to have enough relaxation and not to stress too much. I hope Spain has that to offer me.