Few days ago my best friend told me about this project and I thought it might be also interesting for you. But... What is it about?
First of all, you need to find your own jar. You can decorate it or not - it is your decision. You have to add a happy note everyday. What is a happy note? Everyday something happy happens, really. What you are going to do is to choose the happiest thing everyday and write it down. on the 31st of December you empty the jar and read how happy your life is.
I could not find a nice jar and therefore I decided to use a happy tin instead.
What do you think about it? Would you like to have your own Jar of Happiness?
I would like to tell you few words about my personal Great Masters. This group includes writers, musicians, artists and other intelligent people. They inspire me or make me fell better when I am upset or sad.
My most important Masters are:
1. Alla Borisovna Pugacheva (Алла Борисовна Пугачёва)
She was born on 15 April 1949 and is considered to be the most important Russian (formerly Soviet) musician and one of the most important women in Russia. She started her music career in 1965, recording her first track called 'Robot'.
Since then she has recorded several hundred songs. She is a singer, componist, director, producer and even a teacher.
Her songs always cheer me up. They are not only beautiful, they are also really intelligent. My favourites are: 'Million Alyh Roz', 'Arlekino' and 'Aisberg'.
2. Joanne 'Jo' Kathleen Rowling (or rather Joanne Murray)
Is there anybody who does not know the woman who created Harry Potter - The Boy Who Lived?
Her books are read by readers of all ages in many countries and have been translated to at least 74 languages, including Latin, Old Greek and Welsh.
The series about the boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead made my childhood better. I love reading this story and I have read it several times in few languages. I collect translations of the first book - 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' - I have got English, Polish, Czech and German versions so far.
3. John Flanagan
He is best known as the author of the series of fantasy books called 'Ranger's Apprentice', which tells the story of a boy named Will who is taken as an apprentice Ranger to Halt, one of the most mysterious Rangers in the whole Ranger Corps.
John Flanagan wrote this story to encourage his son to read and it was not intended to be published. Thank God, it was!
His books inspire me a lot, even though older readers may find them too childish. Anyway, I would recommend his books to everyone who likes good stories!
I decided to share with you my favourite song every week. The first Song of the Week is 'Private Dancer' by Tina Turner. Yes, I am fond of her music. Have fun!
Yours,
Sebastian
I do not own the photos. They were taken from: wikipedia.com and randomhouse.co.au
Today I would like to tell you about 28 countries I have received postcards from so far, and show you some of my favourites.
This beautiful postcard was sent to me from a small German town called Schleimünde by Helga. It shows the Schleimünde Lighthouse which enlightens the inlet in the Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany.
Let me list the countries:
1. Australia
2. Belarus
3. Belgium
4. Brazil
5. Canada
6. China
7. Czech Republic
8. Finland
9. Georgia
10. Germany
I received this interesting postcard about one year ago. I like the idea of making a collage from post stamps. It was sent to me by Ugnė from Kaunas, Lithuania. Thank you!
11. Hong Kong
12. India
13. Indonesia
14. Italy
15. Japan
16. Latvia
17. Lithuania
18. Malaysia
19. Moldova
20. Netherlands
The postcard sent to me by Hildegarde from Belgium belongs to my most beautiful postcards. It shows a fresh flowers carpet on the Market Place in Antwerpen. Thank you, Hildegarde!
21. Poland
22. Russia
23. Slovakia
24. Taiwan
25. USA
26. Ukraine
27. United Kingdom
28. Vatican City
Taj Mahal, India - a white marble mausoleum was built in 1632-1653 by Mughal emperor Shahjahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been already visited by millions of people.
I am not going to write about postcards today. I will tell you something about my 2015 Wishlist and Reading Challenge.
Two days before New Year a good friend of mine told me something about an interesting project she heard of. I liked the idea and decided to make my own 2015 Wishlist. It includes few things I would love to do this year. Here it is:
1. Meet my sweetheart in person.
2. Continue writing my book.
3. Receive postcards from 100 countries - (28 so far).
4. Meet John Flanagan, one of my favourite writers - (he is probably going to visit Warsaw this year).
5. Write a blog for at least 1 year.
6. Pass two language certificates - First Certificate in English (FCE) and Тест по русскому языку как иностранному II - (Test of Russian as a Foreign Language II).
7. Read at least 52 books.
Number 7 leads us to the Reading Challenge that I have decided to take part in. There are 52 points like 'last book you bought' or 'a book you never finished'.
The first book I am going to read this year is 'The Lord of the Rings'. It is the one I never finished, even though I have already tried to read it three times. My best friend loves this story and I feel ashamed that I have not done it yet. Wish me luck!
Today I want to tell you something about a wonderful website called Postcrossing. On this website you can send postcards to people from all over the world and receive postcards back from random people. Of course, it has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Main advantages:
+ You are able to receive postcards from almost every country.
+ Every postcard has its own ID - receivers have to register the postcard they receive and then you can receive your own postcard from another (random) user.
+ It is always a good surprise to find a new postcard in your mail box.
+ You can check how many postcards you have already sent, received and how many postcards were expired (it means your postcard travelled too long and probably was not received).
Main disadvantages:
- You do not know the person who sends you a postcard.
- You are never sure what will be sent to you (however you can write in your profile what you would like to receive).
Summing up, I would definitely recommend you this website if you want to start collecting postcards!
I started using postcrossing.com almost two years ago and the first postcard I ever received was from Washington D.C. I received it on the 13th of August 2013 and I really liked it.
The postcards shows the Washington Monument which honours the first president of the United States, George Washington. It is considered to be both the tallest stone structure (it is made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss) and the tallest obelisk in the world. It stands 555 feet 51⁄8 inches (169.294 meters) tall. There are also photos of the U.S. Capitol Building where the U.S. Congress meets, the White House which is the official residence of the President, the Lincoln Memorial honouring the 16th President of the U.S., Abraham Lincoln, and the Jefferson Memorial dedicated to the 3rd President of the U.S. The postcard was sent to me by Erin. Thank you so much, Erin!
Since then I have received postcards from more than 25 countries. I am going to tell you about them next time.
First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Sebastian. I am 16 and I live in the capital city of Poland - Warsaw.
As you can guess, I love collecting postcards and it is what I am generally going to write about on this blog. But it is not my only hobby - I am a little bookworm and I am also into learning foreign languages or travelling so I would like to write about it, too. I hope you will like it.
I am not sure, whether I am able to write a new post everyday, but I want to try. Wish me luck!
Have you ever heard about a Jar of Happiness? 
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