You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi
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Hi again,
"I'm not going to say I'm a huge gay rights supporter..."
Letās go back to where we started, a line from my very first post. I know what you're thinking, or no, let me rephrase that: I know what I would be thinking when reading that line. This is either an anti-gay or a coming out post. You could call it the latter, but then again, this is so much more than that, or should I say: so much less than that? This isn't really a coming out post. I am already out and that has been over a year now. I think I was referring to all that stuff at my last post before my one-year hiatus, or should I say sabbatical?
"A hell lot is going on".
True. I fell in love, I came out as bi, I dared, I fell, I got up again, I lost myself. I found myself. I stood tall again. I learned how to love myself. I think that the picture above, which is kind of similar to the very first picture I posted, shows the change I went through. Now I know that I can stand by myself, when needed. And I know that I support love, no matter what others might say. No hate, all love.
I was always afraid of what people would think of me. That's not a weird thing though, we all want to be liked, loved, accepted, respected. But I realized that my parents always worried most about what people would think of me and especially them or my little sister. I'm not sure if that's a parent thing in general or just something they do, but what I do know is that their opinion shaped me. Funny how that first quote was me introducing myself and at the same time me apologizing for who I really was. As if I were thinking: I want you to like me, so I won't be an aggressive gay rights supporter. People probably won't like that. I'm not going to say this or that, because that's not normal or that's not right. And when I did behave slightly, or totally, weird, I would feel guilty.
Lately, someone taught me about the āspotlight effectā. When you think or get told that everyone's watching you, it'll only make you worry more about what others think of you. While in fact very few people actually care about or mind whatever it is you are doing. I mean, who cares if you turn left or right? I was always so busy with portraying myself the ārightā way, that I didn't portray myself, but someone I wanted to portray or mostly someone other people wanted me to portray. And how can you be who you are, when you are constantly pushed to live up to certain expectations?
I liked trousers, I liked short hair, I didn't like babies, I didn't like dolls, I liked pandas and tigers, I didn't like fries (MacDonald's excluded), I liked boys and I liked girls. Were I ever to have children, which would be a miracle, believe me, I would let them like whatever they wanted. Without any rights or wrongs.
So, what I actually want to say is that only you really know yourself and that therefore you shouldn't let others define you. Even though they mean well, they aren't you. Don't stick with the corset people try to push you in, you deserve to be your very unique self. Be honest to yourself, be happy and love yourself for who you are.
Love,
Xanne-Li
"I'm going to try not to go and say anything I'm not."
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I Am Not Unchanged
Hello...Ā
...It's me. I was wondering if after all these years...
Well, you get it, right? It's been quite some time, to say the least. It's been over a year even, and what a heavy last post. Yup, I read it all back, the sweet melancholy of the past. You know what it is? I feel like I'm changing, I feel me changing, sometimes literally by the minute, while other things seem to take ages to change at all. But no one can stop the time, we can only try not to let it regret us important things. We can live and love and hate and destroy. And we should while we can, we should do it all and deal with the consequences. Because I'd rather apologize than regret the things I never did.
I am not unchanged.
And I'm back. For good? I can't promise, I don't know. What I do know is that I didn't want it to end where it ended. Who knows the way the long road bends? God? Am I still a (good) Christian, the way I introduced myself in my very first post? I don't know. Sometimes you just don't, but I'm sure that's okay too. Doubt doesn't kill you, if it doesn't get to you. It did and it made me unstable, but now I feel like I'm standing tall again. Funny, while I was most insecure, I screamed the hardest. Reading back I sounded like such a huge miss-know-it-all. Such a bitch. And yes, I'm allowed to say that about myself. XD Clearly I did know myself, but didn't know the world that well, or maybe my fingers just swiped different words than my mind wanted. We'll probably never know, but excuse me for that attitude. And excuse me for any attitudes in the future, because honestly, who doesn't think they know it best? Who doesn't think they know themselves and the world around them very well if not almost perfectly? But Iāll try keep in mind that Iām still changing, still learning and discovering all about that thing called life.
I am not unchanged.
Yet I am, because I'll always carry my past with me. My mind is like an elephant's. It forgives but doesn't forget. Some things it never forgets, but that's okay. The past makes us who we are today.Ā We change all the time, I am different than I was a few seconds before, but I'm fine. In my mind the melancholy of the past and at the same time the calling of a brighter future.
I hope to write soon.
Love,
Xanne-Li
"I am not unchanged, yet you'll know me, because I'll stay myself."
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Back, in a Way...
Good day to yāall wonderful people,
So... Iāve got no idea where to begin, or should I even begin at all? Start, stop, hiatus, startā¦ Almost a year gone by, and Iām still the one with the most empty promises. And Iām sorry for that. Doesnāt mean I try to change every day over and over again.
Speaking about empty promises, Iām afraid Iām not going to post everything I promised a long time ago. I am, however, going to try and continue this āpublic diaryā, just writing about some stuff going on in my life. Nothing too interesting, but who knows, maybe someday people are actually going to read this back. ;)
For now I just wanted to say that a hell lot has happened and Iām trying my hardest best to put my life back on track. Not the easiest thing to do, but Iāll live. Iāll live and love this life I am going to live, promise me to do the same. Changes arenāt always bad, every day can be seen in another perspective, which is quite awesome. Life isnāt easy, but youāll get there!
Love,
Xanne-Li Olbertijn
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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Some things I cannot change. But 'till I try, I'll never know!
Elphaba Thropp a.k.a. The Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked the Musical)
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The Making of the Goodbye Video for Willemijn Verkaik: Completed
Hi, hi to yāall wonderful people,
Sooner than you though, eh?
Hereās part two already!
So, how do you make stuff like that? Make sure you set an early deadline, you know, like an insanely early deadline, so you can move it several times. I didnāt. Thatās why I tell you. :P I had only space to give one extra hour.
Also, make sure thereās always some pressure. If youāre working with several people itās good to push things a little. And so I did. I wanted to make sure everyone handed in stuff in time so we wouldnāt have problems afterwards. Communication is the keyword.
So, after a lot of mails, messages and frustrating moments everyone had handed in their stuff. I could start with the most difficult part, editing and blending everything together.
By the way, I just realized that I forgot to tell what the actual plan was. My plan was to record the beautiful song For Good from Wicked with the fans. Those who didnāt feel comfortable to sing could send in photos with Willemijn or a kind message, drawings etc. So I had divided all the lines among the participants and we also came up with the plan to make it trilingual, because Willemijn had played Elphaba in three different languages.
After Iād received all of the recordings, I started editing them. For example the volumes were different from each other, so I had to find something in between. I have this free program called WavePad and itās great. In the beginning I had no idea what to do with it, but now I quite got the hang of it. Amazing what you all can do with it. Anyways, because Iām not a professional, it probably took some more time to put everything together. Iām going to add part three right away with only pictures of the making of, screencaptures to be exact. As you will see, there were over thirty recordings and I had to put them all together individually.
I did it with love though. It makes me happy to work on something special and it didnāt even sound that bad. I myself think that it sounds amazing!
If you look at the pictures it looks quite complicated, I guess. It isnāt as difficult though, it just takes a lot of time.
There are like two parts you need to do, editing the recordings and blend them together and making the video itself.
Anyways, Iām ranting wat too long. I put the video on YouTube and shared it on Facebook and Twitter. The āfunnyā this is, Willemijn herself never responded to it, but her family and family-in-law did share the link on their Facebook, so Iām pretty sure sheās seen it. ;)
Willemijnās next production will be Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Iām really excited for her and curious what kind of production that is. It sounds promising! Unfortunately for us, Dutchies, this all will find place in London, West End. But as fans, weāre really happy for her.
Hope to āseeā you all soon!
Love,
Xanne-Li Olbertijn
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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The Making of the Goodbye Video for Willemijn Verkaik: The Idea
Hi there to yāall wonderful people!
So, lately Iāve had a lot of things in mind that I really wanted to try. And I actually am planning out those things. Not sure when it began, but Iām almost sure that deciding to make a goodbye video for Willemijn Verkaik, because she was leaving the production earlier and it also would be her last time in Wicked, only a few days before the actual show, was one of those crazy ideas. Like really, this deadline was so close already when I beganā¦
This is the making of of the goodbye video for Willemijn Verkaik part one.
Beginning at the begin. I knew Willemijn was leaving the show earlier than planned because of a back surgery. And yes, to be honest in the first place I was very sad that I wouldnāt be able to see her as Elphaba anymore as I had intended to do so. But overthinking it I came to the conclusion that maybe it was right the way it was. Willemijn needed the surgery, sheād still have a very special last show, (maybe even more special) and there became place for new amazing talent on the āWicked stageā.
And then I started thinking, if I canāt be at her last show as planned, wouldnāt it be satisfying to give her the honor she deserves by making something special. A goodbye video or something.
I sent out a tweet, but since not many really responded I needed to think of something else and then I realized that I was also in the Willemijn Verkaik fangroup on Facebook. So I also posted there a message and I was lucky enough that quite a lot people wanted to participate.
Also, again, Iām sorry that Iām not so very active. But since my friend keeps asking when Iād post something again, I thought today would be a good day.
Another thing, yesterday was the cast change of the cast of Wicked. It was supposed to be Willemijnās last show, but well, it wasnāt. A lot of people still went to see the last shows because thereās always a special thing in the air. And yes, if you tried your best, you could sense it on Twitter, too.
The big surprise was Willemijn coming on the stage at the curtainās call. I kind of expected that, since Idina Menzel also returned on stage her last show after her injury. Nevertheless, it was still special. My friend was so lucky to have witnessed it.
Iāll post part two in a bit,
Love,
Xanne-Li Olbertijn
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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Now What?
A short message to yāall wonderful people,
So, as you might've noticed, I've used the āquote buttonā and I intend to do that more often. You'll see a lot of quotes from my favorite musical Wicked, that is, but also quotes from other things I'm interested in.
Also, why am I blogging, at all? I'm not quite sure. My first thing I wanted to do is make short reports from every day, but as you can see, they're not short, nor are they every day since my three week hiatus. So I'll just blog about my experiences, the remarkable ones, that is, and other stuff. Why I used Tumblr for such a blog? Because I liked the layout, I guess. Yep, just the layout, because I know Tumblr is more for short messages, but I already have a Twitter and Instagram, so I thought I'd use this site to blog. Btw, what's to come, me a blogger? I guess that I found it time to have a public diary. XD
Have a great day, y'all!
Love,
Xanne-Li OlbertijnĀ
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?
Glinda the Good (Wicked the musical)
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Baking Pancakes (Belated)
Good afternoon to yāall wonderful people,
Okay, so this is like, super, super, super, sĆŗper belated baking pancakes, but oh well. I might even not totally remember how to bake them. Honestly, Iām not sure how to run a household, when Iām not even able to bake pancakesā¦
So, I was so busy with the making of the video for Willemijn Verkaik, that I might have kind of neglected myself plus my family, as I called it on Facebook, but that actually includes only my younger sister. Though on Facebook I totally made it look like I was a mother of Oz knows how many kidsā¦ Not purposefully. Anyways, Iām not sure what time it was, but it must have been sometime between three and four pm, and we still hadnāt had lunch. And yes, I had have a meager breakfast, and I know I should have had a great breakfast, but Iām full of bad habits, and stubborn. :P
So I asked my sister what she wanted for lunch. She didnāt really respond because she was mad at me being so busy, understandably, but it turned out that she was okay with me baking us pancakes, only still annoyed that I first had to buy the stuff. And knowing her she gets a little, well, grumpy when her sugar level is low.Ā
I bought some ready-to-use pancake flour, because I really was starving and didnāt even know how to make that myself. I also bought some powder sugar, because we were running out of it and Duo Penotti, which really is just chocolate spread and a chocolate bar to kind of persuade my sister. Not sure if I bought more, since Iām an impulsive shopper, according to my Mom, but I donāt think so.
Itās really just as simple as the instruction says, but since Iām well aware of my inner-blonde, as I call it, of course it had to be difficult as hell. So, all you do is add water by the pancake flour and mix it. Turned out we used the wrong mixer, and I still canāt believe why my sister knew that and didnāt say anything up until our first pancake turned out, well, weird. Though the first pancake is always a disaster, my mother claims, so we had to live with it. Also, I didnāt even had to buy the pancake flour since we happened to have exactly the same package alreadyā¦ In the end I was the one pouring the dough in the pan and my sister baking the actual pancake, even throwing them in the air to turn them. Plus they were so thick we had enough after two pancakes or so. -_-
As you see it was a whole experience.
Iād like to know how you bake pancakes, if you do at all, that is. For now I canāt believe I typed such a long post only about baking pancakes, but oh well. Promise is promise!
Love,
Xanne-Li Olbertijn
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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Apologies and Clarification
Hello to yāall wonderful people,
Alright guys, as my dear friend, Rieneke, pointed out that I hadnāt updated for like three weeks, I decided to start again. I didnāt really think anyone would read this, anyway, but here I am again! Just so you know, Iām still writing lots and lots of stuff to catch up, I just needed a little break.
First of all I want to apologize to you for letting you wait this long. Second I want to apologize to everyone who felt, I donāt know how to describe it, but letās say kind of passed about my post where I introduced my two friends. Though you must know that I strongly think that if you say something, you said it for a reason and you shouldnāt take your words back too fast. Iām also not taking any words back, Iām just going to explain why I wrote it the way I did. Also, the reason why I felt introducing these two was because I was sending a letter to Elizabeth, with Maddy. Anyways, what Iām saying is that I always introduce people on the occasion of something. So, let me explain. Maddy and Elizabeth are two very special persons to me, I canāt quite describe it, but letās say I see them as two sisters. And since theyāve claimed to be long lost twin sisters, tricking the whole Wicked fandom at Fanfiction.net to believe them, it kind of makes sense. However, that doesnāt mean I donāt love my other friends, and I hope they know that. The misunderstanding, as I may call it, is about the fact that I said that I only felt fully understood by these two. Which I tried to explain before, though probably not well enough. The fact that I feel misunderstood or not understood at all sometimes is no oneās fault. So no one should take blame for that, and no one should think that not understanding me, fully, that is, makes them a bad friend. Donāt try to change it though, donāt say that you do understand if Iād tell you all. This is not a case like, āDonāt try to, ācuz you canātā. No, itās me asking my other dear friends not to push me by asking, worrying or blaming themselves so much. And sure, every teenager might feel misunderstood at times. I acknowledge that and even though we wouldnāt admit, Iām sure puberty plays a certain part in that. To everyone who doesnāt know me that well, this whole post might seem a bit strange. Anyways, Iām trying to explain myself here a little, I might be a tad bit more sensitive than others, my mind might be chaotic and thatās why I feel earlier misunderstood than others. I donāt know if Maddy and Elizabeth can literally feel that, but as I told you before, weāre so much alike, so they know how my mind works.
Okay, so I just realized that this might not help clarify things at allā¦ Iām too much of a ranter, anyways. But I want all my other friends to know that I love them, too and that I never meant for them to feel like theyād be bad friends not understanding me, fully. So, please take my apology for well, this misunderstanding.
Enough rant for now, thanks for even enduring it. Coming up some lighter subjects, promised. ;)
Love,
Xanne-Li Olbertijn
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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Comming Up
Hi to yāall wonderful people,
Actually I am too sad to blog, but then again, no posts in two daysā¦ Oh well, itās not that anyone is reading this. XD
Anyways, I was so incredibly busyā¦ Today was Willemijn Verkaikās last performance as Elphaba. Elphaba is a character in Wicked the Musical. There you have it again, Wicked! And I so love her! I just cannot describe how sad I am that sheās leaving, like, forever. As Elphaba, that is.Ā So I made a video to thank her and say goodbye to her as Elphaba. Not alone, but with many other amazing people. ;)
But enough of this, my timelines are spammed full of Willemijnās last show and I just canāt take it. Like I said, enough. Though Iām going to place a post to honor Willemijn Verkaik later these days.
Coming up: āBacking Pancakes (Belated)ā, introduction of another best friend, the making of of the video for Willemijn Verkaik, post in honor of Willemijn Verkaik and more!
Thatās a lot, right? And shall I tell you a secret? I already am looking forward to write them! For now Iām just too tired and too sad and too tired to write another thing.
Have a wonderful day, you!
Love,
Xanne-Li Olbertijn
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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Good morning, or something else, to yāall wonderful people,
So, itās time to introduce two of my best friends and believe me, youāll hear more from them. Iām not exaggerating if I say that theyāre amazing and although I must admit that sometimes, but thatās just rare and only lasts for minutes if not seconds, I donāt understand them or feel misunderstood by them, I still love them as if they were my sisters, which they absolutely are, since I donāt know any sisters of my blood, or however you say such thing.
Yesterday I finally posted this very special envelope, seen on this picture, with some birthday cards, who knows, presents maybe. This envelope will go all the way ādown underā to Australia! And the shipping costs so surprised me. I mean, I had taken like ā¬30,- with me while in fact I only had to pay ā¬5,25. So Maddy, hereby, you donāt have to pay me anything, I wonāt die from this.
So, sending this envelope was one of the tasks that I could have done like four or five days ago, but just because I had all the time, I didnāt. Iām sorry my mind works against me, Elizabeth.
Yep, thatās true, miss Maddy Lanslots and miss Elizabeth Watters. They are my best friends, or maybe were, since I called them āmissā. :P
We understand each other perfectly. Weāre crazy, weāre creepy, weāre funny. I mean, what are we not?
And just when I thought Iād be friendless forever, and no offense to my other friends, you guys rock, but itās just difficult to fully understand me, these two amazing persons came into my life. And we have so much in common that it is scary.
And yes, a lot of people will say that internet friends are no real friends and all, but thatās not true. I know that from experience.
Anyways, theyāre both great writers and they understand music.
Maddy is a real author and sheās going to publish her very first book soon. Or, thatās what I made of it. She wants to, and Iām sure sheāll succeed. Itās almost finished and itās amazing, at least, the plot is, but I know everything will be amazing. :)
Elizabeth is a born talent if youāre talking about playing several instruments on a high level. I mean, I couldnāt do that. Sheās a hard worker, but the good thing is that she enjoys it. Our āworking late lifestyleā is quite the same. XD
I could rant about these two pages and pages, but theyād probably not appreciate that. Or, maybe they would, but then they would become shy and stuff, knowing them. ;)
What must be said that these two persons are persons, and Iāve said it before, who always be there for you and never judge and always try to understand. Theyāre even more than you think. When you thought you were just two persons having conversations on the internet, they already excepted you as a friend. And they did because youāre you and you never have to pretend.
For now if you want to see what my friends really are like, then follow them on Twitter: @CliffyQueen & @EAWatters and certainly go and check out their amazing stories on Fanfiction.net: Ultimate Queen of Cliffies & Musicgal3.
Talk to you soon!
Love,
Xanne-Li Olbertijn
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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Always a Step Behind?
Hiya to yāall wonderful people,
You might have noticed that when Iām writing about something, it seems like Iām always one day behind, which in fact is kinda true, but shhh, donāt tell! Currently, I must admit, I sleep awfully long and go to bed quite late. Yep, thatās my ānot-so-super-healthy lifestyleā. And thank goodness that thereās this option so I can schedule my posts. :P
The reason why Iām behind is that Iām doing nothing while actually Iām quite busy. Which means that most of the times I wait until the deadlines come so deadly close that I really have to do something and canāt skip. With that in my head I work faster and, most of the times, better. Iāll tell you later with what Iām all so busy. I mean, Iām not that busy, itās summer break after all. ;)
Just so you know, Iām planning on continuously posting, but I might be a day or two behind. Then again, if you know me, you know that Iām always lateā¦ Sorry?
Love,
Xanne-Li Olbertijn
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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Hello to yāall wonderful people,
Yesterday, or the day before yesterday, Iāve had my dinner at Utrecht Central Station at Juliaās Pasta. Juliaās Pasta happens to belong to the NS (the Dutch Railways).
So, hereās how it works. Thereās this menu that exists out of several steps. Like a Happy Meal at the McDonaldās. You choose whatever you like and order that at the pay desk and youāll get a voucher with your order. Then you give your voucher to one of the cooks and theyāll make you your food. They also ask questions like if you want the vegetables through the sauce or not. Then they put it in a box and you can take it with you. Itās awesome, I really recommend trying it. :)
As you can see, the fork looks just like a real one, but in fact itās made of plastic. I had to resist the urge to keep the box. I kept the fork though. I mean, how awesome! As for the name on that Coca Cola bottle, since my name, Xanne-Li, will never be on such things I always carefully choose another name. This time I picked one with āKaiā on it because thatās what my name would have been if I were a boy. Oh, and about that, Iām adopted, but still, if I turned out to be a boy, my name wouldāve been Kai. ;)
Anyways, today, or yesterday, I had something similar as dinner only this time it was Asian food. We ordered our meals by Wokamor. Itās a new restaurant/take-away in Gouda, the city where I live.
Here are the sites to these amazing restaurants/take-aways, theyāre Dutch.
http://retail.nsstations.nl/formules/julia-s/home
http://wokamor.weebly.com
Love,
Xanne-Li Olbertijn
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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Hello to yāall wonderful persons,
Yeah, I know, my salutation doesnāt exactly sound grammatically correct. Though itās true, Iām talking to you all and youāre all wonderful persons. ;)
So, you can guess what this post is about. Jersey Boys the Musical, indeed! Yesterday I went to see the musical with my father and it was absolutely amazing! We got the original cast, which I think is awesome.
I didnāt exactly know what to expect from this, because sure the songs and actors and actresses were amazing, but it was still a biography. Then again, a musical is never boring, or almost never, or it shouldnāt supposed to be boring, and so they outperformed my expectations.
You should check out the amazing voices of the four lead roles. To be honest, doing research such as reading the synopsis and watching some YouTube videos isnāt enough. You really need to see the show.
I was surprised by the fact that we were sitting so close to the stage. Like, it wasnāt that close, but Iāve never sat any closer before. It totally made you experience the story as if you were a part in it. And believe me, it really helps if youāre sitting closer to the stage.
Personally I did love Nick Massi played by Robbert van den Bergh the most. Because heās a quiet and modest man. He seems to have no worries or whatsoever and just goes along with the others. Also, Dieter Spileers did an amazing job as Bob Gaudio. Then thereās the ābad boyā, Tommy Devito played by RenĆ© van Kooten, also well played. And of course thereās Frankie Valli, played by Tim Driesen. Really, that man can sing, what a voice. Itās funny, because he comes from Belgium and sometimes you could slightly hear that. And Bob Crewe, heās just hilarious!
The awesome thing is that Barry Beijer, who plays Bob Crewe, is one of my teachers at my theatre kinda club thing. To explain, itās just like you follow piano lessons, only there you learn how to act, dance and sing. With other words, theatre lessons.
Every year he gives some workshops there as one of the āguest teachersā. Iām really proud of what heās doing, because he has real talent.
Thatās also why I decided I wanted to see Jersey Boys at least once, plus the fact Iāll be following theatre workshops at that theater, the Beatrix Theater, next week.
When I watch a show I always have, what I call a āpost-musical depressionā, afterwards. Do you recognize that feeling when youāve seen a show and never want that magical feeling, while watching it, to end? And the feeling when you want to stand on that stage yourself so badly? Well, thatās how I always feel after seeing a show.
Rest me only one thing to say, go all see Jersey Boys the Musical and otherwise the movie! And itās true, āEverybody remembers it how they need to.ā ;)
Love,
Xanne-Li Olbertijn
Xoxo
āBecause dreams do come true, and I believe in you!ā
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