Hello fashion babes!

You might be looking at the title of this post and thinking I have gone crazy. I assure you I haven't.

Let's address the elephant in the room. Obviously there is currently a global pandemic and a lot of people are feeling hopeless and depressed. In this blog post I wanted to write about something different, but I changed my mind because of everything that's happening. I want everyone who reads this post to get information and also hope for the future. As long as we all believe that the worst has already happened and that from now on things will get better, we will be fine.

We all know what's happening in the world. Coronavirus has done a lot of damage, especially in some countries. It's also important to mention that some countries were a lot more prepared than the others. Obviously in those countries the consequences haven't been so devastating. This is something that we can actually stop from spreading if we choose to listen to the people who are smarter than us in this field. I would advise everyone to listen to the officials in your country; your government, the doctors, pandemic experts... Whoever is in charge of this issue in your country... Listen to them.

Don't listen to bulls*it on social media, forums, read all kinds of shady websites... These sources are full of fake information and are designed to create a mass panic which is the most dangerous thing at this moment. We really have to stay inside as much as possible at the moment so this goes away as soon as possible and we can get back to our normal lives.

In case you didn't know, I'm from Croatia and I have to say I have been impressed by how the officials in my country have been handling the coronavirus outbreak. We are very well prepared and I feel safe in my country thanks to the people who are handling this. They have prepared hundreds of beds and facilities for potential patients even though the situation in my country is still not that dramatic; especially compared to some other countries. These beds will probably never even see patients, but we are prepared just in case. There are many people who have been cured and not a lot of people have died from this disease in the country. I think right now there are only about 30 people on respirators in the entire country because of coronavirus, and all the others mostly show minor symptoms. I truly believe this is only because of how prepared we were. Also, the situation is getting better each day, and this week more and more shops are allowed to open their doors if they respect all the rules that the government has given them. Next week so cafes and restaurants will open as well.

I will also inform you about another natural disaster that hit my city recently. On Sunday, March 22, 2020 my city Zagreb was hit by an earthquake. This was the biggest earthquake in Zagreb since 1880, so you can imagine how shocked everyone was. The earthquake was 5,3 on the Richter scale and it was really scary. It happened around 6:25 AM so we were all woken up by this on a Sunday and we literally had to jump out of our beds, grab a jacket and run outside. Also, it snowed in Zagreb that Sunday... LOL! During the last few weeks before the earthquake it was already super warm every day, and now all of a sudden the temperature dramatically dropped, the wind was blowing like crazy and it started snowing... So now try to imagine dealing with the earthquake and coronavirus at the same time!

After that big earthquake there was another smaller one, while in some parts of the city the people kept feeling small earthquakes even a few weeks later! Because of this, a lot of people were too scared to even go back inside of their house or apartment, and some people couldn't go back because their homes were almost completely destroyed. I have to tell you, it's all extremely scary and devastating to watch.

Thankfully, my parents and I live in a new building so there was no damage, but thousands of people weren't that lucky. The center of Zagreb is full of these beautiful historic buildings (as you can see in these photos) dating back to the beginning of the 20th century or even the 19th century, so obviously these buildings were not built to withstand an earthquake like this. I can't tell you how much it breaks my heart to see these beautiful places where I have gone a million times in my life now in ruins... Basically every other building in the center is damaged - the roofs collapsed on some buildings, the chimneys fell, the walls collapsed... It's really sad. One 15-year-old girl died and probably around 20 were injured, but it could have been a lot worse... Imagine if there was no coronavirus outbreak and everyone was outside?! These roofs and walls were collapsing on the sidewalks, on the streets... Literally dozens or even hundreds of people could have died! It's crazy how everything is connected when you look at it and how literally everything happens for a reason.

The earthquake's epicenter was in a part of the city called Markusevec. A lot of my family members live there, but they are thankfully all fine. My grandma's house is there and it has been damaged severely. Thank God she doesn't live there anymore because she has been in a retirement home for the last 5 or 6 months but her house is probably beyond repair. The chimney collapsed, half of the roof collapsed, the walls cracked in many parts or the house, inside the ceiling fell, etc. My grandma's house is very old, as are most houses in the area (probably built in the 1950's) and these houses can't withstand an earthquake like this. They were literally just built with brick and no iron anywhere or concrete. I am just grateful that she wasn't in the house when that happened, but almost every house in that street was damaged. A lot of people had to leave their homes. It's truly devastating.

You may be wondering how I can stay positive after all of this... Well, I can and I have to. A lot of people in my country are on the verge of a nervous breakdown these days, but I will never allow myself to be in that state. Unlike before, nowadays I know how to deal with stress and anxiety, so whenever I feel like I'm slipping into one of these holes, I immediately pull myself out of it. Last year I wrote a blog post about how I stay positive in life and how you can as well. Everything I wrote in that post is still valid, so I definitely recommend it to you. You might find some helpful tips. Btw these photos were taken right before the quarantine started.
The best way to look at all of this is that the worst is behind us and that better times are ahead.
Keep the faith and stay fabulous!
xoxo Sienna