Category: Uncategorized

  • How It Feels to Be Seen but Not Heard

    The paradox of attention in the digital age vs. genuine connection.

    Dear Reader,

    I hope you’re all enjoying these cold and spooky days. Something has been on my mind lately, and it just won’t leave.
    Have you ever felt completely elsewhere while surrounded by friends — or even thousands of strangers?

    Isn’t it strange how humans, the most social creatures on the planet, often leave others out of the circle? It feels like it’s never enough for us. Just a few days ago, I found myself wondering: how can the most sociable species also be the loneliest?

    I’ve often been that person — present, but not really there. But why? Am I boring? I don’t think so. Maybe, for once, it’s not me. Maybe it’s actually them.

    That feeling of being left out both scares me and doesn’t.
    You know that moment when you try to say something in a group or at home, and someone cuts you off mid-sentence? You just stand there, unsure whether to keep talking or to walk away — maybe then they’ll notice.
    And I hate that sometimes it takes your absence for people to finally see that something’s changed.

    They start talking, arrogantly, about how they “don’t know why you left” or how they “were so welcoming.” I’ve been around enough people to tell who’s genuinely kind and who’s just being polite. If you have to keep reminding people you exist, those are not your people. Do yourself a favour — walk away, and don’t come back once they notice.

    In Ginny & Georgia, there’s a character named Max who used to be the centre of attention. Slowly, everyone grew colder — her friends forgot to invite her, and her family stopped noticing her because her twin brother’s mental health took priority. Her best friend Ginny ignored her feelings and said, “Maybe we just grew apart.” When Max said she didn’t want it to be okay, Ginny simply replied, “I don’t know what to tell you.”

    Even when you watch the show, you don’t notice these moments right away — but they say so much about where we are now. Since when did ignoring each other’s feelings become normal? When did talking about what hurts become “uncool”?
    Maybe people should take one step back to take two forward.

    Something is happening in our society that I can’t quite understand.
    Take care of your feelings — and of yourselves.

    Yours truly,
    Viktoriia
    ❤️

  • Composer’s Mindset: When It Feels Stuck

    Alice In Wonderland by The Folio Society

    Dear Reader,

    I hope you’ve all had a great and productive summer. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on what it means to feel “stuck.” Even when life is full — new projects, new roles, new ideas — sometimes the mind refuses to move forward.

    This summer, I joined a charity organisation as a Trustee, helping shape their content and sound. I also started working on new music. On paper, everything looks busy. Yet inside, I often feel motionless. After such a hectic year, I gave myself permission to rest and recharge, but the feeling of something being “off” still lingers.

    A gift from a friend — Alice in Wonderland illustrated by The Folio Society — made me pause. Reading it with my favourite soundtracks playing in the background, I began to notice how much I share with Alice. Every challenge in life, like every peculiar character she meets, feels stranger and more complicated than the last. Does it ever stop? Sadly, no. Can I control it? Not always. But what I can do is adjust.

    Alice loses herself in curiosity but eventually comes back to her senses. Life isn’t a fairytale, and it doesn’t slow down — but perhaps it becomes lighter when we share it. Maybe our stories won’t change the weight of life, but they might remind someone they’re not alone. And you’ll never know the impact until you try.

    Love,

    Viktoriia❤️

  • Why Silence Scares Me (and Also Heals Me)

    Dear Reader,

    In my last post, I talked about burning out — and how important it is to give yourself credit for all that you do. Today, I want to speak about fear.
    One fear in particular: silence.

    Silence has always unsettled me. It’s something I was taught to obey, and maybe you were too. From childhood, I remember being told to stay quiet, to behave, to not say or do the wrong thing. I never really understood why. In fact, when I was little, I used to do the opposite. I spoke up. I asked questions. I pushed boundaries. I was loud with my heart.

    But over time, something shifted.
    The more I was told to shut up, the more I actually did.

    I stopped talking about my personal life.
    I stopped sharing the things I struggled with.
    Because—God forbid—a girl dares to be emotional, open, or honest.

    “Be this.”
    “Don’t do that.”
    “Don’t say that.”
    “Just grow up.”

    Okay — but then… what am I supposed to be?
    What am I supposed to do when all I have are feelings I don’t know how to carry?
    When I’m not okay, and no one around me seems to notice — or care?

    I was just a child.
    No, I couldn’t “suck it up.”
    No, I couldn’t “grow up” when I was surrounded by grown-ups who were just kids in disguise.

    So what do you do when there’s no one to support you?
    When you’re bursting with emotions and no safe place to put them?

    I don’t have a perfect answer. I wish I did.
    There’s no guidebook for life. No step-by-step instructions for how to carry the weight we feel.

    When I couldn’t turn to my family for advice, I searched for answers in places I probably shouldn’t have. But still—I survived.
    And here’s what I now believe:

    At the end of the day, it’s just me.
    No one will care for me as deeply as I can care for myself.
    So I might as well try. I might as well be the person I needed back then.

    And now… silence isn’t just a fear. It’s also a place I go to heal.
    Because when the world gets loud and cruel, silence becomes the only place where my voice can echo back to me — clearly, honestly, safely.

    Maybe silence doesn’t mean emptiness.
    Maybe it means listening—to yourself—for the first time in a long time.

    Love,
    Yours Viktoriia 🕊️

  • “When Creativity Feels Like Chaos”

    📸: Niko Lucian

    Dear Reader,

    I know it’s been a while since I last posted. After releasing my album, I felt completely burnt out. I was so focused on finishing and putting it out into the world that I forgot to take care of myself. On top of that, I was overwhelmed with college exams.

    For almost two months after the release, I barely wrote anything. That silence reminded me of a song I wrote a year ago but never had the chance to record. I’d like to share a few lines from it:

    “It feels like a prison
    A prison you put me in
    It feels like a prison to me
    It feels like a prison
    A prison of crazy guilt
    But some other day I’m free”

    Reading those lyrics again, I realised I’d been building my own sort of “prison” — where I could barely move, barely create. My mood was low, and days blurred into each other. Deep down, I knew something wasn’t right.

    But here’s what I’ve learned: it’s okay to take a break after pouring your whole self into something — even if it’s the thing you love. Especially if you’re juggling it with things you don’t love. Sometimes you just need time to detox, to feel nothing, to rest without guilt.

    Now, I finally feel ready to return to life. To get involved again. To create again.

    If this feels like you right now, please know: you’re not alone. Let yourself rest. Reboot. You are loved. You are heard. You are seen.

    Sincere,

    Yours Viktoriia ❤

  • Sleep Paralysis

    Dear Reader,

    I want to talk to you about a phenomenon that has been part of my life since I can remember myself: Sleep Paralysis.

    Sleep paralysis is a condition in which a person, either during falling asleep or waking up, temporarily experiences an inability to move or speak. This is caused by a disruption in the sleep cycle—specifically, when the body remains in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep while the brain becomes conscious. During REM sleep, your brain paralyzes most of your muscles to prevent you from acting out dreams. But when the mind wakes up and the body doesn’t catch up, you’re stuck in between.

    “Sleep paralysis occurs when a person passes between stages of wakefulness and sleep. During these transitions, you may be unable to move or speak for a feNightmares are vivid dreams that contain frightening images or cause negative feelings such as fear, terror, and/or extreme anxiety. If awakened from REM sleep during a nightmare, the sleeper can usually provide a detailed description of the dream content. The nightmare can cause the sufferer to awaken in a heightened state of distress, resulting in perspiration and an elevated heart rate. Often it takes time to recover from the negative emotions invoked by the nightmare and the person may have difficulty returning to sleep.”

    — Stanford Medicine | Health Care

    For me, these episodes are more than a medical explanation—they are deeply vivid and often terrifying. I’ve had moments where I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. One night, I saw a creature looming near me—its face burned into my memory. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t scream. All I could do was whisper in my head:
    “I’m here. I’m okay.”

    There are nights I wake up gasping, my body frozen while my mind races. After one episode, I remember only managing to sleep for about thirty minutes before deciding it was safer just to wait for the sun to rise. The fear can be so raw, so physical, it lingers in my chest for hours.

    In those moments, what brings me back is the sound of a voice or the feeling of someone beside me — a partner gently waking me up, helping anchor me in reality again.

    I’ve often thought about writing a song about these moments. Not just the fear, but the surreal beauty of that liminal space between dreaming and waking. It’s hard to capture in words, but maybe this post is a start.

    If you’ve ever experienced sleep paralysis, I want you to know you’re not imagining it. You’re not crazy. And you’re definitely not alone.

    Sincere,

    Yours Viktoriia ❤

  • Why Do We Feel What We Feel?– A Personal Reflection on Depression, Anxiety, and Finding the Present

    Dear Reader,

    Just recently, I was having a conversation with a couple of my friends. Among all the things we talked about, we ended up discussing something that’s often misunderstood: depression.

    What is it? How does it feel?

    Depression is a serious mental health condition characterized by a persistent low mood, a loss of interest in activities, and a range of other symptoms that affect thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In other words, it’s more than just feeling down or fed up for a few days. But instead of listing definitions, I want to share what it’s been like for me—because sometimes, personal stories make it easier to understand.

    I’ve experienced depression a few times: at 15, at 16, and again at 18. Those were the hardest times in my life so far—something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. The first time it happened, I wasn’t lying in bed all day, crying. Life on the outside looked normal. I still laughed when I was “supposed” to, I still worked, I still studied. But inside, I felt empty. It was like being numb on the outside, but the paradox was—I didn’t feel anything on the inside either. I was forgetting how to feel, because all my thoughts about the past just sat in my mind like they’d pitched a tent, waiting. Waiting for me to forget about the present. Waiting for me to forget the future.

    “People talk about depression all the time. The difference between depression and sadness is—sadness is just from happenstance. Whatever happened, or didn’t happen for you: grief, or whatever it is. Depression is when your body says, ‘F*** you. I don’t want to be this character anymore. I don’t want to hold up this avatar you’ve created.’”

    JIM CARREY | Characters, Comedy, and Existence | 4K REMASTER | TIFF

    He also mentioned you can think of the word depressed as deep rest—your body needing deep rest from the character you’re trying to play.

    Whether we like it or not, our bodies sometimes need a break from the roles we’ve taken on. I can’t tell you what to do to get through it, and honestly, no specialist can give you a one-size-fits-all answer. But what I learned is: it’s your mind. You are the one who has power over it.

    When I realised something was wrong, I made a choice. I got up every day, I stuck to my routine, and I told myself:

    “You are not hopeless. You are not useless. You are a winner. And you will win over this. You are the master of your mind. Nothing can take that from you. This isn’t forever. Take your time to recover—and then keep going.”

    But how do you know when it’s over?

    The answer, for me, was: when you start to feel again. Feelings won’t rush back all at once. You have to relearn how to feel. And yes, some feelings might be painful or disappointing. But the moment you realise that everything feels different—that’s when you can say: I did it!

    There’s something else I’ve learned:

    👉 Depression is about your past.
    It’s the things you haven’t let go of. The things you overthink. The “Why did I do that?” and “I should’ve done it differently” thoughts that keep looping in your brain.

    👉 Anxiety is about your future.
    It’s worrying about things that may or may not happen. It’s trying to control the unknown. It’s living ahead of yourself.

    👉 Happiness is about your present.
    It’s noticing what’s around you. A sunny day. Pretty flowers. A smile from a stranger. It’s enjoying your hobby, your partner, your family. It’s staying right here, right now.

    So if you take one thing from my story, let it be this: stay present. Even if it’s hard. Even if it feels impossible sometimes. Try to notice the little good things. They’re always there.

    Get it done. Enjoy the process. See the result. Live your life.

    Thank you for listening, for reading, for feeling. I hope you find a little piece of yourself here, too.

    Sincere,

    Yours Viktoriia ❤

  • Why Music Feels Like Legacy

    Dear Reader,

    Music has always felt like more than just sound to me—it’s how I tell my story, piece by piece. Every note I play, every lyric I write, it’s like leaving little parts of myself behind, creating something that lasts beyond me. I’ve never seen music as just a hobby or a job; it’s the way I process life, the way I connect with people, even when words fall short.

    This blog is part of that journey, too. I want it to be a place where I can share not just my music, but the feelings, the moments, and the inspirations that shape it. It’s not about having everything figured out—it’s about letting it unfold, one song, one story at a time.

    “Sometimes, all the right things happen for all the wrong reasons”

    Hans Zimmer, Vanity Fair: Hans Zimmer Breaks Down His Career, from ‘Gladiator’ to ‘Interstellar’

    What I love about this quote is that Hans Zimmer didn’t want to do something at first—he thought he wasn’t good at animation and refused to write for it. But the director of ‘The Lion King‘ wanted someone who had exactly no idea how to approach it. I truly know that feeling.

    When I started writing music, it was mostly pop, pop/rock—and only after a year of writing did I try composing orchestral pieces. That experience made me realize I could explore that world too. I believe if you want something, just go for it. Don’t waste a single second of your life questioning whether it’s worth it. Get it done. Enjoy the process. See the result. Live your life.

    Thank you for listening, for reading, for feeling. I hope you find a little piece of yourself here, too.

    Sincere,

    Yours Viktoriia ❤

  • Opening the Window

    Silly Selfie

    Dear reader,

    If you’ve found your way here, welcome. This is my small corner of the world—a place where I gather my thoughts, my music, my memories, and the quiet moments in between. I don’t have all the answers, and I’m still learning how to turn feelings into words, sounds, stories. But I wanted a space to be honest, to be curious, to be real.

    Here, you’ll find fragments of who I am—sometimes messy, sometimes soft, always sincere. I don’t know exactly where this journey will lead, but I’m glad you’re here to wander with me.

    Thank you for listening, for reading, for feeling. I hope you find a little piece of yourself here, too.

    Sincere,

    Yours Viktoriia ❤