Her Majesty the Queen

This is the reverb prompt for the day

Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful

if i am honest, it is not my favourite. the prompts up to this point have required good retrospective analysis of the past year. and i feel this one does not...really. as the guidelines for reverb 10 state that i can change a post to make it more suitable to my taste, i am doing so for today.

today i became a british citizen officially. i had my swearing in ceremony with the council official and magistrate. i made my oath to the 'Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second' and pledged my loyalty to the United Kingdom. it was a very important day in the life of kristina. Not only did i fulfil a life long dream of having two passports, it also marks the day that rhys and i are done with immigration FOREVER!! he has his green card and i am british. done. finally.

and even though i still do like America the best, I did take today seriously. I recognized its importance and my choices for the day evidenced a huge part of who i am. so by way of reverbing it, take a look at this picture.




i am wearing skinny jeans because they are a fashion trend i have picked up since being in the UK. my style has changed quite a bit living in Europe and i wanted to wear something that marked that.

i am wearing a pink shirt from ZARA. it is my favourite store. their clothing is stylish yet comfortable. and i wanted to be both.

i choose that specific shirt because it was pink. my mom loves pink. i got a lot of things from my mom, especially my love of clothes, shoes and shopping. we love to shop together. not so much a love of the colour pink but as she could not be there today i wore the colour for her.

I am wearing a ring that my grandfather bought for my mom 30 years ago in Israel. My grandpa was the most amazing man in the world. he was taken from this earth much too early for my liking, but while he was here- he was incredible. he was stationed in the pacific during WWII, decided he wanted to minister to the people of Japan and became a missionary in the war torn country. He built the first post-war church in Tokyo. He wrote over 15 books translated into several languages. he spoke 3 languages fluently. he was kind, loving, gentle, brilliant, playful and by far the most amazing grandpa ever. whenever i want him to be with me, i wear this ring.

i am wearing my pandora bracelet because every charm was given to me by a person who i count to be a key part of my life. to be honest i dont even like all the charms on the bracelet, but i love the bracelet because of what it means.

i am wearing black shell drop earrings that i got in Spain in 2004. It was the first time i had ever been to Spain. I was with my dear friend Stefanie; we had a ball. To me the ear rings symbolize the first time i realised how much i wanted to live in Europe. each time i wear them i am reminded of that trip and how much it developed my love of travel. they were the perfect choice for today as i became an EU citizen. (now i can live in Spain!)

I am wearing a grey sweater from Target. i do love the sweater, but the main reason i choose that sweater over another was because it was from America. being America is really important to me. i LOVE my country. today of all days i wanted to be mindful of my home country, my first country. i am grateful for the opportunities my country has provided me with. i am also grateful to have had the opportunity to live outside of my country for a while.

i listened to the Beatles on the way to the council offices because that reminds me of my Dad. I get a lot from my Dad- my sense of humor, my love of history and my love of music. we once travelled all over the country to find original Beatles albums. I am now only missing two thanks to him. as he couldn't be there, Beatles it was.

i am holding eleri because she wanted to be in the picture. simple enough really.

(really eleri wanted to sit in official council chair but....)


and my hair is down because i like my hair. it is long and it is nice. so i wore it down.

i am sentimental. i am nostalgic. i am family oriented. i long for home while i love being away from it at the same time. i am multi-faceted and i love all my different angles. and, as of today, i have two nationalities to be grateful for. and all of those things make me cool.

so there you go. that is what my reverb post of the day is.