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Andreea Ilie
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Andreea writes and teaches.

She studied Political Science and Communications at Richmond University, followed by a MSc in Global Health and Development at UCL’s Institute for Global Health.

She has a diverse experience in the fields of international education, training and personal development, as well as in diplomacy and the media.

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I find imposter syndrome to be one of the most difficult feelings that our generation has brought to light and is learning to deal with. To recognize it in yourself, see how it limits your possibilities and begin to overcome it are three separate feats that seem almost insurmountable when all you feel is that you're not worth it, and you're not enough. You don't deserve success, you are not as intelligent or creative as you might have had others fooled that you are, and every achievement is credited to good timing, luck and a chance opportunity that you played no part in creating for yourself. There's a lot of inner noise this generates. A lot of treachery. And a lot of good time, wasted. How do you move forward when you begin to lose ambition? When you turn down the volume on your dreams in hopes you'd reduce the voice that otherwise spells 'fraud'- often loud enough outside of your head for others to begin to hear, smell, see on you-to a whisper? Do we wait for luck and timing to pull us out of this, too? It would only take us so far before we've come full circle. How much of it could be due to our habit of striving for perfect narratives, in words, feelings and pictures, that the last decade seems to have been mostly about? How much of it is a symptom of our detachment from ourselves, and from real people and situations? Have we taken a step outside of our own skin and left our immediate reality, to dwell in a gray space that no one else's supposed to see, yet it is more densely populated than we are ready to admit to each other? Do we look out on life unfolding before us with crafting ambitions for what could be, as if it lay static and blank, screwed onto an easel? Do we anxiously sharpen every drop of rain and every cloud, add deeper blues and warmth, erase blemishes and even out skin tones, only to look back at the world again and then in the mirror, too, and find that nothing is what we make it seem? Is that what it is? #reflections #impostersyndrome #reality #check #writer #writersofinstagram #rain #rainy #London #views #cityscape
To the snow that has not yet fallen. #january #mist #cold #frost #frozenrose #waitingforthesnow #climatechange #photography #snowlover #winterlovers #frozen #leaves
'It's just a waiting game. But we'll get there, it doesn't matter' 'What are you waiting for?' 'For it to stop' The Fires, part 2. Link in bio, if you'd like to read. Thank you. #Australia #Sydney #bushfiresaustralia #bushfires #haze #account #narrative #saveaustralia #saveaustralianwildlife #donateforaustralia
I "I hadn’t posted the pictures before we left because I thought it would be over. In a futile act of magical thinking, I told myself they’ll go up when the danger had passed; upload them before that, and it’ll linger. The fire, I mean. You see, I thought I had a say. It was an outrageous hypothesis, a crumbling bridge between denying my powerlessness and succumbing to it. I held the higher ground of hope for a while. There’s always ridiculous hope before a catastrophe unfolds. Ridiculous, because of the inaction it fuels. It only seems self-contradictory on paper- in reality, it takes an immense amount of energy to just sit by and watch the world as you’ve known it turn to ash" Link to the full story in bio.
I took this photo to remember the name of the street, in case 'Great Marlborough' somehow escaped me when a friend would message asking for directions. My London reveries are plenty, and when dreaming in motion, my mind lessens its grip on information that others might consider useful, such as street names, location names, people's names, too. And then, there's my inner sense of direction, which to the world might seem as lacking altogether, but serves to guide me, and only me, to places I didn't intend to go, but where I'm happy to have reached nonetheless. This is by no means a metaphor: I get lost all the time and get to places I've never been before where I always find something to catch my eye. I linger. I used to be late everywhere, but now, I add 10 extra minutes to my travels just to make room for whatever bit of magic that may come my way. So taking this picture made sense to me at the time. Once it failed to serve its purpose-my friend never asked for directions-, I went back to the gallery to delete it. Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I don't know what it is about it that I am so drawn to: the horde of people waiting patiently at the traffic light, which is a London landmark in its own right; the three, four who'd had enough and crossed; or the sense of annonimity and safety I always get amongst large crowds, that keep me snug and in place on my walks, and are rarely swayed by the outside world- a facet of the feeling of home. Here, I was about to merge with the masses, with the same bubbling joy I'd feel when getting under a blanket at the end of a long day. No wonder I can't let go.
It takes an expert to brew one and the average Joe (Joella?) to have one- without a doubt, you simply know good coffee when you taste it. This was hands-down one the best espressos I've had outside of Italy, while my husband's cappuccino was the stuff of dreams. He really wants you to know that. The people at CH9 Kaffeehaus might sprinkle fairy dust on their coffee beans while roasting, so you might want to consider that as a potential allergen when you pay them a visit, because reactions will definitely be had. We had our coffee by the window, overlooking the Black Church, as the place was packed (no surprise there). Now, if you think the view is beautiful, well, wait till you see what they've done to the place. It's a restoration gem, complete with high ceilings, steel beams, brass lamps, a colour scheme to die for and art by Virgil Scripcariu. Absolute pleasure to visit. Did I mention dogs are allowed? Dogs are allowed! And their humans let you pet them, too. #ch9kaffeehaus #coffeeshop #coffeescene #cafe #coffeeculture #espresso #coffee #coffeelover #coffeetime #coffeebreak #coffeeholic #instacoffee #cappuccino #cappuccinotime #blackchurch #blackchurch #brasov

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© Andreea Ilie.
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