HEY EVERYONE, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
And here comes 2026! Wow, time really flies! I remember standing in this very same place, Kemer Turkey, not so long ago, welcoming 2023! And now, almost four years have already passed since we left Ukraine from war.
This year, we are welcoming the Year of the Fire Horse. They say you should celebrate it wearing red, because fire loves bright colors. I’m not superstitious and don’t really believe in all of that, but just in case, I wore a bright red New Year’s dress that we actually bought last year!
So, this was truly a year of contrasts for me. So many good things happened… and not-so-good ones as well. But in the end, that’s what life is like. You simply have to always hope for the best and keep moving forward, overcoming every obstacle just to survive. So why not take a look back at the year that has passed?
(And yes, my post is late as always haha, but I’m glad it’s at least still in the first month of the year.)
Sooo, let’s begin! 🎉
We started our 2025 in an unusual place for us — Cappadocia. Finding sparklers at the very last moment, we celebrated New Year’s Eve in a rented apartment in Avanos, and the next day we were walking through national parks among the famous lava hills.
The following month was not nearly as pleasant… And it was on my sister’s BIRTHDAY that THIS ⬇️ happened. There was a serious virus spreading in that region of Turkey at the time, and many people ended up in the hospital because of it. For the next month and a half, I wasn’t in a very good condition because of this.
But well — whatever happens in life, we have to get back on our feet quickly and keep moving forward (wasnt so quickly for me though 😅)
March — the beginning of spring, my favorite season, the season of new beginnings. March was full of interesting and important events, and there were lovely meetings with wonderful people. But the event with the most photos this month was my mom’s birthday. And of course, the very first glimpses of spring 🌷
🌷🌸🌷
April was a wonderful month, though one of the less pleasant moments was that the beginning of warm spring turned back into a cold, snowy winter. Not the most comfortable conditions, especially for walking, but it didn’t stop us. Of course, good things have to come in contrast to the unpleasant ones. And so, the most fun event of this month was visiting the zoo in Poland with our magician 
May — my month. A time when everything starts to feel warm, when you sense summer approaching, and when the weather becomes perfect for swimming. My birthday falls in this month. On that very day, I had my first professional photoshoot in my life, marking the beginning of my modeling career. And after the photoshoot, we created my portfolio as a model, which is the most important thing when doing an application for a model agency. I noticed that many new beginnings in my life have happened specifically in May btw.
June — a month with a gift. At the beginning of the month, in honor of my birthday, I received the most important gift. We traveled to Cappadocia and flew in the famous hot air balloons. At last, my long-time dream came true 😆. It was one of the most magical moments of the year.
The following days of the month were spent relaxing with my brother in the water oases of our city.
July — one of the most fascinating months. I had no idea that such places existed in Turkey. We visited the eastern part of the country — Trabzon. It truly felt like a completely different world, a world of green tea and endless humidity. Every day there was filled with incredible adventures, which I will share in my future articles.
August was a month of calm. No big trips, no changes, no parties — just walks to the sea and everyday, routine life.
It was a wonderful month, because the next one turned out to be far from easy.
September — we set off on a journey. It was a nice time.
On our way back, on a clear day, a truck hit us from behind. The car was badly damaged, and the repairs required significant resources. At the same time, after the accident, we discovered that our car had reached the limit of its allowed stay in Turkey. Because of this, we spent an entire month in another region, away from our place of residence, dealing with paperwork every day and eventually sending our car back to Ukraine on a tow truck due to deportation.
October. The very first event of this month was a visit to the city of Istanbul. A magical city, truly one with a special atmosphere. However, we didn’t come here to enjoy its beauty. We flew there to transport our poor, damaged car across the border. After that, we returned to our city of Kemer, living a calm life again after all the chaos that happened to us the month before.
November — a month of banana bread baking on a massive scale, and the time when my sister, my mom, and I actively started developing our Turkish jokes blog. Here’s one photo of me from the filming location 😀
And here came our final month — December. The month of Christmas, preparations for the New Year, and so on. Winter in Turkey isn’t felt very strongly, but from time to time there are sharp drops in temperature. So we rushed to Antalya to buy a (fake) fur coat to protect ourselves from the cold winds.
This year, it truly felt magical. It seemed like the mayor finally remembered that he is, in fact, the mayor of this city. The entire square was decorated with beautiful, glowing decorations. An incredible atmosphere.
And so, this was my year!
Oh well, I don’t really like when years come to an end, but I welcome you all into the new year and hope that only the very best awaits you this year and in all the years to come. For now, I wish you a happy, healthy, breakthrough-filled, and productive 2026.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 🎉🥳🥂
P.S.: And this year, we decided to do a ritual that was unusual for us. You know how Spain has the tradition of 12 grapes, some people clean their houses, and there are dozens of traditions from different cultures. So we chose this one: each of us (my mom, my sister, and I) wrote down seven wishes on small pieces of paper, put them into a box, and then took turns drawing one each day, before the new year, reading it, and then burning it. And the very last wish you read is the one that will come true the fastest this year.