I grew up absorbing convictions from my surrounds about what I should or should not do; what is right or wrong; the do’s and don’ts. It’s not easy to release us from them as we get attached to certain beliefs.

I couldn’t remember when I last played chess. Also I couldn’t find a reason to explain why I stopped playing in the first place. Coming from a chess champion’s family, there’s something complacent about the game’s absence in my life.

When you live in the Netherlands, you have to make the most of the blessed sunny season. Since I moved to Amsterdam I learned how to really appreciate the sun – I must confess that I took this gorgeous fireball for granted.

Sometime ago I heard from an actress that ‘planning is an exercise in optimism’. Although over planning might be the trigger to anxiety and excess of control, simple plans can, instead, be the right measure to believe that the future will be bright and shiny.

The older we get, the weaker will be our ability to act and be more spontaneous. When we hardly remember what was our last impetuous decision, chances are big that the so called youth-free-spirit we once possessed has already faded away.

I was having my breakfast at the Pulitzer Hotel when two scenes caught my attention: fathers taking care - by themselves - of their children. When I say ‘themselves’ I mean no mother or nanny or grandma around. I thought this is not a regular thing in America, at least not in my home country.

They say that time is the best medicine to forget and to overcome; that time is what wounds most need to be healed. But even the most powerful yet smooth uplift that time grants us also shows that certain things in life cannot go away without leaving scars behind.

I have been thinking about traditions. A friend confessed to me she is a strong believer and fond of certain conventions: from hand-writing love letters to formal marriage proposals, or cutlery etiquette and formal attires for every single occasion.