I get a lot of questions every day on how it is to participate in Miss Norway and why I decided to do so. I do think people will be surprised by how much it has affected and changed my life in a positive way the past months. When I was chosen among approximately 35 girls in September I decided to go all in.

I really needed a drive and a new motivation that was bigger than myself, and I wanted to make a change. Miss Norway gave me a reason to actually do it, follow my dreams and start the projects I had in back of my head for a while.

Since September, I have swapped jobs, I have moved from New York to Los Angeles, I have planned a trip to Kenya to help street kids, victim of abuse and violence. I have tried to make a difference in segmented groups in my hometown, and after all I have met so many amazing people.

By being in Miss Norway and represent your country and citym, have made me interact with people world wide. I am able to have a voice in the way we views beauty today, I shoot with amazing photographers and work with talented people. I am able to use my voice in the society to influence girls and people to a better everyday (at least I hope I do). But based on the feedback I have gotten so far it seems like it.

All these experiences I have had these past months and the people I have met have changed me as a person. I have grown so much, because I have followed me dreams, worked hard, and did what I have too. Because I wanted and I needed too. 

Before Miss Norway I needed a change in my life to become the best version of myself. I felt I was a little lost in a busy and toxic level in New York, but now it is all changing. I wanted to share this experience with you because it is such a beautiful thing, and It really have affected my life the past months to something better. I feel more happy and healthy and good. It is 5 months or so left of the competition, I have so much exciting to look forward to and I can not wait to see where this journey will lead too.  But I am so thankful for this experience and that I can be a part of this.

Sunny blessings from Los Angeles!

I dag er det samenes nasjonaldag, noe som er en viktig dag for oss samer. Å feire samefolkets dag er en viktig måte å vise det samiske på, og ikke minst viktig for det samiske folk for å kunne feire seg selv. Det har stort sett vært feiret med lokale sammenkomster, samisk mat og en god dose stolthet.

Her i Oslo er det Samisk Hus Oslo som står for arrangementene 6. februar. Dagen startet med flaggheising utenfor Rådhuset. I løpet av dagen kan du oppleve messe i Domkirken, duodji-verksted for barn og konsert på kvelden. 

Så jeg ønsker alle en fin dag. Lihkku beivviin. Læhkoeh biejjine. Vuorbbe biejvijn. Gratulerer med dagen!

Hello!

It is only two weeks before I fly to Kenya, to spend almost two weeks there and work with the girls at Familia, the street kids and the children at New Life. I have been starting a fundraising on Facebook, because I want to do as much as I can while I am there. Since I am only able to travel with two suitcases and filled them with as much as shoes and cloths possible, I will need to buy a lot of things down there, which is also a good way to support local businesses and create flow in the economy.

So far, I have had people in Norway, US, Sweden, France and Germany donate.  I think it is quite amazing how we can all come together from different countries and continents to make it better for a third country.

The status so far is: $821 on Facebook fundraising and 1200kr on Bitcoin! I am so happy and thankful for everybody that have donated or even shared the project so far.  But we are still working towards 3000$.

Here is the link if anyone is interested in contributing or spreading the word!

https://www.facebook.com/donate/953907368106807/571497393208598/

Thank you so much for the love!

Hei kjære lesere!

Helgene går alltid så sinnsykt fort, men har tilbringet helgen min sammen med familie og spist masse god mat.

Dagen i dag startet med at at jeg følte meg veldig trøtt og klarte såvidt å stå opp, siden jeg sov veldig dårlig i natt. Men da jeg først fikk litt mat i magen og fikk våknet litt opp med en kopp med kaffe dro jeg videre på treningssenteret og trente litt mage og rygg. Jeg har senere i dag tenkt meg en tur til butikken for å handle litt matvarer så jeg kanskje kan bake noe godt. Får seinere besøk av en venninne og vi har tenkt til å se på film og rett og slett bare slappe av. Mandagen min har hvertfall vært ganske rolig og det er godt å sitte inne i varmen.

Foto: Karoline Arntzen  

Det ligger også ute et lite intervju jeg hadde med Bodøposten:

Klikk her for å lese intervjuet

Instagram min: Sandrasuka98
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- Sandra Afriyie Tito

Nå sitter jeg på flyplassen og venter på å reise til Thailand. Det er helt uvirkelig at turen jeg har ventet på i flere måneder står for tur. Tiden går så utrolig fort! Jeg føler enda ikke vi skal reise, men jeg er spent og gleder meg til å komme ned i varmen og oppleve forskjellige kulturer!

Jeg reiser ned med mine to bestevenninner og vi begynner i Thailand, så drar vi videre til Kambodsja, for å så ende opp i Vietnam. Jeg har utrolig lyst til å blogge om opplevelsene vi får der nede, så jeg håper internettet vil samarbeide med meg. Internettet her på flyplassen er utrolig dårlig, så det tar lang tid å laste opp bilder og innlegg.

I forhold til konkurransen, så har jeg prøvd og fått gjort en del før jeg reiste. Presentasjonsvideoen er ferdig innspilt og jeg har en plan for hva jeg vil gjøre fremover i konkurransen. Når jeg kommer hjem blir det full fokus på konkurransen. Jeg merker jeg er litt stresset med tanke på hvor liten tid jeg får før selve finalen, men jeg skal gjøre mitt aller beste! Nå skal jeg kose meg i Asia og få en opplevelse for livet.

Håper alle har en fantastisk dag videre!

It is a subject I have been thinking about  lately.  I have a beautiful, smart and amazing friend. She loves sports, shopping, hanging out with friends and attend events. Her name is Ilham. Ilham and I are very similar. We care about the same things, laugh about the same things and share many of the same dreams. She is one of the persons you just immediate get a connection with.

“Oh wow! Are you guys friends?”, “I did not imagine you being such good friends”, “You guys are so different!” This is comments we get almost every day. The issue with this is that we are not that different. We like and care about the same things? I would say we are very much the same. But then we know what they are referring to. The looks. We live in 2018 and people to still categorize people based on looks.

Let us break it down. I am born and raised in Norway, and I can wear what I want, when I want and would rarely get a comment on that. Crop tops or short skirts are not an unusual part of my wardrobe.  Ilham she is born in Brooklyn, New York, with a family from Jemen. She does dress up in niqab and a little more covered up than I normally do. When we are walking the streets of New York together, attends social settings we get reactions: because we do look so different. We have never cared about that, because in the end you do not base your friends on how you dress up and look, right? Ilham have never ever questioned my shorter skirts or crop tops, nor have I with her long dresses. So why does other people have to do it then? “It is so weird that you guys are friends, when you look like that.”

Honestly, Ilham and I may never thought we would be best friends either. She had her thoughts about tall, blondies from Scandinavia, and I thought we wouldn’t have much in common. I think it is because people are dragged to people that look like us. Just look at us Norwegains, we are looking quite the same many of us. In big cities we also see groups of people with the same similarities group together. In many cases I think this is more about a comfort zone and security or insecurity. Cause we might be a little scared of what is different, and we do not know how to address it. We for example only know how to be Norwegian.

We it comes to other human beings and cultures, we need to open up our heart and mind. Talk to the person at school or at work which you never have spoken too, and ask yourself why? This person may be a person you have much more in common with than you think. Looks on the outside does not define the person on the inside. Ilham and I are very much the same. Yes, we are brining with us our differences, but those differences have been amazing, I have been celebrating Ramadan, eaten new food and she has been with me at Christmas celebrations and got an advent calendar. Our different backgrounds have teached us so much.

I hope everyone can be a little more open for cultural difference or just people that may seem or look a little different than us self. We are all different and it can add so much too out lives. Short dresses, blond hair, black hair, no hair, tall or short, young or old, Christian or Muslim; Friendship does not have a limit!