Small pleasures

As people we all have our small pleasures. As students we need them even more, to help us through potential stressful and busy times, writing exams and papers, while also attending the lectures and seminars at 8:15. We at the Union enjoy the little things in life. Because as a saying goes, Who doesn’t honour the small, doesn’t deserve the big. Though we would argue that the small things are what makes the biggest difference. A hug from a loved one, a well-deserved fika, free coffee at the Union house, or even a very small and affordable price for a soup lunch or student breakfast. From here on we will tell you a bit about our small pleasures.

It’s the small things

Not many people know this about me, but I am a big Asian culture enthusiast. There is nothing I enjoy more than watching my favourite anime when I am feeling down. Well, maybe discovering a new good anime also hits the spot. When I don’t feel like looking at my laptop screen, I enjoy reading manga. I read everything from romance to horror manga, depending on the day. To indulge myself in this small pleasure, I go to Stadsbiblioteket and pick up a manga to read. If you were not aware of this, the city library has a great collection of manga and comics, so check it out! Another small pleasure for me is successfully making, peeling and marinating a good ramen egg! Wow, what joy it brings me to taste the fruits of my labour when the egg is perfectly soft boiled, with the egg yolk a bit runny. When I succeed in this, I do a little dance as I eat my homemade ramen. My last small pleasure, which I did a lot of during the winter break, is to take a good power nap. Oh my, how refreshing it is to take a quick nap during the day. While there are a lot of small pleasures I enjoy, these four are the top pick for me, and could make any day better. I hope you got to know me a bit more after reading this, and maybe we can chat about the small pleasures when we meet at the university. See you around!

Milena Milosavljevic
President of the Student Union Malmö

Walking from Winter to Summer

Anyone who knows me will say that chocolate is one of my small guilty pleasures. Perhaps it’s just because of me being Belgian and growing up in a bakery. Just an example is how I went to visit my family over Christmas with a half empty suitcase, and came back with a full one. That’s just what happens when your family gifts you, you guessed it, a lot of chocolate for Christmas. It brings a lot of other small pleasures too, like seeing my nephew and niece. Because when a twow and a half year old little girl wishes you to hold her hand while walking, you take it. My nephew, just half a year old, giggles when you do the smallest thing with him. A very small thing, causing the biggest smiles.

It’s been a very nice winter so far, seeing back old familiar places and many new ones. There’s just something about walking in the city you grew up in, and seeing how some things never seem to change and other new exciting things are happening. It shows you that change might be a bit abrupt and unexpected at times, but brings so many new opportunities, and you’ll always keep the memories.
Even with that nice winter, I’m looking forward to the sun coming out in Sweden. Anyone else excited to hang that winter coat back in the closet, forget where you even put your winter mössa, and to take out the beach towel?

Diego Annys
Vice-president of the Student Union Malmö

Moments at the beach

Even since I was a young child, I always remember just how calming the sea was to me, it felt like I would just stare at it and smell the salt in the air and everything would just disappear, so one of my secret small pleasures is just read a book by the beach or if the weather allows it, go swimming, because even if it’s just for even half an hour, everything seems to be better.

Another of my secret pleasures is something I have just recently started doing, during the rare times we see the sun lately, some of my close friends and I just take some chairs from the union building, and enjoy the sun with a nice cup of hot coffee while sunbathing during our lunch break, it’s a very tiny part of our routines, yet one that I loved very much.

Furthermore, my third little pleasure is something I don’t really discuss much, but I really enjoy reading fanfiction, whether that’s on Ao3 or fanfiction.net, it doesn’t matter, because as long as it’s from one of the many book/tv/anime series I am interested it and it has a great plot, for me it’s a perfect opportunity to just get lost in front of my screen for many hours.

And lastly, my last secret

pleasure is something I can only do in my home island Rhodes, and that is spending time with my eldest sister. We don’t need to have a specific plan, as we can just hang out and drink coffee at her place or just watch each other put makeup on while commenting on the new products we like, but it is still something I value a lot and miss every time I am away from Greece.

Konstantina Klonari
Vice-president of the Student Union Malmö

At last

At the Union our slogan is that the Union is big when you feel small. And perhaps that’s what brings us the most joy. To be here for all students who need us, for all the students who feel things should be better. To simply make your time at Malmö University the best it can be! What bigger small pleasure is there than that!

From us at the Presidium, we hope you want to be part of that with us, in our associations, sektions, our events, or as student representatives. Maybe this could be your new small pleasure.