Dear students,

To begin this project, let me be the first person to share with you something that makes me happy: Blackmill’s songs, a music producer from Highland (Scotland), United Kingdom, who produces a special kind of relaxing music (chillstep). He’s less than thirty years old, and his real name is Robert Card, but you won’t discover much about him on the internet, as he’s not really famous.

I’ve always loved electronic music, but this specific genre is particularly pleasant for me as Blackmill’s songs are rather slow and long (most of his song last for at least 6 minutes!). I enjoy listening to his songs when I have some free time to relax (usually when I want to go to sleep, or if I want to forget about everything for a few minutes). The best moment to listen to his songs is certainly during summer, while having a nap in the sun. His slow and relaxing music helps me to let go of other thoughts and to evacuate the stress of the daily routine, while enjoying the warmth of the sun: this is one of the small things that help me to appreciate life fully, that make me happy.

I was telling you that Blackmill wasn’t really famous and that you couldn’t find much about him on the web, so you might wonder how I came to learn about him. Well, this is also a good memory: I once went to London with a friend, and it was my first trying a new way of travelling on a tight budget: CouchSurfing.

CouchSurfing is a website/app which puts travellers into contact with locals all around the world. You just search for the city you want to visit, you exchange a few messages with likely hosts and eventually, you can sleep at your host’s place for free for a few days. You just have to prepare dinner for him/her on the first night, usually something typical from your country. He/she will also show you around town and you will get to learn more about the culture and the people from this country, it’s a very special experience if you want to discover a country from the inside. Well, on that occasion, I was sleeping at an English boy’s place, and as we were talking about our favourite bands, he told us about Blackmill, and I’ve kept listening to his songs ever since. Except that now, when I listen to him, it also reminds me of this good travel experience, and makes me want to do such kind of travel again.

What about you, then? What are the things that make you happy, and why? What is the story behind that?