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Vimes-DA
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"Freelance Illustrator"
# Statistics
Favourites: 819; Deviations: 1618; Watchers: 539
Watching: 345; Pageviews: 55157; Comments Made: 2836; Friends: 345
# Comments
Comments: 215
Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!
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Just a random deviant passing by, admiring your work. 
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Why thank you very much random deviant 
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Yeah I think most artists will always appreciate support. I always try to make time to comment if someone takes the time to comment on my work. I can understand very popular artists though , must get loads of comments everyday across all social media platforms and for them it would be too hard to keep up I think.
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Yes, good point! Replying to feedback can be quite time consuming (at least if it's not a copy-paste-thankyou 
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yeah I always like to see a popular artist who replies to comment. I'm certainly trying to make a living from it 
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That's awesome! 
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Hehe thanks. Yeah anyone can do it, just have to determination to treat it professionally. I think a lot of people stop when they realize how much studying is required, or a lot of people also just think "i'm not talented enough" like they could never become an artists because they don't have natural talent or something. Which is all rubbish, just takes lot of practice and dedication
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Oh yes, that's also something I've noticed: Many people seem to think that you're either born with "talent" or you could never be an artist. Nothing could be further from the truth though. Even if an artist seems to be "gifted", it's always hard work to study proportions, shading, colors and all of the other aspects that make an artwork look authentic and believable. That's why comments like "You're so talented" don't really work in my opinion. We all have to study proportions, shading, colors and every other aspect that makes an artwork authentic and believable. But nothing is impossible with passion & determination, I like to say.
As for schoolism, that sounds like a very cool concept! Haven't heard about it so far but I've already saved the website to come back to it later and take a closer look.
I also enjoy talking about art (as you might've noticed xD) and getting in touch with interesting people online in general … especially on dA–I've already talked to lots of awesome people here in the last 3 months (although most of these interesting conversations happened via note and not in some comment section 
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Yeah totally. There's definitley such a thing as a talent, but its just a head start really, maybe that person will already be better at certain aspects or learn faster, but its nothing over time that you cant catch up with through hard work.
Schoolism is really good, I've used other sites before which were good, but the level of teachers there are extremely high, but also the most invaluable thing for me is that you get to see all the feedbacks of each student on the assignments. And you learn so much from seeing the teachers correct others work, plus see ways how to approach the assignment yourself.
I dunno I've been around here for years, and I guess I don't comment on other peoples work enough to be seen? Kind of bewilders me that I cant seem to get any interaction out of my followers lol.
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Yep, and the end of the day, we all must be willing to keep on pushing our skills forward in order to take our art to the next level. (I'm talking like I would draw everyday but atm I don't have Photoshop and I'm too lazy to pick up my traditional pencil v.v) What's your main inspiration for doing so?
That does sound like an awesome way to get support! In my opinion, self-teaching is always the most efficient method: trial and error over and over again until it gets good. It's always kind of hard for me to really look for help, I always try to make it on my own, no matter what I'm struggling with. Yeah … I can be very stubborn.
Hmm, I don't know how I've found you then, I do tend to check out artists that leave constructive comments to stalk their profiles/galleries.
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Yeah I always try and give some kind of feedback beyond just saying "nice". Don't know how you found me either but glad you did lol
My main inspiration is just the fact I enjoy art more than most other potential jobs lol. I've always been passionate about it, but not the crazy burning I must draw every second of the day kinda passion lol. Just something I've always looked at and thought was really cool. My biggest desire is just to make cool looking stuff still lol. Also now money is quite a factor as I need to make a living also. But I wouldn't "sell out" as it were, not going to draw things that I'm uncomfortable with or don't interest me in anyway just because its easy money.
Would be nice to find some kind of active study group here on Da though where we could post our studies together. All the groups seem to fall apart so quickly
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I'm currently working on this issue, trying to keep in mind that it's okay and very helpful to seek advice from people who just have more experience in something than me. I struggle with that not only when it comes to art but also e.g. when playing the guitar or learning languages … I always feel like "When I can't make it alone, I can't make it at all" which is just nonsense. Nevertheless it's important to trust in yourself and your abilities and I like the feeling of accomplishing something by my own hard work.
Always stay true to yourself, that's a very important point. By drawing things you don't like yourself, you would turn your passion into "just some job" you do for other people. Still, I find it kind of, don't know how to say it, "brave" of you–most people I know would be too insecure, they would stress about the idea that they could never make enough money by just drawing what they want to.
I've never had that kind of fear, I'd rather live a "minimalistic" life doing a job I love than a (seemingly) "luxurious" life doing a job I hate. I'm still not sure what I want to do–I just graduated from high school and I feel like I still need some time to really believe this has happened haha.
Don't know why I'm telling you all this, it's just like that I really enjoy talking to you so yeah.
I don't really follow the groups here, the only one I can think of is ProjectComment . It's pretty active, almost too active for my liking, and it's a bit chaotic.
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Yeah its great to trust in yourself and accomplish things through hard work. But you can still do all that and learn from others at the same time, they are just showing you what direction to focus on, all the hard work still comes from you. It doesn't lessen your achievements somehow to learn from others. Hehe I'd have no idea you wasn't English if you hadn't of said, your English is very good indeed!
Well I'm not purely like I only draw what I want, but I mean I'm trying as much as i can to stay within that area. What I mean is I wouldn't just draw stuff regardless of the subject because the money is good. I totally agree on the minimalistic life style doing a job you love rather than a highly paid job you hate. I think being content and enjoying your day to day is what makes a happy life, if you are doing some job you hate everyday just because it's highly paid, I doubt all the fancy lifestyle is really going to fulfill you. Saying that though, I understand people taking jobs because they need money though, sometimes life is just like that, if you have a family to feed or need a roof over your head etc.
I think its great that you are deciding to travel aswell, now is the time to do it, before you have jobs and family and commitment and stuff. Also great to want to work in something that makes a difference, with any luck you'll find something where you can earn money andddd make a difference lol.
No problem telling me these things lol, its interesting
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Yep, definitely an important thing to keep in mind–it can be difficult enough to figure out which way you want to turn in the first place, even with some help from others. After that, it's up to you alone to focus on your goals and to work hard for them.
Thank you very much for the compliment! My English is much better in written form though, that's why I enjoy written conversations that much.
Exactly, making the most of every day is the key to a happy life, I totally agree. 
I just came back from France and it was so awesome! It was no ordinary holiday but a trip that pushed me to my limits (and beyond). I learned so much throughout these weeks and definitely came back as a different person. As for the food … well, sadly they didn't offer vegan food in the restaurants but one or two times I broke my own rules and ordered an (at least) vegetarian meal which was really delicious, I have to say!
How's your life going?
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Hey, good to hear from you! Was a little worried for a bit with that terrorist attack happening around the same time you was traveling. Figured it was most likely you was just busy traveling though, so glad I was right
Sounds like you had a good time in France then, a kind of introspective (sorry if have to look that up lol) time perhaps. Time is funny like that, 3 weeks in a new country and all these new experiences feels a hell of a lot longer than 3 weeks in usual routine. Glad it was a positive experience though, I'm envious lol . My routine is pretty much the same everyday lol, keeping my head down and getting on with art and studies and commissions trying to push myself and make it as a professional
Merging into flesh and blood, sounds dark lol , but I think I get it . Cool saying though.
HTL ey, sounds fancy! I think you probably got plenty out of your school experience, sounds like it was stressful but probably worth it in the end. School is such a small period of our lives even though it feels HUGE for some reason lol. I wouldn't worry about how you've been in school lol. Most people feel that way and there's nothing wrong with feeling that way either. Its funny to me to hear that you ware worried about having wasted time or something lol. You are so young and have so much time ahead of you. You're already experiencing new cultures, some people stay in their own country their whole lives. I think you are doing great and I wouldn't be concerned about having missed out because of school.
Ohh you are a vegan, nice. I'm vegetarian though the older I get the more I'm swaying towards vegan. France is awful for vegetarians though lol, they really don't care about it, none of the shops label their foods with symbols or describe if its suitable for vegetarians. I found it really hard to find food when was there , which is kind of ironic lol. Glad you found something you felt somewhat ok with eating in the end though, and tasty too!
Cheers for letting me know about your trip
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Wow, I didn't expect you to actually think about this conversion, although I myself thought about writing you a few times, whenever I had free wifi (on some camp sites e.g.).
And where was this terrorist attack happening again? I heard about some shots in Munich but I don't really follow events like this anyways. The Media loves to report on tragedies like that and of course it's sad … but the chance to get hit by a car is still so, so much higher (at least here in Europe) that I don't really get all the … the fuss (I think that's the right expression
Haha, I had to look it up indeed!
And I agree, that's what I love about creative stuff like drawing or writing or making (or even just listening to) music … some might think it's just "sitting there, doing the same thing for hours" and how "boring" that is but to me it's somehow just another form of traveling and exploring–not foreign countries but inner worlds.
German is always dark, didn't you know? xD
HTL stands for "Höhere Technische Lehranstalt" which means … umm … Higher Technical Institute. (Thank you, Wikipedia!) Fancy indeed, huh?
And yes, just recently I actually realized how short school time and childhood in general is, looking at the years that are lying ahead of me … and the older I get, the more I understand when people say "You're so young!" (see the irony?
I do try not to stress about the things I might have missed so far, however I sometimes feel slightly frustrated when older people tell me how cool their school time was, despite of annoying teachers and tests and stuff … they still get nostalgic about the "good old times" and to me it's now just like "Thank goodness, it's over!" xD
So … thank you for your nice words, it's really encouraging for me. 
Yep, I've been a vegan for almost a year now (after more than 2 years as a vegetarian). You don't know how happy it makes me whenever I get to know a fellow vegan or "halfway vegan", I can highly recommend taking that step–it was one of the best decisions I've made in my life.
Oh yes, French grocery stores are definitely not vegan- or vegetarian-friendly. My friend and I (she's a vegan too) were eating self-made sandwiches most of the time. 
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Well you said you was travelling in a couple of days then that attack happend around that time so I was like oh, I hope they are ok. Don't have many long conversations like this online so stayed in my mind hehe.
Lol I think you are doing very well with the amount of foreign languages you know. Everyone else in the world seems to speak English as well as their own language fluently, yet we never learn other languages ourselves, kinda embarrassing. I know some very basic french from having learnt it in school, and few Japanese phrases mainly from watching anime
It doesn't surprise me german phrases are dark lol. Just look at the fairytales. That school sounded very intense! Good to be on the other side of it, and certainly something to be proud of. I used to hate when people said that too about school being the best days of their lives or something. I was like jesus then the rest of my life is gonna be pretty bad. My school experience wasn't horrible or something but it's certainly not something I'd want to relive lol. I get how people can be nostalgic if you had a really good time, and also the case of being with your parents and not having to worry about jobs bills etc. But I think there's many more downsides lol. I don't really like to post my age online lol, but it's not a big deal either. I'm 28 though as you asked, just don't like the idea of people judging my art based on age is all, but it doesn't really matter I guess.
I'll need a lot of swaying to go fully vegan lol, but I do obsess and think about the ethics and morals quite often, so may change my mind one day. Veganism is quite complicated really, It's a big ethical discussion for another time lol. I find it very hard to know where to draw the line with some of my beliefs, like waxed fruit for example, uses insects to add the shine to it, does that mean you are never gonna buy waxed fruit again, or drink orange juice etc etc, you can go so far with these beliefs, but I think sometimes you have to be ok with things being out of your control somewhat, and try your best to change the system without making your life hell.
I think I pretty much lived off bread when I was in france too, Their bread is delicious and i love how they have a "boulangerie" on every corner with so much nice bread everywhere. Those sandwiches sound really tasty, even though eating all that bread for 3 weeks probably isn't that healthy haha. I can imagine finding the one item of vegan food in all those weeks was like a real treasure lol. Its quite stressful trying to find food there!
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The funny thing about this is: When my friend and I stayed at a hotel for the first time after a week in France (before that, we only stayed at camp sides), I think it was in Lyon, she turned on the TV and the first thing we saw was that there had been a shooting in Munich.
I have to say, I love to chat with people online, I've already had the most interesting conversations that way. I love the internet for making this possible (cause offline I'm often just too awkward to make new contacts xD). So a conversation like this is not that unusual for me, however I thought about this one sometimes.
Well, English is still this one global language that's understood all over the world and most of the time it's enough to communicate with foreigners. Plus, it's kinda easy to learn (at least in my opinion
On the other hand I really like English, there are expressions that just doesn't exist in German (of course there are also German words and phrases that just can't be translated into English) and the words itself sound more melodic to me. Recently I've been thinking about studying English, to be honest.
Ahahaha, guilty as charged, animes have taught me all of the random Japanese phrases I know! xD
I used to have a teacher that kept reminding us "This is the best time of your lives, don't waste it!" … and I just thought "Only because your life was 'over' after your time as a student doesn't mean that the same goes for us, idiot." Seriously. I can't stand it when other people act like everyone would think and feel and experience the same.
Sorry for making you post your age btw, it just makes it easier for me to understand your point of view better when talking about school and this whole phase of life–I mean, it already lies a little further in the past in your case.
Oh yes, I couldn't think of a bigger (current) ethical discussion than veganism … but it impresses me how far your thoughts have already gone!
And yeah then there are insects and for example, I've killed a bunch of ants and mosquitos and other bugs while traveling (very vegan, haha), just because I didn't want them in my sleeping bag or I did not want them on my food … and I'm not proud of it but I don't feel too bad about it either. I just don't feel connected to most insects in any way, so I can accept the fact that they may be used to make the fruits I buy shiny. Of course it would be better if they wouldn't be killed and the good news is that technically it's absolutely possible to produce fruits and vegetables without harming animals while producing animal products is not. So I'll be sure to avoid animal products whenever I can and I sure will try to encourage other people to do the same.
Yeaah the French bread is one of a kind, haha~
Why is it 4 am now, what the hell?! xD
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I always heard that learning English was hard for foreigner because we have so many sentances with stuff like " chop the tree up" or "raise it to the ground". Sure there's lots of others too. Yeah the thing I like about learning different languages the most is the phrases that are unique to that language, it's always really interesting to hear the differences and it shows a lot about a culture too quite often. Yes German isn't exactly the easiest language on the ears unfortunately, but it has its blunt kinda charm lol. There's a German Comdeian called Henning When? I think lol, or vhen I cant remember or be bothered to look up, it's late/early here too. His accent is really funny though, Like hes lived in England a long time and he has a kind of cockney German mixture, look him up some time lol, he's a funny guy regardless of accent.
I've always wondered though how an English accent sounds to a foreigner, like to me french often sounds very nice, or Spanish and Italian, it flows nicely and is just pleasant to hear. But I have no idea how English sounds to someone who doesn't understand it, so its good to hear you say its kinda melodic. Certainly a language worth learning as it is the dominant language like you say.
Haha that made me laugh what you said about your teacher. I totally agree, best time of your lives, just cos you peaked at a young age doesn't mean we all want to perpetually be stuck as teenagers also. Age really is just a number and its not a big deal lol, I'm not ashamed of it or anything, just you see these 16 year olds who art is just ridiculously good and you feel kinda bad in comparison lol, but it really doesn't matter atall. We all learn at differnt ages/rates etc, its not a race. I stopped drawing for a few years at one point so I ended up feeling "behind" because of that at one point, but nowadays I really don't think or care about it much. I just also like being able to talk to people just as people regardless of their age and I think some younger people feel more intimidated talking to older people, well I did atleast kinda. Totally right about age not meaning maturity though, I was fairly mature even as a teenager also but you meet plenty of people my age who still act like they are in school.
It's funny you say that school seems like a long time ago to me because it doesn't lol, Time FLIES when you get past like 24 aha , one day you look up and you're like shit where did my twenties go (Not what you want to hear
I've always had trouble with that mindset too, like people who love animals and eat meat, but most people are like that, it's really bizarre. I think because there's such a disconnect with how meat is made and it comes in packets in round non animal looking blobs people seem to be able to block it out and not think about it. I don't know I really don't like it lol. I think a lot has to do with being raised on meat and then not wanting to give it up when you start having moral dilemmas maybe? Well some people don't care about it and see it as "it's nature" , which is true. True for wild animals that is, but as humans we actually have a CHOICE to eat meat, we don't have to. I'm impressed having been like that though you actually completely your eating habits. I've always been vegetarian so maybe that makes it easier for me, I don't know how I would feel if I had been raised eating meat, but I'd like to think I would choose to be vegetarian.
Here's the thing though the more ethically aware you become the harder life is lol. Like I think more than animals it's important to treat humans right too, I don't think sweat shops are ok, so I try and buy all my clothes sweatshop free. Which can be very limiting, then you look at things like fairtrade and paying farmers a proper wage in developing countries.... the list really does go on and on. I think we just have to try our best to raise awareness of these things and as consumers try and change things that way as much as we can. Problem is the corporations need to change from the top down. I'll stop going on though or I'll be here all night lol.
I don't know where I stand on insects really (no pun intended hah) I don't kill them if I can avoid it, but like if you're getting bitten by fleas or something, its just necessary. Things is I base my ethics on intelleginece really, I actually think there should be a diet based on animal intelligence. Like it would be a slightly less unethical way for people to eat meat. Animals like pigs and Octopus are very intelligent creatures, I think eating something with high intelligence is really wrong, but how much intelligence does an oyster have for example? Even cows seem very very low. I think it's a lot less cruel to eat something with low intelligece atleast. Like most insects don't have high levels of intelligence and I'm pretty sure they don't feel paint either becuase they don't live long enough to have evolved the need for a nervous system. So I wouldn't feel to bad about them. Saying that i still avoid using ink made with insects etc.
White french baguettes are so tasty though even if they are unhealthy. I normally eat wholewheat too. I don't think gluten is bad for you, unless you have an intolerance to it. It's a bit of a health "fad". I also spent way too long writing this lol, good luck reading it
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I see, these are the infamous "idiomatic phrases" I guess.
Oh dear, I just looked him up (His name is Henning Wehn btw) and he's really hilarious!
Haha, blunt charm, that's a way to put it. 
You're from the UK, right? What do you think about American accents?
I do think English in general sounds quite melodic.
Naaah, that's definitely not what I wanna hear!
My friend (the one that took the journey with me) had the same kind of experience as you btw: waking up one day and thinking … Wait, where did the years go? – She's 28 too, haha.
Yes, I've thought a lot about this topic recently and came to similar conclusions as you. I've also talked to many people that eat meat about this issue but at some point it gets so annoying to hear these "arguments"–that it's "natural" for instance, like you said. Or people that say "We've always done it this way" … Yep, and people have always murdered each other … what a wonderful reason that is to do so. *cough*
The concept of carnism sums it all up pretty well. Maybe you've heard about it, it was developed by psychologist Melanie Joy who's spent many years on researching and writing about this belief system that teaches us that it's normal, natural and necessary to eat meat (of certain animals). When we are little kids, we learn from our parents what's right or wrong and even later in life many of the choices we make are based on the things we've learned back then without questioning it. And of course–questioning it is hard. To become aware that something you've done your whole life may be "wrong" is very difficult. But it's necessary.
Lucky you, being raised vegetarian! So your parents don't eat meat? Mine unfortunately still do, and also my brother, but very rarely. And because of my persistence, our household today is like 70% vegan I'd say (so far! 
I always find it both funny and sad when people say that vegan parents "force" their kids to be vegan. Come on. Tell a kid "See this lamb? How about killing it so we can eat it" and the child will probably burst into tears. I can't imagine a child that would chose to eat meat while knowing where it comes from.
In some way I agree with you that life gets harder when you become aware of all the ethical issues in our daily lives. On the other hand, going vegan eventually was a relief for me. I only realized it afterwards but it had really been bothering me for a long time because I already knew deep in my mind that it wasn't the right thing to do whenever I sat down for a non-vegan meal but I didn't have the courage to take a closer look. When I did (some deep research on the net), I cried my eyes out for days and after that I knew I couldn't go back. And it did not end with going vegan, I've been becoming more and more aware of issues like the ones you've mentioned: sweat shops, people not being paid properly for their work, child labor, deforestation, the awful littering of our planet, all the plastics in the ocean … the list goes on. *scrolls up* Oh, you already said that.
However, I chose to keep my eyes open. I will not look away anymore and I'll do the best I can to support the alternatives that already exist. And their number is growing! Cause more and more people are actually becoming aware and that's the reward you get when taking a closer look at all these problems: you also find people who are working on them and who are passionate about what they're doing and who try their best everyday to make a difference.
I too try to buy only fairtrade clothing (thus my number of clothes is very limited xD) and organic food and so on whenever possible but of course these options are always more expensive. Fortunately I'm not that kind of girl that always needs new shoes or make-up or whatsoever, in fact I don't like "shopping" at all–buying just in order to buy something, what the hell no. I've a list of fairtrade, vegan online shops and when I really need something I normally buy it there.
Where you stand on insects DID U JUST 
I've also asked myself this one question: "When is it okay to end a life?" At first I also thought that it really matters how smart an animal is. Like, a pig is just as smart as a dog and how could it be okay to kill one and not the other? But meanwhile I'm not so sure about the whole intelligence-thing. Little chicks for example can't be really that intelligent. In order to "produce" hens for the egg industry, the male chicks are killed (shredded or gassed alive) shortly after they'd hatched. If I was forced to "rate" the cruel methods behind animal products, this one would be one of the most disgusting. But why? A baby chicken is certainly not as smart as a dog but it's pure innocence and it can feel pain and it can suffer and that's all he'll get to know in his short life.
So yeah I base my ethics on "Can it feel/suffer?" rather than on intelligence. As for insects, I truly don't know if they can feel pain or not. Certainly not the way we do. Even plants are suspected to being able to "feel" in some kind of way. But I'll rather … hm … don't know the right expression in English
I also thought that "glutenfree" is just another hype and that there are some people who are like allergic but it doesn't do any harm to everyone else, but apparently gluten is (like the name says) like the "glue" in the bread, it makes it elastic and so on, and some say that in high amounts it can be bad for the … the bowel(? Never heard that word before but Google told me so xD)–it gums up the bowler or smth like that so that it can't process the food properly. Don't know, it doesn't really bother me but my mother swears by it.
BAM, beat that! I'm pretty sure that's the longest message so far.
And don't worry, I'm always happy to find a long answer from you among my notifications!
Haha, I would read it if I stumbled across it somewhere, it's been a fascinating journey so far–from a simple "Hello, just a random deviant" to world's problems and deep ethical questions (and white bread of course
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It has been fascinating going from a simple to hello to a long discussion involving ethics and world issues lol. A fun one though
Henning wehn thats it yeah
Its funny that you say you learnt to hear between accents from youtube and not movies or tv, that shows our generations difference lol. Youtubers are the celebrities nowadays ey. Yeah I'd like to be more aware of different German accents, the softer ones are definielty more pleasant, but I'm not familiar enough with them to tell between the areas. My friend in college was from Frankfurt (I think) his accent seemed quite "typical" German to me. I like the Amerian accent overall, my girlfriend is american
Thats cool that you have older friends and read from such a young age too. Sounds like you are getting a lot out of life to me
Thats good that you made your own mind up after researching veganism, although an emotionally upsetting experience! The cruelty involved in a lot of the farming industry is what upsets me to as I get older and more aware more of the issues too, and especially the egg stuff, I was looking into that recently myself and it certainly makes me question being a vegetarian. Still though for me personally, as horrible as that all is, I don't feel on principle that taking eggs or milk from animals is wrong. If I had a pet chicken I would have no problem taking its eggs, infact that would be the ideal way to get my eggs in the future and I hope I can do it that way one day. The problem is the way its currently done is barbaric, but the way I feel currently is that I want to find ways to make the industry better not destroy it. I try and buy all my eggs/milks etc from farms with high welfare standards. I know though that even those farms are still cruel but I see it as a horrible part of the world we currently live in, the same way I can't buy a lot of technology without it being built in dangerous conditions by humans who don't really have much of a choice. To me its a similar feeling with farming. In the future I might change my mind but currently thats how I feel about it anyway. Would you not take eggs from a pet chicken if you had one? Do you feel its fundamentally wrong to take things from animals or in anyway stop them being " free" somehow? I think intelligence plays a big role in emotions though,that is why I say about an intelligence based system of eating. But all animals feel base emotions and instincts so its always cruel in any aspect. But nature is extremely cruel all on its own lol. Lots of birds eat their own young, everything eats each other alive. I dunno its too complex to talk about in one reply lol.
Maybe your mother is sensitive to gluten 
Takes me time to write back too though I'm not as perfectionist about it , so sorry for typos and bad grammar
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Well, you're at least the only male fairtrade-buyer (is this a thing? xD) I know! Okay, my friend doesn't really count because she and I were becoming aware of stuff like this "together" (and still do, it's an ongoing process), I don't really know how it happened but after we both went vegan (also together) we stumbled across all the other ethical issues and slowly reconsidered more and more parts of our daily lives. I'm very lucky to have her, I feel like it's so much easier to adapt to a "green" lifestyle when you've got someone to talk about it, doing the research together and so on.
I don't know if you have a Pinterest, I think you need an account to see it, but I've got plenty of cool shops "pinned" on my profile to remember them.
> Bleed Clothing (These guys really try everything they can, just the best materials, vegan, fair-trade, recycling etc. while it's still a small "family business")
> Avesu (The easiest way I've found to get a vegan pair of shoes that was also produced under fair conditions. I love my vegan boots
> Roots Of Compassion (One of my favorite shops ever, they don't just sell clothes but a variety of cool stuff~ at least for a vegan xD)
> ThokkThokk (Yep, that's on my list too!
> Armed Angels (Haven't bought something there yet but thinking about it)
I also am not that strict (except for always making sure that it's 100% vegan) but I love to support alternatives like these whenever I can. However, when I was buying stuff for my trip for example, it just wasn't possible for me to pay too much attention on how the items had been produced, the "regular" sleeping bags and bike clothing and all these things were expensive enough unfortunately.
Yep, he definitely knows how to play around with stereotypes/prejudices without getting (too) offensive and we all know that there's a little bit of truth in some stereotypes.
Haha yes, Youtube is basically the new TV but I also love a good movie or (even better) a TV show (that I don't watch on TV but online lol). In fact, BBC's Sherlock definitely was part of my "So what does a British accent sound like? observation". xD Afterwards I noticed that Germans are often more familiar with the American English, I guess because of all the Hollywood movies. When you go to the cinema here you'll find them dubbed into German though. However, there is an increasing number of people that prefer to watch movies and shows in English–with the "original voices".^^
Oh and that was also one of my impressions: American English often sound more confident while British English sound more … haha, don't know the right word, "zurückhaltend" I'd say. Like the words are spoken more "carefully".
I also don't know much about (Germany-)German accents to be honest, I'm way more familiar with the Austrian ones and there are plenty–especially here in Tyrol it's literally like you drive an hour or so into the next valley and it's a different accent.
Yep, it's very cool to like inspire people to becoming more aware, I have to say that I'm kind of proud to look around and notice the changes in my family and also among my friends.
So … I get what you're saying that in the end they have to choose themselves and freely but … The problem is that after all I know, the pictures will always stay in my head and if someone eats meat in front of me I'll always see the bloodshed behind it and it's really hard to stay silent then. It's like witnessing animal abuse but doing nothing. That's the most difficult part of being aware.
That someone who eats the meat is not aware and doesn't think of any bloody pictures and of course gets offended when confronted with the fact that by eating meat he/she is supporting an unbelievable cruel industry. It's too easy to forget. I'm very passionate about not only raising the topic but to almost "force" people to think about it. It's just too important too me. I'd never judge anyone because of their opinion or their lifestyle as long as it doesn't harm another creature but animal products could never be produced (industrially) without causing harm to the animals and the environment. So yeah some would consider me as militant, raising the topic again and again, but I do try to keep in mind that it's very hard to actually questioning a seemingly "normal" habit like eating meat, dairy and eggs. I've done it myself long enough, right? What really made me question it btw. was this presentation: *klick me* – if I could, I would force everyone on this planet to sit down and watch it til the end, haha.
Pet chicken, ohh I'd love to have a couple of them one day!
As for cows, there would be nothing wrong with taking the milk that's "too much" from the mother cow after her baby is born, as long as the offspring gets enough milk. But again, there's this problem: What will you do with the male calves? They're "useless" and it's expensive to raise cows, not to mention they need plenty of space too in order to be happy, they also need a "social life" cause believe it or not, cows are known to build complex relationships within their herd (yeah I know, they can seem a little simple minded, compared to other mammals ^^). Furthermore, I've come to find it very strange to drink the breast milk of another species as an adult. That just doesn't make any sense to me anymore. xD And it's certainly not very healthy. I'm so happy with my plant based "milk".
I try to not be "fundamentally" in any way. Well, the only thing I do keep in mind is that I don't want to be involved in practices that harm/kill animals (humans are animals too in this case). Based on that, I try to make logical decisions. It's not like I have a rule that says I don't eat eggs. I don't eat eggs when I certainly know that buying them supports an industry I don't want to support in any way. But yeah, I do plan on owning some hens someday!
Oh and you mentioned electronics, that's a very frustrating topic indeed. The alternatives in this area are very, very rare. I can recommend you another shop though: Vireo – seems like they don't have an English version yet, it's still a small shop but they offer very cool stuff and (relatively) eco-friendly electronics which are produced under fair conditions.
Sandwiches, pizza, pasta … yess. Unfortunately I love those too way too much but I think my body can take these little sins now and then. xD After all, it also gets many fruits and vegetables and nuts and rice and–oh, but of course, vegans just eat grass. I forgot about that one second.
Writing/reading these messages is definitely a great way to improve my English skills! So thank you, haha
(Okay … This time I won't re-read this message, I'll just send it and go to bed *stares at the clock* ;_; )
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Hah yeah it's really weird to me that fairtrade and ethical clothing is advertised towards women, like men can't care about ethical issues....lol. Yeah I have a hard time finding clothing, but I always notice there's a lot more options for women in fairtrade. Thanks for those links though! I'll check them out and your pintrest too. Have any art supply sources too hehe? Yeah its pretty impossible to be super strict, unless you want to wear a sack for the rest of your life lol. There's also no real point to making sacrifices like that on blind principle, it doesn't do any good to anyone.
Yeah I don't really watch youtube that much, I find most of it annoying lol. Dunno I'm sure there's lots of good stuff but I can't be bothered to sort through it all. Also I just about manage to keep track of the tv shows I watch let alone watching more stuff on youtube aswell. But I think its good though don't get me wrong, just haven't found that much for me yet. Yeah English are a lot quieter lol. All american shows I watch, like talk shows, the host always shouts, the audience like whistle and cheer and stuff. Whereas we just do a little round of applause lol. I'm used to it by now though and enjoy it for the most part. It's funny to see the cultural differences like that though. I didn't know the movies were dubbed, but that makes total sense lol. I'm not surprised people want to watch it with original voices and subtitles though, anime always sounds better to me with original voices and subtitles. The dubs are normally awful and miss a lot of the original emotion and timing.
Lol vegetarian phase. Thats vaguely insulting to vegetarians but I guess you are a hardcore vegan right hehe. I agree with raising awareness, I think people should have the information then make their own decision. But a lot of the behind the scenes stuff is all glossed over, and we paint this happy images of animals frolicking in fields and stuff. Its a real complex issue with no quick solutions, but atleast here there's progress, with quite a few movements and higher demand for produce with higher ethical standards.It's far from a solution but its a step in the right direction atleast. I think the internet is a great help with all that though, people are so much more informed nowdays and that can only be a good thing.
I don't have any issues with the "ick" factor of eggs and milk lol, but I get why people do. Yeah I certainly don't feel good about the current systems of farming and it's something i'm unseasy about and often think about, so I'll have to see how I feel about it how times go on. I think what needs to be done though is alternative systems. Eggs and milk don't need to be an everyday staple they could be more of a seasonal item.
I'd love to own some chickens in future too, or atleast be part of some co operative that raises them maybe. I have a funny image of you running into a farm in the middle of the night with chicken feathers flying everywhere as you release the chickens lol.
That's cool that theres some options for electronics developing, lets hope it catches on!
I also have bread as a treat item. Yeah that's right, just grass and seeds right, and vegetarians eat chicken right? lol
lol I think your message turned out fine so don't worry
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Here we go again, damn stereotypes.
About the art supply sources, you mean like shops where you can buy traditional art supplies? I've never bought them in a specific art shop, I gotta admit.
Believe me, you can literally forget 99% of the content YouTube offers. xD I've got a certain number of Youtubers I watch and I don't care about the rest. Sometimes I cringe at the "popular" videos that are suggested to me when I click at the "Home" page of YouTube by accident, otherwise I pretend like they aren't there.
Oh, don't remind me of Anime dubs, another thing I don't want to exist, haha.
Haha sorry, didn't mean to insult anyone!
Yeah that "ick" factor doesn't bother me either, I mean the unfertilized eggs of hens are somehow like their "period" and I don't care, they are healthy and as far as the hens aren't harmed in the process I'd happily eat them (the eggs not the hens lol).
Absolutely, it was never as easy to get independent information as it is nowadays (not to mention that it's free!) and I'm very thankful for that. The internet really helps to spread important messages and little "alternative" labels now have the chance to establish themselves and through social media they can reach their young, forward-thinking target group very effectively.
Oh great, this picture will now stay forever in my head.
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Hey, sorry for replying late, just busy lately and want to reply to these when I can sit down and give them a proper response
Yeah I think you have a point,caring about ethical issues and the environment can somehow be seen as "unmanly" lol. I think those things are changing though, its cool that its becoming fashionable to be buying more ethical clothing foods etc, gives me a lot of hope for the future. Those people do sound like the worst haha, "Yeah I'm so proud of my leather shoes sewn by children in china, Fills me with joy".
I order art supplies online but its a real hassle, so many supplies use animal or insect ingredients and you have to spend ages trying to find up to date lists emailing companies etc. Especially with paints, tricky finding the right ones, and it's annoyingly limiting. That's how it goes though, there's still plenty of good supplies around ,just have to do more research.
AHah I'm glad you feel the same about youtube for the most part, CRINGE is exactly the right word for how I feel about a lot of it. I'm surprised you know that word, it's a great word lol.
Oh yes very much so, there's so many sayings that are unique to japan and lots of things that aren't really that translatable. Something I'd love to learn more about someday, I did actually study it briefly for a little while but stopped, might pick it up again one day though. I find their culture fascinating too
Hah yeah I get what you mean by the stages. I would say I'm at the vegetarian with strong vegan leanings stage lol. That may end up with me choosing to go vegan at some point, but I don't feel that way currently. I do try and buy as many vegan things as i can in general, and avoid products made using animal ingredients where I have no idea of the standards they were produced in. Drink plenty of almond and soya milk too
Yeah I love the internet for that, I think there's a lot of older people who are jaded and like "the world will never change" but it's never been easier than now to make changes on a global scale. News spreads instantly everywhere, its a very powerful thing.
Hah nice emoji. now I have the picture of you trying to hide from a farmer by pretending to be one of the chickens. "one of these is not like the others...."
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Don't worry, I've been quite busy these days too, so no hurry
Yes, they're definitely changing, fortunately! Damn gender roles … I'm so glad to live in the 21st century (even though some people still haven't recognized that, judging from their behaviors). Makes me sick to think about all the things that were "inappropriate" for women (and also for men of course but since I'm dealing with the woman role my whole life …
Oh yes, how I *love* those people. "Nah, fair trade and veganism and such is just some new hype and I don't want to join because I'm so freakin independent."
I find it very impressive how far your consideration goes, I have never really thought about the struggles of getting art supplies without animals ingredients in them. The last time I bought art supplies was years ago because my school made us order so much art stuff and roughly 70% of it wasn't even used in the end (which is kind of sad). So if I want to draw something traditionally (which happens far too rarely, I have to admit), I'll just use these these tools. But I'll keep my eyes open, I'm pretty sure there'll be officially vegan options for art supplies soon.
Cringe is an excellent word indeed! And guess what, there's no exact translation in German.
My relationship to the Japanese culture is actually pretty weird; on the one hand I'm fascinated by the complexity of their social norms and on the other hand I'm someone who dislikes unnecessary rules that make interacting with other people even more complicated and somehow force people to be overly polite. So … it's a bit confusing xD
Yeah I don't judge you for that.
Exactly! Every day, every moment, like-minded people connect with each other all over the world and have the power to create change on a whole different level than as recently as 20 years ago.
Oh my god, someday I'll have to draw this scene!! With the farmer's dog sniffing suspiciously at that weird "chicken" … hehe xD
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Oh good luck with driving test, and job searching. Job searching is so shitty lol, maybe your elite school credentials will help you out there though
Thanks hehe, It's just because I've lived long enough to slowly become aware of those things lol. Like I never used to think about it, but slowly you learn things like, oh this watercolour paper is treated with gelatine, then this ink containts shellac, I wonder what shellac is..... oh it's crushed insects. Then it leads down a path of finding out all the other materials used in things. I think overall they are using more and more synthetic ingredients nowadays which is good, but it's really hard to find concrete information about most products. I just do the best I can to try and get supplies without animal/insect ingredients. I'm sure some of the pens I own probably aren't though, but companies often don't get back to you about things or just give vague answers.
I think I grew up just around the right time to take advantage of digital and traditional, like as a kid I always drew with pencil and paper, and then I got a crappy tablet and started drawing on that from a young age too, but I've always had the traditional side also. I still do both now because they are both fun, I probably lean towards digital more because it's so much faster and less expensive and messy etc. But I love just sitting down with some paper and a pencil and drawing or sketching. I think learning to paint traditionally is really helpful too, teaches a lot of patience and you really have to think and work methodically because there's no undo. Though I sometimes find myself going to press ctrl z even traditionally lol.
Yeah when I look for vegan ink for pens I often find vegan tattoo ink instead. Hmm I have no interest in tatoos lol, I thnk 90% of them look crap and just look worse and worse the older people get. Though I think something like what the LOTR actors did is really cool. They had this amazing 5 year experiecne together filming everything and they all got a very small tattoo in elvish or something to commemorate that time together. I think that's pretty cool, its a memento of a great experience and its just a small thing. Those people who do it for fashion though I think are so crazy lol, like the tribal tattoo phase and the phase of people tattoing little stars on their hands or whatever. It's just a trend thats going to go out of fashion and you're stuck with this meaningless image on you permanently. Just my feelings towards tatoos , I don't hate them or anything though.
Lol I'll check out that video if I remember. I'm pretty sure cringe is an English word, because I'm sure a few years ago Americans never used that word and were confused when we used it, but I've heard it so much in podcasts and stuff i've been listening to lately, it seems to be catching on
I totally agree about Japan, It's like i'm fascinated by it but I also think there's a lot of negatives to their culture, there's a kind of falsness to it. They do a lot of stuff because they feel socially obliged to. Like i think they would be very polite to your face and then bitch about you behind your back lol. Also the salaryman thing, of people working stupidly long hours and all this over focus on honour leading people to commit suicide.
ahh thanks that's sweet hehe. Well you are doing great too so we can all thank each other lol. Yeah it's like you say, it's just trying our best (Within reason) to contribute to making the world a better place. I certainly believe the world will change slowly this way, need to play the long game lol.
Haha that would be great, you'll have to show me if you do
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I do hope the 5 years that I spent studying at that school will pay off! Graphic designer is not really my dream job but for now I just want something to make enough money for my journey through Portugal in 3 weeks …
Oh yeah, that excuse. "It's always been that way!" & "It's human nature!" – what even IS "human nature"? We're such strange animals. Tell me which animal's nature it is to travel by car, by train, by plane and to carry little things around that give us access to a more or less endless amount of information (and we use it to watch cat videos most of the time, obviously
Asking questions is the key indeed. That's not what industries working with animal products want, of course. So they'll keep on giving vague answers as long as it's possible but if the questions don't stop, they'll have to think about some good alternatives eventually. The thing is, many people start to ask question but when they realize that they don't like the answers – they just stop. And a part of me can understand this behavior because it's hard to question a lifestyle you've lived for a very long time. At some point, I looked at my leather boots and was so disgusted by the thought that I didn't think a single moment about that material when buying them … (Sure, that's something completely different than with pens
Haha I felt so understood reading through your experiences with traditional/digital media.
If I ever get a tattoo, it'll be definitely something that really means a lot to me, something I'm sure of that it always will be important in my life. (Plus I'll be sure to make it small and subtle.) Following some fashion trends when getting a tattoo is imho almost as embarrassing as getting the name of your boyfriend/girlfriend tattooed. You can never know if a person will stay in your life … well, the only exception I can think of is one's children. If I ever have kids, they'll be important to me my whole life (but I still won't get a tattoo with their names or their dates of birth; I can understand when people do so though, I feel like it's something different than the partner's name).
Btw. I found the actual video that officially introduced me to CRINGE .
Yeah right, these terrible suicides in Japan … Even students kill themselves because many of them are basically told since childhood that their grades are incredibly important for their career and when they're not good enough you're worth nothing. That really disturbs me, just thinking about it. I mean, our school system sucks too but at least my parents have always told me that my grades do not define me or my intelligence.
Yep, we all gotta be a little patient with mankind. 
I sure will, haha~
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arghhhh I clicked your link for youtube as I had 90% of my reply typed out and now I lost it all 
Yeah I'm sure your school will pay off somewhere down the line
Thankfully there are lots of smaller companies popping up with more ethical policies and they are doing quite well so give me a lot of hope for the future. I do understand people not wanting to give things up though, its really shouldn't have to be our responsibility, the people running these companies should be taking responsibility and making more ethical decisions, but unfortunately all they care about is profit most of the time. I think people are much more savvy nowdays though and things are starting to change.
I enjoyed doing graphic design in school too, and happened to have a bit of natural talent for it
Yeah that's the way to get a tatoo I think. Completely agree about names haha, nothing is more cringe worthy. Childs names is pretty cringy too though if you ask me. Bit too gushy for my liking, you know their child will be called "angel" too..... but yeah i can see the appeal somewhat but seems so unnecessary lol. My girlfriend has a kind of sweet tattoo I think, her and her mum both have very small tattoos of a wing, and they both have a seperate half each, so they are carrying a symbol that links them together around even when they are apart. Kind nice I think. Things like that I can understand more.
Yeah its crazy some of the pressure that asian parents put on their kids, that one is a stereotype for a reason. Whilst education is important in the grand sceme of things, grades aren't THAT important, and certainly dont define your self worth, very tragic the pressure that can create. That's really great of your parents to say that, they seem like great people. The number of successful people who were rubbish in school is too many to count
likewise, vive la revolution! haha
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Oh no, this has happened to me way too often xD That's why I try to remind myself to copy the whole text from time to time whenever I type a longer message. Don't worry though, not every message hast to have the length of a book's chapter, right?
I've waited far too long to break out and go on some adventure, now I need a little overdose, haha!
You mentioned this already weeks ago but I think you wrote something like you're envious because of this little adventure I'd taken – where would you go if you were free to do so? Just curious^^
Totally agree with you, no company should be allowed to take advantage from unethical methods but it's no longer a secret these days that they do. In fact, everyone knows (or should know) it's that common that you have to assume it whenever it's not labeled otherwise. And even if there is a label you can never know how far these promises go in reality. That just sucks. We really need strikter standards (that are controlled by independent organisations) and I do hope that with enough pressure from us, as the consumers, the standards will rise eventually.
Digital painting is indeed so much quicker and easier to use which also makes it – to me – more authentic in some way. Which is weird because from another point of view, painting traditionally of course has a more authentic/"real" feeling to it, working with "real" colors, mixing them on a real palette or working with real pencils instead of a digital brush … But it takes time and you always have to think it through beforehand. When painting digitally one can act more spontaneously bc no matter what you do, if you fail you can always delete it and start again (without having to buy a new canvas
Nice, I like the idea of the two wings
Back to topic, one of the most powerful words for me is awareness, in fact I couldn't think of any stronger word. Well, maybe love but of course that's way too cliché and overall an overused expression.
Not sure about the second word though … I've got some in mind but none of them has the same meaning to me as awareness.
I consider myself very lucky to have two awesome parents, yep.
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yeah sometimes I do that that too, this time I wrote the reply in a word file instead. I've had that clicking a link, or internet cutting out as I hit reply thing happen way too often lol. Indeed short and sweet is fine too
Hah well you're certainly going to have a lot of fun experiences and create good memories by the sounds of it. Portugal sounds lovely, I'll add that to my list of places to eventually visit lol. Oh I thought you were in a tent and sleeping bag in France, that's really braving the elements just a sleeping bag and a tarp haha . Bet some lovely views of the stars though, until the tarp covered it up of course. I take it you aren't very squeamish about insects crawling over you?
Hmm if I could go anywhere I'd probably go to Italy first, always wanted to go there, such beautiful countryside and architecture and my kinda food
Yeah I agree, I think that's how things will change, through public pressure and outside companies putting pressure on companies to change. You get a lot of ethical companies that put their mark on a product to show it reaches their standards and the more I see things like that happening the more faith I have that things are moving the right direction.
That's an interesting way of looking at it, I agree also. I think the digital medium allows you to get the purest form of an idea and creativity out, because you can be much more spontaneous like you say and also undo and change and modify all you want. This can kind of be a disadvantage sometimes though, with too much choice and it's harder to think about what you are doing when you can undo. When you do it traditionally your mind focuses on things a lot easier because you can't afford to muck it up.
Words are fascinating, it is a funny concept how we have put meaning to these symbols and that has allowed us to do so much and advance as a species incredibly. I totally understand how that alone can inspire a tattoo based on a " strong word" as you say hehe. Just Don't tattoo love on one and hate on the other lol. Awareness that is the most valuable gift, you are right I think! It allows us to appreciate the life we have and not just react on instincts,as well as the ability to have empathy, which like you say is also a burden as it brings a lot of paint also. Totally agree though, Pain is a part of life and can't live a life " putting the blinders on" (which is basically the same saying yeah) .
Yeah I think the education system definitely needs a lot of work, I think its also hard for us at that age to concentrate on school though as there's so much other crap going on. It's a weird one, because its the age we learn fastest but it's also the age we are least interested in learning in some ways lol. Like my interest in history and so many subjects has increased so much as i've got older and now I love learning about that stuff, but in school so much of it was very boring to me. Oh well, just one of the ironies of life.
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Sorry for the late reply, kind of busy with preparing for the trip and stuff … and somehow I managed to destroy my debit card, it just won't work anymore.
Whenever we settled down on a campsite in France, people would joke about our "creative" construction: we used the bikes and tent pegs to somehow stretch the mosquito net over our sleeping bags and it always looked a bit awkward but it did keep most of the mosquitos out.
Oh and the stars were indeed very lovely! I adore starry skies and I especially remember one night at a very remote campsite when the sky seemed so close and overwhelming and I wanted to stare at it til the morning light.
Italy really is beautiful, I've been there many times.
Japan seems to have a beautiful countryside and amazing temples, shrines and such, I'm just not so sure about the big cities there … eww, people! So many people! xD Like … they run around with breathing masks cause illnesses are spread so easily in these crowded streets (or for example in the underground trains that always look like they couldn't take one single person more), I just have these scary pictures in my head :'D Maybe I'm wrong haha, don't know~
Nevertheless, there are big cities I like–London for example, I found myself enjoying it way more than expected when I went there last year. I also went down to Dover to see the White Cliffs but it was just a short trip and I do want to see more of England someday too. And Ireland too~ and … Scotland and all of these islands you know (I always mix up these countries, I'm so bad at geography xD)
Yes I mean, as far as I know only 10 or maybe 20 years ago, labels that show that a product is produced following some ethical/eco-friendly standards weren't a thing yet–at all. The target group was just so much smaller back then but since our markets aren't controlled by the government (fortunately), they will react to any change in the customers' buying behaviors. That's such a great power we have, actually!
Oooh I know that feeling of … Wait, there's a comic about it … (Be careful when clicking on the link! )
This is so painfully accurate hahah … especially when it comes to digital painting! You can draw anything … and you can change and modify anything … again and again, no end in sight x)
Haha, yeah sure! What a horrible picture in my head, "love" on the one wrist and "hate" on the other, makes me cringe
BUT you just gave me an idea for the second word, in this very moment … awareness & appreciation, bam! Whoa, I really, really like that. I admit, appreciation is a long word, even longer than awareness … but the meaning behind it is almost–maybe even as–important to me as awareness (plus they both start with an A which is cool lol). I'll definitely keep that in mind. Thank you!!
I couldn't agree with you more, these specific years are so important for someone's personal growth, they can be confusing and frustrating and a big challenge even without dealing with school stuff … And so many of these things pupils have to learn are just plain useless for their later life and everyone knows it. And it's sad that the kids' brains often have to focus on the things they are not interested in more than in potentially interesting stuff cause otherwise they'll fail the class.
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No problem, I'm super busy too lately so also late reply. That sucks, bad timing ey, normally they are quite quick with that stuff so should get it through in time. Yeah debit cards are pretty universally accepted, def safer than carrying a ton of cash around!
Ahah nice creative measures , I hate bugs crawling on me too so that's pretty brave to just grin and bear it, nice one hehe
Wow that sounds really cool, I've always wanted to see a super clear night where you can actually see the nebulas and stuff, think might have to go to America to do that though, but I've seen something close in England once. Really need to be in the middle of nowhere to get that level of darkness.
Oh nice, I'm envious
Lol I know, I hate massive crowds of people. I'd probably like to go there for a day trip to experience the craziness of it, but one day would probably be enough haha. i'd like to see the comic stores and crazy fashions in shinjuku district (think it was there). Countryside does look really beautiful though and the beaches, which is not something I associated with Japan until seeing documentaries and shows about it. You mainly think of the technology and Tokyo. It's pretty cool they wear those masks as a way to not spread disease though, I used to think it was the opposite, people trying to keep germs out. The trains are super packed you're right methinks lol.
Ah I don't remember you saying you'd been to England before, I'm glad you liked it! Yeah London is pretty cool, a nice mix of old and new, it's got some really cool places to visit and they've really cleaned it up since I was a kid. It used to be quite dirty and grubby everywhere, Trafalgar square was just a mass of pigeons and pigeon shit lol. Really did a good job of cleaning it up though, looks very nice now. Ohhhh Dover, I live quite near to Dover, have been there many times. Dover itself is a dump lol, but the cliffs are really nice, there's a nice walk along the tops of them, maybe you did it. I'd like to visit Ireland and Scotland one day too, I'm actually quarter Irish hehe, not that it really means anything haha.
Yeah thats very true, a few years ago these things were all seen as "hippy trendy fad" type things, like it was seen as weird or pretentious. Theres still a bit of that feeling around, but a lot less so. Even cadbury make fairtrade chocolate bars now ( though i have trouble trusting any huge company isn't cheating it somehow ).
Haha that comic is very accurate. I love those little 3 panel jokey comic type things
Hah that's cool, I'm glad I Could inspire your tattoo dreams. That's pretty cool too, they do go hand in hand. You're either gonna need a very small font or very fat arms though
Yeah totally. I think one great thing nowadays though is the ability to educate ourselves online, You can learn SO much there that even if you didn't get much from school atleast you can still get access to a wealth of information online and still pursue your dreams once you find something you are interested in.
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Came back from Portugal just a few days ago … man, it feels so strange to be back.
Anyways, it's also great to be back home, with a fridge and a stove instead of a camping cooker, proper Internet access and a comfortable bed. After 4 weeks spent on campsites (mostly) I really appreciate this in a completely new way!
However, my superpower was very helpful again, my friend is not so lucky – like you, she has troubles with falling asleep and without her earplugs it would be almost impossible for her to get a good night's rest. The downside of my sleeping skills is that in the morning I'm always extremely tired, even if I've slept 10 hours straight.
Haha I really wish I could teach others how to fall asleep within minutes (you're not the first one asking) but I don't have any clue how I'm doing it. I used to have sleeping troubles too but two or three years ago they suddenly disappeared. 
Starry skies are just breathtaking, hope you got to see one.
True, I don't know much of Austria to be honest, even though I'm sure there are nice places all over that little country here. Traveling to a country that can't be reached that easily is just more exciting I suppose.
A day trip to Tokyo wouldn't hurt I guess, just to see that craziness with my own eyes. I've definitely become more relaxed in terms of experiencing city life, the biggest town here in Tyrol is Innsbruck and I used to hate going there, always caused headaches and stuff (even though it's really not a big city, only 130,000 people or something like that), it's not as bad anymore nowadays. However, I'm still more into peaceful rural areas
Japan has nice beaches? Didn't think of that before either
Yep, I went to England almost exactly one year ago!
And that's awesome, I'm sure it's a nice location to live, near the ocean and kinda remote (yes, I'm a fan of that, how did you know?
Yeah, that's a downside: there's never a 100% guarantee that a product really deserves that "fair trade" label, especially when it's produced by a large company with a lot of money … cause with the right amount of money you can buy almost anything in this world. :/ (except for what really matters, hah.)
When having a bad day, I just spend an hour browsing comics like that on Pinterest, makes everything better xD
Haha, I'll have to go with a small font then
Praise the Internet! No but seriously, I'm also very glad that this source of endless information exists nowadays. I can't imagine how it must've been back then, your more or less only two sources of information were a) your parents and b) school. It was very hard to question these two authorities, you couldn't ask Google to verify the information you received, you just had to live with it (or search a book that knows something about that particular topic, good luck with that
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Sounds like Portugal was great
Yeah coming back home to a warm bed and clean toilet and all the home comforts feels so nice. I went on a boating trip a while ago and getting back to a proper home was really nice lol. I can certainly see how after hiking around and camping for a few weeks, home must feel so luxurious.
Haha I still envy your superpower even if it leaves you tired in the morning. I have empathy for your friend hehe. Noise doesn't really affect me that much though thankfully. Just constant anxiety
See that's the part I can't do. Emptying my mind is damn near impossible. When I was a kid I used to sleep like that too ,but now my mind just doesn't switch off. I'm getting a bit better at clearing my mind though. I just force my mind to not focus on any one thought too much, keep changing the subject. Kinda like counting sheep I guess lol.
Ohh that's interesting I hadn't seen that before. I found a dark spot nearby where I live, its in the middle of a road though.... So perfectly safe to go walk there in the dead of night and lay down and look at the stars right
Grass is always greener on other side perhaps. Maybe when you're older youll be super nostalgic about it and end up visiting everywhere lol. Or maybe there's not much there haha.
Yeah I've always preferred the country and rural areas too. Its a cool experience to go to big cities and it does get a bit easier the more I go, but I also most of the time find it too busy and although I don't get headaches it almost feels that way because there's just too much going on and it's hard to relax. I went to London recently though and it was really nice to walk through the parks, think without those spaces the day would of been a lot more stressful. I much prefer being here by the sea though hehe.
Yeah Japan has those super tropical looking beaches, in Okinawa? I think but I may be getting that totally wrong. I always forget that Japan and Australia are so close, so it makes sense. Yesss I love the sea too.
Hah rainy and windy is pretty common here, that or a completley grey overcast sky lol. Glad you enjoyed your trip here
Dover is more of a port , doesn't give the best impression for people just arriving there for first time off the boat lol. But drive past there and you'll be into nicer areas hehe. Should of kept those pounds, The Pound is losing its value at the moment since we left the eu. You'd get a great exchange rate haha.
Yeah totally, I think everyone is much more informed and for that reason our society is better for it. We don't just trust authority figures like we used to. Because we know they don't know what they are talking about half the time. And that's a very powerful thing really. It means for them to gain respect they need to know their shit and hopefully that will lead to better people gaining positions of authority because they are being held to higher standards than the past.
Also in the past it was very true that history was written by the victors, there was no proof or evidence to say otherwise. But nowadays everything is recorded day by day from all sorts of sources and its all uploaded on the internet as a permanent record pretty much, Hopefully that will help us learn from our mistakes though it doesn't seem to stop people much at the moment lol.
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It really was! 
At the moment I'm editing all the photos I brought home from that trip, intending to put them into a photobook (one of these you design online, then get a physical copy)
I think traveling without the comfort we're used to makes us appreciate the luxery at home much more, it's a gentle reminder that we shouldn't take it for granted.
To be honest, I still experience nights like this from time to time but very, very rarely. Still, I can empathize with you–sometimes my mind also just doesn't want to shut up.
Haha, please don't do that, not matter how tempting that dark spot might be!
Here in Austria you pretty much “just“ have to climb a mountain to get away from the lights. Somedaynight I'll do that~ *-*
Agreed, these green spaces are incredibly helpful, experienced this in Lisbon too (even though I imagined that city much bigger, according to my research afterwards it has a population of “only“ 500,000 people or so
Right, Australia is really not that far away … strange to think about it that way. Normally I'd say I'm not a fan of hot places but, well, the weather in Portugal was pretty hot most of the time (we experienced a little heat wave) and I still enjoyed it somehow
Yeah, exactly, Dover Caaarstle
Someday I'll come back to the south coast and to England in general, pretty sure about that!
Lol, should've thought about that but it wasn't that much money anyways and I also kept a few pounds as a souvenir.
Knowledge is power.
Good point, today everyone can write history, hehe.
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Yeah that sounds like a much more enjoyable way to experience a country.Travelling constantly can get pretty draining and stressful so I can see how having a few days in each place would be a more relaxing time. Nice that you got to sample lots of different areas too, get a real feel for the place.
Hehe I remember getting pictures developed as a kid ( I think you're old enough to have had that too?) and having actual physical copies, now you have to find a special service online hehe. I think thats a cool idea though. With so much digital stuff now, it really feels nice to have a physical object you can actually hold and look at. You should buy a polaroid camera for your next trip. Pretty expensive though I think for the film, but they are really cool for making scrapbook type things.
Yes very true, we take lots of things for granted really, its definitely true that "millennials" do feel a sense of entitlement about things lol. Me included
Well I have an anxiety disorder so that's why it's so common for me haha.
lol, don't worry I'm not crazy, like one of those people who just drives their car into a river because their sat nav tells them too haha. Yeah I may have to go there sometime though and see if theres a good spot to settle down. Would be a cool experience.
Ohh that must be pretty beautiful living so close to mountains though, I'm pretty sure from what I've seen of austira it's very scenic isn't it? Pretty sure I watched a cooking show about cheese makers there.... lol. But I guess there's not much to do for the youuuuuuuuth especially. Sounds great for walking though and holidays hhehe
Thats nice, I feel the same way about heat also. Sometimes though it is really nice. Like being at a nice beach or travelling around in the open air, and i guess at the campsites, heat was less of an issue thank being in a house.
Well as a brit I'll tell you to pronounce it the English way as that was where the language originated in the first place haha
I actually end up writing American spellings a lot now, because i can't be bothered to keep changing the auto correct settings in programs lol. They always set on American English as default. conspiracy i tell you! They are subliminally influencing everyone to write their way ahah.
lol hey that's cool that you like robin hood. I've always liked the story of robin hood too, its a cool English legend. I cant remember if it was based on a real person or complete fiction though. Yeah visit sherwood forest for sure. One great thing about england is there's a lot of history so you can visit many places that have interesting pasts or are used a lot in films and books and stories.
yeah that's totally true! There's still that mindset among a lot of older people, like if its in the newspapers it must be true, they wouldn't print it its not true. But I google a story or some topic and I find like 100 different views in 10 seconds lol. But that leads to finidg some very informed views sometimes and really understanding things much better. I do think it's great that our generation our breaking that. Overall we are definitely more informed. That's certainly a powerful thing
Yeah i mean a lot of its used for cats and vines and goofy shit lol, but like a lot of stories get posted around on social media and wherever, so even if you don't really look for that stuff a lot of it is hard to miss anyway. But it's like you say, it has a lot of potential and even if only a small percentage of people use it to inform themselves that's all that's needed really. The fact we have that tool now is just so great
Let me know where your next adventure will be hehe
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Indeed, I do feel like I know Portugal on a different level than France, even though the trip itself wasn't that much longer (just one week).
Yep, I remember really well how it felt having my pictures developed! As a kid it was very exciting to see the actual photos for the first time.
Ah, wasn't aware of the term "millennials", it's mostly called "Generation Y" (funnily enough, the Y is pronounced as the English Y/Why
Meh, I can imagine that dealing with something like that sucks. Keep your head up! (There's nothing you can say in these situations that doesn't sound awkward, right?
If you get the chance, do it and be sure to tell me afterwards!
It depends on which parts of Austria you refer to but here in Tyrol it's pretty mountainous and you can find quiet wonderful sceneries indeed.
I honestly don't know if I talk more "American" or "British" English (what about Australian English btw?! They must feel kinda left out xD), probably it doesn't matter anyways because of my German accent which is the most noticeable thing about my English speaking skills, I assume
I also noticed that!
As far as I know, people still try to figure out if there ever was a "real" Robin Hood or if it's all made up, the story is awesome anyways.
Yeah I love Europe for that, fascinating history everywhere! England is indeed especially interesting in that regard.
I hope and believe that the number of people who discovers the Internet as a tool for changing the world bit by bit is constantly growing.
I will!
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Sounds good that you are learning and growing from these experiences ! Hopefully i'll get to do some traveling in the future.
I'm glad you remember lol, didn't think I was THAT old yet haha. Yeah it was fun seeing them as a kid and it is nice to hold them. Totally aggree that its much more convienent now though, we also never look at our old photos lol ,digitally or physical.But I like knowing they are there though. Yeah Polaroids are still really fun to use lol, I always wanted one as a kid, and they are still just as cool now hehe.
That's interesting, maybe because its a noun ? Yeah its a confusing term though because It applies to people born in 80s and 90s more than people born in 2000. Atleast i think it does.....
Yeah Just gotta keep fighting it and learning to deal with it but thanks!
I will tell you , I'll have to make a note of that website so I don't forget.
haha oh yes ofcourse, Would you consider eating cheese from a cow that was only used for cheese making and was free to roam the hills? Just out of interest.
Yeah you probably sound german English mostly I would think. Australian English you just go up at the end of all your sentences like you are asking a question
I remember seeing bits of that robin hood series but don't think I watched the whole thing, wasn't lilly allans dad in it.... I think lol. Yeah the bbc makes a lot of those good dramas though so I can see how that would get an international audience involved. Dr Who is certainly popular now.I like to hear that other countries are watching our tv shows though
Wow thats great, yeah people I've met online have been a huge help to my personal growth too, even just videos and stuff I've watched too. Met my girldfriend online too and we've managed a long distance relationship for a few years now thanks to skype (actually visiting here now for a few months, trying to get a job here
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I keep my fingers crossed for you – traveling can create exactly this sort of memories that can last a lifetime, I suppose.
Agreed, being able to hold a memory is a nice feeling^^ Sometimes I do find the time to go through some photos on my laptop, although very rarely. My photobooks (one about France, one about Portugal) arrived just recently btw. ^-^ It was lovely to share these memories with my mother by looking through these pages together.
It's just something magical to see the picture appear immediately after taking it with a Polaroid, isn't it?
Apparently, there are no exact dates when this "generation" starts & ends … meh, let's be happy individuals then.
That's the spirit ^_^
Well, you'll have to give me more information to answer that question xD The number 1 reason for me to never consume dairy again is that there is no use for the male calves that are slaughtered as a worthless by-product. And I can only imagine how exhausting it is for a cow to give birth over and over again so that we can feed on her milk or make cheese out of it … If the cow was free to roam the hills, could decide on her own if & when to have sex (while almost all cows nowadays are artificially inseminated in an awful procedure) and could keep her baby and we just took away what's left of her milk after the calf is satisfied … yeah, maybe I would eat that cheese. But I don't think you'll find that magical farm anywhere on earth
Never thought of it like that, to me Australian accents mostly sound like British ones but a little more … mumbled? I guess xD If it's a really strong accent I can have troubles understanding it ^^"
I did not know that Lilly Allen's dad is secretly the evil Sheriff of Nottingham!
A little cheesiness does no harm^^ Never seen Dr Who though, I have to admit xD But it's indeed quite popular not only in the UK!
Yeah thanks to Skype I can be in contact with my friend from Germany everyday ^_^ Praise the Internet haha
Oh so you're in the US right now? Good luck with finding a job!
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Aww thats sweet. And I bet it will be nice for your mum too to have that physical book laying around the house when you are away traveling. Like she's more likely to look at it, and will probably comfort her if she's missing you.
It is, photos in general are still magical to me haha. How does it capture what it sees!? Magic
Yeah I never really got all that generation x and y stuff anyway. Or particularity cared about it.
That answers me well enough hehe. I see your points though! Was just something I'd been thinking about so wanted to ask. It'd be nice if one day some rich people made some "ethical farms" as it were. Where it wasn't about mass produce and profits and just the wellfare of the animals. They could just produce stuff seasonally and local. Maybe one day ey.
Haha well they kinda do I guess. It's funny because 90% of the time when an American tries to imitate and english accent they end up sounding australian, but to my ears they sound so different , interesting to hear it's not just americans that find it confusing.
Yeah haha, its surprising how many famous people often have other family members that are also famous in totally different areas.
Yeah a little cheesiness is good indeed, so much "gritty" stuff nowadays, sometimes you just want something a little lighthearted.
Thank you
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Hahah aww don't make me feel nostalgic in advance, thinking about the long journeys I'll take in the future.
True, it's one of these things that get more and more mysterious, the longer you think about it
Sure thing, you can always ask me things like that. ^^ You know, vegans looove to talk about vegan-related stuff
Yeah maybe one day, we'll see ^-^ There are already "rescue farms" that save farm animals whenever possible, so they can live a happy life there until they die of natural causes. Would love to visit one but most of them are located in America.
Accents tend to confuse the hell out of me in fact xD And then suddenly a wild Canadian appears and I'm just standing there, trying to figure out what kind of accent he's speaking (that actually happened in Portugal, we met this very nice Canadian guy at a hostel who told us about the journey through Europe he was currently on
I learned a new word recently: twee = "cute in a way that is silly or sentimental"; I love that
Ah my bad, hope she has a pleasant stay in the UK
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Can you be nostalgic for something that happens in the future haha? I wonder if there's a word for that. Yeah so many ways to stay in contact with people now, pretty crazy to think that people would just go for years without seeing people in the past, with only the occasional letter inbetween. It's so nice that you can live almost anywhere in the world and still video call someone and watch a tv show together lol.
Yeah too many people are very dismissive of vegans, pisses me off. I understand though there's a lot of extreme vegans who attack people and send threats and all that crap so they kind of give it a bad name. But the core of Veganism is a very understandable concept that just gets dismissed to easily unfortunately. Labeling things vegan friendly seems pretty trendy now at least though, so thats kind of a positive as long as it's not some kind of fad.
Yeah that sounds like a good start. Just need some rich billionaire who cares about these issues to start some kind of business up. I'm sure it would do well.
Oh yeah Canadian accents throw me too, you described it just right, American but somethings slightly different lol. They tend to make strange O sound, thats normally a giveaway. But its def a harder accent to spot! A wild Canadian appears, haha nice one. Seems that Canadians really do live up to their friendly reputation. From everything I hear about canada it reminds me a lot of England culturally, they even have heinz baked beans I think.
Yeah twee is a nice word hehe. I'm not sure if its originally scottish or irish maybe but its almost onomatopoeic. Like I hear the word twee and it sounds small and cute, it even looks it.
Haha thanks for that, hadn't seen it before, very funny
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Sorry for the reea~aally late reply! There's been quite a lot going on during the last three months – I rarely visited dA in general, let alone answered longer messages. I'll be taking my driving test in three days ( ) and will start to work in March (
Hope you've been well too! ^_^
That's an interesting question – nostalgia normally refers to something in the past, you're right xD Maybe the feeling is the result of knowing/fearing I'll feel somewhat nostalgic, or maybe homesick in this case^^ I can't think of a real proper word though.
These opportunities to stay in contact with people from far away can almost make you forget the fact that they are, well, far away :'D And then BAM, the distance hits you right in the face. Which is happening to me right now with someone I've been in contact with for some months now. Will meet that person in 8 days though, for the first time
It's true, there are those "extreme" vegans that give the whole concept a negative connotation. Part of me can understand their anger but threats and violence won't make anything better.
Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only one confused by Canadians
Heinz Baked Beans is a good thing to have in common, beans in general actually xD *is a bean lover*
Yes, those words that actually mean what they look/sound like :3 Another example that comes to my word is awkward, I mean just look at it, it does look really awkward! xD
I don't think I know him from anywhere else but I'll look into that, thanks!
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No problem hehe, I see all these replies as open ended lol, reply whenever you feel like or have the time.
Ohhh nice, I hope you passed, judging from how good you were at school i find it hard to believe you wouldn't . Wow Greenpece, living the began dream right haha. Seriously though that sounds like it could be a very rewarding and interesting experience , be cool to hear your experiences with them some time.
Been good thanks, just keeping my head down and studying art.
Oh good luck with the meeting, Well I met my girfriend online and we spoke for a year maybe 2 before we ever met face to face. It was a little weird on the very first initial meeting, but within an hour it was just like normal lol, it really is great how the Internet makes distance much easier. I think your meeting will go well if you have known them a long time before hand. Especially if you video chat too.
Beans are the best! lol. Specially as a vegan right , so many delicious types of beans everywhere, like one of the only easy ways to get protien outside of soya too.
Haha I never looked at awkward that way but you are totally right, what a weird mixture of letters.
Good luck with everything anyway, hope you'll let me know how your greenpeace adventures go someday
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Thank you very much! I really appreciate that.
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