Been a while again. I've been busy with a school project for a long time, during which I was constantly modelling, so obviously I didn't exactly feel like doing it more in my free time. However, that is now - mostly - over, so I'm back again.

Now then, I had a huge rant prepared to post here, but I don't feel like ranting. (That should give anyone who knows me a heart attack, surely) I'm sure you don't care anyway. So instead I'd like to talk about something else: Growing up. I don't know how many DA peeps are actually younger than me, but I'd like to talk about a few things I've learned while growing up.



An uncomfortable truth

Starting even in grade school there always seems to be at least one idiot and one asshole in every class. When you move on to high school that kid who was always eating his pencils becomes the lazy kid who never studies or pays attention. The kids who went around pushing and hitting other kids usually become the same kind of person, but are actually proud of it. They can also be... more dangerous. In college they start becoming more and more diverse, but their existence is undeniable.

You always make mental excuses for them being there. In grade school, it was because they were just kids - in hindsight, of course. In high school? Blame it on puberty. In college? Growing up and finding your way in life; it creates a lot of stress. But the older you get, the more people you meet, the more layers of society you pass through, the harder it becomes to deny a terrifying truth.

There are idiots and assholes in EVERY aspect and area of our human society

Students, teachers, office workers, managers, lawyers, politicians, game developers, doesn't matter. There is always a sizeable percentage of people who will be highly unlikable for one reason or another.

However, you must not let this overshadow another truth that will eventually come to light.

There are also awesome people in EVERY aspect and area of our human society

Check your prejudice at the door; there is always a sizeable percentage of people that you will get along with very well if you just TRY. I remember finding myself at a presentation. I forget the specifics that were discussed; some technological thing. The only thing I can remember is me standing there in my gothic pants and dragon shirt in a room filled with suits. Ho boy. That was slightly embarrassing and uncomfortable. Yet even in that room I could find people I could have a pleasant conversation with, despite standing out like pink giraffe in a heard of wildebeests. Or something.

I joined a project called Giving Back in high school, which also introduced me to a lot of people from different areas. I've met a lot of awesome lawyers, a demographic that is demonised a lot. Ironically enough, one of them owns the BIGGEST COLLECTION OF ILLEGAL MOVIES AND SOFTWARE I HAVE EVER SEEN. It was a literal mountain.

So in short, no matter where you go, there will always be people you'll hate and who might hate you, but just ignore them; find the people you like. They're there, no matter where you are.



The value of money - and your parents

I fear this is something most people learn far too late. When I was young I never understood why my mother couldn't buy me things I wanted; she earned so much money after all! Thousands a year! Well, now I live by myself and have learned just how expensive it is just to be ALIVE in today's world. And they wonder why so many people pirate things.

However, among all the financial drama, the new bills, the new income, the taxes you need to prove you shouldn't pay (wut)it's very easy to forget one thing; how long have your parents been paying this for you? It adds up to thousands upon thousands - and that's just money. Lets not forget about actual TIME and LOVE invested, the last impossible to represent in a numeric value. I know for a fact that my mother has probably spent more time on raising me properly than on her actual JOB. Not everyone is probably as lucky as me, but my mother actually spend endless hours looking up how to better take care of me and putting this into practice. Adding it all up over 19 years, well, like I said to her: "Sometimes what you give to a person can be so grand it takes 20 years just for them to comprehend it."

So to any kids out there, if you dislike your parents for any reason, realise how much they've done for you. And if it's because they don't want to buy you something, realise that for the price of a single video game, I can eat for three weeks. This world isn't as cheap as it might seem at first glance.



Responsibility and freedom

Living alone is both fantastic and terrible. I can do whatever I want. I've really enjoyed that in the recent heat, since clothes get sticky with all the sweat that's been pouring out of my, well, pores. I've spent tonight staying up late to work on a new model with nobody to complain about it. I've skipped dinner yesterday since I didn't feel like eating. Overall, I've done many things my mother would have my head for when I still lived with her.

However, with this freedom comes many responsibilities. And I'm not just talking about paying your taxes. Any decent adult reading the above will notice I've neglected a very important responsibility: my health. When you live alone, you are, above all, responsible for YOURSELF. Your health, your hygiene, your surroundings. With nobody looking over your shoulder and keeping tabs on you, It can be surprisingly easy to forget about these. Hell, even my mother reported that her house has been a mess since I left for a simple reason; there was nobody else in the house anyway.

Before you move out of the house, get used to doing things yourself. If you're anything like me, you likely never cleaned a damn thing, need to be practically dragged to bed at night and water and soap almost induces an allergic reaction. Long before you leave, learn to take better care of everything. If you don't know how to cook anything healthy, learn. If you never had to do chores, offer to do them anyway. Do the things your parents always have to tell you to do before they even have the chance. Your parents will like this, too. Maybe they'll up your allowance so you can buy your own damn stuff.

And above all, one thing I often see that can go really wrong - even when you are finally 'independent', don't be afraid to rely on people. I still have a lot of contact with my mother, especially revolving financial things. People seem to have an obsession with doing things by themselves, no matter how bad things end up going. There is nothing wrong with learning from other people's mistakes as well. Some wounds hurt more than you'd like.



Watching the world through coloured glasses

I first came to this realisation when thinking about costumer service and human interaction in general. How you approach someone has a huge influence on their response. Service with a smile will make a costumer happier, too. If you act friendly, people are a lot more likely to do so themselves. Even after a bad day, I find it hard to act grumpy at someone who smiles at me. On the other hand, if they sound bored or depressed, I just get more irritated and snappy. Attitudes are often mirrored by people. If you work somewhere where you have to deal with costumers a lot and you hate the job, try approaching it more positively, be friendly to everyone and things already get a lot better.

But I quickly realised that it wasn't just people's responses that changed with your own emotions, but your own observations of these responses do as well. Someone who is being pissy at you isn't 'an asshole', but 'is probably just having a bad day'. That person who is rushing you isn't 'being a selfish prick', he's 'just in a hurry'.

The more I thought about it, the more things I realised change purely because of your attitude. This realisation struck me fully when I actually tried to force a change of attitude in myself. I was in a bus an an entire class of gradeschool children flooded in. Obviously a school trip. I was in a bad mood at that point and cursed all the loud, screaming children around me. Then I decided to look at it in a positive manner. These kids were obviously happy tp be out and excited about where they were going. Hell, I was probably this hyper when I was their age, too. Suddenly their yelling and running around didn't irritate me any more; in fact, I fond myself amused by it.

In short, try wearing the pink glasses every now and then. Always stay positive. It can only change your life for the better.



That's what I can recall for now, but you can be sure there will be updates in the future. One last word to the youngsters; don't rush growing up. You're only young once, make the best of all the times in your life. The world will still be there tomorrow. Explore and learn at your leisure.

Besides, maturity is totally overrated anyway,