A photography that's meaningfull for me

This photo here is one of my favorite photos, basically cause I like how I look in it (which isn't usual at all) and I'm doing something that I haven't done in many years (and might probably never do again) and made me learn a lot of things that inspire some of my projects nowadays: I'm making cosplay.

This is me! Back in 2016 (I had 19 back then, I'm currently 26), cosplaying Jolyne Cujoh from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure in the Anime Expo 2016

Cosplay is getting dressed and acting like a fictional character. It's pretty popular nowadays, but it wasn't that much back in 2016, it was just starting to be something. My friends and I were currently obsessed with "Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken" ("Jojo's Bizarre Adventure"), a manga writen and drawes by Hirohiko Araki. Recently the animated version of the manga concluded in Netflix his 6th arc, called Stone Ocean, but in 2016 Stone Ocean's story was only disponible in manga scans. The protagonist of that arc is the character I'm cosplaying here: Jolyne Cujoh. 

Jolyne Cujoh, protagonist of the 6th arc of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean and the only female protagonist in the whole series

That's was both my most hard-working cosplay and my last one: even though I got so many photos and had lots of fun, I inmediately knew that I wasn't cutted up for being a cosplayer. But I did enjoy to act like characters and to dress in special, fictional-like outfits, and the forced exposition made me develop some new skills that's I use a lot till this very day, like being more comfortable with pictures of myself and acting a character in front of many people. 

I still happen to have the wig, but I selled the clothes long time ago. Making cosplay can be pretty expensive if you don't manage to make some money out of it (which is possible), which lend me to stop doing it. But, God knows! Maybe I'll try it again sometime! There are many characters that I like a lot, and that I would totally enjoy to cosplay (Maybe, when I get a little money, I would love to do an Arcane Jinx Cosplay, what do you think?)

It's an important and meaningfull photo for me cause at the time I wasn't that used to photoshoots and stuff, lacked a ton of confidence and didn't even knew how to make up that well. But that didn't stopped me! I really wanted to go in that cosplay, and all my friends were doing matching characters too! It ended up being super fun and we got a lot of photos taken by so many people around the expo.

What about you? Would you cosplay your favorite characters? 

Blog post 3: My favorite Piece of Technology

 Honestly, at the first moment I though I would choose my mobile as the favorite, since it's the device I use the most and the more versatile one, but there is a little device that really is my favorite and that is so important for me. 

Game Boy Advance, my favorite device and my favorite game console

When I was young, I asked my mom for a GameBoy Advance. She couldn't buy it at the time, it was quite expensive and one of the newest Nintendo consoles. I has been a huge fan of Nintendo games my whole life, and the idea of playing in the GBA was just amazing for me. I had like, idk, maybe 6 or 7 years old? I guess so. 

The years passed over and I started growing up. My family has always been very poor, we work a lot and put a lot of effort in what we want to achieve. So I started working with mom and life went over. And then, My 16th birthday arrived. Tbh, I couldn't even remember at all that I asked for a GBA when my mother showed me a little box. The moment I opened it, I felt so happy that I started crying. It was a Game Boy Advance! Right like I wanted it! Even the same color I wanted (I have always loved the purple one). Right under the console inside the box, mom also had a "link cable" (that's used to connect two GBA together) and two games: "Pokemon Emerald" and "Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland". I did played those titles before, cause I used to play in the pc with an emulator, but playing them in the console was a completely different experience. My little sister also received a GBA, so we could play together, and we exchanged tons of pokemon!

In-game footage of Pokemon Emerald

the Pokemon Emerald game catridge is damn pretty, isn't?

Kirby: Nightmare in dreamland's game catridge

In-game footage of Kirby: NiD. 

After "Pokemon Emerald" and "Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland", I managed to get an older title for Game Boy Color (you see, the catridge are pretty much the same for the whole Game Boy line, and they can get crossed. So, If you have a GB game catridge or a GB Color game catridge, they can be played in a GB Advance or even a GB Special! it's pretty comfy!), and I played "Pokemon Crystal", which is by far my favorite from all the Pokemon saga. 

In-game footage of Pokemon Crystal. Exactly in the heart of the Ilex Forest, right in front of the shrine where the legendary pokemon Celebi lives.

The most beautiful catridge I'd ever seen (and played): Pokemon Crystal

Finally, when I got 18, my friends pulled up a surprise birthday party. In that party, one of my best friends gave me a present: "Sonic Advance" and "Sonic Advance 3", two new game catridges! I was so happy and surprised, since this kind of games and accesories had become expensier and rare to find over time. I played those game infinite times! I managed to even get the "100% done" achievement, more than once! 

The Sonic Advance catridge! This saga would have 3 connected games and then, more games with different stories

The Sonic Advance 3 catridge, so fun to play!

Sonic will always be one of my favorite games and half my childhood (The other half is Pokemon)

Even now, with 26 years old, I still play my old catridges in my pretty GBA. It's true that there are better devices, more comfortable and all, but I really enjoy the experience of playing in it, it's my favorite device so far.   

The whole Game Boy line. 

That's it! Did you played with this old consoles once? I'm reading you in the comments! ☆

Activity: Something I haven't got, and I don't wanna have!

I'm 27, and sadly at this age, for some reason, the fact of not becoming a mother has transformed in some kind of public problem. everytime I go shopping around the neighborhood, all the female neighbours (specially the older ones, which I wrongly supposed that were quite wiser) panic ove the fact I'm 27 and I "still" haven't got a child. 

"Why not?", "is there something wrong with your health?", "But what does your boyfriend thinks about it?" "But it's just so much joy to become a mother!", "If you don't have it soon, it can get out sick!" are some of the nasty comments I receive everywhere. 

The thing is that I actually don't want to be a mother, I don't want childs. Why? Honestly I find thousands of reasons why not having one. It's even hard to me to think about an actual good reason to have one. I have my boyfriend, we are pretty confident in each other since we have been lifelong friends before starting a relationship and he doesn't just respects my decision, but he also doesn't want kids as well. 

We are young, and we have way too much stuff to do, many goals to achieve. And I know everyone has them, but what people isn't concious at all is that everything has a cost. What do I mean? To get a career done, for example, you need time. Not just 5 years of your life, but probably more! And many hours, daily, will be just for studying, cause if you don't study like that and dedicate to the matter, you will not only do it wrongly and getting bad grades but also you'll not be entirely there, you will not give your best. That's the point not just with studying, but wih everything!  Either a career, a job, even something that can be considered a hobby works the exact same.  And what's the point of living if you can't put yourself entirely to something you love? 

Please, don't get confused: I have nothing against mothers, of course (which is one of the resposes I get from the same old ladies around my neighborhood when I tell them that I actually don't dream about having a little version of myself between my arms), I actually admire them. Usually, when doing any activity we enjoy, we kinda always get something in return. Money, power, contacts, cometimes nothing that heavy but still something that you enjoy tons. Also, most of the time those activities also don't depend that much on someone else to get done succesfully. You are free to go and do as you please! But with a child, that's a world of difference. 

A child is something so innocent, so dependable and fragile, that you have to dedicate you whole day to his care. It's a 24/7 job, without any pay, but actually filled with fees! It's cost a lot to have a baby, both psychosocially and economically. Also, if you happen to not have a family core that's strong enough to go on the adventure, i might break and the mother becomes the only being that takes care of every single need that little bud has. It's a ton of responsability! And the thing is that becoming a mother is the only job where you can't expect a single thing in return. Would you have a childs to actually tag along with them when you are old and need someone to rely on? Honestly, that sounds like giving birth to a future nurse for me, and it's kinda creepy (also, nothing says your kids are gonna stay by your side when you are old and grey. They have the right to live the life you gave them, and even if they don't abandone you, doesn't mean they must stick with you cause that's the reason they got born). Another example! Would you have a child cause the world is beautiful and you want him/her to see it? Honey, that sound sweet, but we are in 2023, and we can't even assure that we will have enough edible water for those tomorrow's kids. World is a mess, and I know it has always been, but I ain't think that's a good reason to bring em' here to suffer with us. In resume, the only reason to have childs it's love itself, and it comes with a gigantic sacrifice (which is filled with love, but it's still a sacrifice). 

I wanna live my life for myself, for my own desires and wishes, for my goals and everything that's in the middle. I admire those kind-hearted woman that dream about taking care of a little, fragile being. But my cats are enough respnsability (and a pretty expensive one, too), and I have way too many plans for my life and I can't not live it to the fullest. 

What about you? What do you think about it? 

⋆★⋆

Post 1: Who am I?: Taka, the "Bussy Mess"

 Hi! My name is Ana Vásquez but you can call me Taka! I'm 27 years old and I'm from Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Santiago, in Chile! You might be wondering why I called myself "A Busy mess" in the title but don't worry, I'll explain. 

Since I was a child I have been interested in lots of stuff. I wanted to become a singer, a music composer, a writer and a journalist, also a zoologist and a professional freeskate roller. Yeah, so defined. The thing is that I'm so curious and also I have a lot of energy! Like I have a giant battery installed in my back- that's why I always run for everything, to be everywhere and do everything I like to! That led me to currently be a journalism student, also a street singer and also a Stray Cat Shelter's voluntary, and to be interested in many topics and wanting to study a lot of subjects. But that would be even possible without my family- specially my mom.

I live in a small family of three humans: My mother, Valeria, is divorced housewife that has been working as a seller most of her life to sustain the family; my little brother, Nori, who is an autodidact artist; my 6 cats (Checho, Diego, Jolyne, Josuke, Lucius and Lupin), who are a mess; and my dog, Arthur, who is talented at eating stuff that he shouldn't be eating. Yes, I don't look like it (cause I'm not exactly tall) but I'm the big sis! <3

When I was (even more) little, my mother constantly put her efforts in encouraging my curiosity. Whenever and wherever I asked something, she replied consistently and explained me every single detail. 

"Mom, can I touch the plug?" 

"No, cause you might get electrocuted"

"What does electrocuted mean?"

"Inside the plug there is a thing called "electricity". It's necessary cause it's the energy we use for all the home devices to work properly. You see, if you disconnect the plug, it stops working. But that energy, if you touch it, can be pretty dangerous."

"Woah, but why is it dangerous? We don't receive it?"

"No, we don't, that energy is too heavy for us. If you touch it and you get electrocuted, that huge energy can burn your body and you can die."

"Oh, it really is dangerous. That's why we use cables?"

And so, all the conversations with my mother were pretty much like that. She has a lot of patience! So, because of that constant effort, I'm very curious to this very day. I always got interested in everything and got labelled as "pretty smart" in school, even when most of the teachers couldn't deal with my energy. That never pulled me off and my mom was always there to talk-out stuff with the teachers, so I kept on growing up as a energy-filled bookworm. 

One thing my mother teached me before anything was to read. My curiosity drived me anxious when, at night, my mother would read me just half of the story in any children's book. "I only can read you a part of the story right now, you might have to wait for tomorrow night, unless you learn to read". So I learned pretty fast and got in school reading since 4 years old (something pretty common nowadays, but at 2000 that was a thing!). That's how I ended up reading tons of books and, eventually, moving into news. 

Finally, my mother always encouraged me to sing when she noticed I liked it. I can't even remember since when I do it, but it's an activity I used to enjoy with my brother when he was little and loved to play the piano. At the time he doesn't play that much, but practices as much as he can, and have also got some interest in playing the saxophone and the drums, and composing digital music as well. Nowadays he dedicates more time to his art, and is studying Ilustration. In the other side, at 18 years old I started working in pretty much anything and, after doing many jobs, I ended up catching the fly by singing in the streets. I have been doing it for 6 years till' now and I'm pretty proud of my work! So is my mom <3

The interest for animals that I had in my youth tranformed into wanting to help (but not understaing science at all). Since becoming a vet wasn't a deal for me, I signed with a small organization that dedicates to rescue and give away stray cats to their forever homes. Sadly, the organization dissarmed in 2020 because of the pandemic, most of the volunteers couldn't keep up their work and ended up quitting. So I'm one of the few voluntares that keep up the hard work, along with my mom! 

Even when I'm constantly bussy and my schedules are always a mess, I can't say I don't love what I do! I enjoy a lot singing everywhere in Santiago and walk around bohemian neighborhoods, also I love my career and to have the need to learn more about everything to accomplish it properly, and I feel so proud of working hard for those little furry balls with eyes that meow me whenever they see me. 

I'm a Busy Mess! And it's quite a title for me!

If you wanna check up my work, I'm gonna drop here some links! 

This is our organization (what's left of it): "Adopta Rescatado Stgo" (@AdoptaUnGatitoRescatado en instagram), and this one is my music page! In this work, I use the nick "Atria" (stands for Atria, the main star in the Triangulum Australe): @Atria.music . Also, here is my bro's page. Go check it out, he is such a wonderfull artist!: Necromancy Advocate. 

Bye- bye! 

First exercise: My career

 When I was in highschool, at my 15, I decided what I wanted to study. To become a journalist was always an interesting option for me, and at that time it transformed in the only possible option, I just couldn't though of other possibility. I even used to daydream about writing news, about tracking information, publishing online and running the whole day. A life where there's no time for anything, cause the news are happening! It felt like electricity in my bones! Sounds like a dream to me, even now, on my 4th year. 

With my dream in the hand and my -still- hard-like-rock head, I tried entering in the Universidad de Chile three times.PSU wasn't that hard in my opinion, but math are a constant nightmare for me. In 2016, I managed to make a better score and entered to Universidad de Chile with all the hype inside my head, to study the career I was dreaming of. 

It was perfect, but nothing is that easy! And for economical issues inside my family (I'm the big sis on a small family that needed me to work more than I could while studying), I stopped in 2017. I though the whole world was crushing around me, but I stood up and find my way to wait for another chance. I still wanted to study journalism, and I wasn't going to abandone my goal. 

Then I started to sing in the streets, the most glorious job I have ever done aside of journalism. I stayed working till' 2019, right in the middle of the social riot in Chile. I did the PSU again (the 4th time in my whole life) not having a single drop of hope: I was in full-work mode and haven't studied since 2017, not even mentioning maths. But! Things come in the moment you less expect them! And I scored nicely, ad entered again, in my "second" first year, in 2020. 

I though I was lucky, but COVID said otherwise. So there was another storm to cross, and a new challenge. Maybe I work better under pressure, I don't know. But those were my best grades ever. 

Now, after that storm and waiting for the next one, I'm in my 4th year. My goal is just around the corner, and yet it feels so far. I crossed over a lot of stuff, not nice stuff, but I survived somehow and here I am now, proud of this hard-like-rock head of mine, proud of this whole challenge, and proud of being once that teenager daydreaming with writing news and running through the city. 

I'm so satisfied with my choice, and so proud of myself. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

Even after saying all of that, believe it or not, I actually though of becoming a history teacher. Yeah, I know, not exactly alike with journalism, but I though it was an awesome career since I loved to study history. What made me realize I would never enjoy that career was my lack of patience and the fact that I would have to work with k i d s. 

Quite impossible for me at that time, quite impossible for me today. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

The faculty wasn't as perfect as I used to believe, but I'm thankful for both the experience of studying with such awesome teachers and for the giant thing that means to study at this university itself. But certainly, as a faculty, we have a lot to improve. Specially when it comes to administrative gestion. 

Back in 2016 it was even worst, but to pick some courses every semester can be a real war. Commuication problems between 3rd floor and the teachers usually result in overfilled courses, and even if you asked to have classes for a certain teacher (cause you checked his path and it relates with what you wanna be when you graduate -hey, I do that. Am I a nerd? maybe-) several times, you might end in a random course with the less related-to-your-goals teacher. Or maybe you can have a little luck. But it's sad to be such a big institution and still depend on a mixture of burocracy and luck for every try to do any administrative procedure, you know?

Still, the teachers quality is quite incredibly, I was so impressed to enter in my first year and, inmediately, meeting a National Journalism Prize- and that dynamic is over and over around the campus. It's such an opportunity, and it hypes me up even now!

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

Thank you for reading till' here ♥ I hope you liked it! I put my heart on it! xD 

What about you? How ya' feeling about your career? I'm wanting to read you! ♥

Taka★