The Rant Thread/My Life Sucks Topic [Don't be pricks]

[Hero of Trains]

DOGGIES!!!! So cute!

The photos look great to me. I don't really have much experience on the subject (my only camera is my phone, and I am unskilled at all of the visual arts), but hopefully my situation can be analogous enough to provide a small amount of insight.

First of all, you have your own style. It's creative art, right? Your art is your own, and it's not supposed to be like anyone else's, so why compare?
There is always going to be someone better than you objectively, but that's okay. You are the best at taking your photos.

Second, try not to compare yourself. With anything. Just think about what it is you want to do, and how you will do it. Don't think about how other people will do it, because clones won't work well in real life.

One last question. What kind of trees are those in the last picture. They look awesome and amazing. I want them. Give them to me.

Sorry I lied. This is actually the end. Finishing off with what my Chemical Engineer friend says all the time: "Cs make degrees" meaning that you don't have to be perfect to do well.

Hope this was marginally helpful. 

[FierceDeity]

Glad it helped! The photos look pretty good to me, too, though I do wanna add a kind of disclaimer to something hero said:

First of all, you have your own style. It's creative art, right? Your art is your own, and it's not supposed to be like anyone else's, so why compare?
There is always going to be someone better than you objectively, but that's okay. You are the best at taking your photos.

Part of developing your own style is learning how to imitate those who came before you, and then deciding which of these techniques you will or won't use. As Jonathan Lethem says, "Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos." That is to say, we don't fabricate great ideas in our mind from nothing; our inspirations and influences are undeniably important in the process. In this case, that means that the more influences to which you expose yourself, and which you devote yourself to understanding, the more "chaos" you'll have to draw from. If you like a photographer's work better than your own, then the odds are that there are specific aspects of their process that you might want to emulate. And as you do this more and more, you may find that there are some things you might've done differently even from your favorite photographer, either to achieve a different effect or to achieve the originally intended effect in a "better" way.

(By the way, that Lethem quote is from an article of his in Harper magazine called "The Ecstasy of Influence". It's extremely well written, and I would highly recommend it to anyone entering a creative profession, or anyone dealing with creative professionals, for that matter.)

[Hero of Trains]

Yeah, I should have made that more clear. I meant more that the teacher's stylistic preferences should not matter as much. Especially in the real world, you will be able to find someone who likes it, instead of having a specific teacher.

[mikey]

Myself I'm a fan of the rule of thirds so I would have put the duck's head up and to the left a bit
some of those I like, like the blossoms

[Dude]

Hi guys!!!!!!!!!!!!! my name is ALEX I'm in ohio

i just found some amazing drugs and i hope you can support me in losing weight with these drugs so far i've lost 13 pounds!!! wow111

P.S. Please pardon the annoying post i only wanted to spread the good word

[Maelstrom]

wth all the links are broken why won't you give me any

[blueflower999]

dude that is absolutely perfect thank you for making my day

[SlowPokemon]

those are amazing drugs

[FierceDeity]

So my interviewer is an hour late in contacting me on Skype, and odds are he's going to have to reschedule again. He sent an email about 50 minutes ago saying he tried to call me, but it didn't work, despite my telling him before the last failed interview that I would need to do it on Skype because I'm still out of the country without an international phone until Friday. That failed interview, he also made me wait an hour before telling me he had to reschedule. I'm now super late to a dinner reservation I made with friends for my last night in Prague, and I'm going to have to take a cab. Fuck.

[TheDreamingHawk]

When I finally passed that hard Japanese final I thought I wouldn't have to post on this topic for a long time, but I was wrong.

Argh... So today my grandmother took me to the local stores to look for any amiibo that caught my eye. I found a Sonic Amiibo, so I bought it and was about to go home, until she suddenly said "Alright Connor you are driving home", which made me worry sick. Why would I do this you may ask? Well...

I have a HUGE phobia of dying in a car accident, thanks to a stupid, stupid, STUPID PSA my school showed me many years ago that was incredibly graphic to discourage texting while driving. Obviously I know not to do that, but the fact that it was so graphic made me terrified to drive period. You see, while I won't link it in fear of scaring someone else, it was pretty much about stereotypical teenage girls who texted while driving and got into an accident. OK, that makes sense, but then they show an insane amount of blood from the result of the crash, and in the aftermath all of her friends die. That's a bit extreme, but it gets the message across

But the part that scarred me for life was this small scene where the vehicle she hit, driven by parents who were doing everything they were supposed to do got damaged as well, with both parents dying due to somebody else's actions, and their child was crying non stop telling them to wake up. When you see that at 12 years of age that's downright horrifying to see a child cry over the bodies of his dead parents who were normal drivers all because someone ELSE did something bad, and ever since I refused to drive in fear that I would end up like those parents, even if I was an expert driver.

However, my grandmother insisted when I turned 14 that I should drive, since I was of age. So she took me down for a permit test (Where you study and answer questions to get a permit) and I failed at first. When I learned that it wasn't actually law to get a driving permit/license I failed the remaining tries on purpose, hoping to get out of driving, but then my grandmother got upset and told me if I kept failing she would take away every item in my room until I passed, so I had no choice and I studied again, finally passing.

...And then I hid it for two years, never to use it due to my fear until last fall when my grandmother decided to suddenly enroll me in a driver's education course to get my license. Again, I didn't want to go but I was forced to under the threat of "if you don't learn how to drive you'll never get to a job as an adult". Somehow, I passed, but I feel it was due to the fact that my instructor had a brake on his side of the car that he would use whenever he wanted which made me not worry at all.

So I got my license which brings us to today, where in the past few months my grandmother has "surprised" me into driving home from a place she takes me to, since I have to bring my wallet whenever I buy something, I bring the license as well, meaning it's her PERFECT chance to go "OK Connor, drive home and remember the route!" At first it wasn't so bad, as they were short distances with no traffic, and I was getting better!

But today she decided to make it super difficult by forcing me to take a route which would lead me to a four way intersection with many cars nearby. I got very nervous, so I went slow like I usually do (20 MPH is my max speed unless I'm forced to go faster, due to my fear of accidents), only to be yelled at by my grandmother to go faster, due to being on a busier street. Getting upset, I was then told to go to "the lane". Problem is, there were TWO lanes my grandparents took to get home. One was a turn lane and one was a straight lane. I wasn't sure what she meant because she wouldn't specify, calling it "the lane", so I went to the right turn lane where she then screamed at me and said "NO! The other lane!" Which scared me due to the sudden scream and made me almost hit a truck on the left lane, to the point I actually let out the first major curse word in almost ten years. (I rarely swear and even then it's only minor words, this was the first time I used a vulgar word in ages) Yelling at my grandmother for not telling me WHAT lane to choose, she told me I should know the way home, which I countered with me arguing that both lanes take us home, yet she didn't tell me until it was too late that the one I took was the hard route.

Regardless, I slowly made it home and was about to end the horror until she said "OK you didn't do well so go around the neighborhood!" Which made me infuriated as I hate going around the neighborhood, mainly due to so many cars parked on the side of the road, making it hard for me to stay in my lane. As I was almost approaching home again, I waited for her to tell me when to turn my signal on, only for her to never do so. I went right by it and she just said "Oh you missed it", making me MORE mad as it meant I had to drive even longer just because she didn't tell me when the turn was. (And yes I know I should have seen it but I was focused on keeping myself safe that I put too much faith in her) Eventually, I finally got home where the terror ended.

...But seriously, I hate every second of driving. Every time I'm told to drive I argue, hoping that she won't make me fear death on a day I'm supposed to be happy. I've considered shredding my Driver's License a few times to end it, but my subconscious prevents me from doing anything I know was bad. I don't get it, why am I scared of driving despite being 17 years old? Why am I scared of accidents while other kids younger than me have no care in the world? Why did that stupid PSA have to be shown to 12 year old me? I really am unsure what to do. I don't consider them "bad parents" or anything (Quite the opposite, as they along with my father saved me from a crazy mother nine years ago), but it makes me wonder if they even understand my fear of death, especially since I almost died back before they rescued me. I know they love me and that they want me to be safe, but I'm frustrated that they think forcing me to drive will help me get over it.

So yeah, that's a lot I had to say... Sincere apologies if I went on too long, but it really makes me nervous, as driving is something I'm downright terrified about. I'd rather spend money on public transportation or just walk to places instead of driving. How do I fix this stupid phobia? How do I become a normal driver?

[Maelstrom]

Well, I can sort of identify with you. You see, I have this horrible phobia of bees. It's completely irrational, but it won't go away. I know that quoting statistics won't help in the least, nor will saying "just get over it."

So, how do you get over it? Chances are, that PSA you saw 5 years ago is not quite as bad as you remember it, despite it seemingly being burned into your mind. Irrational fears have a habit of doing things like that. Keep in mind the PSA was also supposed to be as traumatic as possible to get the message across.

The worst thing about phobias is how they seem to be "confirmed."Every time you see an article in the paper or merge badly (Which I've done quite a few times), that phobia just gets stronger. That's why my phobia of bees/wasps/hornets is so bad today. Remember that texting and driving is illegal in many more states than it was 5 years ago.

Just a tip: I've merged very badly quite a few times. But remember, the driver you didn't see is competent as well. They WILL honk at you if you're going to hit them.

Where do you live? In a big city? In the country? Suburbs?

Note: I've been driving for 2.5 years and love it, but I still hate city driving/busy roads, so don't feel like you are alone in that fear.

[Bespinben]

she told me I should know the way home

I'm not the only geographically-challenged person out there? Oh mercy me. Don't know what I'd do without Google Maps. People telling me directions is like gibberish ("just get onto the Freeway from !#$@$% and take Exit !$@#$^ onto !#$@#$%").

bees

AKA Demon Spawn. Like, I know the honey bees grazing the flower beds aren't supposed to bother you, but I still keep my distance as much as possible. I think it's the sound of buzzing that's the biggest trigger for me.

[InsigTurtle]

I think you should start driving with someone who respects your limits, but tries to slowly increase them. The pressure doesn't help. Even if you've passed a driver ed course, if you don't have the confidence or the will to do it, you shouldn't do it.

 I think it's quite reasonable to have that fear- I'm still quite nervous about controlling a heavy, potentially fatal object at high speeds, but with time, the confidence, control and experience helped me start enjoying it. Sure, there is a chance of dying, but the probability is fairly low. If that fear is still present when doing 5 in an empty parking lot, I'm not too sure what to do. just try not to beat yourself up over it.

[Bubbles]

I was terrified of driving until I was forced to drive on three different interstates to and home from a location. My gps kept leading me into these crazy highways and I eventually just ignored it and ended up finding a better path, and ever since then I've felt so powerful driving.

I think it's necessary to be a little uncomfortable while driving. If you get to confident or cocky you stop paying attention and miss little details, but if you're nervous then you'll notice everything that's important and you'll have a faster reaction time when needed. Not too nervous of course, but you always need some degree of caution

Or, if this proves to be a lifelong issue for you, just move to a big city. City residents don't really have a need for cars and driving most of the time

[mikey]

yeah actually your driving scenario is pretty typical, it's going to be scary.  It gets easier with practice.  I was terrified to start driving (and also had the geographical sense of a moth) but it really gets a lot easier after a while, it really does.  Just do it some more