Location
Been consuming a lot of content with more romance focused stories lately. I guess I’m lonely after all, or just not occupied with other hobbies (gaming, gaming, and uh gaming). A majority (if not all) are stories from Asia - Japan, China, and Korea mostly. No surprise really since it’s all comics, manga, manhua, manwha.
It’s made me think.. my childhood wasn’t stable. I left my home country when I was 8, turning 9. I didn’t speak English and had to learn it very rapidly at school. We moved around between motels and then a furnished house for a while, before moving to another city and I started school. Then I moved to another primary school before graduating. Through various conversions I ended up skipping a year so I was younger. Then started at a new intermediate school (a stage of 2 years, after primary and before highschool, idk why it exists) before moving again to another country. I skipped a year then actually I think. We moved from that tiny hellhole to a slightly smaller, tiny hellhole. Managed to complete highschool (last 2.5 years) here and graduated. Then we had to move again, and even though I tried to break free and become independent, the government assistant programs weren’t fast enough to assist before we had to flee the country basically.
As soon as I could, I got a job in the new (old) country I ended up in. I had my training on my 18th birthday and started shortly after (which was good, because I had to be 18 to work there [it was a video games store, but it sold 18+ content so I had to be over 18 as well]). I worked and lazed for about 6 months before getting pressured into studying. I like compootahs, so I did a basic course on IT support. I did TAFE at school for IT certs but this was more technical. I lost my job at the game store due to the company going under (owned by a video store that rented VHS and DVDs.. yeah you can see why it went under.) so I struggled a bit to make ’ends’ meet. Luckily I was living with my sister so living costs were very low due to her kindness, but government support etc. was barely enough to cover meals and transport to and fro education. When I completed the training and got certification, I was promised assistance in getting a job, but that didn’t work out.. so I had to rely on connections, like most people I guess.
My brother had a friend who worked at the regional council, and they took me on as an intern sort of role - wasn’t meant to be paid, just experience. But I ended up getting converted into a full time term employee. I don’t remember the right term, but basically I was there until some changes were happening to the council and I’d have to reapply for a full time permanent role. I looked for other roles and had a few interviews, ended up getting a job on the Service Desk of a MSP. This was also when I moved out from my sisters place (she was getting married, I didn’t want to be there for that). So I started my new hell life in a new place.
Over a decade later (a decade and a half, really) I’m still living at the same place, and working for the same company, although there was a break inbetween for that. ANYWAY as I said I’ve been consuming a lot more content lately from those parts of the world and I can’t help but feel that culture there, at least portrayed the way it is by the authors, seems much more compatible with my lifestyle and my personality. I don’t hate the countries I’ve lived in and where I live now, I just feel like if I lived over there, I’d be much more comfortable and have a better life, be more understood and not as outcast. I might also be a totally different person and wish to be where I am now. Grass is always greener on the other side as they say.