Århus designskole Afslutningsudstilling // forår 2013

By Iskra Dinkova

Aarhus Design School’s End of year exhibition // Spring 2013

 

 

Photography school’s exhibition

By Iskra Dinkova

FOTOGRAFISK SKOLE UDSTILLER

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A living rainbow

The story of the Pride Parade (Aarhus, Denmark | June 1 2013) in pictures. By Iskra Dinkova.

Hey, teacher! Leave those kids alone!

By Iskra Dinkova-Blogger

I have been struggling lately: struggling with deciding what to do with myself after graduating, struggling with trying to do something worthwhile, struggling with life in general. It came to my attention that I was not the only one, but that of course did not made things easier – it only increases the competition.

It dawned on me what society, the economy or even the sheer feeling of ending up on top is doing to your fellow man.
As I mentioned, I am soon to graduate from something that I love doing and I am faced with the decision to either continue my education or stop for a while and get “real-life” experience.

My question is: how did I get here. If my parents hadn’t pushed and shoved me all the way from when I started primary school till late high school, I wouldn’t be the highly educated person I am today. I probably owe them more than I can ever imagine, that kind of love, sacrifice, late-night nagging, sending me away to boarding school, is hard to come by, or so I thought.

Now when I actually need their decision-making skills, they are nowhere to be found. Maybe because I am on the short track on becoming an adult, although I physically am there and have been for some years now, mentally – I wouldn’t say so. Maybe because it depends on me and only me what I want to do with myself later on in life.
Only if I knew.

It is not that easy determining what you want to become “when you grow up”. When I was a table-height little girl and I was asked that, I would always answer something different each time: once I would say a ballerina, another time I would say – a singer , but my most common answer was “to be an artist”. That maybe explains the academic path that I had taken so far and maybe that should give me some orientation to what I should study, but sadly it doesn’t.

Being the indecisive mess that I am I had consulted with friends and specialists (teachers and a psychologist) on what I should do with myself and – no surprise there – no one could give me a solid answer. Of course they couldn’t, from disregard or simply being unable to comprehend my situation properly, but my friends had more on an argument.

“Study at a credible school, which will make your resume competition-worthy” – I do admit he had some point here, but it’s a huge matter of personal preference. How can I go to some huge university, where my lecturers don’t know me and the classes fill up auditoriums instead of class rooms? I have been attending Business Academy, which (if the name didn’t give it out) is an academy i.e. small and manageable classes which allows you to network easily, a subject per day which doesn’t require you to change your mindset from one subject to another and best of all – one on one communication with whichever lecturer or staff member. Sounds perfect, right? The thing is, this lovely atmosphere won’t get you far in life as I see.

“Study something that has a payoff” – and with that sentence my friend threw me to the wolves, so to speak, and started showing be some hard core economic/business/engineering bachelors and top-up programs which made my jaw drop from surprise: how can I study something that I do not enjoy? And then his point hit me – life isn’t about enjoying what you do it’s about making tons of Shift + 4 and assuring your mind some peace and quiet.

I beg to differ. All this time my parents were pushing me forward so I can be well-educated and to have a shot at making above average earnings, because that would make me happy. Choosing a better school and a more complex sounding program would make my resume seem brighter and give me more chances at an amazingly paid position and thus make me happy.
Do you see the patter?

In reality, I would be perfectly happy being a shepherd in Tibet, with no worries of the caliber that I am experiencing, forced on me by society and everybody else’s “not-enough” complex.

What do you think?

Keep your technology – Give me chocolate!

Iskra Dinkova-Blogger: I really dislike writing about myself, mainly because I have no clue on what I should write and then what I write would be influenced on my current mood, so it’s either going to be a very bleak and depressing introduction or a very cute and bubbly one. To spare you the headache, let’s say that the phrase “everything and nothing” fits me quite well, so move along.

Iskra Dinkova–Tech Bohemian Blogger

I have a confession to make – I am a total technology bohemian and I’m damn proud of that. The year is 2013, we’re well into the 21st century – technology reaches its peak every day and with every day it gets improved, innovated and marketed and yet creatures like me exist. Threat not, we are but a dying breed.

Can you imagine anyone to be able to function properly or survive their morning/evening commute without their precious MacBooks, iPads, iPods, Kindles and whatever else there is on the shelves at your local soul-vendor? I personally cannot. And it is a rare sight to see someone who is not “plugged in” (besides myself) during my train rides to work and on my way back home, on the bus, even on the street while walking (very smart). The people who are usually not “plugged in” are old ladies, concentrated on their knitting or loud youth groups, which I tolerate simply because they are not staring into a not-so-cheap piece of plastic as if their lives depended on it.

I must sound like a 70+ old man, shaking his fist at new-fangled LCD screen TVs, mumbling: “-Gosh darn wiper snappers, why don’t they cure cancer or do something productive for a change!”, but I’m not. In actuality I am a twenty-year-old Multimedia design student, who is kind of in “the know” about technology, trends etc. (or supposed to be), but choses to live a happy and gadget-sucking-on-my-wallet-free life.

Here is my first example: I have a cell phone which is not a smart phone. I got it as a gift when I was in the 6th grade, it still works perfectly and I still use it. This phone is more unbreakable than the Nokia 3310 and has served me loyally through so many years, which is more than I could say for any of the modern-day smart phones. Of course the operating system is from the stone age, I can’t download applications nor can it multitask, but it serves its purpose – it’s a phone, to call people with (whenever I’m in an emergency and/or The Internet is down).

My next example: portable music gadgets. I have one of those. It came into my life when I was in 8th grade, got it as a gift for Christmas. I remember these details because I anticipated it, begged my parent to get me one for such a long time and when I finally found it under the Christmas tree – I was beside myself from joy. Does that even happen nowadays? Probably not. Now for the “shocker” part: I still use that MP3 player (note: it’s not an iPod, but a simple MP3 player), still works like a charm, it may have just 1GB of memory, but can you honestly go through 16GB of music in one day, one week, one month, a year? Don’t think so. I personally listen to one song on repeat for ages. As little functions and memory as it might have, it has served me well and it fulfills its purpose – it keeps me entertained when life needs a bit of soundtrack.

My last example: the thingies filling the gap between a phone and laptop. Was there ever a need for them – I do not know, but since the idea of their existence has been implemented deeply into my psyche, I sometimes catch myself saying: “Gosh, it would be so much easier if I didn’t have to whip out my whole laptop to do a simple task…”, but shortly after the more reasonable thought follows: “Why would you need that, for something that a pen and paper can solve?”. And then the debate with myself stops because at this people are probably looking at me weirdly (more than usual). Bottom line is – I’ve never used an iPad, iPad-mini, Amazon Kindle or whatever you may have for you off-the-laptop-break, much like an African tribe member’s reaction towards the internet – I have never used it ergo I see no use for it. Close-minded as that might be I seem to be functioning quite properly without the aid of modern-day knick-knacks.

What is the point of all this?
My point is that today’s urge for having the latest and greatest in technology is resulting in constant consumerism which is similar to some sort of virus, or even worse – zombie condition in the user (*You don’t say*)(*Here’s where the zombie apocalypse will raise from*).

Next time your favorite brand releases a slightly developed version of what you already have, ask yourself: “Do I really need it?”. Well, do you? If your old device works and performs its purpose, then what is the point of upgrading?
With this article I do not wish to offend nor start a ruckus with the users of whatever they feel that I am describing, but I would enjoy a fiery discussion. Nor do I want to come off as superior as “I do not fit in the status quo therefore I am automatically better”, well maybe just a tiny bit… I do not care if you have the latest, the oldest or none of the above mentioned – if you have good use for whatever you are using, then money well spent.

Me, personally – I feel happy because I have to deal with a few addictions less than everyone around me. Am I some broke student, angry that I can’t afford any of the products at the Apple store? –Nope, even if I was making more than I could spend I would dedicate it to travel and food.
Keep your technology – give me chocolate!