Who am I?

For those who don't already know, since I've been around ITAT for quite a while now already: Hey, I'm Martin, 26 years old, about 6 feet tall and 143 lbs. heavy (which I suppose is rather skinny for that height).

As a person, I'd label myself a "fun-loving dirt bag" all in all. That doesn't necessarily mean I feel particularly comfortable when not having showered for days, yet it occasionally happens when being on tour with a punk rock band. And the "fun" aspect of that definitely outweighs the hygienic one in most cases. (Hey, at least you may still brush your teeth at weigh stations and clean yourself a little with baby wipes in between shows) :)

For the majority of the day my head is filled with music. I'd see it as a universal language with little to no room for potential misinterpretation (as it might occur when two individuals engage in chatting online e.g). Even allegedly simple things such as chord progressions on the guitar could get me in a melancholic, contemplative mood, but also fuel my enthusiasm in order to face certain challenges of life. (Like focusing on university tasks) All this happens without me even hearing the lyrics, which eventually just add to the whole picture by giving the song a more distinctive meaning.

Moreover, I'd consider myself to be blessed with a very bad sense of humor (graphic, immature, but hopefully not as offending and annoying as I see it myself at times), tendencies of martyrdom and a big potty mouth. Even so, I also try to be considerate when it comes down a serious dialogue or debate, since I'm really interested in communication between people.

So please feel free to leave comments about my posts and call me on my shit. I will most definitely call you on yours too if I strongly disagree with your opinion.

I've attached some pictures from a UK tour I've participated in two weeks ago as well as a song by the amazing Ani DiFranco here in order to give an overall impression of "who I am, what I do and what I say. If you like it, let me be. If you don't, please do the same" :)

Cheers and beers! (Photo: (C) Irena Udovič from the Slovenian DIY network/record label Giljotina)

Who am I?

Hey guys! Some of you might already know me from my individual blog called ‘the life of Selin’ but for all of you who don’t know me by now: continue reading this blogpost if you’re interested!
Well first of all, my name is Selin Canli. As my surname indicates, I’m not 100% Austrian. My mother had a colleague who wanted to travel to Turkey to meet her penfriend and my mum joined her. There she met the brother of her colleague’s penfriend and he became my father later. The colleague of my mum married her penfriend and is now my aunt. Quite funny isn’t it?

But now I’ll tell you more about myself. Today I turned 19 and I live near Wr. Neustadt in Lower Austria. I have an elder brother and an elder sister. People who don’t know me would probably describe me as shy but when they get to know me better they soon find out that I’m a very humorous person and that I’m obsessed with singing. I took singing lessons for some years and had some gigs but due to university I had to quit. Down below there is a video of me performing Wings by Birdy. This was the first time I accompanied myself on the piano.

Beside making music I also love listening to music and so I often go to concerts and festivals. For instance I’ve been to Nova Rock and Frequency and saw bands like Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, A day to Remember, Kiss, Iron Maiden and many more. If you want to find out even more about me feel free to walk over and have a chat with me at the Wall. 

Who am I II

The disastrous sequel to Who I am–the blog no one red*
Same title, same boredom, same idiot
Starring: Micéle S. Red van Shouten
Guests: Vincence Sega, Noncence Atari

In my last picturesque autobiography (yes it is, considering the fact that it was actually supposed to be a flyer) of my pseudo rock star life I may have mentioned that I spent my spare time with writing lyrics and vocal lines for a modern Melodic Metal band once in the early years of our still young century. After that phase of representing testosterone, glamour, and testosterone I realized that I grew old and therefore nintended to set priorities–which meant to become more mellow and less dick, which also meant that I had to change the majority of my habits.
Consequently, in order not to challenge my countable amount of hair too much, I gave up screaming and headbanging. One says that losing hair doesn't come with Metal Music but with age. Whatever the real reason, I haven't found a recipe for staying young and potent at the same time, so I 'ave to blame my past music "carrier" for the undeniable existence of my unholy shakra's landing area that life off the beaten track automatically brought about. In other words, life sucks and below I may tell you why....

Who am I? – The bloke no one met

After my share of time with the band, I constantly played with the thought of founding my very own Metal band. Since I didn't want this little dream to turn into an idea as bland and unconceivable as a deluded open-air-baby-fart I accomplished what I thought was a smart plan.
First, I wrote some easy-cheesy songs with the equipment I already had. Then I bought office materials, brand-new studio equipment, furniture and tools vital for every kind of upcoming working process I had in mind, and other inexpensive materials I needed to mount the entire homemade installation. For instance, I had to collect a few dozens of these 29 centimeter-long, square-shaped egg boxes which I fixed on the wall as an improvised isolation against unwanted reverberation.
Having collected all this, I built a low-price working room for creative work that served as both a music studio (for recording vocals and guitars) and a contemporary atelier (for keyboard programming, drawing, textwriting, and artistic jewellery).

Atelier/Office

Studio part, first wall

I knew it would take me some time to bring this concept to existence but I was sure it would be worth spending time and euros on it. The entire working process, which lasted several months–due to the fact that I usually had to work in kitchens or on assembly lines during the day–kept me from uncanny behavior that every second hobby-psychologist would define as manic depressions. Simply staying busy was the best I could do during my creative phase between summer 2007 (the year in which the old band "dissolved into parts") and winter 2012 (the second year of my first semester TKK studies): I wrote songs; sometimes drew pictures; did a few remunerative jobs for several companies; and kind of tried to manage my beginning language studies. I also played basketball once in a while.

In the same phase–to be precise, in the autumn of 2009–my job as a kitchen hand brought back to consciousness my interest in cooking, a hobby that has always been quite consoling to me (especially back in times when I constantly had to concern myself with death and other hurtful goodbyes). Until late spring 2012 my home kitchen was equipped with a perfectly functioning oven and a spacious stove area above.  In the professional kitchen where I used to work [in the mentioned year] I could improve my cutting techniques and, as a result, it was more fun trying out new recipes at home. I did fairly well in baking pizzas, creating pastas, and baking fruit cakes,.. and minestrone.

Since my leisure time was marked by demotivating solitude, I prospected for a change in my life that would make me feel less lonesome; I didn't find the answer ever since.
Even so, I changed my life completely: First–pushed by constant arguments with the real estate agent–I gave up my fifty-square meter luxury home in which I mounted (and, logically, later demounted) my working room and instead moved in a forty years old mega-tight camping trailer where I managed my studies during what was actually supposed to be the warm season.

–Ass-kicked by misfortune, I had to deal with the coldest spring in hundred years of Austrian history (2013)–no joke–and that meant snow until May; resulting freezing feet all day all night; resulting frozen hair after somewhat zero-degree-cold showers; resulting panic attacks; a resulting weak nervous system; resulting outrageous behavior such as regular irregular shadow-boxing-sessions; and resulting spontaneous hundred-percent-necessary, desperate screaming concerts combined with loco running-in-circles. (There wasn't more order than I already put into this writing.) Of course, action taking place next to a public cemetery...   I doubt that I'll ever mentally recuperate from this "historical spring". Glad that it's over now; Back to the story–

I gave up my home, moved in a trailor, and from then on tried to focus on my studies. On top of that, in the winter of 2012, I would radically change my eating habits and become a vegan. In my first vegan spring, creations would work out fairly well; and on a monthly trip to Ljubljana, Slovenia I was given the opportunity to conjure up my first pizza–free from dairy, free from meat, free from whatever animals might be able to give unwillingly.
Becoming a vegan and now actually being some kind of convinced vegan was/is by far the most challenging personal modification for me as a recognized designer. What is most fertilizing is how different world makes sense these days.

Before autumn 2012; stuffed turkey roulade
in soy-Feta sauce with zucchini and potatoes

Winter season 2012/13; seitan burgers
in portobello sauce with yeast bread

The sad thing about what I'm telling you is that I can show you a few of my creations but unfortunately, those pics won't give you a clear idea about me as a person. What I can tell you is how I would like to be, what I think sometimes keeps me from being myself, and best–what part of my bad characteristics I don't want to give up (although these matters may not make me appear like an amiable mate).

I remember, I once was a very sociable and sanguine kind of guy who was well-integrated in society. Today matters are totally different. I barely smile and usually only laugh after a work-out in order to fill my lungs with oxygen. But I'm a desperate, misanthropic moaner for a reason: I trusted in the wrong ones for ages and now don't have the slightest idea how to integrate myself in my environment. In fact, I am still trying to shape a personal image I myself could undoubtedly accept. What's more, I usually cannot partake in group activities if my role inside of it isn't directing or to a certain degree authorative (certainly, because I had too little to compose in my own life). Since this summer of 2012 I am literally homeless and therefore cannot keep track. I am constantly afraid of losing my private space, and the fact that my budget–which I need to continue my studies–still melts away doesn't keep my composure upright. Sometimes I would like to be a little more sensitive, less consuming, more reserved, and more cooperative. But I truly struggle with the rest of the world, simply because I don't have a single loved person with whom I could share thoughts of what permanently burdens my breast. Since the split of the old Metal band I am with no one straight but me myself. That hurts and feels disgusting. I am wholeheartedly disappointed about the last seven years of my life, and I cannot find a single humanitarian aspect that could raise an honest smile. My life is real shit. That's why I'd do wrong if I didn't moan all day.

The only good thing about me as a person is that I never totally gave up myself and always found business that allured some creative and invigorating moments throughout these dark ages. In the last four years I read over hundred books (including comics of course) and now, eventually, I consequently feel like writing and expressing my view of the world, in which I appear to dwell: Ten years ago I started with an idea, the story of a helpless vagrant under a Grazian bridge. Last year I wrote the first scenes and some monologues. And in a warm and cozy Grazian nuthouse I even drew five sketches that could accompany my wordy story telling. Well, and since I do not want to pull you into my very private abyss, I instead provide you with two more pictures that may be able to give you a first fertilizing impression of my future work. It's a little queer.

Under the bridge

In prison

Thanks for your attention
CU in class
Michael

Who Am I?

Hello all my fellow readers! :)

My name is Maximilian Herneth, you could either call me Max or Maxi (The most call me Maxi but I listen to both "versions"). I turned 20-years-old in early 2015. I come from a beautiful area called Kitzeck, which is located near Leibnitz in the very south of Styria. Kitzeck is well-known for its wine-production and is the highest wine-growing village in Europe. 

I grew up with my family, which consists of my mother, my father, my grandmother and my five brothers and one sister (I am the youngest of them all :P). We are pretty close to each other and I sometimes really miss the times when everybody was at home at the weekends and we had a full house. Since the most have left the house now I get really excited over Holidays like Christmas and Easter since the whole family comes back together again at least sometimes now. Here is a picture of us from the wedding of my oldest brother in 2014:

I'm the second to the left :)

Well I guess that’s enough talk about from where I am from and my family. Let’s talk a little bit more about myself. Unfortunately I can’t tell you much about where around the world I have been like the most of the other posts on here, because I haven’t been to too many countries. So I’ll rather write about some of my interests.

Derrick Rose, my favourite basketballer out there.

First of all I’m a really huge NBA fan. A few years ago I started watching the sport and I have been hooked ever since. Sadly I can’t play it for myself due to some reasons. My favourite team are the Chicago Bulls, and watching some games from the sideline in Chicago is probably my biggest wish right now. Why I like the sport so much would be a discussion I rather wouldn't start on the internet :P Feel free to approach me if you are a fan as well!

Another sport I like is American Football, which I got into last autumn. I got into both sports by video games, which is kind of contradicting if you think about it. But it tells you something else about me: I like to play video games :P

Another really important thing in my life is music. You'll probably never see me leave the house without my headphones. I need my daily dose of music, otherwise the day simply can not be a good day. Music always helps me. It has helped he with my own confidence and always sets me in a relaxed mood. It even helps me concentrate before test and in learning sessions. What kind of music do I listen to? Rap and Hip Hop. But not what you might think right now. The mainstream rap which has been produced and has been popular for the last decade is a utter joke in my eyes, but that's a different discussion that could go on for hours... 

The biggest person to me is J. Cole, who just makes wonderful and meaningful Rap music.

Well, I'm going to stop here otherwise this would just turn into a brick wall of a text and I don't want you all to suffer :P 

I hope you got to know me at least a bit and I hope I can make some friends here :D

Who am I?

Hey there!

So the new semester has just started and I think all of us are surrounded by a lot of people we’ve never seen before. Since quite a lot of you probably don’t know me, I’d like to give you a quick overview of who I am! J

My name is Stefanie, but most people call me Steffi. I’m 18 years old and I’m a family person, really animal-loving and addicted to chocolate (out of all the addictions that exist probably the best one, right?).

Gai

In October 2014 I moved to Graz because I decided to go to university here. Living in such a big city was a huge change for me, because I spent my entire life up until now living in a small village called Gai where there’s absolutely nothing but meadows and cows. Oh wait, there was a gas station once – but it was closed a few years ago. This may seem horrible to people who are used to living in the city, but the older I got the more I appreciated the beauty of my hometown. Actually, I think I’m pretty lucky to have been able to spend my childhood in such a beautiful place. But Graz isn’t that bad either, and I’m getting used to it.

My hobbies aren’t really exceptional. First of all, I like movies. My preferred genres range from thriller and action movies, to fantasy and drama movies. As some of you may remember from our first English class, my favourite movie is Lord of the Rings. I’ve seen it about five times by now and I could probably watch it 50 times without getting tired of it. Secondly, I really like music, especially rock and metalcore music. You can’t imagine how excited I get when one of my favourite bands finally announces a show in Austria. Lastly, what I absolutely love is travelling. If travelling was for free, I probably wouldn’t do anything else ever again (though I’d have to find a way to take my cat with me). Exploring foreign places and cultures is so fascinating. The world is so diverse and it’s wonderful!

Well that’s it for now, time to read your posts. I’m really looking forward to getting to know all of you!

Who am I?

Hello dear fellow students!

To be honest, I am not very good at introducing myself. I think it's always easier to talk about others than about oneself. But anyway, I'll do my best to let you know a bit about me.

My full name is Lena Ogris, which isn't a very long or extraordinary one. But if you're from Carinthia, especially from the South, you may immediately be able to tell which town I am from according to my last name. You may not find a single street here without anybody called 'Ogris' living in it. The town's name is Ferlach which I am sure you have heard about. Either because of the weapons being produced here or because of the famous school where you learn how to produce weapons (of course they also teach other things). 

So, the place where I was raised and spent the greatest part of my life in, is the one mentioned above. But the place where I was born is a rough but charming hanseatic town called Bremen in the north of Germany. My northern German roots are probably the reason why I prefer the sea to the mountains and hate skiing more than any other type of sport.

not the most beautiful side of Bremen, but I like it

I have to admit that there actually isn't any type of sport I really enjoy participating. My passion is music, as well playing it myself as listening to it. There's no better way for me to relax than playing the piano for an hour after a long day. I play the guitar too sometimes, but in my opinion there is no other instrument as multifarious as the piano. It can produce the softest as well as the most powerful sounds. 

my piano with notes by Ludovico Einaudi

I could go on and tell you about other activities I enjoy, music I like, places I've been to... But I don't want this to become long-winded. This must be enough information for you to get an idea of who I am. Enjoy your weekend!

Hi, it's me!

Dear fellow students! (:

As required, I am going to give you a glimpse into my life.

My name is Mirjam Urach and I come from a small, rural village in Carinthia. As I have lived there for all my life, I am enjoying life in the city all the more.  It was quite a positive change of scenery to move to Graz, I have to say. Last fall I began to study English and Spanish in Graz and I believe it was the best decision I could have made.

Two hobbies of mine I want to mention are music and reading. Music is a great part of my family, so it has always been in my life. I enjoy singing in a choir and playing the piano. In my childhood, I was pretty crazy about nearly all the flutes available. In secondary school I took guitar lessons, but if you would ask me now to play something, I could not. Therefore, I plan on picking up that instrument again at some point in the future. So, it's just the piano right now. Of course, I also love listening to music. As I mentioned, reading is another passion of mine. I believe it's important not to just read one particular genre. Right now, I am working my way through a pile of books from my aunt. They are mainly about the Dalai Lama and Tibet, which I think is a very interesting topic.

In search of something in my room to show you, that card I got in a restaurant caught my eye. The fun thing is that only today I became aware of the fact that the text on it is kind of my motto. Keep calm and eat pasta! As I am too nervous and worried about things in general, I often tell myself to just keep calm. Keep calm and look on the bright side. Also be more relaxed and most importantly enjoy life, do things which make you happy and be with people who make you happy. The second part is “eat pasta” and to that I can say that I am a vegetarian who loves eating everything related to pasta. Over the years, I have gained more insight into how bad the massive meat consumption is for humans, animals and the environment. So I am glad to have abandoned my animal eating self years ago and I can only tell you to follow Barilla's advice. Eat pasta. It tastes better anyway! (;

So, that was it from my part.

Bye! :D

Who am I?

Extremely chatty, ambitious and cheeky. If you ask my close friends or family to describe me you will most probably hear one of those characteristics at some point. Let me introduce you to myself, my lovely friends!

I am Nora, an Egyptian girl who was born and raised in Austria. My grandfather first came to Austria in the 1970s to study chemistry in Vienna. After getting his doctor‘s degree and finding a job here, he decided to stay. As a result my mother and my two aunts were also born and raised here and even went to the same school I later went to. Let me tell you…it was pretty weird to have some teachers ask you about your mom and aunts, because they were once their students! :p

Despite having most of my family close to me, many of my friends and cousins still live in Egypt, which is why I travel back to my home-country at least once every two years to visit my loved ones.

Landing in Cairo, Egypt :)

But enough about my roots! Let me tell you more about my personality. As I already mentioned I am a very ambitious person. Ever since I was a little girl I have always known what I wanted and how to get it, not by convincing others to simply give it to me, no. But by working hard to achieve it. And quite frankly I can be a real pain in the neck when I set my mind on something. I will not only drive myself crazy in order to achieve it, but usually people around me as well…probably a reason why I’m not in everybody’s good books.

When things get a little too crazy, I usually have two ways to escape: watching matches of my favourite football club or listening to music. I absolutely adore music! You will never see me doing something without music in the background, except studying. Other than that I always like to have my favourite tunes - a mix of English and Arabic music and all kinds of genres - playing while I am doing something, be it preparing breakfast, doing my makeup or cleaning my apartment. I even sing along most of the time, which according to several friends doesn’t even sound so bad. However, I prefer not to claim that I can actually sing. :D

Well, and some of you are probably curious now: What is her favourite football team in the world? My Catalan friends, you won’t be too pleased to hear that, but my favourite team is Real Madrid. Ever since I was little I would sit next to my grandfather in front of the TV and watch them play and I guess my passion for them is just a family tradition he has passed down to me. Even though my love for Madrid started with their most famous football team, it has grown way beyond that over the course of time. Today, the Spanish capital is one of my favourite places to visit, although I have already been there twice. I just love the language, the people who are incredibly friendly and, of course, the food! ;)

I have even had the chance to watch my favourite team play at my favourite city! It was an unforgettable experience! And let me tell you…Madrid is definitely worth a trip! If you’re not a football fan, you will be amazed by at least another thousand things this wonderful city, abounding in art, music, architecture and dance can offer. 

Madrid, a place with a thousand things to discover

 Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the pitch on which the best team in the world plays ;)

The beautiful Plaza de Cibeles in the heart of Spain's capital.

Who am I? من انا؟

Well, I am an half Egyptian – Austrian girl living in Graz. My parents named me Nora because it is a typical Arabic name, meaning light, but in the same time Nora is also known in Austria. Actually my dad is an Egyptian and my extended family still live in the heart of Cairo. That is the reason why I have become a traveler. At least once a year I go to Egypt to visit my family and friends. That allowed me to gain deep insight into the Arabic way of thinking and the lifestyle. These aspects differ greatly from the European ones.

 I grew up bilingual – Arabic and German- and I that’s why I was able to develop a sense of language. So I decided to study Arabic and English at the University of Graz.  My interest in other foreign cultures is another reason why I have chosen “transcultural communication”.  Besides languages I am a passionate musician and dancer. I have been playing the flute since I was a child and I am currently performing in an orchestra.

In terms of my personality I am a really open-minded person because of my cultural background. My attitude is a mix of European and Arabic ideas and ideologies, which makes it hard sometimes to come to a decision in particular things. However, I am really proud of my Arabic-Austrian descent even if it is not visible from my appearance. Another streak is that I am a peaceful person. I don’t like arguments or fights and I am always trying to solve problems in a diplomatic way. I think this is much more efficient than insulting and shouting at each other.

Who am I?

I would like to start with two questions, people often ask when they meet me. The most common question: “Is this your real name or a nickname?” People often ask this, because my name is Sissy. My parents named me after an Austrian empress, whose nickname was Sissi. The second question I get (mostly by strangers!): “When kissing, isn’t this disturbing or painful?” When people say this, they are referring to my labret ‘spike’, which you can see in this picture. The answer to the first question: No, this is not a nickname my name truly is Sissy. The other answer: No, it is neither painful nor disturbing and I have not hurt anyone with my piercing.

When I was younger, I discovered my love for Finland and its language. Because of this, I decided to study Finnish language and culture in Vienna. During my studies in Vienna, I spent one year in Finland as an exchange student. I enjoyed my stay so much, that I feel like I have left a piece of my heart in this fascinating and beautiful Nordic country. Tampere, the city I stayed in, has become the place I try to visit at least once a year. 

 

view from Viikinsaari, Tampere

Another thing I really love is going to concerts. I love the atmosphere at concerts, and by concerts, I do not mean these bands/singers using playback to impress their fans. Bands/singers, who perform live, often impress me with their energy on stage and the emotions they put in their songs. I think that some even sound much better live than on their records. I am not so much into Mainstream, Pop or Techno. My favorite genres are Rock, Metal and some music from the 80’s. 

a few tickets of my 'collection'

If you would like to know more about me, feel free to ask!

Who am I?

Hi y’all!

„So, tell me a little about yourself! “ How many times have you heard that one before? Do you like that question? I don’t even know where to start when someone asks me, so I don’t like that one in particular. It is always like „Do you want me to start at the beginning or do you want to hear the polished version? “ There are really a lot of things I am interested in. These are just a couple of important ones to be able to get a picture of who I am.

I could write about all the great places that I visited and about this and that course I participated in. You see, the reality is I haven’t visited any exciting places nor have I ever had the chance to take part in a course or, say, a play. Not that I wasn’t interested in it, on the contrary I would have loved to take piano lessons or visit Disneyworld. So ever since I was a kid I had to spice up my life my own way. Due to having a lot of siblings it was never boring at home. My big brothers and I have always been the comedians in our family – everything was and is inspiration to make a joke out of. This was when I developed my interests in mimicking accents and voices as well as imitating people and re-enacting scenes. My main goal was to make people laugh. Coming from a tough environment this was the only way to bring joy into the lives of my siblings and me. Sometimes it was more on the sarcastic side - but hey - a little bit of everything makes the dish better, doesn’t it? 

                          

However, making jokes and people laugh was not what I was doing for the past two decades. I have always been the happiest when I could borrow a new book from the library, because that was when I really parted with the reality and it relaxed me. Not only am I a bookworm, but also I like to write stories and years ago I had started to write a book which I will hopefully finish one day. The thing with me is I am constantly on the edge and like to get something done immediately otherwise I feel anxious. 

I guess until now you may have noticed that I like to express myself creatively and through various forms of arts. While I lived in Zagreb, Croatia, I attended the School of Applied Arts and Design to become a textile designer. Through this school I learned a lot about art itself as well as what results from a brush, some tempera and the right applied techniques. Now this is where makeup joins the party. During my schooling I fell in love with the art of makeup – the art of simply prettifying someone’s face in order to make their natural assets more noticeable. Makeup is one of my biggest passions. Except that, pretty much everything from the artistic circles draws my interest. There’s painting, singing, music itself, decorating or refurbishing old pieces of furniture etc.

You know, there is a lot more than I could possibly squeeze into this blog post but it would be really too long. I am going to stop at this point and encourage you to walk up to me and get to know me better. Maybe a lot of us actually share some interests and if so I would at least like to know who you are. 

I’ll see you around, Bye! :)

Who am I?

“A good painting to me has always been a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires.”

I had a tough time making or even thinking of trying to make a blog post so that you guys could kind of get the picture of who I am.  There are over 7 billion people on the lovely planet called Earth, which means there are over 7 billion unique stories to tell. But today is my turn and I´ll try and do my best.

Stuttgart, Germany, July 24^th 1994, “Marien Hospital”. A girl named Adna Kurtagić was born. I know I know, Adna isn´t really a German name. Both of my parents are from Bosnia, but during the war they escaped to Stuttgart, and there I was. At the age of four we moved back to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Primary school was just around the corner. I started school in Sarajevo and finished it there, but in the meantime I moved a lot. Being able to spend time in the beautiful and sunny California (San Diego and Irvine) and not that sunny but still beautiful Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) made me much stronger as a person and more independent. But times were not always that easy and fun. Do you know that feeling when you finally meet good friends, you get along with everyone, you are doing well at school and then all of a sudden it all comes to an end? The next second you find yourself on another continent, don´t know anyone and you just feel lost. Yup. Been there done that. Days over there, especially Malaysia, were not easy. Peer pressure, bullies and all kinds of things that you as a teenager do not want to experience, came up to me. It felt like someone threw a bunch of things in my face and I was trying to find my way back out. But, as they say, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Music, art, dance, singing, playing the guitar and ukulele.. It was all about finding that one spot where the world stops and your imagination starts. All of a sudden you feel like you are your own superhero, actor of your own movie called “Life”, trying to make it to the top and reach the stars… Ok, maybe I overdid it but seriously, have you ever felt that one spark in you trying to get out of you so you could really show the world how much you mean and who you really are? 

Those are and always will be Adna´s five minutes of fame. Everyone who knows me, knows that I do not really talk about me and my way of making music. On the other hand they know how much I love talking about music in general and trust me you never want to get in an argument with me about it or dare me to play the ‘Who-knows-every-song-in the world-challenge’, because you know I´ll win (not even kidding, but yes, I just did make up a new challenge :D ). Anyway, I will hate myself because of saying this but it is true: “I couldn´t imagine my life without music”. Drawing, fashion, makeup and all the other similar things related to arts are what I am really passionate about and what define me as a person.

That is also when we come to the question what am I doing in Graz?

After the period when I got back from Cali and Malaysia I finished my primary school in Sarajevo and started with high school. I went to a bilingual high school which followed the national curriculum and the International Cambridge Curriculum. But shortly after that, I moved to Zagreb, Croatia, again where I finally got my high school diploma and got my IGCSE´s, As and A levels done. YAY! But then the questions came: what do you want to study, where do you want to go and what do you want to do? The first thing that popped up my mind was: Languages! I love meeting new people, new cultures, traveling and hearing new stories. So, I figured out I want to go again somewhere abroad and just enjoy both the student life and the city and people where I end up living. After being accepted to Dundee University in Scotland and getting a full scholarship at the University of Istanbul, I decided I do not want to spend my bachelor years somewhere far away from family and friends.. Not again. At that point of my life I wasn´t feeling ready for it.

So here I am now, close to everything I need in my life but still far enough to have my own space and life. And yes, all of you who may be reading my blog, my life may seem to be quite intense and kind of moving from one place to another, but trust me it isn’t.  As a person I could not be any simpler than I already am. If you would ask me what my next stop in life is I could not give you an answer. I will just let things go with the flow and see where I end up living and what I end up doing...

Btw, in case you are bored and don´t know what to do or listen to, check out my Sound Cloud profile, feel free to both comment and share it and let me know what you think of it  : https://soundcloud.com/adna-kurtagic  :))

Who am I?

picture of my hometown

My name is Rachel and I come from a little town located in the western part of Hungary. Since there aren't many kilometers between my hometown and Graz, I'm commuting quite much. I've been trying to live two lives at once, but I realized that it doesn't work for long. So, I'm about spending most of the time here in Austria in order to focus on my studies, work and simple to have a less stressful life. Despite having problems with commuting, I'm a fond of traveling and I'm a passionate traveler providing that I have enough free time doing it. Let me show you one of my loving things that I came across in a hurry with some personal memories on it; keys! On my key-holder you can see some usual souvenirs with a special meaning. 

The circle-shaped item in the middle of the picture, that I got from my grandmother after her visiting in Mariazell, symbolizes the essence of belief to me. Though I haven’t been there, it's a popular place of Catholics and plenty of people go there on pilgrimage. The other three objects may seem familiar for some of you. On the left side you can see the Sardinian flag with the four Moors recalling memories of my latest holiday in Italy. The skull is from Mexico which carry a pretty other meaning of death that I took to at once. They celebrate their departed ones and remembering them in colorful rituals. To the indigenous people of Mexico, death was thought to be a passage to a new life and they didn’t afraid of it. This conception impressed me a lot! In our European culture people think differently. Lastly, Paris and the Eiffel-tower remind me of my Europe tour and of the multi-faced capital city. Every single journey gave me something different as well as made me more open-minded and more careful about my surroundings. These are one of those things that never can be taken from me and became a part of my life forever. Experiencing new ways of life is a great adventure. Apart from my love for traveling, I have a good sense for music; I’ve been singing ever since I can remember!

 icy winter performance

My passion for music began in the elementary school when I started playing different instruments: flute, guitar and piano. Music means the best way of self-expression and every time I feel edgy, stressed or just wanna have fun I simply do this. Medicine in the first place! You can see me on stage as well…