A list of Things that have changed my life
Heya! This title was traded to me by Sylvia. If you wanna know more about the how/why of that, you can read this post I made.
So, here's a short-ish list of things that have really had an impact on me, along with an explanation for each of them. The criteria here is essentially either: "Would I go out of my way to recommend this?" Or "Would my life be completely different if i hadn't stumbled on this?"
Final Fantasy XIV
In case you haven't heard of it, Final Fantasy XIV is an mmorpg made by square enix - It's also how i met a bunch of my friends, which is why it's on this list. If I haven't played it, i wouldn't be with my current boyfriend right now - and also probably would only have realized i was trans like, a lot later. I mostly just use it as a glorified chatroom at this point - But hey, it's a really cool looking, final fantasy themed chat room. It's good fun, go play the free trial.
Your Name
I've already talked about this movie at length in another blog post, so read that one if you want a bit more of an in-depth look into why I like it. Long story short: I'm a sucker for romance movies and can relate to a lot of the themes in this one. It's the first movie I've cried to. Go watch it!
PHP
My favorite programming language! Also the reason i have a job. So, i feel like that qualifies it to be on this list. There's a lot of php hate out there, and while some of it is valid, i still think it's the best web programming language if you just want to get shit done. There's built-in functions for everything, and it just works™. I love the simplicity of it, even if it does have its quirks. Obligatory plug for tangentially related blogpost.
Linux
Linux1 is the OS I run, and have been running for about three years now. If you have the required technical know-how i can't recommend it enough. Actually being in control of your computer and having an operating system that doesn't feel as akward to use as this analogy is so nice. It also sort of signifies the start of when began caring a bit more about privacy. Switching to it initially was a bit rough, but now that I know how stuff works it's a really nice experience. I run Manjaro - I know, the devs have had their fair share of screwups and I certainly wouldn't be choosing it if i were to choose a distro now, but it works and has never broken on me. If you're also fed up with windows bs, I'd really recommend trying it - Linux Mint specifically.
Lord of the Mysteries
My favorite piece of media ever. It's a fantasy novel combining aspects of Lovecraft and the SCP foundation, set in medieval fantasy london. The power system is awesome, and it has some of the best antagonists ever. Fights are won through genuine strategy and it has pretty insane plot twists. Go and read it, I won't spoil anything here. It's incredible, seriously. This book completely consumed my life when i first came across it - I'd spend basically every free moment just reading it, for like three weeks straight, and i don't think any other book will ever be able to top it for me.
WaniKani
In case you haven't heard of it, WaniKani is a service that helps you learn Japanese. Well, not all of it, Kanji specifically. It's great because it exemplifies that sort of philosophy that bearblog has of just doing one thing really well. Their mnemonics are great, and help out a ton when learning. You can get something similiar for free by using Anki Flashcards, but WaniKani is a lot more convenient, nicer design-wise and makes a lot of the tougher decisions for you, letting you just focus on learning stuff. I'd highly recommend it if you have the money to spare and want to learn Japanese. It's how i started learning japanese - Tofugu's2 Hiragana & katakana guide made learning the basic writing systems seem actually within my reach.
The Blade chose me by Rainbowdragoneyes
Does a song still count as a 'thing'? I feel like I'm really stretching the definition here. Oh well. Rainbowdragoneyes was the first artist I actually actively listened to, and this was the first song of his I heard that wasn't just videogame music. I used to actually not really care about music for the longest time, until five or so years ago when I got a Spotify. Because I was playing a lot of The Messenger at the time (great game by the way) I just looked through what other stuff that games composer had done so i could fill up my playlist of at the time mostly videogame music. So, that's how i stumbled upon Rainbowdragoneyes, who really got me into actively listening to music, i guess? Fun fact, he calls the genre of music he makes Hardcore Chiptune Dance Metal and is, as far as i know, the only person currently making that genre. So, that's neat.
So... Yeah. That's all of the stuff i can think off. I tried to limit it to things that have genuinely had a pretty big impact on my life, and not just anything i happen to like. Again, thank you for the title Sylvia - I probably wouldn't have written this on my own, and it was quite fun to think about what could go on a list like this.