“I have always found traveling by train way more romantic than any other transport. Right after my final exams I bought a InterRail ticket and I traveled through Europe by train. It was the best time of my life. When I returned back home I was so disappointed with the results of my finals exams that I decided to keep on traveling. I took the train to Spain and I stayed in Madrid for a few weeks. In Madrid I fell in love with Picasso’s work and I decided to keep on traveling through Spain to see more of his work. After that I started traveling outside of Europe. I once made a 36-hour train ride of which I sat on my backpack for 19 hours because the train was sold out. I could have easily booked a flight but when you travel by train it is more about the journey and when you fly it is just about the destination. ”

“We are in the middle of our final exams and we needed a break so we came to the city. We are from a small village and there is not much to do over there. We have been best friends for over 13 years and we see each other almost every day. After the summer we are going to study in different cities and we are both a little anxious about it. Two weeks ago we didn’t see each other for 3 days and we already missed each other so so much.”

“Both my biological parents are gay. They have never been a couple. They were really good friends who wanted to have a child so decided to have kids. I have 3 loving parents and honestly I only see advantages. It sometimes does worry me to see that homosexuals and lesbiennes are still being discriminated.
Four years ago my dad got beat up in the middle of the night when he came home from a party. He was found unconscious by a lady in the street. He was brought to the hospital by ambulance. Even though now he has no physical damage it did have a big impact on him. Still he says that he will never change who he is. I really admire him for doing so. He said that one day he wants to share his story with the world but right now he is not ready yet. So until then I’ll do it for him.”

“I was only 20 when I found out I was pregnant with Elias. It wasn’t planned but when I saw his heartbeat for the first time during the ultrasound I felt that I could not part from him. Two years ago his dad and I split up and I was insecure about raising him on my own. Luckily I get a lot of support from my parents so I was able to go back to school again. For a long time, I was worried because I thought I was missing out on life.
Also when his dad and I split up I was afraid that no man would ever want to date me because I have a son. I’m still a single parent but now I know that is not true. Life is really good, I have a job and a supporting family. Maybe I missed out on some things in life, but it’s okay because I have him.”

“Growing up I didn’t believe in love. I think its because I never really had a good example. My parents divorced when I was young. My siblings and I lived with my mum and she had to manage on her own. We are a family of 5 kids and we would always stick together and even now that we are adults and live in different countries we keep in touch on a daily basis.
When I graduated my sister came all the way from China while being 6 months pregnant just to be at my graduation. If my parents would have stayed in the perfect relationship we would not have cherished each other that much. Now that I’m an adult I understand that the situation between my parents is something between them. I realized that if you want to find love you have to let go of your guard. Even if that means getting hurt.’‘

“My red hair was always something I felt ashamed of.
It was the reason I got bullied for years, it made me different from the other kids. When I went to high school I was able to start all over again but still I made sure stay unnoticed. At seventeen I got randomly approached by a photographer on the street. He said I had a lot of potential and asked if he could take some photos of me in his studio. I didn’t really understand why but I ended up going anyways. During the shoot it was the first time I was complimented for my red hair and white skin. Everything I had been so ashamed of was now considered as beautiful. From that moment I got into modeling and it became my career. However I never wanted to give up on my studies and managed to combine my modeling career with my studies.
It meant I had to work twice as hard to get to achieve both.
I remember being in China for one month and flying back home for only one exam. I barely had time to study so I would be studying on the plane ride home. I finished 2 bachelors and 1 master degree which I’m really proud of. Sometimes it was hard and even lonely but I have always been motivated. I think it’s because I was bullied I have that extra bit of motivation to prove them wrong.”