Being and Belonging - A Journey

Wanting to be. Wanting to be heard. Wanting to be perceived. Is being. Humans want to be. Art wants to be.The want to be led me to study fashion design at an renowned Art School in Berlin at the end of 2014. Aspace where wanting people gather to form their being in the sense of art and develop it with experiencedsupport. I have developed; above all however, I got to know borders. Borders of fashion. Borders of theindustry. Borders in Art Schools. Personal Borders. Crossing is not liked. Is not understood or does not wantto be understood. Fashion is not art. Fashion is a product. And a salable product does not have to be understood.It has to please. Opposing beings, opposing understandings, become incomprehension. Becomesconfrontation. Confrontation becomes struggle.Showdown: Life experience, pedagogical and creative responsibility to promote maturity and self-determinationin less experienced, creative individuals against the human ego. Institutionalized hierarchies suppress.Is this fear? The Result: Being is shaken. It is no longer about wanting to be, but rather having to be. Must be,where you cannot be. Not allowed to be. Insecurity. Self-doubt. It will be a crisis. Existential fears. Depression.Being is no longer existence, but survival.The period of my Bachelor was by far one of the most extraordinary experiences in my life. An immense upand down of distress and passion all along the line. A mixture of unbeatable will, seemingly endless searching,holding on and letting go, superficiality and intimacy, disappointment and reinforcement, destructionand creation. Confrontation and bitter struggle. Against distrust, misconception, suppression and punishment.This affected me. It damaged me.For a long time after I graduated, I couldn't connect with my work - as if none of this had ever happened.IT made me look back. And now I see clearly - it took me almost a year. IT gives me and mywork the opportunity to belong, to share, to exchange, to experience and the space to say what needs to besaid. Must be addressed. And to be heard. And for this I thank IT. For seeing me and making me seeme. For making me feel like I belong. What I experienced is not an individual case. My struggle is one caseof many in the breadth of fashion and industry. This experience marks the failure of people and institutionswith an educational mandate and educational responsibility. An example of someone that was harmed by anarrogant, ignorant and exploitative system. A reality and truth that needs to change in favor of the generationsyet to come.The journey was an incredible one. I don't want to miss anything. Because I have become more.Because this journey would not have been the same without all those who wanted to walk with me and supportedme during my Bachelor.Thank you -18. To your being and strength to dream.A very special thank you goes out to my parents -2. It can actually not to be put into words. You are my base. Where I feel home. I am so happy and proud toalways know you are with me. Whatever may come. And thank you for making this world my home. Thechance to live. To be. To belong. To become.Without you, everything would be nothing.So - I thank you for everything.