Not generally, no. I used to have cravings a lot back when I was younger. Mainly for things like chocolate, soda or chips. After weaning myself off certain ingredients (sugar in particular) those came to pass mostly.

I've always been more on the underweight side until I started minding my own health more, so I think part of my problem was using those things to substitute actual food. When I was hungry, that would turn into craving those particular things. I still have this happen sometimes if I haven't eaten properly which is why I try to make sure to eat well. It's never to the point where it has me thinking non stop about it anymore though.

I'm waiting for the continuation of the Thousand Year Blood War Arc of Bleach. Watching it again has helped me recapture some of that feeling I had as a young teen following it every week. It has not disappointed.

It has this slightly more mature aesthetic, that makes it stand out from other long running shonen anime. I suppose, given that most of the characters are a bit older. Seeing so many cool abilities and moments being put on screen after 10 years has been a trip.

Dragon Ball Super - 19
Chainsaw Man - 23
Berserk - 22
Kobayashi's Dragon Maid - 14
Promised Neverland - 17
Cyberpunk Edgerunners - 1
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - 21
Spy X Family - 3
Bleach - 12 (+1)
One Piece - 24 (-3)
Mob Psycho 100 - 23
One Punch Man - 21
Overlord - 18
Re:Zero - 35
Tokyo Ghoul - 20
Demon Slayer - 17
Vinland Saga - 18
Kaguya-Sama Love is War - 22

Could never get into One Piece fully because of all the filler and how drawn out the episodes were. Bleach has had some of the same problems, but after the updated anime coming out I'm all back on the hype train.

I lived a somewhat repressed life when I was younger. Didn't go out much, or have many close friends. Barely talked to girls my age from middle school up until the end of high school. I indirectly shut myself off from the outside world for most of it, because I felt like I didn't fit in. It filled me with some bitterness about my situation, but also a lot of idealism. There was a lot I didn't know about in life which let my imagination run wild. I had big dreams that kept me going. I've tried to maintain that as I started exposing myself more to the world and catching up on the experiences I missed out on.

So I think my ultimate goal is just to follow my dreams in life, to look back and feel like I really went for it without giving up (as cliche and tired as that may sound). I've heard so many stories from older people I've hung around, that made me feel like this is the best way to go about it. I don't have it all figured out, but I do have a vague idea of the kinds of things that interest me.

I found through studying, that I really enjoy learning new things, and maybe even more so, teaching and public speaking. That is something I want to spend more time on in various forms. Traditional teaching for one, but also things like content creation and finding ways to reach people from across the globe.

I feel like so many people (both young and old) give up on ambitious dreams because they lack self confidence. They feel that they're bad at learning and don't have time to do something like say... Learning a new skill. I used to feel the same when I was younger. It's something I've dealt with during teaching sessions, and it's the kind of thing I want to combat. To help re-instill that sense of wonder and excitement that comes from learning new things. The kind that every kid should have and still keep in touch with when they become adults.

Beyond that there's a ton of experiences I want to have. The world is a vast place, and I feel like there are all kinds of awe inspiring things to see (beyond the drudge that usually fills our TV screens). I'd like to travel to and live in different countries after graduating with my bachelors. I'd like to learn several languages and make friends all over. I'd like to learn how to produce music, and create my own music album at some point. I'd like to connect more with the people in my community and contribute to make it better. To make a difference in people's lives.

EX Palen : Yup, it seems to be same way we left it. Nothing left to do but...

Everyone seems to have some mobile game or app they're really into, and mine has definitely been Duolingo.

The past couple of years, I've gotten very into language learning and it has been a great way to deal with any downtime or restlessness I encounter. Whenever I'm on public transport or I'm just at home watching something in the background, I'll often pull it out and do a few sessions.

It's rare to have a learning app that manages to so effectively employ gamification to keep you on it. I've been using it as my main method to learn French, alongside going to language cafes and over time I feel it has actually helped me progress quite a lot. I used it to blaze through a French course I took last semester, which felt really good since it was a subject I struggled with quite a bit in high school.

Do any of you use it (or have used it) to learn a language? If so, what has your experience been like?

(If anyone would like to add eachother by the way, my name is Zaccattack1)

Salut à tous! J'aime ce fil, et récemment j'ai decidé que je veux ameliorer mon français, pour cette raison je veux rouvrir ce fil. Quel qu'un apprend le français? Ou qui est un natif? Parlons en français!

For me it was night and day. I was quite an insecure kid, but the one thing I would usually fall back on was being "naturally smart". In hindsight, it was not as much natural, as it was me spending time on things most kids didn't (being online developing my writing skills, debating and reasoning, practicing my English etc).

Regardless, it's something I grounded much of my identity in during my early years because it was the one thing I felt good at. Through early high school, I was a master procrastinator, and coasted through much of it while barely doing any work outside of class. Since I went to a school where studying was considered kind of uncool, even showing a little bit of interest was enough to make you stick out to many teachers. The final couple of years before university, I finally buckled down a little bit in terms of giving it some effort (largely because I had to). Overall however, I still prioritized other things like vizzed, offline friends and gaming. Nothing prepared me for the giant shift that was my first few semesters at university.

Truth is... I was a terrible student. I lacked basic time management and study skills, on account of being somewhat lazy and coming from a family background where those skills were severely lacking. No one had ever told me how to go about these things, because they assumed I just had it figured out. Which enabled me to be undisciplined and unsystematic. I didn't feel like I fit in with other people who came from more academic backgrounds and I was afraid to speak about the trouble I was having because I didn't want to admit weakness. Since I didn't seek any help, my first semesters ended up being a giant wake up call. First I was in denial about why I was getting average grades. That shifted to starting to doubt my self image and stressing myself out about it, to the point where I hit a wall and flunked out of several courses. It really did a number on my self esteem.

I picked myself up after that, and through some rocky experiences kept taking more courses until I found something I really enjoyed. I started to perform better, and regain some self confidence while also trying to improve myself in other aspects. A big thing for me was working out, as getting fit meant feeling accomplished at something I had always assumed I was naturally terrible at. After a while, this eventually pushed me to work on many of the skills I had never learned growing up. Along the way I've matured both as a person and a student.

Now I'm coming up on almost 5 years spent at university, and got one semester left before I graduate with a bachelors. I'm hoping to go on to graduate school after that. I've had to teach myself a lot of things in terms of time management, how to study more effectively, setting reasonable goals and being honest with myself and others. Even then I sometimes struggle, but I try to remember not to stress out too much about it.

I've learned not to put too much stock in being called "smart" anymore. Intelligence is such a loose concept, and many use it as a cover up for things that relate more to self discipline than natural aptitude. With the right tools and circumstances, anyone can get through university, that's my genuine belief.

So it has definitely been a period of self development for me. In fact, it recently inspired me to go into tutoring and helping kids like myself who struggle with developing the self confidence and skills that they need. It's funny how experiences like this can really shape your life trajectory. I came into university with entirely different intentions.

I drank a lot of soda and energy drinks. I sort of grew up with it and kept going with it until my late teens. My favorite used to be Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew and Cherry Coke. I used to drink a lot of Monster too when I was pulling all nighters on the site. Although I've always had some level of self consciousness about it (in terms of limiting myself in how much I would drink each day) I was definitely being very unhealthy nevertheless.

At some point I stopped, in turn with making my life less centered around online activities in general and focusing more on my health. Now I really only drink soda during social occasions. Kind of in the same way someone is a social smoker I guess.

My main reason has less to do with general health and more so because it absolutely wrecks your teeth through erosion and weakening the enamel. This is the main reason, I try to stay away from all carbonated drinks, even sparkling water. I used to hate drinking regular water but surprisingly once I started to drink it more and more while weaning myself off sugar, I came to prefer it. Nothing really quenches thirst in the same way as a glass of water.

Barathemos : Complete stab in the dark but is it The Walking Dead?

I got a physio therapy appointment I need to go to, and an appointment on the phone for my new tutoring job (I am coaching high school kids in different subjects as well as general study skills).

Other that, I will be studying, studying and studying some more. Got a qualitative methods essay that I need to write on that's due next monday.

It's going to sound stupid but I'd probably go for the arctic. I'd like to go to a bunch of places, and I just don't ever see myself going there in any other circumstance. It would if nothing else, be an interesting experience.

I've been on a few (mostly shorter) cruises and it's never really been my thing. Although I love being near the ocean, I'm not really much for shopping, gambling or drinking which have tended to be the main attractions. I'd prefer sightseeing on land.

Would you rather give up listening to music on demand, or being able to follow any sports?

Articuno - 20
Zapdos - 20
Moltres - 20
Raikou - 21 (+1)
Entei - 22
Suicune - 23
Uxie - 20
Mesprit - 20
Azelf - 20
Regirock - 14
Regice - 20
Registeel - 17
Tornadus - 14 (-3)
Thundurus - 17
Landrous - 20

I can't help but have the feeling that they're going to mess it up somehow, whether that be through monetization or releasing an unfinished product but as a dedicated Harry Potter fan, I hope I'm wrong.

I am a fan of some of the older Harry Potter games, like Quidditch World Cup, Chamber of Secrets and the old handheld RPGs. I especially loved exploring areas in the Chamber of Secrets game on PS2 as a kid. By combining different aspects of those games, I think it could be a huge success.

Dragon Ball Super - 20
Chainsaw Man - 23
Berserk - 18
Jujutsu Kaisen - 17
Kobayashi's Dragon Maid - 17
Boruto - 8
Promised Neverland - 17
Attack on Titan - 7 (+1)
Cyberpunk Edgerunners - 14
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - 20
Komi Can't Communicate - 8
Spy X Family - 14
Bleach - 12
One Piece - 29
Mob Psycho 100 - 22
One Punch Man - 21
Overlord - 20
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun - 3 (-3)
Re:Zero - 31
Tokyo Ghoul - 20
Demon Slayer - 18
Vinland Saga - 20
Kaguya-Sama Love is War - 20

SonicOlmstead : That would honestly explain it. Attack on Titan Season 1 was mostly build up for the following seasons. I remember dropping it because I thought it seemed very run of the mill at the time. But a friend I have (who is a super fan) convinced me to give it another go.

It starts to get a little bit interesting towards the end of S1, however the really major events start to take place at the beginning of S2. I don't want to spoil it but, some very shocking things happen. It never really lets up after those events take place, as you get twist after twist. I may sound very biased, but I'd strongly recommend giving it a second chance to get to that point. I realize it's a big initial time investment to get into a show, but it made me go from considering it "meh" to one of my all time favorites.

zanderlex : Not anymore no. Like I mentioned, I tried Bleach: Brave Souls to soothe my Bleach craving. I was waiting for new episodes so it did a good job of distracting me. I did not really stick to it more than a couple of days though. Overall, I have a hard time sticking to these kinds of games because of the grinding.

I've also found it increasingly difficult to get into games in general. Mostly because of the initial investment (but once I do, I can be quite obsessive).

I have thought about giving Genshin Impact a go. If for no other reason than how popular it is, makes me want to see what all the buzz is about.

Barathemos : Talk about a blast from the past, was just thinking about this forum the other day.

It's an interesting topic, I should preface that I'm not nearly as politically well versed as I once was. I ended up very much burning out on politics after a short stint of pursuing political science as my major. As a a result, I don't keep up with world news and politics that closely anymore.

Having said that, my perspective on the Russia-Ukraine conflict is one of slight skepticism to popular narrative. I base this in historical knowledge. People are acting as if its this unprecedented event that Russia instigated out of nowhere but it has been many years in the making.

Before recent events there has been a constant back and forth between these two countries and it is worth mentioning that the Ukraine side has not been entirely innocent either.The Eastern part of Ukraine although constituting a minority overall, is largely pro Russia and you will find many people in former Soviet states (particularly older people) who look back at the old Soviet regime with nostalgia. The Soviet regime brought unprecedented investment to some areas (even if there were major problems on the whole). It created jobs and an improved living standard for residents in many remote regions.

Add to this a lesser known piece of recent history: Russia already invaded the Eastern parts of Ukraine in 2014 (supporting Russia backed separatists that wanted autonomy). In the light of the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The 2 states ultimately resolved this by agreeing to something called the Minsk accord. Among other things, this stated that Ukraine were to allow self governance for Donetsk and Luhansk, in the Eastern part of Ukraine. This would've likely also granted Russia some degree of influence over Ukrainian foreign policy. However, this was never implemented. Ultimately it was these regions that were first invaded by Russian forces. It is part of Russia's general concern of wanting to maintain a buffer zone between itself and the west.

Taking account of the historical background, I think you gain a much more nuanced view of the conflict. Not to be a Russia or Putin sympathizer. I am vehemently opposed to the invasion, and I support the defense of Ukraine. However, I do find myself bothered by the rather black and white perspective a lot of people (on both sides) have.

supercool22 : How was it compared to those? I love the Yakuza games, I remember getting Lost Judgement but never actually played it before trading in my PS4. Been wondering if it's worth revisiting.