[ZIP] Going Through Changes (00-350) (Patreon)

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already been half a year since my last archive update!🤯Better late than never, right?😅 Now this post contains all the pages of Going Through Changes released so far🫦

By a strange tradition, it’s in these comic archive posts that I usually share news about my life here in Finland🫎

These past six months… haven’t been easy. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to combine full-time studies at XAMK with a job🤪 But surprisingly, it turned out to be pretty fun! I simply don’t have time to worry - every spare minute is busy with something, and that’s a great way to keep my head clear of anxious thoughts🙃

During this time, I’ve met amazing teachers and classmates, many of whom are curious about what I do for work😅 I usually just say I’m a 'digital artist', without mentioning Patreon or the specifics - for obvious reasons😉

I’ve learned a bit about working with game engines, tried my hand at 3D modeling, and even dabbled in HTML!🤓 My portfolio now includes two games (well, more like tech demos, honestly). By the end of summer, I even found myself missing the crazy study pace🤭

This past month has brought unusually hot weather for this region - every day the thermometer climbed over 31°C (88°F)🥵 My apartment doesn’t have air conditioning, and the sun sets around 10 PM, meaning it shines non-stop into my huge windows all day🫠 Just recently, the temperature finally dropped to a more familiar 21°C (70°F), along with some rain. I never thought I’d miss summer rain, but here we are…😅

From here on, I’ll talk about some less cheerful things from my offline life - so if you’re not in the mood for my whining, you might want to stop reading here! Honestly, though, I’m doing fine!😉

Last year, I renewed my Finnish residence permit for another four years, so this is the first summer I don’t have to gather any documents. It feels pretty nice😄 To put that whole process behind me for good, I was hoping to apply for permanent residency next year. However, the (very)right-wing Finnish party Perussuomalaiset decided to tighten the requirements starting next year - increasing the minimum stay to six years and adding a Finnish language diploma as one of the conditions😵‍💫

It’s not that I wasn’t planning to learn the language (I’ve been studying on my own for a long time already🤓, since I’m not eligible for language school due to having a job🙄). It’s just that these changes are unprovoked, help no one, and seem to appear out of nowhere. Any such complications feel personal to me - like someone is deliberately trying to make my life harder👎

For comparison, in Sweden you can get permanent residency in just two years…👀 Honestly, I never thought much about what life is like for migrants before. But after becoming one myself and meeting others in similar situations, I’ve realized just how tough it can be😔

At the start of this summer, I planned a short trip to northern Finland and maybe a little into Norway (ideally reaching Nordkapp😸). It would’ve been a long and probably exhausting 1,500 km (930 mi) journey each way, so I decided to warm up first with a trip to Helsinki🚗

That turned out to be the right call - my already damaged bumper finally gave out and nearly fell off completely on the way there (luckily I hadn’t driven too far yet)🚘 The repair will be costly, but worst of all, the parts are expected to take about five months to arrive…😒 So my summer ended up without any long-distance travel.

Still, I managed to enjoy the season and the mind-blowing heat that came with it🥵 Despite the warmth, the sea here is still freezing cold - and the algae bloomed - so I swam in it only once all summer🥶

Instead, I walked a lot, worked out, went swimming in an open-air pool🩱, and even learned how to do a frontflip before diving into the water!🤟 And for the first time in ages, I even changed my hairstyle - now it looks more like Erin’s hair from the comic!👑 Perfect for this kind of heat💅 (which, to be fair, is probably over and won’t return until next summer😅)

Thank you so much for sticking with me!❤️Thanks to you, I can keep doing what I love most - drawing!

With love,Ginger