I took my kids trick or treating tonight and, in the neighborhood we go to, everyone who is handing out candy sits on their porch or driveway and it’s like a big block party. Nobody goes up to the houses with nobody outside because it’s assumed they aren’t participating. Being in rural texas, I probably wouldn’t let my kids knock on those doors, only if that’s what was the norm for the neighborhood. People be crazy out here.

I live in a VERY rural area. If I want to visit my neighbors, it’s at the very least a 10 minute walk. To buy groceries it’s about a 20 mi drive. If I want to go to a movie theater, it’s a 40 mile drive. It’s about a 70 mile drive to the closest city (sky scrapers and stuff)

There’s no public transportation or even sidewalks. The closest town that is 5 miles away has one stoplight and a population of 700 ish. We do have a few restaurants in town though, a school and a post office.

This describes my brother in law. Granted, he’s better than he used to be about 10 years ago, but he grew up in a small town, got to know all the cops pretty quickly, did a little jail time here and there but still has his license. He’s totalled many vehicles, spent some time in ICU and still drives like a bat out of hell.

HYPNOTOAD

I think I’d be considered a “normie” maybe. I’m not super tech savvy (maybe a bit more than the average person though as I’m a bit of a photoshop wizard and am interested in tech subjects).

What brought me to lemmy was my moral compass. I’ve used reddit since the late 00’s so it was hard to let go but reddit just isn’t what it used to be. I could no longer use Joey, my reddit app of choice so I abandoned it because what they did to Joey and other apps was bullshit.

I still find myself on reddit every now and then when I need information on something specific though. I haven’t found communities on the fediverse that I connect with that are super active (things like houseplants, knitting, chronic pain, my specific city I live in, etc).

I use lemmy now for mindlessly scrolling before bed and news as I only use Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for work so it’s not leisurely for me to get on normie social media. I do find some interesting articles and funny memes and that’s enough for now.

So maybe the key to get a more robust community is through pulling heart strings? Idk my husband still used reddit daily and I guess doesn’t give a shit about the lax morals of the company 🤷🏼‍♀️

It was probably something by The Used or MCR. What a time to be alive in 2008.

Millennial, born in '91

I’m a wedding photographer. My dad was a wedding dj and I grew up around the wedding industry. I went to school for art and photography was my focus. Wedding photographer just made sense. I love what I do and I can’t imagine anything else.

Oh yes, good point. That’s a big part of my problem when it came to my reddit experience in the end. I mean shit, I was a redditor since 2009. It was hard to leave but also not.

Wow! I just looked and I’ll have my cake day soon too! I really thought it had been 6 months. Time flies.

Gonna be honest, a lot of times I feel like I don’t belong here, I’m still figuring things out. I’m not a “techy” type person (that seems to be some kind of prerequisite) and I barely know how to explain the fediverse to the layman, but I left reddit when they fucked over Joey (my preferred reddit app) and read enough to give reddit the middle finger and never look back. It’s been nice, really. I spend more time outside of the internet now. But I believe in the fediverse, I think it’s the right thing to do. I still check up on lemmy daily, but I get much more value and human connection and only spend the time that is appropriate on lemmy instead of endlessly scrolling. Most days I end up in some Wikipedia rabbit hole. Just like the good ol’ days. Learning new things, meeting new people. That’s what I love about the internet.

Their old asses don’t know that and no amount of explaining will help them understand.

I bumped into my high school abuser a few weeks ago. It’s been 17 years. They didn’t notice me thank god. I still had a small panic attack and had to like, process it. They really fucked me up though. Not a normal bully.

I’m doing what I love as my career, but it was a hard road to get here. I started off out of high school as a professional photographer, never charged enough, didn’t know how to run a business, got burnt out, didn’t touch a camera for a few years, then after some desk jobs, realized photography was the only career for me. I decided to do it right this time, took business courses and prayed I didn’t end up hating it again. It’s worked out for me so far.

I’m a professional photographer. I’ve been a photographer for about 15 years but I started my own LLC in 2021. I studied the business side on YouTube/ googling stuff and listened to a TON of podcasts on the subject. Now wedding photography is my full time gig and I have a studio where I do boudoir, newborns, and rent studio space to other photographers. My future ambitions include hosting workshops where I teach other aspiring photographers. When I started in the industry it was male dominated and now that’s changed dramatically and it’s nice to see. I struggled a lot to be taken seriously in the early days. That’s why I was so inclined to start my own business/be my own boss.

I’ve always thought of it as a movie, but yeah, longer with added dialogue and stuff. I have Stella tattooed on my arm, I’d LOVE to see some sort of remake/retelling of Interstella5555

Minimalist Phone has changed my life. For anyone looking to either spend less time on social media or get rid of the digital clutter constantly bombarding you, this app is amazing.

It Filters my notifications so I can check them on my own time, it sets time limits on all social media and game apps and kicks you out when time is up, and it has a simple black background with no app icons, only the names of the apps you choose in white letters. Perfect for my over-stimulated adhd brain.