AI is “mocking” my Instagram feed

Instagram feed

My Instagram feed in Finnish

I love using AI. It helps me a lot. But sometimes it “mocks” me, but in a good way. It gives me honest feedback and gives me suggestions on how to improve. It’s not always correct, but nothing is ever perfect anyway.

I use AI in both personal and professional settings. I’ve recently used it in fan fiction. It gives me feedback when no one else does. It teaches me how to improve my storytelling. I use both ChatGPT and Gemini. I found another called Claude, but it has a chat limit. Meaning, if you want to use it without interruptions, you have to pay for it.

Sometimes I write explicit content, but only Gemini wants to check it. It can take the fun out of it, and AI wants to change the story. But it suggests better ways to write it without being too forward. Sometimes it writes better than I. But also, it can say exactly how I meant to say it. AI is good for learning better English, too.

I don’t use AI in this blog because I want it to be as real as possible. I write this blog as a hobby, so the writing doesn’t need to be superb. AI is a tool like a search engine, but the answers come quickly, and you don’t need to search for information yourself.

Do you use AI, and if you do, which one, ChatGPT or Gemini? Or something else? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Laughable things I’ve heard in my life

funny lightbox with popular text slang lmao
Photo by Renee B on Pexels.com

You probably heard the expression, ‘kids say the darnest things.’ But the reason they say laughable things is that they haven’t lived long enough to know things. They don’t see life as adults. You don’t get defended, you just think, well, they’re just kids, and you let it go.

But when adults say or do laughable things behind your back or to your face, it’s not as nice. You get offended and maybe cry, and at the time, it’s not laughable. You feel as if that hurt feeling won’t go away. You might think there is something wrong with you when people say or do offensive things to you.

What’s great about becoming an adult is when you begin to think about how laughable other people’s behaviour against you was. Life experiences change you, and you see life differently. Things that happened when you were a kid and a teenager are irrelevant when you become an adult. People who were in your life then, like schoolmates, are just laughable now. If they hurt your feelings, then you laugh at it now because the people were laughable. The next time, the words or actions bounce off you.

I’ve heard many laughable things during my 48-year-old life. They weren’t laughable then, but now they are when thinking about it. I won’t understand why people can’t keep things to themselves. They probably felt better about themselves if they said it or whispered it to their friends. Toxic people don’t have a place in my life. In anyone’s life.

The first one I remember was when I was probably in 3rd grade, and one of the boys in my class told me I had dirty teeth. That’s hurt me, so I didn’t go to class because of it. I was a sensitive and shy kid. So, I hadn’t brushed them, but so what? No need to point it out.

In 1997, I studied business for a few months. There was this guy in my class who asked me if I had been in a horror movie. I asked why, and he said no reason. So he didn’t like my appearance. It wasn’t like he was an oil painting. I didn’t care about his stupid comment anyway. I should have asked if he’s been in one, but I didn’t think about it then. It really was laughable. Strange that some people criticize someone’s appearance when themselve don’t look anything special. They should keep it to themselves.

One case that wasn’t anything personal, but it was quite laughable when I think about it now. I studied web design in 2017. We had on-the-learning period where we had to find clients to design websites. I got contacted by a possible client. But they said they wanted an more experienced designer. Now, that doesn’t make any sense. I was a student, and I did it for free. If you want an experienced designer, you need to pay for one. No professional does it for free.

The latest laughable thing was when I got a comment in a fan fiction that I’m writing. I don’t remember exactly how it was since I deleted it. Something like I’m wasting my life, and others are living their lives. And yadda, yadda. Who’s wasting their life for real? People who waste their time on commenting on fan fiction, that’s who. Perhaps they don’t like real person fiction or how the story goes. It doesn’t matter. I want to have real comments about the story, and not people complaining about other things. The comment wasn’t only a few lines. The person used a lot of energy on their comment, so they must have a lot of time on their hands. I won’t stop writing because someone says something negative. Writing fan fiction is my way of relaxing and learn writing in English. If everyone who writes stopped at negative feedback, no one would write anything, and the world would be a boring place.

Certain people have negative energy, and they don’t want anyone to try anything. You can’t do this, or you can’t do this. Nice attitude there. Luckily, people still do different things no matter what others say. You might not like what people do or how they look, but you should still have respect for others. There is too much negativity in the world anyway, so spread some positivity instead.

How I became a storyteller

open book
©Mia Salminen 2015

I’ve never been a book reader, and I prefer watching things on TV. If I read something, it isn’t novels. I’ve read a lot of autobiographies, and when I was a child, I read books for kids. The kids’ books were written in Swedish, and they were easy to read, too. I’ve read books in Finnish as well. The book I read the most was a book about Heidi. It was adapted from a movie. I reread it last summer in a day or two. I own some books, but I go to the library when I want to read a book. I own the ‘Lord of the Rings’ book but have never finished it. My late dad bought it for Christmas, and he read it in one evening. It’s too long for my taste. I prefer the movies. The book that I have read by Tolkien is ‘The Hobbit’. I’ve read that a couple of times. I own one in English, but I have also read it in Finnish once. I’m not patient enough to read long books. Unless it’s a fascinating book or an autobiography.

I’ve always wanted to write and was pretty good at it in school. I didn’t want to write a book, as someone thought I would when I said I wanted to write. I wanted writing to be part of something else. The same goes for photography and graphic design. I don’t want to do only one thing. There are different ways to be a raconteur than someone writing books. I became a storyteller after I found my fascination with fan fiction. I didn’t find stories I wanted to read, so I started to write my own. That’s where I shine the most. But writing fiction is only a hobby and doesn’t pay the bills. It’s also a learning curve for learning English, and I don’t need to read books to keep my imagination running. Some might say that reading books teaches you to use words, but you can also learn words by watching movies or TV shows. I want to write with words that anyone can understand. You don’t need fancy words to write a good story. Writing fiction is easier for me than writing about facts.

For example, I struggle with what to write on social media right now. It’s supposed to be in Finnish, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. I’m so used to writing in English, so writing it in my language isn’t easy. The other thing is that Swedish is my mother tongue, so I find it hard to find words to describe something in Finnish. Knowing three languages can sometimes confuse your vocabulary. When I write fiction in English, the inspiration comes quicker, and I could write for hours. But I get stuck when writing about facts about myself and what I want to achieve. The challenging part is writing about it in Finnish. I’m just not a storyteller when it comes to real life. Things would be easier if I could tell a story the way I write fiction. I guess it’s about getting used to things instead of giving up because something is too difficult. You live, learn, and become a better raconteur when you write as often as possible. That’s the way you learn other things in life. That’s how I learned to write in English in the first place. Practice makes you better at what you do.