Elia Colombo, who is also known as Gebe, is an Italian freelance designer and illustrator. He creates satirical thought-provoking illustrations on some of the most important topics in the modern world. He describes himself as a person who loves silence and meditation and is in constant seeking for perfection. In his artwork Gebe combines his three favorite things – philosophy, sarcasm and the passion for graphic design. His motto is “Don’t try to be good, just try to be different!” and we couldn’t agree with him more.
You can see more of the artist’s work here:
https://www.instagram.com/gebelia/
1. Find a real job
When we were kids we used to dream big and we sincerely believed that we could be anything we want. Sadly, as we grow up we are forced to have more practical and realistic dreams that would be enough to pay our bills and help us provide for ourselves and family. That often means feeling like in cage as we working a job we do not really love and even not necessarily like. But the harsh truth is that our dreams are always there in the back of our minds and never truly fade away.
2. Our stronger self
There is a force within all of us that is not always visible and we are often not aware of it until being left with no choice but to rely on it. Many call it our alter ego and it represents our hidden mental strength and self-confidence. The world knows a lot of brilliant artists who are famous for being extremely shy and not wanting to be in the spotlight when it comes to their personal lives. Those artists claim that the person they become once they get on stage is their alter ego that helps them perform in the brilliant and fierce way that we are used to see them. So whenever you are feeling down or incapable just remember that you have it all inside you. All you have to do is just embrace it and let it out.
3. You got humanity
Being on the top of the food chain and the smartest species comes with a lot of responsibilities. The kind of responsibilities we obviously can’t take. It is known how harmful and erratic we are to our planet and the resources it has to offer. Nowadays more and more people are starting to be aware of it and taking actions in order to minimize the damage, but still it will take us a lot of time and persistence to actually see the effect of our efforts.
4. Look deeper
It would not be a lie to say that a lot of people do not truly know themselves. Have you ever stopped to think what is the real reason behind wanting to own or pursue something or why you think the way you think and if it is really the reflection of your own point of view and not the opinion the masses forced you to have? Have you ever tried to analyze yourself in order to understand why you have become the person you are today? They say that the most difficult thing is to know your true self but it is also the thing that is worth the most.
5. You are your worst enemy
Probably no one is harder on us than ourselves. We are able to repeatedly put ourselves down by criticizing ourselves and by always comparing ourselves to others who we tend to idealize. Self-love and acceptance is important not only for our self-esteem, but for our mental health and happiness as well. Everyone out there is trying their best while having their own insecurities and we are no exception from them. Always keep in mind to be kind to yourself.
6. I am who you are now
Internet is all fun and games until the point we forget that games also have rules and we do not want to break them, because things might go really wrong. The main rule here would be to be careful what type of information you reveal on Internet about yourself because once you post something out there it stays forever. The worse part of it would be that there is no guarantee who and how will use it. The worst – there is always a chance to be used against you and most importantly – against your safety.
7. Marketing at its finest
The meaning behind this one can be a lot of things. It could be a cross-reference to the famous Apple logo whose products cost a small fortune due to the fact that you are mostly paying for the brand rather than the product itself. However, what really stands out in this picture is the hidden message that there are many things out there that are as functional and useful if not even more and cost a lot less. Next time you are about to spend big money on something, ask yourself what you really need – the brand or the product itself. Buy smart.
8. Throw the old
Long ago it was just a matter of time when technology will change everything we know. Writing letters became obsolete and we have email now. Long time no see with someone you love? Here’s Face time. You want to show a photo of you to everyone? Here’s Instagram or Facebook. You want to read a book? Here’s…erm…nope. You can call us old fashioned, but some of us still prefer to read a book by simply holding a book and not a device. There is nothing like running your fingers through the pages while sensing the smell of a paper before you are absolutely drown in the story of the book.
9. Self-made
If you don’t have it – create it. All of us want to be the person who climbs up the social ladder against all odds and makes a name for himself. Truth is that no matter what your origins are or what is your position in society at this moment you can always outdo yourself and be who and where you want to be. You are the only one who can break the barriers you created yourself in your mind and release your potential to the fullest.
10. Is that the real me?
Do not believe everything you see. Social media is not the right criteria for someone’s life, success or happiness. It is the opposite – it is a place where we can pretend to be all the things we ever wanted to be. While making this fake image about the life style we have or the person we are, we often kind of lose a focus of who we really are. And if we depend on the how others see us and what others have to say about us we would totally lose ourselves.
11. Give me more
We have reached a point where we no longer share something on social media just for fun. Nowadays it is a full speed competition for who will get more likes and who will be more recognizable. And the sad truth is that the more we get, the more unsatisfied we feel. It is a never ending cycle that really reflects in a negative way on our real lives.
12. Love yourself
They say you need to learn to love yourself first before letting someone love you. Self-love is important not only for the way we treat ourselves, but also how we let other people to treat us. With the right attitude towards ourselves and enough self-respect we can set better standards and foundation for our personal life, relationships and friendships, without wasting time on toxic things that can only bring us down.
13. How I met your mother
Are there old-fashioned individuals who ask each other on a date and enjoy it while talking face to face or does everything now starts with a “Like” here and there, some cheerful cheesy comment, private messaging for a while and then comes the time to change your relationship status on social media. What is next? Downloading children instead of actually giving birth to them?
14. The sky is not the limit
Dreams are free and you can have an unlimited supply! We all love to dream big. It comes so naturally and easy and it is what fuels us to keep going, even when it is hard. Often when life gets tough we turn to our dreams for a reminder why we should not give up and keep fighting. However, dreams might be free but the lack of actions to make them come true is what will cost us the most.
15. Prison break
It becomes clearer and clearer what we can expect later in life in process of growing up and becoming adults. What do you normally do in these years? You go to school, earn good grades, then you get a well-paid job, you get married and have children. It is the same for all of us and it is the same that has been for many people in the past. And it is still reliable to this day. But as many as we are we are also very different and our ideas about what to do with our lives vary. That is why a lot of people feel like prisoners or as if their life was planned by everyone but themselves. We all are free to choose how we want to live our lives and we don’t necessarily have to follow the path of the masses.
16. Don’t separate from the stud
Do people with Facebook accounts ever wonder in amazement what people with no accounts on Facebook do? Like, how come they don’t have the same need to post or share about everything that happens to them during the day or how are resist checking out what their friends are sharing? Facebook has become such a huge part of our lives and things reached the point where every person who doesn’t use it is accepted as an outcast.
17. Books are better than TV
Being a book-worm myself I will never get tired of saying that books can give you a lot more than television. Books, in fact, make you smarter because it is a whole different experience to read some fascinating story on paper rather than watch it on television. Do you know what the best part is when it comes to reading a book? There are no commercials and you can jump to the end if you want to!
18. Back to school
Even though there is no question about the importance of education, there are still so many things that need to be improved in most school systems. A lot of people believe that schools are forcing students into some type of standardization, instead of actually acknowledge their individuality and different potential. There are also a lot of useful things in life that should be included in school programs as well as teaching students how to do their best at job interviews, how to do their taxes and so on.
19. Feed me
We all have heard that television actually lowers our intelligence. Beside the reasons explained by science, there are also a lot of supporters of the theory that the main reason is actually the media, because it manipulates our opinions and points of view. Scripted news, scripted stories, photographs cropped in a certain way to inspire a certain point of view and so many other examples. Things like that often cause the lack of critical thinking and make it quite hard to establish an individual opinion.
20. Illusions
It is pretty hard to come to piece with your flaws and accept yourself just the way you are. We live in a world where appearance is everything and beauty standards are often unrealistic. Speaking of that, there is no wonder why so many people choose to completely change their appearance with the help of plastic surgery or the less harmful way – by using Photoshop or other editing software. We guess we will see if it is worth it and what the next step will be when the beauty standards change once again is up to you.
21. Professional deformation
This is a funny and accurate one! I am sure a lot of us have experienced some kind of professional deformation in our daily life at least once. The result of this might vary from absolutely hilarious to really tragic, but it is not like we can help it especially if we love our job or have been doing it for a long time.
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