Jennifer's Cellular Regeneration Log

[Dutchie]

Ah, okay. Did you crave as much iron-rich meat growing up as you do now? The foods you listed are also typical for this region, plus squash and sweet corn. Strawberries, peaches and apples were 3 of the handful of fruits I ate as a child. I grew up in a town surrounded by orchards and farms so we got our fruit direct from them, often picking our own, and the difference in flavor and texture is huge. I actually preferred apple and grape juice to orange juice, and still do. The only tropical fruit I can recall eating regularly while growing up is coconut and it’s one of my favorite fruits/drupes. I like mangoes, but even as a child I was allergic to them.

Yeah, I loved meat (beef, chicken breast, lean pork/ham,liverwurst ) as a kid...and lots of cheese and other dairy based foods&drinks. Occasionally, I would eat fish of some type, but it was 't my top choice.
I can't quite recall, but I think in general I ate less iron-rich meat in total per day as I do now....or at least it was combined with cheese or another dairy product. There's definitely iron dysregulation (and copper) going on. The only tropical fruit I recall being frequently exposed to were bananas....lol and coconut from candybars like Bounty.
Whenever I got to pick a juicebox to take with me, I'd pick apple too. I hated OJ...bc most of the time it was unstrained and I really hated drinking the pulp.

That must've been nice,picking your own fruit (foods) :)......it gives an extra sense of enjoyment imo,when you've picked (and possibly grown) food yourself.
Yesterday my sister sent me a picture of all the cherries she'd picked from the tree in her garden. Lol....I think she's set for the Winter in regards to cherryjam

 

[Dutchie]

Since I couldn’t get my vitamin D level up to save my life back then, I think it’s safe to say that mine was a craving for vitamin D, too. It makes sense that the nostalgia of holiday occasions when most of your family was still alive adds to the ease. That’s how I feel about the time before the molestation and entering school when the bullying started. It might be why, to this day, 80s music is my feel good music. Also, classic rock possibly because that’s what my dad’s band plays and they used to practice in our basement

Yeah, music/sounds and also smells are really powerful in recalling memories and feelings&emotions of a certain time.

Oh, good! I’m glad you didn’t have a repeat of last year. That was scary! It would be nice if you knew why you are so sensitive to UV light, especially since doctors haven’t been any help, but at least you were able to enjoy the music festival this year. That’s something!

It sure is. It wasn't perfect yet, but I'm definitely pleased with the results!
There has been a moment, where I seriously contemplated on not going. I'm glad I said: "f u, I'm going" even though I initially wasn't feeling excited to go.

 

[Jennifer]

Yeah, I loved meat (beef, chicken breast, lean pork/ham,liverwurst ) as a kid...and lots of cheese and other dairy based foods&drinks. Occasionally, I would eat fish of some type, but it was 't my top choice.
I can't quite recall, but I think in general I ate less iron-rich meat in total per day as I do now....or at least it was combined with cheese or another dairy product. There's definitely iron dysregulation (and copper) going on. The only tropical fruit I recall being frequently exposed to were bananas....lol and coconut from candybars like Bounty.
Whenever I got to pick a juicebox to take with me, I'd pick apple too. I hated OJ...bc most of the time it was unstrained and I really hated drinking the pulp.

That must've been nice,picking your own fruit (foods) :)......it gives an extra sense of enjoyment imo,when you've picked (and possibly grown) food yourself.
Yesterday my sister sent me a picture of all the cherries she'd picked from the tree in her garden. Lol....I think she's set for the Winter in regards to cherryjam

You sound like my mum. She loved meat and grew up eating liverwurst. I still have a log of it in the freezer that I need to give to someone because my dad won’t eat it. Maybe if I tell my brother it’s a fat summer sausage, he’ll take it. lol Do you still like ham?

I loved Bounty! And Mounds bars. My mum kept bananas in the house, but she was the only one who ate them. We only had the cavendish variety, which I never cared for. Even now, I can only stomach a couple before triggering my 30 bananas a day PTSD. lol

Yes, for sure! Though, as a child, it was hard not being able to snack on the fruit while picking it. I remember sitting in the back of the car surrounded by crates of strawberries the size of my fist and spending the ride home eating them. I always liked the orchards best, with the smell of stone fruit concentrated in the beautiful, antique barns that had been converted into stores.

Wow! I can only imagine how many kilos of cherries she picked. I could find use for all that jam…on ice cream. That’s actually what I want to do with the fruit I grow. I’m currently on the hunt for a donut peach tree to grow in a pot on the back deck so it’s protected from the hungry hungry hippos who keep mistaking my garden for a salad bar. I must wreak of pushover. lol

Yeah, music/sounds and also smells are really powerful in recalling memories and feelings&emotions of a certain time.

Yes, definitely!

It sure is. It wasn't perfect yet, but I'm definitely pleased with the results!
There has been a moment, where I seriously contemplated on not going. I'm glad I said: "f u, I'm going" even though I initially wasn't feeling excited to go.

Aww…I’m glad you said “f u” too. That’s actually an important part of manifesting for me. So many times I had to force myself to go do what I knew I would end up enjoying, but wasn’t motivated to do, especially when dealing with depression. I’d get in the hermit habit of cocooning myself from the outside world, but would always feel better once I got out in nature, particularly near water.

 

[Dutchie]

You sound like my mum. She loved meat and grew up eating liverwurst. I still have a log of it in the freezer that I need to give to someone because my dad won’t eat it. Maybe if I tell my brother it’s a fat s

Liverwurst is a common topping to spread on your sandwich here. In fact just like you have the PB and J , here various people spread liverwurst on one side and apple butter on the other side.
If your brother likes apple butter as well, you might be able to sell that idea as some kind of international fancy dish.
Maybe if I could get good quality ham, I might, but I don't really care for pork meat anymore. It now tastes kinda 'blah' to me compared to beef.

I loved Bounty! And Mounds bars. My mum kept bananas in the house, but she was the only one who ate them. We only had the cavendish variety, which I never cared for. Even now, I can only stomach a couple before triggering my 30 bananas a day PTSD. lol

Lol....my grandma ate bananas the Peat way,when they were really brown spotted/ripe.
I always liked them when they were really bright yellow, but didn't have spots yet.

Yes, for sure! Though, as a child, it was hard not being able to snack on the fruit while picking it. I remember sitting in the back of the car surrounded by crates of strawberries the size of my fist and spending the ride home eating them. I always liked the orchards best, with the smell of stone fruit concentrated in the beautiful, antique barns that had been converted into stores.

LOL, I can imagine the restraint it must've taken you.
Haha....that makes me think of when I was a child and my grandma would sometimes cut up a few slices of bread for me to feed to the birds or the ducks in a pond nearby. I typically would eat a few pieces too while I was throwing it out to the birds.
Safe to say, I didn't have much restraint

So, you've started growing your orchard? That must be exciting. :). What are all the things you're growing?

Aww…I’m glad you said “f u” too. That’s actually an important part of manifesting for me. So many times I had to force myself to go do what I knew I would end up enjoying, but wasn’t motivated to do, especially when dealing with depression. I’d get in the hermit habit of cocooning myself from the outside world, but would always feel better once I got out in nature, particularly near water.

Yep, it's what happened to me too, except it wasn't so much lack of motivation but a fear holding me back. That's why I had to kick myself in the butt,out of the comfortable cocoon, bc I don't want to be a slave to fear and I knew I was going to regret it in hindsight if I didn't go.

 

[Jennifer]

Liverwurst is a common topping to spread on your sandwich here. In fact just like you have the PB and J , here various people spread liverwurst on one side and apple butter on the other side.
If your brother likes apple butter as well, you might be able to sell that idea as some kind of international fancy dish.
Maybe if I could get good quality ham, I might, but I don't really care for pork meat anymore. It now tastes kinda 'blah' to me compared to beef.

Huh, the apple butter might work. To be honest, I’m not sure he would mind liverwurst, since the boy has eaten squirrel.

I understand. Pork was always ‘blah’ to me, too. I used to like ham, but that might be because my mum and grandmothers used to coat it in brown sugar before baking it.

Lol....my grandma ate bananas the Peat way,when they were really brown spotted/ripe.
I always liked them when they were really bright yellow, but didn't have spots yet.

I like them (mysore and nam wah) really brown and spotted too. My mum used to eat them like you.

LOL, I can imagine the restraint it must've taken you.
Haha....that makes me think of when I was a child and my grandma would sometimes cut up a few slices of bread for me to feed to the birds or the ducks in a pond nearby. I typically would eat a few pieces too while I was throwing it out to the birds.
Safe to say, I didn't have much restraint

So, you've started growing your orchard? That must be exciting. :). What are all the things you're growing?

Haha! We used to sneak some of the food meant for the birds, too.

Until I move to the coast or get a large greenhouse, my orchard is more like a fruit patio. lol I’m still trying to locate a donut peach tree and a certain variety of American paw paw, but along with those I’m growing berries—blueberries, black raspberries, alpine strawberries—a variety of jammy figs, pink muscat and tinkled pink grapes, and white, yellow, orange and red watermelon.

Yep, it's what happened to me too, except it wasn't so much lack of motivation but a fear holding me back. That's why I had to kick myself in the butt,out of the comfortable cocoon, bc I don't want to be a slave to fear and I knew I was going to regret it in hindsight if I didn't go.

Yes, that too! Regretting not having done something because of fear is something I try my best to avoid now.

 

[Dutchie]

Huh, the apple butter might work. To be honest, I’m not sure he would mind liverwurst, since the boy has eaten squirrel.

I understand. Pork was always ‘blah’ to me, too. I used to like ham, but that might be because my mum and grandmothers used to coat it in brown sugar before baking it.

Squirrel?!....I never thought of as an eating possibility,unless you're maybe trapped in the woods and going through starvation or some such doom-scenario.
Did he say what it tasted like? (for some reason I imagine it also would be tougher meat)

Ah....so you had actual baked ham prepared at home. I mostly meant ham slices as a deli/sandwich meat,which is very common here.

Until I move to the coast or get a large greenhouse, my orchard is more like a fruit patio. lol I’m still trying to locate a donut peach tree and a certain variety of American paw paw, but along with those I’m growing berries—blueberries, black raspberries, alpine strawberries—a variety of jammy figs, pink muscat and tinkled pink grapes, and white, yellow, orange and red watermelon.

With all the things you're growing, I'd say it's quite a respectable patio you've got going
Never heard of a donut peach.....is it called like that bc it's very sweet,like a donut...or bc it's shaped like a donut? (lol....though I've never seen a peach with a hole in the middle, so I suppose not )

 

[-Luke-]

Currently, for me, it’s drawing:

View attachment 52012

How do you do that? Do you have some sort of template? That looks awesome.

 

[Jennifer]

Squirrel?!....I never thought of as an eating possibility,unless you're maybe trapped in the woods and going through starvation or some such doom-scenario.
Did he say what it tasted like? (for some reason I imagine it also would be tougher meat)

Ah....so you had actual baked ham prepared at home. I mostly meant ham slices as a deli/sandwich meat,which is very common here.

In a doom scenario, I would eat my own arm before I ate a squirrel. If it’s true that we are what we eat, I taste like ice cream. I can’t remember if he said what squirrel tastes like, but I’ll ask him. My guess is similar to chicken with maybe a nutty flavor, given their diet.

Yep, baked ham, but also sliced ham. My grandmother loved processed meat, especially ham in a can and Spam.

With all the things you're growing, I'd say it's quite a respectable patio you've got going
Never heard of a donut peach.....is it called like that bc it's very sweet,like a donut...or bc it's shaped like a donut? (lol....though I've never seen a peach with a hole in the middle, so I suppose not )

It’s definitely a scaled back version of the orchard I envisioned while fruit-based—I collected the seeds of over 100 varieties of fruit—but it should be plenty now that fruit makes up only a small portion of my diet. The peach is also called Saturn and yep, it looks like a donut. It’s a small, heirloom variety with a floral note and very sweet, white flesh with no tartness. Its flavor reminds me a little of wildflower honey. It even looks pretty:

 

[Jennifer]

How do you do that? Do you have some sort of template? That looks awesome.

Thank you, Luke. :) I use a gridding technique. I print up the picture I want to draw, place a three by three grid on it and then a three by three grid on my canvas and with pencil, I sketch block by block an outline of what I see in the reference photo and when the entire image is drawn, I go back in with the prismacolor pencils and blend with a tortillon (blending stick). You know you did it right if you’re cross-eyed by the time it’s completed.

 

[Dutchie]

In a doom scenario, I would eat my own arm before I ate a squirrel. If it’s true that we are what we eat, I taste like ice cream. I can’t remember if he said what squirrel tastes like, but I’ll ask him. My guess is similar to chicken with maybe a nutty flavor, given their diet.

Yep, baked ham, but also sliced ham. My grandmother loved processed meat, especially ham in a can and Spam.

....on top of the taste, you'd also be eating low pufa meat.

Oh right, Spam.....I've never had it,but I imagine it kinda would taste equally salty.

It’s definitely a scaled back version of the orchard I envisioned while fruit-based—I collected the seeds of over 100 varieties of fruit—but it should be plenty now that fruit makes up only a small portion of my diet. The peach is also called Saturn and yep, it looks like a donut. It’s a small, heirloom variety with a floral note and very sweet, white flesh with no tartness. Its flavor reminds me a little of wildflower honey. It even looks pretty:

Sure, a piece of the garden doesn't compare to a complete orchard, but still I think it's a nice variety you got going on. :)
Oh....I have seen similar small flat peaches in supermarkets here, they're typically imported from Turkey (or another country).

 

[-Luke-]

Thank you, Luke. :) I use a gridding technique. I print up the picture I want to draw, place a three by three grid on it and then a three by three grid on my canvas and with pencil, I sketch block by block an outline of what I see in the reference photo and when the entire image is drawn, I go back in with the prismacolor pencils and blend with a tortillon (blending stick). You know you did it right if you’re cross-eyed by the time it’s completed.

Very cool. Approximately how long does it take you to complete such a picture?

 

[Jennifer]

on top of the taste, you'd also be eating low pufa meat.

Oh right, Spam.....I've never had it,but I imagine it kinda would taste equally salty.

Haha! I love how even in a doom situation PUFA is a concern. “I’ll eat PUFA over my dead body!”

Same here. I’ve never had Spam, but I would think it’s equally salty given it’s ingredients and the fact that my grandmother liked salty food.

Sure, a piece of the garden doesn't compare to a complete orchard, but still I think it's a nice variety you got going on. :)
Oh....I have seen similar small flat peaches in supermarkets here, they're typically imported from Turkey (or another country).

Yeah, it’s plenty enough variety for me, especially since my plan is to eventually have other sources of food. I would lIke to have several different breeds of mini cows for milk, and because I think cows are such sweet animals. Just look at this cutie:

 

[Jennifer]

Very cool. Approximately how long does it take you to complete such a picture?

It took about a week because I paced myself. Normally, when I start a project, book, puzzle etc., I don’t like to stop until it’s complete, but I’m trying to make friends with moderation. I just saw your thread regarding your Achilles tendon. I’m glad it’s improving. :) I experienced something similar, not long after I fractured. The entire back of my heels were swollen from an inflamed Achilles tendon, and I spent months hopping around due to the pain. What I found interesting at the time is how it improved right along with my thyroid function improving and had resolved around the same time the cartilage in my chest that tore while I was vegan finally healed.

 

[Dutchie]

Haha! I love how even in a doom situation PUFA is a concern. “I’ll eat PUFA over my dead body!”

Same here. I’ve never had Spam, but I would think it’s equally salty given it’s ingredients and the fact that my grandmother liked salty food.

Lol....well you know how it is around here in regards to pufas
In fact....since Pufa is so evil, they probably caused the doom scenario to begin with

Hmm....maybe the saltyness is (in part) where my love for cheese stemmed from ever since I was a child.

Yeah, it’s plenty enough variety for me, especially since my plan is to eventually have other sources of food. I would lIke to have several different breeds of mini cows for milk, and because I think cows are such sweet animals. Just look at this cutie:

Aww....he does look cute and innocent. :)
So,the orchard plans now have made way for a full on (mini) farm,huh?

I'm late to the game, but your peacock drawings look very good indeed. :)
Can you imagine that just recently, on YouTube , I learned about the Grid technique.
I want to try it out some time, though it still seems challenging to me to do a drawing of a real life picture ,even with this technique.
The colors look really vibrant and blend well. I've often heard that Prisma is the rolls royce amongst the pencils amongst drawers bc they blend so well.
I've used Faber-Castell, one of their cheaper collections, but the result doesn't look as good as yours.....then again, it's highly possible that I just don't know how to work them

 

[-Luke-]

It took about a week because I paced myself. Normally, when I start a project, book, puzzle etc., I don’t like to stop until it’s complete, but I’m trying to make friends with moderation. I just saw your thread regarding your Achilles tendon. I’m glad it’s improving. :) I experienced something similar, not long after I fractured. The entire back of my heels were swollen from an inflamed Achilles tendon, and I spent months hopping around due to the pain. What I found interesting at the time is how it improved right along with my thyroid function improving and had resolved around the same time the cartilage in my chest that tore while I was vegan finally healed.

It seems I'm not as familiar with your health history as I thought. Was the torn cartilage before or after the spine injury?

 

[Jennifer]

In fact....since Pufa is so evil, they probably caused the doom scenario to begin with

Haha! Yeah, PUFA and also PETA.

So,the orchard plans now have made way for a full on (mini) farm,huh?

Oh, the orchard dream always included animals, especially mini cows. When I was vegan, my dream was to adopt some Zebu, and now it includes other minis like the Scottish Highland (I would name her Ludo after the beast in Labyrinth).

I'm late to the game, but your peacock drawings look very good indeed. :)
Can you imagine that just recently, on YouTube , I learned about the Grid technique.
I want to try it out some time, though it still seems challenging to me to do a drawing of a real life picture ,even with this technique.
The colors look really vibrant and blend well. I've often heard that Prisma is the rolls royce amongst the pencils amongst drawers bc they blend so well.
I've used Faber-Castell, one of their cheaper collections, but the result doesn't look as good as yours.....then again, it's highly possible that I just don't know how to work them

Thank you. :) I learned the grid technique from my art teacher in high school. I find it helps get proportions right. Prismacolor is definitely a good brand—the ones I have I gave to my mum for Christmas when I was in high school. I had to be at the craft store for 5 am the day after Thanksgiving to afford them—they were half off—so Rolls-Royce seems accurate. lol I think my mum might have had a small set of Faber-Castell that my brother took. I’ve read that they’re just as good as Prismacolor, maybe even better. They supposedly aren’t as soft, but that’s actually a good thing because they keep a point for detailed work and they still blend well.

 

[Jennifer]

It seems I'm not as familiar with your health history as I thought. Was the torn cartilage before or after the spine injury?

Well, no one can blame you for that. I can barely remember the mess that is my health history. lol I can’t remember if I even mentioned it on the forum before. Maybe in my old log. It happened about 6 months prior to the spine injury, about 3 years into following Doug Graham’s 80/10/10 diet. We had just adopted my dog Bee and I was on the floor taking pictures of him and when I went to get up, my cartilage tore. At the time, I didn’t know that was the pain I felt, and up until a few months after switching my diet when my spine collapsed, it kept retearing when I went to open a door, turn over at night or lift anything. It was terribly painful, but I think it may have saved me from an even worse fate than fracturing.

When my spine collapsed, I felt an indescribable pain—this crunching and collapsing feeling—but didn’t know that’s what had happened to me. I had this rib sticking out and my doctor at the time thought it was dislocated so she sent me to a chiropractor to pop it back in place. I took one look at him and sensed it was a bad idea. He was this 200+ lb (91 kg) ex-football player and I was maybe 70 lb (32 kg). He took an x-Ray of my rib cage, but he was unable to read the imaging, and as he went to adjust me, pressing down on my chest, I cried out in pain. He discovered that my chest wall was torn and said I was too inflamed to adjust. Had he adjusted my ribs and spine, there’s a chance I could have suffered paralysis because the osteoporosis was so advanced, well, enough for a spine to collapse just lifting half a watermelon. That horrible, wretched diet.

 

[Dutchie]

Oh, the orchard dream always included animals, especially mini cows. When I was vegan, my dream was to adopt some Zebu, and now it includes other minis like the Scottish Highland (I would name her Ludo after the beast in Labyrinth).

Oh...I thought an orchard was purely a fruitgarden.
It's more fun with animals. Lol....Ludo is also the name of a character villain in an awful Dut h soap.
I've seen Labyrinth once in elementary school, so I don't recall much of the movie. This big white flying dog (dragon) image is popping up in my mind, but that's from The Neverending Story

Thank you. :) I learned the grid technique from my art teacher in high school. I find it helps get proportions right. Prismacolor is definitely a good brand—the ones I have I gave to my mum for Christmas when I was in high school. I had to be at the craft store for 5 am the day after Thanksgiving to afford them—they were half off—so Rolls-Royce seems accurate. lol I think my mum might have had a small set of Faber-Castell that my brother took. I’ve read that they’re just as good as Prismacolor, maybe even better. They supposedly aren’t as soft, but that’s actually a good thing because they keep a point for detailed work and they still blend well.

Lol....well at least you had an art teacher who taught you something. We were just handed an assignment of what we had to draw and that was basically it....I don't recall ever having learned about techniques...well,maybe a little on perspective.
Yeah, I see drawers on YouTube and TikTok compilations rave about Prisma and its blending capabillities. Faber Castell's are definitely nice pencils too, even though I have the cheaper collection, but even comparison videos on YT show that Prisma is just a tad better.....*sigh of relief* so it's not all to blame on my lack of using them properly
Honestly, I'd bought them bc I needed pencils to go with my coloring book and they happened to be on sale.
You see....I'm lazy and too perfectionistic to first attempt to make a drawing that I could color, so I just took a shortcut and got a coloringbook for some mindless coloring.

 

[Jennifer]

Oh...I thought an orchard was purely a fruitgarden.
It's more fun with animals. Lol....Ludo is also the name of a character villain in an awful Dut h soap.
I've seen Labyrinth once in elementary school, so I don't recall much of the movie. This big white flying dog (dragon) image is popping up in my mind, but that's from The Neverending Story

Yep, an orchard is purely fruit (and nuts), but my dream was a self-sustaining one, which included rescued animals grazing the land and providing manure.

Oh, yeah, Falkor the Luckdragon. This is Ludo:

Lol....well at least you had an art teacher who taught you something. We were just handed an assignment of what we had to draw and that was basically it....I don't recall ever having learned about techniques...well,maybe a little on perspective.

Yeah, I see drawers on YouTube and TikTok compilations rave about Prisma and its blending capabillities. Faber Castell's are definitely nice pencils too, even though I have the cheaper collection, but even comparison videos on YT show that Prisma is just a tad better.....*sigh of relief* so it's not all to blame on my lack of using them properly
Honestly, I'd bought them bc I needed pencils to go with my coloring book and they happened to be on sale.
You see....I'm lazy and too perfectionistic to first attempt to make a drawing that I could color, so I just took a shortcut and got a coloringbook for some mindless coloring.

Your art teacher sounds like the teacher I had for my painting class. The one who taught me the grid technique was the teacher I had for my drawing class. She was hands down my favorite art teacher.

It seems then that it depends on the artist because this one prefers Faber Castell:

Prismacolor Premiers vs. Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils over grayscale

Comparing the results of the same grayscale picture colored exactly the same way with Prismacolor Premiers and Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils.

www.huelish.com

I’ll ask my brother if the pencils he took are FC and if so, I can compare the two but regardless, I highly doubt you used yours wrong. Like you said, you have the cheaper collection, and I would imagine that makes a difference or else why pay more for FC’s other pencils, you know? And there’s no shame in using them for coloring books. :) That’s what my mum used the Prismas for. They just happen to be my favorite medium for drawing. Pastels are my other favorite.

 

[Dutchie]

Yep, an orchard is purely fruit (and nuts), but my dream was a self-sustaining one, which included rescued animals grazing the land and providing manure.

Oh, yeah, Falkor the Luckdragon. This is Ludo:

That's more like a mini regenerative farm to me than 'just' an orchard.

Ludo kinda looks like a cross between that big brown creature in Star Wars (sorry peeps,I'm not knowledgeable in the Star Wars verse...) and some monster from Sesame Street.

Your art teacher sounds like the teacher I had for my painting class. The one who taught me the grid technique was the teacher I had for my drawing class. She was hands down my favorite art teacher.

It seems then that it depends on the artist because this one prefers Faber Castell:

You had seperate classes for drawing and painting?
We just had one creative class during the week by one teacher and depending on the assignment, it would call for just drawing or painting or a mix of both.
I liked the class, but seeing it was only once a week for maybe 1-2 hours, it was clear that creative persuance wasn't high on the list of school.

That's with any tool, in any trade, that it depends on the preference of the artist.
Maybe I just happened to see mostly Prisma fans. It's easy for mediums like YouTube to become kind of an echo chamber, where people are copying eachother bc they saw some influencer using product 'x'.
Faber Castell has an expensive range, which I've seen people liking equal to Prisma or maybe even better....like you said, it's also a matter of preference.

The ones I have do a good job for general coloring and I like the colors/color range.
By pastels do you mean special pastel pencils or these type of chalky crayons or pastel paints? (I've never worked with any of them)