About me

There is a lot to find out about me. Like lists of what I like, what I do, what I read or watch. So I made a list of the different aspects, and gave them all their own page. If you feel like finding out only one thing about me, this way I made it easy for you! And you can skip everything that you don’t find interesting ;]

Vief in a nutshell

Vief and many many cameras

Myself and some of my favourites cameras, 2010

My full name is Viviane Aliénor Kim. Let’s stick to Vief, which is a lot easier. Pronounced as /vi:f/; like “beef” or “thief” or “brief”.

I currently live in Leeds, England. I’m 24 years old and in my first year of an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and Phonetics at the University of Leeds. I was born in the Netherlands though, and spent 20 years of my life there. After I thought I’d seen enough of the windmills and the tulips, I moved a little more south: to Gent in Belgium.
I had a bilingual education [English and Dutch] and passed my IB exam in 2007. I really like languages: I’m fluent in English, though I was raised half in Dutch and half in French. My French isn’t exactly native-like but I like working on that!

Apart from English, Dutch and French, I also like Gaeilge a lot. Gaeilge is the Irish word for the Irish Gaelic language. I don’t know how I became so fascinated with Eire [Ireland!]… Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I play harp? I have been playing for over ten years and I love it!
Even if on the harp most of what I can play is classical and folk, when I listen to music my go-to genres are punk rock, pop punk and hardcore, with a bit of indie thrown in. I grew up on the likes of Sum 41, New Found Glory and the Offspring, and I’m surprisingly loyal to my music even if I have broadened my tastes. I particularly enjoy going to shows and festivals: experiencing music live is amazing. You can read more about that here.

So we’ve already tackled two of my passions: music and languages.

My other big passion is photography. The reason I moved to Belgium was to study photography at the Royal Academy of Arts, inspired after enjoying concert photography and taking portraits. Sadly, my studies didn’t work out. However, I have learned quite a bit about art and photography during this time [three years] that I was doing this degree.
I own quite a lot of cameras, analog and digital, instant and lomo… I love them all! You can find out more about my photography under "photos".

I was born and raised in Rotterdam, which I will forever consider my hometown. Most of my family and friends still live in the Netherlands, but I still feel like part of me has a home in Belgium, too. After moving to England, my long-term relationship [of almost seven years!] came to an end in January 2012. It was a mutual decision.
I love animals but since living in student accommodation I have no more pets. My cat Spetter died in January 2009. I miss her a lot.

I have a sister, she’s about 5 years older than I am. I love my sister very much, and it makes me sad that we’re so far apart! She has been a big ‘rock’ in my life. My mother passed away when I was ten, I still miss her deeply. I don’t think you can ever get ‘over’ missing someone that you really love. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I’ve been without a mother for more than half of my life, even though my father and sister have been there for me. What I would like to do is help other young people who have lost a parent. I know it’s not easy and I am always willing to listen. [If you feel like you'd like to talk to me, my contact info is right below.]

I’ve always been creative and opinionated [maybe a little stubborn], there are a lot of things I feel strongly about.
For example, I’m a vegetarian and I live a straight edge lifestyle. This means I live "poison free" – which originated with no drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes [and generally includes no casual sex], but I’ve included no meat, no caffeine, [almost] no medicine and just the best stuff for my body as possible. Though straight edge isn’t the same for everyone! It all revolves around doing what you think is best for you, as an individual. For me it works out pretty well and I feel really happy about my decision.
I’m not a militant hard-line person who would force views on other people, I strongly believe in letting people do what works for them. Many of my friends drink and/or eat meat. My motto is: “Do what you want, as long as you don’t bother others”.

Me in Sweet Lolita

Me wearing Sweet Lolita

On the outside, I’m also pretty outspoken. I like showing my personality through the way I look and I’m not afraid to stand out. I love dying my hair in crazy colours and making a statement through my clothing. I have visual piercings, stretched my ears [fun fact: I pierced myself a couple of times, most notably my nose] and I have tattoos.

Part of me really refuses to grow up! :D I own a lot of stuff, and like to keep things on display. Stuff like My Little Ponies and Pez dispensers and Hello Kitty stuff. I love stuffed dolls, especially Ugly Dolls and Disney characters. I’m a total hoarder and find it incredibly difficult to throw things away.

The way I show my "inner little girl" the most is through fashion: Lolita fashion. If I could, I would really like to dress up every day and do fun things with my friends that I have met through this wonderful fashion. There are so many sides to the fashion; what I love so much about it is that it’s very versatile. Yes, there are rules, but there are many styles and possibilities for people to be completely different and unique. Another thing about Lolita that I really like, is the social aspect. I have made friends all over the world just because of clothes, and we like to meet up and have fun! I hope that I can share some of this fun through my website.

Ways to contact me

That’s it! I hope you’ll enjoy my blog and all the rest that is on this site! :D