Our grandparents visited me and my little brother in the children's home. Both loved animals and fed me lots of books and cakes. My grandmother was an artist and painted animal portraits with make-up on paper. She was a cousin of the German painter Rudolf Kortokraks. That's probably where my artistic streak came from. Both were politically active. My grandfather had a great sense of humor and was the son of the German founding father and humanist Dr. Werner Hilpert. Despite this, we grew up in simple living conditions. My brother and I lived in children's homes for about three years in total. My mother was homeless for 9 years. Life cannot be put into categories. The first children's home was privately financed and offered a little luxury (e.g. computer room, sauna, excursions, supplies), but we were always used as advertising figures (e.g. newspaper reports on company XY, which sponsors the children's home with a toy race track, etc.). The second children's home, where the photos were taken, was much simpler and was only able to afford modern equipment such as new furniture and computers - a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall - thanks to a generous donation from the Lions Club. Instead, we often went out into nature together to pick mushrooms and berries and learned to haggle at every opportunity. Many of the residents of the children's home were mentally handicapped. Then I made friends and learned early on what the true qualities of being human are. It is being human.

The Villa Stark in Markneukirchen was my home for two years. An important chapter in my life. You are not automatically rich when you live in a villa. You are rich when you experience love. This building is a children's home. A place where fates meet. A quick tutorial on the meaning of life.

We were 20-30 children and teenagers, divided into three groups. Nobody comes to a children's home when everything is okay. Some of us have spent our entire childhood there. It was 1998 when I got there. That was 8 years after the end of the German Democratic Republic. The children's home was just being modernized. I moved into a newly renovated villa - cool! From my mates and the childcare workers I learned how it used to be. When there was only one bathroom and how they used the same washing machine for all laundry and warming up sausages. When the furniture was old and the floors were worn out. But that at the time they were satisfied with what they had.

Having something is what most people want. Having a family is very nice. But life is fleeting. And it has its own plan. Whatever you have left is you. Your heart, your wishes and your dreams. With it you fill life wherever you are. That's exactly where the whole point lies. You can't buy love. You can never earn, force or demand it. You can only be a person of love. Nobody can take that away from you, except yourself. That's the energy to freely shape your life.

That's me after my Jugendweihe 20 years ago. The Jugendweihe (Youth consecration) is a secular coming of age ceremony practised by German 14-year-olds, mainly known in East Germany. In 2000 there where almost 100,000 participants nationwide, 10 years later there where only around 25,000 participants. However, this has less to do with popularity. After the reunification of Germany, many moved from the east to the west. There's even evidence that the popularity of the Jugendweihe increases again. I liked it because I got money and thenceforth was allowed to stay up 2 hours longer. I lived in a children's home with very strict rules and my new privilege became a real blessing, especially because I could finally watch the really interesting movies. 🙃