Elena Handtrack

[Welshgal]

I'm sorry @vio but you come across as extremely bitter and you also got some facts wrong. So let me clear some things up.

After Elena took some time off she actually went back to Cambridge for a full year (or at least half) and is now doing a year abroad at a uni in Germany. Regensburg is not as top notch as Cambridge but that was likely the only German uni that they've partnered with and I can understand why she would like to get an introduction into German law. She also was supposed to live in Regensburg but until just about now Covid was still a pretty big deal in Germany, so living at home was a very smart decision (same thing I did. Why would you want to be alone in a small room with not connections and restrictions when you can be at home with at least family for support).

Saying a law student shouldn't read YA novels is something I don't get. She clearly also reads other novels as well as scholastic papers so who cares if she wants to spend her down time reading YA? During term that's all I read because I want something light and fun after reading bloody hard / boring texts (I'm also a law student btw). Are you saying that you never do anything that's just fun?

As far as I remember she was quite involved in a few extracurriculars but again: there is a pandemic, so not much one can do right now.

From what I gathered about her and her family I would say that from a German perspective she is indeed middle class, although with a good portion of privilege but still middle class. She relies quite heavily on scholarships and safes up for expensive things such as handbags etc.

Just because this is a gossip forum does not mean we need to (pointlessly) tear influencers down and in this case it seems like you just want to attack her without even having the correct facts.

 

[swishswishbish1]

she took a semester off school her first year because she thought it was "too much.

she was literally clinically depressed

 

[Karolina1985]

I think her odd choice has something to do with her boyfriend. Imo she changed her plans a lot because of him...

 

[jjhv]

She just posted this on her stories an in-depth bts of Youtube and this.

Seeming like you’re here, keep up the good work! If you snoop around on the other threads, you are the only studytuber people praise anymore. In literally every oher studytuber’s threads, your name comes up as the person to watch now. I’ve literally never seen any hate for you anywhere and for good reason!

 

[nbx512]

The reality is that she probably felt bad because while she was a big fish in her small school, she is nothing at Cambridge. At Cambridge, these kids are privileged, come from wealthy and high profile families, have all the resources available to them, and/or made top notch grades. About half of them are probably the privileged kind. It strikes me as strange that Elena got depressed in her very first year (probably missed home and couldnt hack the competition), took a semester off, and then resumed studies but at a lesser known school in Germany and in her native German language. Come on. Girl couldnt hack it. It is a lot easier to get good grades at an average school than it is to get grades at a more presitigious school. If she wanted to study abroad, she could have gone to China or one of the other interesting places in the world to expand her horizons, but no she went back to her home town to live with mommy and daddy as a college student. Meh.

And sorry but she reads YA fiction. You would think that a Cambridge student in law who was "gifted" would have moved on to other books besides Harry Potter and Sarah Maas. Her "elena tries to figure out law" channel videos are also very telling. Sometimes people reveal who they are without realizing it... if you watch the video she made on the #metoo movement and how it "hurts men" you can tell that she has no practical experience of the real world and has never experienced having a disadvantage because of something she could not control (i.e. gender, race, etc). In those videos, she repeats several conservative talking points that make her sound like a 65 year old...and they honestly probably came from who parented her. It doesnt sound like she is very self-aware or mature. It is one thing to know how to get good grades in school and know what teachers want for exams, but having actual insight and intellectual curiosity is a completely separate thing and she does not have it as far as what I can tell.

You would also think that she would be networking more, involved in on-campus extracurriculars, and making the most of the breadth of her university's immense resources....but she just stays at home with her mom and sits in her room vlogging study sessions that 100 people join. It's sad because she is afraid to actually challenge herself and seems to want to remain a child forever.

As for her claims about being from a "middle class" family...I don't think that this is true. Clearly, she has travelled around the world from an early age. She went to boarding school in China, did expensive summer programs in the United States at very prestigious schools, applied to 19 colleges, all of which were reach schools and importantly, outside of her home country. I also think that if she is going by the UK class system, middle class is really upper middle-class...and that is probably what she actually is. She actually disappoints me. I think she just uses Youtube as a way to motivate herself to study and probably because she is very lonely.


Ah ok. So I am not allowed to have a different opinion and criticise a YouTuber's interests?

Am i on a fan site? I thought this was a gossip forum? That is why i am here anyway. If i wanted to praise her, I would just do so on her youtube channel.

Also depression can just happen there doesn't need to be an underlying reason. I don't care what you think of Elena otherwise but your ideas around mental illness are extremely archaic and problematic for her and the general population. Maybe this is why mental health issues are so stigmatised and prolific especially in a legal field.

 

[Magallanes]

This girl needs braces

wow that's a bit rude isn't it

 

[dodadedo]

I'm sorry @vio but you come across as extremely bitter and you also got some facts wrong. So let me clear some things up.

After Elena took some time off she actually went back to Cambridge for a full year (or at least half) and is now doing a year abroad at a uni in Germany. Regensburg is not as top notch as Cambridge but that was likely the only German uni that they've partnered with and I can understand why she would like to get an introduction into German law. She also was supposed to live in Regensburg but until just about now Covid was still a pretty big deal in Germany, so living at home was a very smart decision (same thing I did. Why would you want to be alone in a small room with not connections and restrictions when you can be at home with at least family for support).

Saying a law student shouldn't read YA novels is something I don't get. She clearly also reads other novels as well as scholastic papers so who cares if she wants to spend her down time reading YA? During term that's all I read because I want something light and fun after reading bloody hard / boring texts (I'm also a law student btw). Are you saying that you never do anything that's just fun?

As far as I remember she was quite involved in a few extracurriculars but again: there is a pandemic, so not much one can do right now.

From what I gathered about her and her family I would say that from a German perspective she is indeed middle class, although with a good portion of privilege but still middle class. She relies quite heavily on scholarships and safes up for expensive things such as handbags etc.

Just because this is a gossip forum does not mean we need to (pointlessly) tear influencers down and in this case it seems like you just want to attack her without even having the correct facts.

This.

You pretty much said everything I was going to say. Elena clearly works extremely hard given the circumstances.

Also the whole "she reads YA/she has mainstream interests" thing is such a bizarre point to make. I'm literally starting my PhD in English soon, and amongst all the literary fiction and classics I read... I also read YA and even children's literature for crying out loud. People are allowed to have nuance in their tastes.

Also, I seem to recall her saying that she thrifts a lot of her designer pieces, but I might be recalling this wrong? I mean, undoubtedly they would still cost a packet but it's not quite the same as having brand new designer clothes every month.

 

[xaannaa]

I dont know what trendy outfit/hair/fashion videos are doing on the channel of a so-called serious law student. It is embarrassing.

This just in: humans can only have one interest, ever. If you're studying law, you cannot like fashion. Sorry, I don't make the rules.

 

[bublifuk]

ehh She only shows some grades, the ones she wants to show. grades are also arbitrary. she took a semester off school her first year because she thought it was "too much." She probably wasnt doing too well. Grades also have nothing to do with intelligence in the real world. the girl reads harry potter books ffs.

such a weird take cause she’s gotten funding all throughout her undergrad (and already got it secured for an MA as well) so her grades are clearly fine; and she’s shown enough times that she reads non-YA books as well (since when are we judging people for what they read for fun anyway).
you can dislike someone without belittling their achievements and interests lol

 

[nbx512]

And the award to the most self-aware and responsible your uber goes to Elena Handtrack!

My one rebuttal to her piece is that she says Ruby Granger and (the old) UnJadeded probably don't spend everyday studying for 15 hours and it's only the snippets of their lives that we see that we build our assumptions around. However, I argue that it's the responsibility of studytubers such as these to actively dispel these assumptions by showing more variety in their channels or at less tin the description of their video that it is not representative of a typical day/ life.

A StudyTuber Examines Her Responsibility

Hey loves! I had the grand idea to google myself a few nights ago (honestly, I have no good reason for that one) and I honestly did not expect to find anything aside from links to my socials and websites, but I actually found posts written about me on websites and in online forums. Some of the...

www.elenahandtrack.com

 

[vitawolfe]

I feel like sometimes she comes across as arrogant, especially in the gifted video.

Also, she said her parents are not rich, but she made them pay for her private education anyway, when Germany already has great public schools. Same thing with Cambridge, she's doing a year abroad in Germany, where she could be studying for free, but instead, she's paying Cambridge.

And all her expensive clothes... Idk, she seems like a great person and a hardworker, but she's not my cup of tea. My favorite is definitely Paige.

Yes Paige definitely strikes the perfect balance! I've never even noted a hint of arrogance from her. She seems extremely down to earth and I can't find much to fault tbh.

 

[bublifuk]

Love how absolutely nothing about @dodadedo postings suggests that they’re Elena. I guess that’s what happens when you’re blinded by misogyny and, dare I say it, jealousy. Can I get a ‘Hi Elena’ now as well?

 

[bananasparklingsoda]

Oh I feel bad that she had to read mean comments about her appearance, she's such a pretty girl and even if she weren't people shouldn't leave mean comments about the way people look. That's not what these forums are for. I like how she's taking the constructive criticism so well though!

 

[NotAnArtist]

The reality is that she probably felt bad because while she was a big fish in her small school, she is nothing at Cambridge. At Cambridge, these kids are privileged, come from wealthy and high profile families, have all the resources available to them, and/or made top notch grades. About half of them are probably the privileged kind. It strikes me as strange that Elena got depressed in her very first year (probably missed home and couldnt hack the competition), took a semester off, and then resumed studies but at a lesser known school in Germany and in her native German language. Come on. Girl couldnt hack it. It is a lot easier to get good grades at an average school than it is to get grades at a more presitigious school. If she wanted to study abroad, she could have gone to China or one of the other interesting places in the world to expand her horizons, but no she went back to her home town to live with mommy and daddy as a college student. Meh.

And sorry but she reads YA fiction. You would think that a Cambridge student in law who was "gifted" would have moved on to other books besides Harry Potter and Sarah Maas. Her "elena tries to figure out law" channel videos are also very telling. Sometimes people reveal who they are without realizing it... if you watch the video she made on the #metoo movement and how it "hurts men" you can tell that she has no practical experience of the real world and has never experienced having a disadvantage because of something she could not control (i.e. gender, race, etc). In those videos, she repeats several conservative talking points that make her sound like a 65 year old...and they honestly probably came from who parented her. It doesnt sound like she is very self-aware or mature. It is one thing to know how to get good grades in school and know what teachers want for exams, but having actual insight and intellectual curiosity is a completely separate thing and she does not have it as far as what I can tell.

You would also think that she would be networking more, involved in on-campus extracurriculars, and making the most of the breadth of her university's immense resources....but she just stays at home with her mom and sits in her room vlogging study sessions that 100 people join. It's sad because she is afraid to actually challenge herself and seems to want to remain a child forever.

As for her claims about being from a "middle class" family...I don't think that this is true. Clearly, she has travelled around the world from an early age. She went to boarding school in China, did expensive summer programs in the United States at very prestigious schools, applied to 19 colleges, all of which were reach schools and importantly, outside of her home country. I also think that if she is going by the UK class system, middle class is really upper middle-class...and that is probably what she actually is. She actually disappoints me. I think she just uses Youtube as a way to motivate herself to study and probably because she is very lonely.


Ah ok. So I am not allowed to have a different opinion and criticise a YouTuber's interests?

Am i on a fan site? I thought this was a gossip forum? That is why i am here anyway. If i wanted to praise her, I would just do so on her youtube channel.

She went to one of the United World Colleges though, didn't she? For the duration of the IB. Where almost every student gets a scholarship anyway. So - that would give her a good background in terms of connections and prepping for competetive universities, but she also studied in English, lived away from home at a young age and an extended period of time, came from an international environment, amd had experienced a competetive setting. And lots of students went home during lockdown, that's a very legitimate decision.

I believer her when she says she's middle class, though at times she has acted like she doesn't also have quite a bit of privilege - like how she worked to afford her designer stuff. Fair enough, but to be able to spend a large part of one's earnings on that doesn’t deny privilege. Applying to competetive schools and going through scholarship applications would have been much hardee if she'd attended a smaller school where most students aim for a place at local universities and finance their studies with loans and part-time jobs.
And the entire "when the high achiever stops achieving" also had me like... idk. Lots of people struggle with these constraints. Peopple who don't overachieve but simply consistently struggle to meet certain exectations don't have it easier than overachievers hitting a wall. This is one of those "insights" we get from high achievers that isn't insightful at all. But depression can hit anybody, esppecially at a time of rapid change where, yes, somebody used to looking at themselves as a "big fish" might find themselves thrown in cold water, and might struggle to find comfort and support in a new place.

The bottom line is that to me, Elena seems like an intelligent, hard working young person who is genuine and generally down-to-earth. But she may be somewhat sheltered and could perhaps be a little more self-aware when addressing topics like systemic privilege.

 

[lemonlime]

I thought Elena had won several scholarships for her education in Cambridge. Can't remember the details unfortunately but I imagine it takes the weight off the expenses. Personally if I had the chance to get an education at Cambridge rather than some other good uni, especially with the help of bursaries or scholarships, I'd be mad to refuse it. Can't judge her for choosing a Cambridge degree.

 

[ellieaniston021]

> "but I also think that English speaking viewers deserve some post saying that this channel will sadly no longer be in English"

This. All I wanted from her was a post or at least a story, something to let English speaking viewers know that she will only speak German from now on. I don't understand why she couldn't simply do that? She certainly knows that a fair amount of her followers do *not* speak German. It is just basic respect to make a last post, directed to English speaking viewers who have been following and supporting her for years, at least to announce that she will no longer speak in English.

 

[ellieaniston021]

Is anyone else annoyed that she speaks so much German without translating it? I've been following her for so long and now the majority of her content on Instagram is suddenly in German and I can't understand anything. I mean it's her choice if she wants to switch to German, but I find it a bit disrespectful to all of us who have been following her for so long that she doesn't even consider the fact that we can't understand anything. I'm not saying she has to speak English if she doesn't want to, but she could at least let as know what she's gonna do do just out of respect. Or at least translate the german. I've been following her for so long and I don't want to unfollow her, but now I'm seriously considering doing it, since most of her stories are all of a sudden in german.

 

[xaannaa]

Can someone that speaks German and follows her on Tiktok update me on what's going on with her crush/boyfriend, whatever he is? I can't understand a word of what she's saying, but I'm curious haha.

just scrolled through her tiktok for a couple minutes (from her most recent to the beginning of february) and the most recent info i could find was a tiktok from 10/04 saying she went on a date with her crush (still calling him crush, not bf) *but* there's also one from 09/03 listing "things to make elena happy" and the last one is her holding someones hand and the text says "him" that looks couple-y imo (people in the comments seem to think the same and she hasn't clarified) and in the tiktok from 08/03 she says she had her first kiss this year. The one video that I saw that has more info is from 24/02 and she says they're really close friends. Apparently he dm'ed her on ig (a while back?) and asked her out, she said yes but only as friends, so they became close friends but she now has a crush on him [she says the same thing in a "everybody makes mistakes" tiktok on 01/02]. She initially only agreed to meet him bc he also likes German Rap (Deutschrap). He speaks German (she doesn't say whether he is German) and watches her tiktoks. He recommended her the first book in a series and she liked it and also bought book 2 and 3 (she points at it but I can't tell what book it is).

If there's a specific video you'd like me to translate, lmk, I'd be happy to! I haven't watched all videos, if they seemed like they had nothing to do with the guy I scrolled, so I might've missed something.

unrelated but the way she makes liking german rap her entire personality is kinda annoying

 

[Karolina1985]

I miss Elena's content from when she was a Cambridge student. She was so amazing to watch after watching for years Holly Gabrielle, which imo got more and more weird. Elena was a breath of fresh air with her love to Mc Donald's and Elle Woods appearence. Sadly I think that she will sooner or later close her yt channel and I don't understand anything that she writes on IG in german. I can see that there's not a lot of education oriented content anymore from her which is sad.

 

[NotAnArtist]

Just saw she is part of the Cambridge rifle association... she is pro gun..?

And that's definitely a pro-gun group and not just sports shooting? Of the (non-American) people I know who shoot for sport, most aren't advocates for private gun-ownership at all - much like people who do kickboxing aren't typically in favor of attacking strangers in the streets, or racecar drivers aren't trying to introduce F1-level street limits to the public.