WEBVTT

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Hi, and welcome back to and You, How Did You Make

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It? The podcast in which you explore each step

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that has built the career path of various individuals

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through the discovery of their habits, passions,

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and interests over the last few decades. I'm

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Yusra, your host, and today we meet Leila. And

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there is plenty of things to learn from her between

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her life in Italy, Germany, and Ireland. Within

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this episode, you will get a chance to realize

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that you're not the only one being different

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from your surroundings. You're not the only one

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being absolutely lost in choosing your higher

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education path. But most importantly, anything

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you put your mind into, you will achieve. Let's

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learn from Leila. Hi Leila and welcome to a new

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How Did You Make It? I'm so happy to have you

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with us today. I'll just let you introduce yourself.

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Thank you so much for having me. Hi to everyone

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listening. My name is Leila. I'm Italian and

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I live in Milan. where I work in advertising

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and marketing at Netflix since nearly a year.

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I have Afghan roots. I was born in Switzerland

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and I moved a bit growing up. I recently moved

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back to Italy after a couple of years abroad.

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I was in Germany and in Ireland. And about me,

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I love traveling, picking up new languages, writing.

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But most of all, I love getting to know new people,

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people from different cultures, and just being

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surrounded by new things. Thank you, Leda, and

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I can't wait to talk more about your curiosity.

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You're already sharing with us that you're very

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curious about learning about different cultures,

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but we'll deep dive into it a bit later. Now,

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can you please share with us your definition

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of success? That's a great question. I think

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success, like whenever you ask me about this,

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it might change based on which point of life

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I am. But for me, it's like reaching a specific

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goal you have. So it's not a big and definite

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term that has to guide your life, but it's more

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in the smaller daily things. I'm losing hair.

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I need to get the right supplements to stop that.

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If I manage, that's success for me. I want to

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get a specific role in my career. I managed to

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achieve that. That's also success. Different

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kind of success, but also success. So success

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for me changes on a daily and weekly basis. And

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success gives you happiness, which it's like

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confined also to a specific time for me. Thank

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you, Leila. That's such a great reminder. I think

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we forget about all the achievements that are

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there between your big, big goal and when you

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started putting your mind into it. So that is

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success, that you're consistently going towards

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it, that you're not giving up. So do celebrate

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those little moments that are taking you towards

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your goal. Leila, let's talk about your teenage

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years, early teenage years, more around ages

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like 13 to 15. What kind of students were you?

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What was your favorite subject? Least favorite

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one? How were your grades at the time? Did you

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have any passions, any habits? What can you share

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with us today? Yeah, thank you for this question.

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So it's an interesting one because... At the

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age of 12, was it like between age of 11, 12,

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I moved from a city to another in Italy. And

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even though I was in the same country, I went

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from an international school to an Italian school

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and to a Catholic private Italian school where

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there were priests and nuns. a very white community

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and very different from what I was used to before.

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What kind of student was I? I was very, I was

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not very confident because I couldn't speak Italian

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that well back in the days. I had a thick British

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accent when I was speaking Italian and my friends,

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classmates were very confused at the person he

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was and where did I come from and why was I so

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different? It just took me some time to adapt

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and to understand that we... don't all have the

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same background. So it's normal that sometimes

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people are just very surprised, especially at

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that age. And being the only non -white person

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in the school together with my siblings was just

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a surprise also for them. So it was also for

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them an opportunity for learning new people and

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learning about new cultures. Back in the days,

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English was my favorite subject just because

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I was much better than the others in English.

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It was finally, I had my, it was an occasion

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for me to shine in front of everyone and do something

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really well because all the other subjects were

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in Italian and I was struggling a bit. And I

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have to say sports was my least favorite one

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because when I was younger at my international

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school, sports was something that you could pick

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yourself and decide what you wanted to do. Instead,

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at the Italian school, it was like mandatory

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one month of basketball, one month of baseball,

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one month of volleyball. And being forced to

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do a specific thing was always a bit difficult

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for me. So that was my least favorite subject.

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Changing environments is such a difficult process

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to go through. Do you remember receiving any

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advice from the people around you, maybe siblings

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or the family members? Not really. And were you

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able to pick yourself up and have some kind of

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self -talk to cope with the situation? No, not

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really. I was so affected by understanding that

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I was different. When you're 11, 12, 13, you

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don't really know what's happening. I think nowadays

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kids know, but back in the days, we were not

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so aware of our surroundings. So for me, I was

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struggling to understand, was I the problem?

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Were they the problem? Like, why was there so

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much difference? And why was the difference a

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problem? Why was it a problem that I had an accent?

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Why was it a problem that I didn't have their

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same religion? Why was it a problem that someone

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from a different religion goes to religious school?

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Because the values are the same between the religions.

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So for me, it wasn't an issue. I didn't see the

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differences. I think the fact of going from kindergarten

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to middle school, international school, where

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difference is such a big and important and special

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thing, that for me... I had struggles understanding

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why am I now in a place where everyone is the

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same and I also have to adapt. And so no, not

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really. No special tips from anyone. I just adapted

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and it took me some years, but I did adapt. Thank

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you for sharing. And now if there is a mini Leila

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out there, someone who's relating to what you're

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saying. What kind of advice would you give them

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to cope with the situation? I would say, I would

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suggest for it to be herself. I think I had such

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a strong personality when I was younger. But

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then those three years of middle school, really,

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I became much more introverted. I was always

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in the backseat. I think I had also lower self

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-esteem. And it was all as a result of feeling

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different. If I saw myself now, I would be like,

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wow, that's so special that you're so different.

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You should use that as an advantage. I learned

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that later on. My friends, when you find good

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friends, they teach you, I think, these kind

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of things. And when they spot you for being different

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and they want to be your friend because you're

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different, then you're like, OK, so maybe it's

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not. such a bad thing that I'm different. Maybe

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I don't have to hide it. Maybe it doesn't have

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to be a secret. So I wish I just was myself.

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I think I would be much more natural if I just

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didn't change myself or try to change myself.

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Hopefully that reaches the people who need to

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hear it the most. And you just mentioned that

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you were not confident at the time, and I would

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love for us to discuss it slightly later on how

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to build confidence. Regarding grades, so we

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understand clearly that English was your favorite

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subject because you had great grades and sports,

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not so much. But would you say for the remaining

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classes, you still had decent grades? How did

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it look like? Yeah, exactly. Like at that age,

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I was also trying to look good in front of the

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priests and nuns and everything and trying to.

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be good at school. And that's also part of fitting

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in. So studying, being good with your, being

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good at tests, exams, and just trying to not

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look either extremely good or extremely bad,

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but being somewhere in the middle so no one can

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spot you, you know. So I think I was doing well,

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but mostly because I just wanted to. fit in and

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no one to call out on me and be like, hey, why

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didn't you study for this exam, you know? So

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I think that was my, those were my school habits

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back in the days. And what did you do after those

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school hours? Did you have any passions, any

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habits, activities you were doing with some friends,

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family members? I was traveling a lot with my

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family. I was visiting a relative. Most of my

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relatives live in Germany, Switzerland, France.

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So I would travel to visit them. And that was

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mostly done on the weekends. There was a lot

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of traveling to Zurich or to Frankfurt to see

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my grandparents, my cousins, uncles. And in my

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free time, I would spend a lot of time reading.

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And also I was getting into fashion. So I would

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buy these magazines back in the days in Germany.

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I would collect them. So I was trying to go at

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least every couple of months in Germany to buy

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this magazine called InStyle. And I was collecting

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all of them. It was in German, so I didn't quite

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understand, but that helped me. I was curious

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enough to force myself to understand certain

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things and then looking certain words and certain

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things on the internet and trying to just understand

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most of the texts. And I was always imagining

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myself one day being on those magazines. That

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never happened. Won't happen, probably. But I

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was passionate and I would, from reading just

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like novels and books to... magazines and I spent

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most of my time like that. I was also very big

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on, from my passion, from fashion, it also started

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to like wanting myself to write about it and

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to talk about it. Even though I didn't have a

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lot of knowledge, I just wanted to share the

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things that I would learn and read about. So

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I opened a forum, would you call it like that?

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And then I opened the website. So those were

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the things that I was interested in, vlogs and

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forums and websites and just talking and writing

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and posting. And that all started around the

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age of 14. So it was like the end of middle school

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and the beginning of high school. How did reading

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impact your life at the time? A way to maybe

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escape real life and reality, but it was also

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like... I could read in English. So I was living

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in Italy and that was connecting me to my childhood

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years. So I could read in English and I can reconnect

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to those years probably. But it also excited

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me to have specific books that were maybe not

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available in Italy. So to travel to a specific

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place and then have a book there that I couldn't

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find back home. To have something special. I

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think it was mostly that. And I also, I think

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with the years at middle school that I started

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spending time on my own, then it was also like

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reading is something that you can do completely

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alone. You don't need like a group of friends

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to do it. You don't need like to have all your

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family around. So it's something that you kind

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of become independent on your own. You don't

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need anyone else to do it. So I think I like

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that. It gave me some independence. You're absolutely

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right, Leda. I do have a question about your

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decision to build an amazing forum, something

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of your own around an interest of yours, which

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was fashion. My question is, how do you build

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the confidence to initiate something, initiate

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something that is visible externally, or just

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trust that you have enough to share and that

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your voice should be heard? When I was writing

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on my blog, I always thought that no one would

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ever read what I was writing and that it was

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only for me. It was just practice before I became

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a writer, before I became famous. So for me,

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it was just I would write and no one would ever

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know and no one would end up on my blog. Things

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went differently then, but I didn't know. So

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that gave me the. The confidence to start writing

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because I was like, no one's going to ever read

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about this. So why not do it? I think that's

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such a great approach to anything. Just put it

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out there. If it catches, well, that was meant

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to be. That's great. It means that probably that

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resonated with way more people than you thought

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it could. And if it doesn't catch us, as you

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said, it's practice. That's great for you. Exactly.

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And I think I never thought about it in the way

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that you just said it. But that's a lot of things

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that I do work like that. Like I just do it.

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It might work. It might not. I just try it out.

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So sometimes it will just be something that maybe

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lasted a half a day, but at least I tried something.

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So I think that's that's mostly how I approach

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life. And that's such a great approach to anything

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in life. Because you don't have any regrets.

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You just try it out. And you learn throughout.

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And to wrap up on those years, Leila, I would

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love for us to discuss your level of curiosity.

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There are two things that you mentioned. First,

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obviously, your curious mind in your travels

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and how you approach your travels. And everything

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on fashion, how you didn't understand what was

00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:46.100
written on those German magazines, but you were

00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:49.070
still curious to learn a little bit more. And

00:15:49.070 --> 00:15:50.990
go for them every time you were traveling there.

00:15:51.769 --> 00:15:54.870
Do you know how your curiosity was born? I know

00:15:54.870 --> 00:15:58.350
this is a big, big question, but I would love

00:15:58.350 --> 00:16:01.610
for us to understand how you became a curious

00:16:01.610 --> 00:16:05.750
human being. I do not have the answer for that.

00:16:05.850 --> 00:16:10.429
I think I always wanted to find out things. So

00:16:10.429 --> 00:16:12.690
the reason why I opened the forum was because

00:16:12.690 --> 00:16:18.110
there was... a guy in my class back in the days

00:16:18.110 --> 00:16:24.509
and this was like seventh grade so second year

00:16:24.509 --> 00:16:28.769
of middle school in Italy and he created a forum

00:16:28.769 --> 00:16:33.470
for the guys in my class and I was like a bit

00:16:33.470 --> 00:16:36.470
jealous and I was like how can he do it and why

00:16:36.470 --> 00:16:40.389
can't I do it so I just tried to figure it out

00:16:40.389 --> 00:16:43.330
so I was curious enough to understand how to

00:16:43.330 --> 00:16:46.860
figure it out And I was really passionate about

00:16:46.860 --> 00:16:49.159
George Clooney back in the day. So I was like,

00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:53.039
OK, I just look things up and asked around to

00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:55.879
make it happen. And I didn't have the knowledge.

00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:01.600
But by asking around and seeing how things are

00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:04.519
done, like without prepping a lot, but just getting

00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:06.839
on the computer, trying to go on that website

00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:10.339
and seeing how to open things and just looking

00:17:10.339 --> 00:17:14.019
around, I managed to do it. This is a brilliant

00:17:14.019 --> 00:17:16.799
mindset to have. You have been a go -getter forever.

00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:20.380
And I love how you were thinking at the time

00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:24.140
is that if he can do it, I can do it. I can find

00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:27.599
a solution on how to reach that goal. So my question

00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:32.259
to you is, how do you think you became like that?

00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:36.259
To see opportunities everywhere instead of limits?

00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:39.359
Do you think you can spot a moment in your life

00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:43.170
where some kind of trigger which... is now allowing

00:17:43.170 --> 00:17:46.750
you, which has been allowing you, to think like

00:17:46.750 --> 00:17:50.690
that, to be empowered. I think this also has

00:17:50.690 --> 00:17:56.930
roots in being from Afghanistan and my dad became

00:17:56.930 --> 00:18:01.589
an entrepreneur and it was always so difficult

00:18:01.589 --> 00:18:06.730
for Italians to understand that we came from

00:18:06.730 --> 00:18:09.150
a specific kind of background but still made

00:18:09.150 --> 00:18:12.460
it. So I think that kind of... could have given

00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:18.759
me the courage and the push to just get things

00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:21.200
done, even though people think you can't, even

00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.720
though maybe it's not something usually a girl

00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:27.200
would do, you know. So if someone thought she

00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:29.180
can't be a geek, you know, she's not that kind

00:18:29.180 --> 00:18:30.920
of person, then I wanted to prove them wrong.

00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:34.880
I think proving people wrong is something that

00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.079
was always kind of like trying to get at me in

00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:41.579
my life. It was not planned, but it was. maybe

00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:45.200
within me, of trying to prove people that I could

00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:48.259
do this, that I could do what they think that

00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:51.680
I couldn't do, you know? And both as a female,

00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:55.579
as an immigrant, as someone with a very diverse

00:18:55.579 --> 00:19:00.819
background, as a Muslim, as an Afghan. So I think

00:19:00.819 --> 00:19:02.799
proving people wrong is something that I'm passionate

00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:06.579
about, and that could have been, back in the

00:19:06.579 --> 00:19:10.569
days, the push for me. This is so inspiring,

00:19:10.710 --> 00:19:14.170
Leila. Thank you for sharing. So this is a call

00:19:14.170 --> 00:19:18.190
to action to you. Try following hot steps. Only

00:19:18.190 --> 00:19:20.930
think about the process. Think about the learnings.

00:19:20.930 --> 00:19:23.190
Think about the failures and the learnings again.

00:19:23.549 --> 00:19:27.710
Just try, try and try again. Let's talk now about

00:19:27.710 --> 00:19:31.390
the second part of your teenage life. What can

00:19:31.390 --> 00:19:33.089
you tell us about your high school experience?

00:19:33.670 --> 00:19:36.589
Were you still interested in some specific classes?

00:19:36.849 --> 00:19:39.579
How were your grades? What were your passions,

00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:43.200
maybe? Or did you take your passion to the next

00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:45.160
level? What can you tell us about those years?

00:19:45.619 --> 00:19:49.680
I had a big shift from middle school to high

00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:54.019
school. Luckily or unfortunately, I don't know,

00:19:54.059 --> 00:20:01.559
but there was this big shift. I wasn't the best

00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:05.210
student, let's say, back in the days. I was always

00:20:05.210 --> 00:20:08.789
going against the rules and I was being bossy

00:20:08.789 --> 00:20:12.670
and trying to be cool. Of course, I had my favorite

00:20:12.670 --> 00:20:17.269
subjects and those were definitely easy ones

00:20:17.269 --> 00:20:21.130
for me. I was really into English again, into

00:20:21.130 --> 00:20:25.950
German. Most of my relatives, because they lived

00:20:25.950 --> 00:20:28.170
in Germany, I really wanted to learn their language

00:20:28.170 --> 00:20:30.630
and understand what they were saying. So passionate

00:20:30.630 --> 00:20:34.079
about those. Philosophy was also something that

00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:36.960
was very new to me, so interested also about

00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:40.119
that. And then I had some other subjects that

00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:44.519
I was not that interested to. And the professors

00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:49.099
that I had in those classes were not the greatest.

00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:52.680
I think a teacher or professor really shapes

00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:55.519
how you see that specific subject. And I think

00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:57.880
it's really important to be a great teacher,

00:20:57.980 --> 00:21:02.650
but sometimes that's not the case. I think I

00:21:02.650 --> 00:21:04.849
was very, I took everything very personal. So

00:21:04.849 --> 00:21:08.470
I was like, OK, he's not a great man. So why

00:21:08.470 --> 00:21:11.450
should I study his subject, you know? And that

00:21:11.450 --> 00:21:15.650
was a wrong mindset. And now I can see it. And

00:21:15.650 --> 00:21:21.930
I met my Italian teacher last week. And she was

00:21:21.930 --> 00:21:24.529
so sweet and she has now retired. And she said

00:21:24.529 --> 00:21:27.509
so many nice things to me. And I was like. Leila,

00:21:27.609 --> 00:21:30.210
you should have studied that subject. And she

00:21:30.210 --> 00:21:33.109
wasn't that bad as you thought, you know. Of

00:21:33.109 --> 00:21:35.069
course, people change. It could be that now she's

00:21:35.069 --> 00:21:38.089
much better. But I was like, why did I take it

00:21:38.089 --> 00:21:42.769
so personally? You know, I could have had less

00:21:42.769 --> 00:21:46.910
discussions and just study and do what I had

00:21:46.910 --> 00:21:50.230
to do and just call it a day instead of being

00:21:50.230 --> 00:21:56.029
a drama queen. It is so difficult to have a teacher

00:21:56.970 --> 00:22:00.390
who is unable to transmit their passion for the

00:22:00.390 --> 00:22:04.390
subject and if it feels like the person doesn't

00:22:04.390 --> 00:22:08.930
want to be here so some of us can get impacted

00:22:08.930 --> 00:22:12.730
by that and and one can think that what's the

00:22:12.730 --> 00:22:14.710
point of being here what's the point of learning

00:22:14.710 --> 00:22:17.809
what's the point of listening but in the contrary

00:22:17.809 --> 00:22:21.859
you should try your best to either learn during

00:22:21.859 --> 00:22:25.819
that time or find solution after hours to learn

00:22:25.819 --> 00:22:28.720
that subject better because the only thing you

00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:32.940
can control is your learning process and what

00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:35.619
do you do with the situation you're in because

00:22:35.619 --> 00:22:39.440
obviously we cannot so we cannot just vote for

00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:45.240
the teacher to change and have a new one so leila

00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:49.500
do you have any advice on how to manage those

00:22:49.500 --> 00:22:53.220
kind of situations? Or what would you have done

00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:56.119
differently yourself? I couldn't have done anything

00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:58.680
differently. I think I was just shaped in that

00:22:58.680 --> 00:23:01.779
moment of life in that specific way. And I didn't

00:23:01.779 --> 00:23:05.839
have the means that I have now. But if I could

00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:08.359
share, if I could see what my cousins are doing

00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:12.369
and my younger cousins. If I could give them

00:23:12.369 --> 00:23:15.130
advice, it would be just to like, yes, it is

00:23:15.130 --> 00:23:17.890
possible that you don't have a great professor

00:23:17.890 --> 00:23:20.309
or that the professor doesn't treat you that

00:23:20.309 --> 00:23:24.210
well. Could be any reason, maybe your personality,

00:23:24.529 --> 00:23:28.130
just you don't vibe. Maybe they don't like where

00:23:28.130 --> 00:23:30.069
you're from or how you talk, how you speak, how

00:23:30.069 --> 00:23:33.410
you dress. It's to not take it personally and

00:23:33.410 --> 00:23:37.569
to do it your own way. Are you into history?

00:23:37.950 --> 00:23:41.640
That professor is not great. OK, go home, use

00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:44.160
ChatGPT, go to the library, get a bunch of books

00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:46.900
and become passionate about that thing on your

00:23:46.900 --> 00:23:49.440
own terms, because there are so many things you

00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:51.259
can do in your life on your own terms and you

00:23:51.259 --> 00:23:53.859
don't know. You're like, OK, it's it's only like

00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:55.500
that. And if I don't like like that, what do

00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:58.980
I do? I just give up. No, you should still do

00:23:58.980 --> 00:24:02.819
it and just do it your own way. You know, I was

00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:05.160
into reading. I could have just bought a book

00:24:05.160 --> 00:24:10.750
about. that specific period of history in English

00:24:10.750 --> 00:24:12.990
that I was much more passionate learning in English

00:24:12.990 --> 00:24:15.490
than in Italian. And then I could have just made

00:24:15.490 --> 00:24:19.670
it mine, you know? Yes. Go to the library. Do

00:24:19.670 --> 00:24:22.269
the extra work. And you know what? You're actually

00:24:22.269 --> 00:24:26.049
getting ready for what higher education is all

00:24:26.049 --> 00:24:29.490
about. You need to work more. You're being shared

00:24:29.490 --> 00:24:33.130
a lot of information. You're being taught a lot

00:24:33.130 --> 00:24:36.220
of... elements but you still have to put the

00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:39.539
extra work on the side and you know what in the

00:24:39.539 --> 00:24:42.720
meantime during this process is during this very

00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:45.900
challenging time for you you're learning what

00:24:45.900 --> 00:24:48.960
is your studying style and i think you're learning

00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:52.779
also something that is going to follow you all

00:24:52.779 --> 00:24:55.779
throughout your life is that you will always

00:24:55.779 --> 00:25:01.089
be facing people who are not vibing, as you just

00:25:01.089 --> 00:25:05.289
said, with you or they're not going to meet the

00:25:05.289 --> 00:25:08.509
expectation that you have from them. So what

00:25:08.509 --> 00:25:11.569
do you do? You just take it in your own hands

00:25:11.569 --> 00:25:16.869
to find solutions. And you try your best. And

00:25:16.869 --> 00:25:19.049
to wrap up on those years, Leila, what can you

00:25:19.049 --> 00:25:21.269
tell us about your habits and passions outside

00:25:21.269 --> 00:25:24.470
of school? Were you still traveling? Were you

00:25:24.470 --> 00:25:27.410
still working on your passion projects, your

00:25:27.410 --> 00:25:30.950
own fashion? What can you share with us? I was

00:25:30.950 --> 00:25:34.369
still traveling, not that often, but I was still

00:25:34.369 --> 00:25:37.789
traveling to the same specific countries that

00:25:37.789 --> 00:25:40.369
I have relatives in. Back in the days, traveling

00:25:40.369 --> 00:25:44.890
was not as easy as it is today. I was still into

00:25:44.890 --> 00:25:49.349
writing and blogging. I took it a step further.

00:25:50.639 --> 00:25:53.779
I changed the name of my blog. I made it a bit

00:25:53.779 --> 00:25:56.240
more fun. I started to talk about it with people.

00:25:56.299 --> 00:25:58.299
So I was not hiding it as if it was a secret

00:25:58.299 --> 00:26:02.539
anymore. I would write on the blackboards the

00:26:02.539 --> 00:26:04.720
name of the blog because I wanted people to go

00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:08.119
visit it. When I met new people, I would say

00:26:08.119 --> 00:26:11.039
that I'm doing that. So it became kind of like

00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:16.109
my branding. And that gave me a lot of opportunities

00:26:16.109 --> 00:26:18.950
to go to concerts for free, to go to fashion

00:26:18.950 --> 00:26:23.289
shows. So it opened kind of like my world into

00:26:23.289 --> 00:26:26.130
fashion even more, but also into music and cinema

00:26:26.130 --> 00:26:29.089
and just any kind of interesting event in Milan,

00:26:29.210 --> 00:26:31.829
I would be invited. And back in the days, having

00:26:31.829 --> 00:26:34.950
a blog was, it was still at the beginning of

00:26:34.950 --> 00:26:38.730
when the blogs were becoming successful and something

00:26:38.730 --> 00:26:43.109
people would follow a lot. Of course, it was

00:26:43.109 --> 00:26:46.730
easier for me because it was still early and

00:26:46.730 --> 00:26:48.529
there were not a lot of vlogs nowadays. It would

00:26:48.529 --> 00:26:54.690
be much more difficult. But I would spend literally

00:26:54.690 --> 00:26:57.509
every day writing for it or doing something fun

00:26:57.509 --> 00:27:00.230
because of it. So it opened a lot of doors for

00:27:00.230 --> 00:27:04.230
me. That's incredible. So tell us more. Did you

00:27:04.230 --> 00:27:06.309
think at the time that it would be your career

00:27:06.309 --> 00:27:10.990
path? Were you just doing it for fun? What was

00:27:10.990 --> 00:27:14.119
your... Thought pauses at that time. I thought

00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:16.559
at the beginning that that could be a career

00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:20.700
path because that's something that was fun for

00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:25.420
me to do. And we didn't have content creators

00:27:25.420 --> 00:27:28.380
or influencers that much. So it was more like

00:27:28.380 --> 00:27:31.619
I would see it as fashion journalism. And that's

00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:35.059
how I still would call it, you know. So I thought

00:27:35.059 --> 00:27:39.519
that I could do that. However, going to a lot

00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:43.000
of events and meeting a lot of people, I somehow

00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:48.259
then was like, maybe I'm not good enough or maybe

00:27:48.259 --> 00:27:50.640
I'm just too young for this. So I kind of like

00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:54.619
doubted myself in the last years. But definitely

00:27:54.619 --> 00:27:56.220
at the beginning, that was something that I thought.

00:27:56.339 --> 00:28:02.740
And I met people from very different walks of

00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:05.019
life. And I was like, OK, so this is a place

00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:07.440
for everyone. It's like a melting pot of very...

00:28:07.849 --> 00:28:11.349
diverse creatives all getting together and fashion

00:28:11.349 --> 00:28:14.809
week was my favorite weeks in Milan we had four

00:28:14.809 --> 00:28:17.650
of them during the year and I was always so excited

00:28:17.650 --> 00:28:21.589
and my goal every year was to get invited by

00:28:21.589 --> 00:28:25.890
the most famous fashion shows and that I didn't

00:28:25.890 --> 00:28:31.730
get to that yet but Going to all the press presentations

00:28:31.730 --> 00:28:34.730
and to all the events and getting to know these

00:28:34.730 --> 00:28:39.450
people was very eye -opening to me. And at the

00:28:39.450 --> 00:28:43.250
same time, I was like, yes, interesting, fun,

00:28:43.450 --> 00:28:45.789
but can I be that person? Can I make a living

00:28:45.789 --> 00:28:48.569
out of it? That for me was a big question mark.

00:28:48.950 --> 00:28:51.470
Now it's very easy to find out because you can

00:28:51.470 --> 00:28:55.779
just Google it and there are... journalists and

00:28:55.779 --> 00:28:58.339
influencers talking about how much money they

00:28:58.339 --> 00:29:01.299
make and how they can make a living out of it.

00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:04.480
But back in the days, it was not very obvious.

00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:06.799
So I didn't know if that was something sustainable

00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:09.079
or if it was just something that I could do for

00:29:09.079 --> 00:29:11.619
a couple of years and then I had to change. So

00:29:11.619 --> 00:29:13.539
what's your biggest learning through that whole

00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:18.240
experience? So in order to be a blogger, especially

00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:19.839
if you don't have the audience, I didn't have

00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:24.619
the audience yet. I had some following. Most

00:29:24.619 --> 00:29:26.619
of it were people that were kind of connected

00:29:26.619 --> 00:29:28.680
to me. So not my friends, but maybe the friends

00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:32.140
of my friends and that kind of connection. Once

00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:37.000
there was a DJ duo who came to Milan and a friend

00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:39.779
of mine was obsessed with them. And they are

00:29:39.779 --> 00:29:43.559
called Digitalism. And I had to send an email

00:29:43.559 --> 00:29:46.920
to ask if I could go backstage to interview them.

00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:49.609
I would do these kind of things. And then they

00:29:49.609 --> 00:29:51.549
asked something that I that no one ever asked

00:29:51.549 --> 00:29:53.529
me before. And they were like, how are your numbers?

00:29:53.950 --> 00:29:57.349
Can you send us some proof of like how your blog

00:29:57.349 --> 00:29:59.970
is doing? So this was someone from their team,

00:29:59.990 --> 00:30:06.210
not them directly. And then I had to like reply

00:30:06.210 --> 00:30:08.329
in a much more convincing way because I didn't

00:30:08.329 --> 00:30:12.309
have those numbers. And I tried to fake it a

00:30:12.309 --> 00:30:15.519
bit. And I was like, fake it until you make it,

00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:18.799
you know. But then I also had to do some convincing

00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:21.680
and promising them a certain kind of like coverage

00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:27.000
after the concert. And I managed to get it. But

00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:33.220
the deal took so long that I didn't plan myself

00:30:33.220 --> 00:30:35.319
that well. So in the end, I didn't even go to

00:30:35.319 --> 00:30:39.539
that event, to the concert, because I didn't

00:30:39.539 --> 00:30:41.700
have a car. So I had to organize myself with

00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:44.519
like... My parents to pick me up, take me to

00:30:44.519 --> 00:30:47.380
the train station, pick me up. It was a whole

00:30:47.380 --> 00:30:51.400
thing that wasn't that easy to organize as I

00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:54.079
can do it now because I have my own car. So I

00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:58.200
didn't manage to do it in the end. But the fake

00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:00.619
confidence that I built in those emails, sometimes

00:31:00.619 --> 00:31:03.000
I just go back and read them and I'm like, listen,

00:31:03.180 --> 00:31:06.519
I did this. I managed to do it when I was 17,

00:31:06.700 --> 00:31:12.099
16. Why can't I do it now? Absolutely. Great

00:31:12.099 --> 00:31:15.880
call out. Fake it till you make it. You never

00:31:15.880 --> 00:31:20.019
know what can happen. Leila, let's now drop into

00:31:20.019 --> 00:31:22.940
your bachelor's program. So your higher education.

00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:26.740
Can you tell us why you made a specific choice?

00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:30.759
Did you stay in the same city? Why did you choose

00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:34.400
to pursue that instead of something else? So

00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:37.789
when I had to decide which... university I had

00:31:37.789 --> 00:31:43.450
to go to I was struggling a lot because I was

00:31:43.450 --> 00:31:49.049
passionate about politics and human rights and

00:31:49.049 --> 00:31:50.589
I always thought I would do something like that

00:31:50.589 --> 00:31:54.930
when I grow up but then when I got to the end

00:31:54.930 --> 00:31:57.950
of my high school year and I had to make a decision

00:31:57.950 --> 00:32:01.750
that summer I was very confused because in Italy

00:32:01.750 --> 00:32:06.019
we don't have a counselor at school that would

00:32:06.019 --> 00:32:07.960
help you understand what you're good at, what

00:32:07.960 --> 00:32:12.079
you could do, what you couldn't do, and how universities

00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:15.799
work. So I was the first one in my family who

00:32:15.799 --> 00:32:18.779
started going to universities. So my parents

00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:22.539
didn't study and a lot of my relatives didn't

00:32:22.539 --> 00:32:27.119
study. So it was a bit hard to get some help.

00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:30.279
A lot of my friends also had parents who hadn't

00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:34.859
studied. So making a decision wasn't something

00:32:34.859 --> 00:32:39.819
easy. I had made some research and I understood

00:32:39.819 --> 00:32:43.960
that if you become a lawyer, you couldn't move

00:32:43.960 --> 00:32:46.619
away from where you were living because then

00:32:46.619 --> 00:32:52.339
you had to take more exams and try to make your

00:32:52.339 --> 00:32:55.099
degree valid in that specific country. So I knew

00:32:55.099 --> 00:32:57.319
that I wanted to travel. I knew that I wanted

00:32:57.319 --> 00:33:02.279
to help people. I didn't want to do political

00:33:02.279 --> 00:33:04.700
science I wasn't sure my sister was doing the

00:33:04.700 --> 00:33:06.579
same so I was like let's not study the same thing

00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:09.940
so I was very confused and that confusion took

00:33:09.940 --> 00:33:13.980
a long time so my decision to study in the end

00:33:13.980 --> 00:33:16.660
business and languages was something that I decided

00:33:16.660 --> 00:33:20.740
on the day that we had the deadline to pick the

00:33:20.740 --> 00:33:24.619
university so I just went on different websites

00:33:24.619 --> 00:33:27.200
of the universities the whole summer and at one

00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:29.779
point it was the deadline and I knew that my

00:33:31.170 --> 00:33:35.289
Family really wanted me to do business. And I

00:33:35.289 --> 00:33:38.470
did not want to do that. But I also knew that

00:33:38.470 --> 00:33:41.069
I couldn't do law and I couldn't do political

00:33:41.069 --> 00:33:43.730
science because my sister was doing it. So I

00:33:43.730 --> 00:33:45.569
was kind of stuck and I didn't know what to do.

00:33:45.630 --> 00:33:49.009
And then I saw a course that looked interesting

00:33:49.009 --> 00:33:51.529
that I didn't see the whole summer, which was

00:33:51.529 --> 00:33:53.890
business and languages. And I was like, OK, I

00:33:53.890 --> 00:33:57.089
have a big. passion for cultures and languages.

00:33:57.329 --> 00:34:00.650
And that part would excite me. And then I have

00:34:00.650 --> 00:34:02.730
the whole business part that I will probably

00:34:02.730 --> 00:34:06.210
mostly hate. So this would be something that

00:34:06.210 --> 00:34:08.469
I could do to make both my family happy and myself.

00:34:08.969 --> 00:34:12.190
I could do it for a year. And then if it doesn't

00:34:12.190 --> 00:34:15.269
work out, which is kind of how I do everything,

00:34:15.389 --> 00:34:17.030
I'm like, let's just try it. If it doesn't work

00:34:17.030 --> 00:34:19.409
out, then I can change next year because now

00:34:19.409 --> 00:34:22.010
it's too late. So either decide today or I can't

00:34:22.010 --> 00:34:25.780
study this year. So that's what I did. And it

00:34:25.780 --> 00:34:27.579
was open. You didn't have to do any tests to

00:34:27.579 --> 00:34:31.039
get in. That's the case in most of the universities

00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:35.539
in Italy. Apart from medical school, everything

00:34:35.539 --> 00:34:39.280
else is quite open. So that's how I made the

00:34:39.280 --> 00:34:41.500
decision. So it's not very philosophical and

00:34:41.500 --> 00:34:44.599
it's not very planned. It was just like very

00:34:44.599 --> 00:34:47.619
logical. Back in the days, I was like, OK, I

00:34:47.619 --> 00:34:49.380
don't know what I want to do. This is something

00:34:49.380 --> 00:34:51.260
that would make everyone happy. And both things

00:34:51.260 --> 00:34:56.260
seem kind of useful. for the future. So let's

00:34:56.260 --> 00:34:59.440
just see how it goes. And how did your studies

00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:03.059
go? I just stuck with it. And the reason was,

00:35:03.179 --> 00:35:06.940
so my friends who did study law did not have

00:35:06.940 --> 00:35:09.760
a social life, did not have a life whatsoever.

00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:13.369
So I was like... I don't think I can do that.

00:35:13.369 --> 00:35:15.349
You know, I still had my passion. So I still

00:35:15.349 --> 00:35:17.829
kept doing the whole blogging thing, which I

00:35:17.829 --> 00:35:19.429
strictly wanted to keep as a passion because

00:35:19.429 --> 00:35:20.949
a lot of people were like, why don't you do that?

00:35:21.050 --> 00:35:24.349
And I'm like, that's my passion. So I kept it

00:35:24.349 --> 00:35:27.050
as a passion and I kept traveling. So I was like,

00:35:27.130 --> 00:35:30.030
if I do Stabilo, I can't do these things. So

00:35:30.030 --> 00:35:31.909
I need to give up on the things that I like.

00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:35.380
Because I might have a job that I like. I might

00:35:35.380 --> 00:35:38.239
have a job that I like in 10 years. So I wasn't

00:35:38.239 --> 00:35:41.300
ready to do that. I wasn't strategic enough to

00:35:41.300 --> 00:35:47.619
think like that. And I was like, OK, let's continue

00:35:47.619 --> 00:35:52.980
doing it. And my first year, I didn't do a lot

00:35:52.980 --> 00:35:56.559
of exams. The few that I did, though, I had great

00:35:56.559 --> 00:36:02.670
grades. So I'm still a bit confused. Not knowing

00:36:02.670 --> 00:36:04.889
what to do, I was like, okay, let's go on Erasmus.

00:36:04.909 --> 00:36:09.309
And maybe there I'll learn more about what other

00:36:09.309 --> 00:36:13.010
people are doing. I can be more inspired. I learned

00:36:13.010 --> 00:36:15.969
German finally really well. So I was like, okay,

00:36:16.030 --> 00:36:22.809
let's go for that. I applied for it. And it happened

00:36:22.809 --> 00:36:25.289
like eight months later, they let me know that

00:36:25.289 --> 00:36:28.610
I got the scholarship and I could go on Erasmus.

00:36:29.280 --> 00:36:32.059
I think nowadays it's much easier, but back in

00:36:32.059 --> 00:36:35.320
the days, it was not everyone could just apply

00:36:35.320 --> 00:36:38.000
and go on Erasmus. So you had to have like good

00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:40.539
grades and you had to be lucky. I think like

00:36:40.539 --> 00:36:46.300
also plays a big role in this. And I applied

00:36:46.300 --> 00:36:49.500
to. German universities so I think if I applied

00:36:49.500 --> 00:36:53.019
to Spain or somewhere more fun I wouldn't have

00:36:53.019 --> 00:36:54.900
gotten it but because I applied also to Germany

00:36:54.900 --> 00:36:58.059
I think it was also something that Italians would

00:36:58.059 --> 00:37:02.599
rather not go to so I just applied to that and

00:37:02.599 --> 00:37:09.380
I got the position and it was so fun best year

00:37:09.380 --> 00:37:15.340
of my life absolutely and I was 21 back in the

00:37:15.340 --> 00:37:18.900
days or 20. And it was just so much fun. And

00:37:18.900 --> 00:37:24.000
I became a big fan of the country, the culture,

00:37:24.119 --> 00:37:25.739
the people. And I was like, I'm going to live

00:37:25.739 --> 00:37:30.019
here when I'm older. And it opened my eyes to

00:37:30.019 --> 00:37:35.360
Germany and the German culture and was very useful

00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:37.840
for me. And also the feeling of getting a scholarship,

00:37:37.980 --> 00:37:41.659
it's always very nice. Absolutely. And how did

00:37:41.659 --> 00:37:44.219
your grades look like? Did you work more than

00:37:44.219 --> 00:37:46.929
when you were in high school? How was your experience

00:37:46.929 --> 00:37:50.409
in the studying field? In high school, I was

00:37:50.409 --> 00:37:54.349
forced to do certain things. And I think at university,

00:37:54.489 --> 00:37:56.489
you're much more free. You can decide when to

00:37:56.489 --> 00:38:00.050
give exams, how to give them. And at least in

00:38:00.050 --> 00:38:03.409
Italy, that's the case. So you have these 12

00:38:03.409 --> 00:38:06.130
classes to take in a specific year. And then

00:38:06.130 --> 00:38:07.949
it's up to you if you want to give all those

00:38:07.949 --> 00:38:09.989
12 exams or if you just want to give a couple

00:38:09.989 --> 00:38:12.869
of them. So having a lot of freedom really helped

00:38:12.869 --> 00:38:16.630
me. I picked the exams that I wanted to do. I

00:38:16.630 --> 00:38:19.110
picked the classes that I wanted to do. And those

00:38:19.110 --> 00:38:20.750
other classes that I didn't like, I would just

00:38:20.750 --> 00:38:23.389
study on my own terms and on my own at home,

00:38:23.530 --> 00:38:27.650
which is also very comfortable. So having a lot

00:38:27.650 --> 00:38:32.610
of freedom made me want to do stuff well. And

00:38:32.610 --> 00:38:38.170
that also helped me to get picked for Erasmus.

00:38:38.190 --> 00:38:41.550
So I kind of like planned it in a way that...

00:38:41.980 --> 00:38:45.000
Not to stress myself too much, but also that

00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.559
I was like, it's a new city. It's a new school.

00:38:49.619 --> 00:38:52.539
Let's do stuff well. That didn't last too long,

00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:56.099
though. At least I started really well. Erasmus

00:38:56.099 --> 00:38:58.760
is definitely a life -changing program. And if

00:38:58.760 --> 00:39:01.659
you've never heard of it, please do your own

00:39:01.659 --> 00:39:03.719
research on the program. You can learn what it

00:39:03.719 --> 00:39:06.320
takes to join it. You can learn how much does

00:39:06.320 --> 00:39:09.500
it cost in a country to actually take part of

00:39:09.500 --> 00:39:13.019
the program. but also you can learn exactly what

00:39:13.019 --> 00:39:17.000
are the financial supports that can be received

00:39:17.000 --> 00:39:20.780
once you apply. And lastly, you heard Leila's

00:39:20.780 --> 00:39:25.019
POV, but what are the other POVs out there per

00:39:25.019 --> 00:39:27.159
country if you're not interested in Germany,

00:39:27.199 --> 00:39:30.099
for example? How does it work in Italy, Leila?

00:39:30.179 --> 00:39:32.860
Do you get to do internship during your bachelor's?

00:39:33.449 --> 00:39:35.989
No, absolutely. I think that's something that

00:39:35.989 --> 00:39:39.550
Italian universities lack is the work experience.

00:39:40.369 --> 00:39:42.849
I think in Italy, we start working really late.

00:39:42.989 --> 00:39:45.690
Usually you do your bachelor, you also do your

00:39:45.690 --> 00:39:48.070
master's, and then you start to work. So it's

00:39:48.070 --> 00:39:51.869
always postponed a lot. And so during my bachelor,

00:39:51.989 --> 00:39:55.429
I didn't have any mandatory internships. I had

00:39:55.429 --> 00:40:02.510
it only during my master's. Before that, nothing.

00:40:02.710 --> 00:40:05.289
So it was a lot of people start working actually

00:40:05.289 --> 00:40:08.510
at the age of 27, 28, which I think it's something

00:40:08.510 --> 00:40:11.210
that should be changed. Hopefully it has changed.

00:40:11.369 --> 00:40:13.909
I don't know how it is right now, but back in

00:40:13.909 --> 00:40:15.429
the days, there was no mandatory internship.

00:40:16.230 --> 00:40:18.769
That's so interesting. So actually having something

00:40:18.769 --> 00:40:21.750
on your side, which is your own, that you create

00:40:21.750 --> 00:40:25.510
from scratch is helping you build some skills

00:40:25.510 --> 00:40:28.139
that you need once. You go for that first job,

00:40:28.219 --> 00:40:30.500
you go for that first internship or anything

00:40:30.500 --> 00:40:33.599
else. And can you update us about the blog that

00:40:33.599 --> 00:40:36.480
you are running? So were you learning more skills?

00:40:36.679 --> 00:40:41.239
Were you evolving it? Did it change in any way?

00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:46.079
Definitely, yeah. And my blog went from being

00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:48.260
a fashion blog to becoming a lifestyle blog.

00:40:48.500 --> 00:40:52.909
So I also... recruited let's say six of my friends

00:40:52.909 --> 00:40:55.369
living in different parts of the world and they

00:40:55.369 --> 00:41:00.119
were also writing on on the blog it became eventually

00:41:00.119 --> 00:41:02.219
a website let's say on this on the website and

00:41:02.219 --> 00:41:05.280
they were writing articles about the specific

00:41:05.280 --> 00:41:07.159
topics that they were either studying in university

00:41:07.159 --> 00:41:10.800
or they were doing as a job so I had these different

00:41:10.800 --> 00:41:14.820
friends located in from the US to Turkey to Afghanistan

00:41:14.820 --> 00:41:19.039
writing on the blog and it felt very very good

00:41:19.039 --> 00:41:21.840
to be like a bunch of international people but

00:41:21.840 --> 00:41:24.900
that also meant I kind of like lost the ownership

00:41:24.900 --> 00:41:30.400
of it. which then eventually killed the blog

00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:32.539
and the website during the years. And now it's

00:41:32.539 --> 00:41:35.460
non -existent anymore, you know? And looking

00:41:35.460 --> 00:41:38.920
back at those past years, how do you build the

00:41:38.920 --> 00:41:41.519
confidence to go for things, to move to another

00:41:41.519 --> 00:41:44.840
country, to launch your own thing, to just trust

00:41:44.840 --> 00:41:48.219
yourself that things can go either the right

00:41:48.219 --> 00:41:50.619
way or you can just learn through it? How do

00:41:50.619 --> 00:41:54.019
you build the confidence there? Difficult one.

00:41:58.440 --> 00:42:02.000
I think the decision to go work in Germany was

00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:06.860
a natural one, given the great experience that

00:42:06.860 --> 00:42:11.480
I had during my Erasmus. Like I was waiting the

00:42:11.480 --> 00:42:15.960
whole time to finish my studies and move to Germany.

00:42:16.019 --> 00:42:18.800
So this was like my plan. But then, OK, bachelor

00:42:18.800 --> 00:42:21.239
is done. Everyone is doing their master's. I

00:42:21.239 --> 00:42:25.710
need to do my master's. And then. I did my master's.

00:42:25.730 --> 00:42:28.090
I was done. The moment that I was done, I moved

00:42:28.090 --> 00:42:30.090
to Germany and I went to work for Google Boss.

00:42:30.349 --> 00:42:33.010
And that was for me, like, I was so happy. Like,

00:42:33.050 --> 00:42:36.190
I was like, I made it, like, success. So it was

00:42:36.190 --> 00:42:43.449
like my goal. I reached it. And it was, I thought,

00:42:43.530 --> 00:42:46.449
like, this is everything that I want. Perfect.

00:42:46.530 --> 00:42:48.369
I'm going to live in Germany forever and I'm

00:42:48.369 --> 00:42:50.210
going to do this forever. I'm going to work in

00:42:50.210 --> 00:42:53.789
fashion and I'm going to be happy in Germany.

00:42:55.929 --> 00:43:00.230
And I don't think I had to build courage to do

00:43:00.230 --> 00:43:06.960
that. I was just... It didn't feel forced, not

00:43:06.960 --> 00:43:09.019
the first time that I went to Germany. Forced,

00:43:09.039 --> 00:43:10.900
I felt like the second time that I went. But

00:43:10.900 --> 00:43:13.079
the first time that I went, it was out of just

00:43:13.079 --> 00:43:16.820
passion and, again, curiosity of seeing how would

00:43:16.820 --> 00:43:20.900
it be to live there. So I make this change. I

00:43:20.900 --> 00:43:27.139
moved to Stuttgart, which is exactly where I

00:43:27.139 --> 00:43:30.800
also did my Erasmus. But I realized that everyone

00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:33.239
I didn't get my Erasmus with was not there anymore.

00:43:34.480 --> 00:43:37.519
It was very different to work in a specific place

00:43:37.519 --> 00:43:40.639
compared to just study there and having a good

00:43:40.639 --> 00:43:43.440
time because working is much more energy consuming.

00:43:44.019 --> 00:43:47.900
So what I had thought it would be, it was a bit

00:43:47.900 --> 00:43:50.300
different. It was very interesting at work per

00:43:50.300 --> 00:43:54.980
se, but living on my own in Stuttgart was not

00:43:54.980 --> 00:44:01.050
what I thought it would be. At one point, I went

00:44:01.050 --> 00:44:03.730
back. So it's always okay in life to just go

00:44:03.730 --> 00:44:06.230
back, you know, and be like, okay, this is not

00:44:06.230 --> 00:44:08.590
what I thought it would be. Let's go back home.

00:44:09.210 --> 00:44:13.550
So then I went back to Italy. I had some work

00:44:13.550 --> 00:44:19.849
experiences there. But I realized that in Germany,

00:44:20.010 --> 00:44:23.050
even though when I was at Hugo Boss, I was kind

00:44:23.050 --> 00:44:27.449
of like an assistant, an intern, but I had much

00:44:27.449 --> 00:44:32.909
more. freedom at work compared to Italy so I

00:44:32.909 --> 00:44:37.829
could take so many big decisions even though

00:44:37.829 --> 00:44:42.869
I was in a big fashion company and in Italy was

00:44:42.869 --> 00:44:47.929
a bit different so I was like I'm missing that

00:44:47.929 --> 00:44:54.329
kind of responsibility and freedom to take decisions

00:44:54.329 --> 00:44:59.199
and to be in a not in the front row not in the

00:44:59.199 --> 00:45:02.519
way of like having to decide for everyone but

00:45:02.519 --> 00:45:05.360
just being in a situation where what you do has

00:45:05.360 --> 00:45:09.179
actually an impact and you're not just working

00:45:09.179 --> 00:45:13.800
in the back seat and do something that is like

00:45:13.800 --> 00:45:16.280
less important just because you're younger doesn't

00:45:16.280 --> 00:45:21.199
mean that you don't have you don't have let's

00:45:21.199 --> 00:45:26.750
say the chance to grow in a specific environment,

00:45:27.110 --> 00:45:30.510
but also you can take risks and you can do something

00:45:30.510 --> 00:45:33.969
that someone more senior can also do. And that

00:45:33.969 --> 00:45:36.570
in Italy is a bit lacking. I think hierarchy

00:45:36.570 --> 00:45:42.250
is very big here and you have to kind of be on

00:45:42.250 --> 00:45:45.230
your lane and not look at what other people are

00:45:45.230 --> 00:45:48.070
doing and not think that you can take bigger

00:45:48.070 --> 00:45:51.510
decisions. So that's why then I went back to

00:45:51.510 --> 00:45:54.449
Germany a couple of years later. One year later,

00:45:54.570 --> 00:45:58.889
I think I just went back. And this time I moved

00:45:58.889 --> 00:46:01.610
to Munich. And this time it took courage because

00:46:01.610 --> 00:46:05.309
I was like, OK, I'm not happy. What should I

00:46:05.309 --> 00:46:09.570
do? There is no way out. So I can't change an

00:46:09.570 --> 00:46:13.900
entire system. But I can change my own situation.

00:46:14.219 --> 00:46:17.039
So I packed my bags and I left again. And that

00:46:17.039 --> 00:46:22.260
was during COVID. It was the year that COVID

00:46:22.260 --> 00:46:24.139
started. So it was also a year where everything

00:46:24.139 --> 00:46:28.579
was a little bit confusing for everyone. So it

00:46:28.579 --> 00:46:31.760
wasn't as easy as it happened for me when I went

00:46:31.760 --> 00:46:34.219
to Hugo Boss. Because I went from excitement

00:46:34.219 --> 00:46:38.329
and... I was like just looking forward to everything.

00:46:38.510 --> 00:46:41.110
And this time it was like, you're afraid. And

00:46:41.110 --> 00:46:44.309
also you're not allowed to talk to everyone.

00:46:44.409 --> 00:46:46.710
People are wearing masks and everyone is not

00:46:46.710 --> 00:46:48.789
trusting everyone. So it was a very different

00:46:48.789 --> 00:46:51.889
experience, which turned to be also very interesting

00:46:51.889 --> 00:46:54.849
and very nice. And the company that I was at,

00:46:54.909 --> 00:46:56.869
it was very international. So I met people from

00:46:56.869 --> 00:47:00.309
all over the world, which was amazing. And it

00:47:00.309 --> 00:47:03.070
turned out to be good in the end, but not the

00:47:03.070 --> 00:47:06.260
easiest path, let's say. I think there are two

00:47:06.260 --> 00:47:09.880
things that you need to remember. The first thing,

00:47:09.900 --> 00:47:12.139
and you've heard it in different episodes as

00:47:12.139 --> 00:47:16.320
well, dare to try. Trust yourself. If you try,

00:47:16.480 --> 00:47:18.980
you'll just get to know what works for you and

00:47:18.980 --> 00:47:22.800
what doesn't. The second thing is, you need skills.

00:47:23.480 --> 00:47:27.699
Hard, soft, you need them. And you need them

00:47:27.699 --> 00:47:31.780
for two reasons. Some of them will give you the

00:47:31.780 --> 00:47:34.500
freedom of space, so to move to another country.

00:47:35.280 --> 00:47:38.239
And the second type will just allow you to move

00:47:38.239 --> 00:47:41.800
from one sector to another, to one type of job

00:47:41.800 --> 00:47:45.440
or another. As we all know, it's very difficult

00:47:45.440 --> 00:47:48.159
to make your own decision on what to do, long

00:47:48.159 --> 00:47:51.599
term, short term. But only the skills you have

00:47:51.599 --> 00:47:55.840
are empowering you to change your mind and be

00:47:55.840 --> 00:48:00.239
the one choosing. And if you don't know where

00:48:00.239 --> 00:48:03.079
to look, what skills to have, I did share an

00:48:03.079 --> 00:48:06.800
episode on the skills of 2030. So go back to

00:48:06.800 --> 00:48:09.719
that one and look into all the research that

00:48:09.719 --> 00:48:14.199
I linked. Let's now talk about your master's

00:48:14.199 --> 00:48:16.119
program. Can you tell us what did you choose?

00:48:16.260 --> 00:48:18.719
What did you do? But as well as your first experience,

00:48:18.900 --> 00:48:21.159
can you tell us about it? My master's program

00:48:21.159 --> 00:48:24.800
was in management for global businesses, and

00:48:24.800 --> 00:48:28.179
it was like a mix between business and sustainability.

00:48:28.599 --> 00:48:30.780
So it was the beginning of those years where

00:48:30.780 --> 00:48:32.780
people were getting interested in sustainability.

00:48:33.500 --> 00:48:39.780
So it kind of felt like a natural choice because

00:48:39.780 --> 00:48:41.179
I still wanted to be in the same university.

00:48:41.199 --> 00:48:46.460
I wanted to be in the same city. And I looked

00:48:46.460 --> 00:48:49.860
at the programs that were available and this

00:48:49.860 --> 00:48:53.579
sounded like the newest and the one which was

00:48:53.579 --> 00:48:55.840
a bit out of the box. So I was like... okay,

00:48:55.860 --> 00:48:59.099
this sounds like something interesting and I

00:48:59.099 --> 00:49:01.760
could go for it. And again, not a lot of planning,

00:49:01.940 --> 00:49:04.320
same as my bachelor. I know there were people

00:49:04.320 --> 00:49:06.079
who were thinking about it a year in advance,

00:49:06.320 --> 00:49:08.960
but for me it was like, let's see what is available.

00:49:09.019 --> 00:49:11.059
And between all of them, this sounds like the

00:49:11.059 --> 00:49:13.519
most interesting. So let's pick it. And to this

00:49:13.519 --> 00:49:16.019
day, we still need experts in that space. So

00:49:16.019 --> 00:49:18.659
there are countless master's programs which are

00:49:18.659 --> 00:49:21.440
so different from each other, which are still...

00:49:22.300 --> 00:49:24.579
tackling the challenges that we're facing with

00:49:24.579 --> 00:49:27.079
climate change so if you're remotely interested

00:49:27.079 --> 00:49:31.039
or curious about it feel free to just both the

00:49:31.039 --> 00:49:33.500
different master's program in the country you're

00:49:33.500 --> 00:49:36.099
in or in foreign countries where you can probably

00:49:36.099 --> 00:49:39.460
find financial support to get there can you tell

00:49:39.460 --> 00:49:41.340
us about the experience that you were mentioning

00:49:41.340 --> 00:49:44.940
there the internship that you got When I was

00:49:44.940 --> 00:49:49.119
doing my bachelor studies, I realized that I

00:49:49.119 --> 00:49:51.880
didn't have any work experience. So I started

00:49:51.880 --> 00:49:55.219
to apply to some internship opportunities. And

00:49:55.219 --> 00:50:00.239
I was like, OK, I'm now doing this whole blogging

00:50:00.239 --> 00:50:02.199
thing. So maybe it could be something related

00:50:02.199 --> 00:50:04.980
to that. So it could be also easier for me and

00:50:04.980 --> 00:50:08.000
it doesn't have to be like a big shift. And I

00:50:08.000 --> 00:50:15.840
saw this opening as. During my blogging years,

00:50:15.940 --> 00:50:18.360
I met a lot of people working in PR because those

00:50:18.360 --> 00:50:20.380
were the people who were inviting me to the events.

00:50:20.800 --> 00:50:23.800
So I was like, maybe I can do something in PR.

00:50:24.039 --> 00:50:28.980
I saw a job posting about an internship in PR

00:50:28.980 --> 00:50:34.099
and that was in my university dashboard for jobs.

00:50:34.179 --> 00:50:37.039
So I was lucky enough to have access to that.

00:50:37.440 --> 00:50:41.699
And I applied. I went to the interview. And I

00:50:41.699 --> 00:50:44.840
found out that it was something very different

00:50:44.840 --> 00:50:48.260
than what I thought. So it said that it was related

00:50:48.260 --> 00:50:50.340
to PR and I knew that it was related to music.

00:50:50.440 --> 00:50:53.480
I just didn't know that it meant to be an assistant

00:50:53.480 --> 00:50:58.599
to a guy who is now a famous singer. Back in

00:50:58.599 --> 00:51:00.760
the days, he was quite popular, but not that

00:51:00.760 --> 00:51:04.719
famous yet. And internships are unpaid in Italy.

00:51:05.320 --> 00:51:14.289
So it meant being... available 24 -7 as an assistant

00:51:14.289 --> 00:51:17.769
to the singer for three months. I was really

00:51:17.769 --> 00:51:20.789
excited and I was like, that's going to be amazing.

00:51:21.050 --> 00:51:23.969
And he made me realize that a lot of companies

00:51:23.969 --> 00:51:26.480
in Italy and probably in other countries... use

00:51:26.480 --> 00:51:28.519
you as an intern, but make you do like a lot

00:51:28.519 --> 00:51:30.559
of other stuff that they just don't want to pay

00:51:30.559 --> 00:51:33.739
someone full time to do it. So being his assistant

00:51:33.739 --> 00:51:36.579
was probably not the best that I could aspire

00:51:36.579 --> 00:51:39.139
to. So then I went back into the research and

00:51:39.139 --> 00:51:42.880
I started applying to other things. And one of

00:51:42.880 --> 00:51:49.079
them was in PR for a PR company, which was working

00:51:49.079 --> 00:51:56.070
with aviation. And I was I interviewed for it.

00:51:56.130 --> 00:51:59.750
And the person who was interviewing me was also

00:51:59.750 --> 00:52:01.650
from a very mixed background. And I think we

00:52:01.650 --> 00:52:03.849
connected because of that, because I didn't have

00:52:03.849 --> 00:52:05.769
a lot of knowledge. So then why pick me, you

00:52:05.769 --> 00:52:09.349
know? And I talked about my blog, but, you know,

00:52:09.449 --> 00:52:11.710
you're a PR company. So what do you care about

00:52:11.710 --> 00:52:15.789
my blog? So I don't think that was what made

00:52:15.789 --> 00:52:19.570
him pick me, but it worked. So he picked me.

00:52:19.610 --> 00:52:25.210
I started doing the... PR internship and I learned

00:52:25.210 --> 00:52:28.630
a lot about aviation completely new so that was

00:52:28.630 --> 00:52:33.530
why I was I was very excited and it turned out

00:52:33.530 --> 00:52:38.250
to be very interesting however PR was very was

00:52:38.250 --> 00:52:42.929
something that was connected to my blogging years

00:52:42.929 --> 00:52:45.230
but in a whole different environment so I was

00:52:45.230 --> 00:52:48.929
like okay maybe I should try PR, but in fashion.

00:52:49.050 --> 00:52:52.570
It sounds a bit more doable and also I might

00:52:52.570 --> 00:52:55.969
be even better at it. And that's why then I ended

00:52:55.969 --> 00:53:00.570
up at Hugo Boss because that was like a fashion

00:53:00.570 --> 00:53:03.570
company and I thought the internship was in PR.

00:53:03.710 --> 00:53:05.389
It turns out it wasn't PR, it was additional

00:53:05.389 --> 00:53:10.530
marketing. But that was the reason why I picked

00:53:10.530 --> 00:53:12.269
Hugo Boss, which was very controversial back

00:53:12.269 --> 00:53:14.329
in the days because I always said I didn't want

00:53:14.329 --> 00:53:17.239
to do... Fashion as a job, it was only just my

00:53:17.239 --> 00:53:22.260
passion. But then it just happened. And it was

00:53:22.260 --> 00:53:24.340
also great timing. And then it was in Stuttgart.

00:53:24.420 --> 00:53:26.880
I was going to go back to Germany. So it fit

00:53:26.880 --> 00:53:30.659
really well. And that's why I went for it. If

00:53:30.659 --> 00:53:34.219
you need to remember one thing from those experiences

00:53:34.219 --> 00:53:37.480
here, or at least my advice would be to you,

00:53:37.559 --> 00:53:42.579
is to focus on a role which you can do wherever.

00:53:43.159 --> 00:53:45.840
Meaning if today you want to work in a specific

00:53:45.840 --> 00:53:49.400
space, let's say sustainability. Well, maybe

00:53:49.400 --> 00:53:52.320
in a few years from now, you want to move away

00:53:52.320 --> 00:53:56.780
and work in fashion or you want to work in aviation.

00:53:57.760 --> 00:54:00.320
I think what would be great is for you to be

00:54:00.320 --> 00:54:03.739
able to adapt and not to be stuck into one specific

00:54:03.739 --> 00:54:09.940
area or domain or skill set. Because we learned.

00:54:10.599 --> 00:54:13.420
through the research from the OECD, the European

00:54:13.420 --> 00:54:16.760
Commission and other institutions, is that we

00:54:16.760 --> 00:54:19.440
will need to adapt. So let's start adapting by

00:54:19.440 --> 00:54:22.500
adapting our skills in the field we are trying

00:54:22.500 --> 00:54:25.519
to study. And Ayla, what did you like the most

00:54:25.519 --> 00:54:29.679
about those experiences and the list? I think

00:54:29.679 --> 00:54:32.159
what I liked the most in all of the past experiences

00:54:32.159 --> 00:54:35.159
I had was the environment that I was working

00:54:35.159 --> 00:54:38.599
in, and especially if it was like a multicultural

00:54:38.599 --> 00:54:41.960
environment. I think that comes from being in

00:54:41.960 --> 00:54:44.000
a very multicultural place when I was younger,

00:54:44.119 --> 00:54:48.219
then moving to a place where there were not a

00:54:48.219 --> 00:54:50.599
lot of international people. And then again,

00:54:50.739 --> 00:54:53.679
being in that situation was very, very nice for

00:54:53.679 --> 00:54:57.019
me. And getting to talk to different people and

00:54:57.019 --> 00:55:01.360
understand what their families do, what they

00:55:01.360 --> 00:55:04.519
do, how they ended up in a specific place and

00:55:04.519 --> 00:55:07.480
getting inspired by other people's stories. Because

00:55:07.480 --> 00:55:11.829
I sometimes think that I... ended up in specific

00:55:11.829 --> 00:55:14.849
workplaces or situations just because it just

00:55:14.849 --> 00:55:17.210
randomly happened, but it wasn't maybe a strategic

00:55:17.210 --> 00:55:22.469
idea or move from my side. So trying to get to

00:55:22.469 --> 00:55:24.670
know those people in those places was very inspirational

00:55:24.670 --> 00:55:27.150
for me, especially if they were from different

00:55:27.150 --> 00:55:31.750
backgrounds compared to mine. Those explain your

00:55:31.750 --> 00:55:34.789
next step. You moved to Ireland for a new role.

00:55:35.230 --> 00:55:37.869
And can you tell us a little bit about it? And

00:55:37.869 --> 00:55:41.650
why did you make this move? So when I started

00:55:41.650 --> 00:55:44.309
working in digital marketing at Hulu Boss, I

00:55:44.309 --> 00:55:46.809
understood that that was something that excited

00:55:46.809 --> 00:55:52.070
me. I think it sits in the middle between creativity

00:55:52.070 --> 00:55:55.349
and technology, which were the things that were

00:55:55.349 --> 00:55:59.670
interesting for me growing up. And I didn't know

00:55:59.670 --> 00:56:02.130
that I wanted to do that as a job. That was just

00:56:02.130 --> 00:56:04.809
a way to go back to Stuttgart and get to learn

00:56:04.809 --> 00:56:07.909
about fashion. But then I found myself to be

00:56:07.909 --> 00:56:10.739
much more interested in marketing. than in fashion.

00:56:11.880 --> 00:56:13.980
So I was like, okay, maybe this is something

00:56:13.980 --> 00:56:15.900
that I could do. So I didn't have like a clear

00:56:15.900 --> 00:56:20.940
plan or a clear idea. I just thought that this

00:56:20.940 --> 00:56:25.099
could be something interesting since I've always

00:56:25.099 --> 00:56:27.659
been fascinated by people and how people make

00:56:27.659 --> 00:56:31.460
decisions. So what influences them, how they

00:56:31.460 --> 00:56:36.260
engage with content, how they are convinced to

00:56:36.260 --> 00:56:39.920
make a purchasing decision. And I was like, OK,

00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:41.880
this is digital marketing. This is marketing.

00:56:43.059 --> 00:56:46.539
And let's just learn more about this. So then

00:56:46.539 --> 00:56:50.480
my future decisions of like workplaces were related

00:56:50.480 --> 00:56:54.559
to work experiences were related to that. And

00:56:54.559 --> 00:56:59.000
my experience in Dublin was very positive. And

00:56:59.000 --> 00:57:03.380
I learned even more about digital marketing since

00:57:03.380 --> 00:57:06.199
META is like the epitome of digital marketing.

00:57:08.000 --> 00:57:10.139
I was in a very international environment, which

00:57:10.139 --> 00:57:15.000
was a great thing again for me. And I learned

00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:19.280
so much from everyone that I met. And I try to

00:57:19.280 --> 00:57:22.139
take something from everyone and then try to

00:57:22.139 --> 00:57:25.179
also be a bit more intentional. So I meet someone,

00:57:25.360 --> 00:57:27.139
they do something that I like, why don't I do

00:57:27.139 --> 00:57:29.860
also something like that? So just trying to grow

00:57:29.860 --> 00:57:32.460
more as a person by meeting the different people

00:57:32.460 --> 00:57:35.900
that I had the chance of meeting while working

00:57:35.900 --> 00:57:39.559
at Meta. And during that experience, can you

00:57:39.559 --> 00:57:42.460
share with us the skills you developed, the valuable

00:57:42.460 --> 00:57:46.500
skills that you can use in your new role, but

00:57:46.500 --> 00:57:50.639
also in any other experience? That's a great

00:57:50.639 --> 00:57:56.619
question. I think the digital marketing role

00:57:56.619 --> 00:57:59.940
that I thought I would have in Zeppelin was much

00:57:59.940 --> 00:58:05.489
more salesy than I thought, which... actually

00:58:05.489 --> 00:58:08.030
meant that I would learn so many new skills that

00:58:08.030 --> 00:58:10.969
were related to my passions, being with people,

00:58:11.130 --> 00:58:15.070
but also this time convincing them. So it was

00:58:15.070 --> 00:58:19.809
not just about being curious enough to learn

00:58:19.809 --> 00:58:23.150
about them, but also listening, actively listening

00:58:23.150 --> 00:58:27.570
to them and understand what their issues were

00:58:27.570 --> 00:58:30.769
and how I could actually solve those issues with

00:58:30.769 --> 00:58:35.039
my products. So I think... It was still connected

00:58:35.039 --> 00:58:37.480
to what I had passions in the past, but this

00:58:37.480 --> 00:58:40.780
time I needed a few more skills I didn't think

00:58:40.780 --> 00:58:43.679
I had. Probably I had them within me, more passive.

00:58:44.079 --> 00:58:47.500
I just needed to activate them and in a way that

00:58:47.500 --> 00:58:50.739
it's for business, for work, and not for just

00:58:50.739 --> 00:58:54.840
networking and getting to know people. So especially

00:58:54.840 --> 00:58:59.300
convincing people and having to also educate

00:58:59.300 --> 00:59:01.960
people on certain products was something that...

00:59:02.349 --> 00:59:05.090
I thought that I wouldn't be that good at, but

00:59:05.090 --> 00:59:06.929
instead it was something that I started enjoying.

00:59:07.130 --> 00:59:11.250
And I realized that it was, again, being with

00:59:11.250 --> 00:59:14.070
people and having to deal with getting to know

00:59:14.070 --> 00:59:17.309
people and understanding people and putting myself

00:59:17.309 --> 00:59:20.170
into their shoes. And I think that's what clicked

00:59:20.170 --> 00:59:25.369
for me and make it work and made me be good at

00:59:25.369 --> 00:59:28.989
it, which I didn't think I could. I love how

00:59:28.989 --> 00:59:31.590
you build confidence and you have developed incredible

00:59:31.590 --> 00:59:35.849
skills. And do you think that your new job is

00:59:35.849 --> 00:59:38.849
allowing you to develop new ones or it's more

00:59:38.849 --> 00:59:42.070
continuity of what you have been doing in the

00:59:42.070 --> 00:59:44.329
past years? I think it's the first time that

00:59:44.329 --> 00:59:48.449
I'm applying the different skills of the different

00:59:48.449 --> 00:59:51.550
jobs that I had. You need to be a bit more driven

00:59:51.550 --> 00:59:53.849
in your career. At least that's what usually

00:59:53.849 --> 00:59:56.480
people are. And I'm trying to... understand how

00:59:56.480 --> 00:59:59.420
to do that without losing myself so I still have

00:59:59.420 --> 01:00:03.139
my passions I still have my values but I also

01:00:03.139 --> 01:00:07.199
want to be a bit more I want to be called an

01:00:07.199 --> 01:00:09.679
expert in a specific thing so I think now putting

01:00:09.679 --> 01:00:12.219
together everything that I've learned and trying

01:00:12.219 --> 01:00:16.079
to master them would be useful for me but also

01:00:16.079 --> 01:00:20.300
something that could be useful with the people

01:00:20.300 --> 01:00:23.559
that I'm working with and my clients so I'm just

01:00:23.559 --> 01:00:29.719
trying to be a bit more strategic um in regards

01:00:29.719 --> 01:00:32.280
to the things that I know how to do and how to

01:00:32.280 --> 01:00:36.019
be even better in them and sharing content online

01:00:36.019 --> 01:00:39.579
is one of them right can you tell us about your

01:00:39.579 --> 01:00:43.579
blogging journey now how it looks like and and

01:00:43.579 --> 01:00:47.360
how can we find it yeah for sure so I started

01:00:47.360 --> 01:00:51.000
as I said when I was like 13, 14. And it started

01:00:51.000 --> 01:00:53.320
with my passions back in the days, which was

01:00:53.320 --> 01:00:56.260
fashion. And then it went more into music. And

01:00:56.260 --> 01:00:59.159
then it became a bit more lifestyle where we

01:00:59.159 --> 01:01:02.739
had some philosophical stuff in it, also cooking

01:01:02.739 --> 01:01:05.880
stuff, traveling, a bit of everything. And then

01:01:05.880 --> 01:01:07.940
I had to stop doing my master's because I really

01:01:07.940 --> 01:01:12.500
wanted to do my master's well. And I stopped

01:01:12.500 --> 01:01:16.590
that. A few years later, I was like, I wish I

01:01:16.590 --> 01:01:18.949
didn't because I had a following. I had something

01:01:18.949 --> 01:01:22.409
interesting going on and I could just like, it

01:01:22.409 --> 01:01:24.610
could have changed based on, you know, the personality

01:01:24.610 --> 01:01:27.030
that changes during the years. I just didn't,

01:01:27.030 --> 01:01:30.670
I felt a bit bad that I closed it off. And of

01:01:30.670 --> 01:01:34.250
course, the personality changes, the passion

01:01:34.250 --> 01:01:37.349
changes during the years. So I wanted to start

01:01:37.349 --> 01:01:41.800
again this year, but I didn't know. what I could

01:01:41.800 --> 01:01:43.980
talk about because I was not that interested

01:01:43.980 --> 01:01:46.239
into fashion anymore and I was not that interested

01:01:46.239 --> 01:01:50.239
into music anymore or events and anything going

01:01:50.239 --> 01:01:53.739
on in Milan. However, there are different topics

01:01:53.739 --> 01:01:56.360
that I'm interested in right now. So I found

01:01:56.360 --> 01:01:58.639
myself thinking about these things a lot and

01:01:58.639 --> 01:02:00.639
then I was like, okay, maybe I can start writing

01:02:00.639 --> 01:02:03.260
about them instead of talking about it with my

01:02:03.260 --> 01:02:06.289
friends and family who are... annoyed now with

01:02:06.289 --> 01:02:08.110
everything that I'm talking about and always

01:02:08.110 --> 01:02:10.389
being monotomatic so I was like okay if I am

01:02:10.389 --> 01:02:12.849
monotomatic then that would be actually a good

01:02:12.849 --> 01:02:18.030
thing for for a blog and then I thought about

01:02:18.030 --> 01:02:19.929
social media and I think Instagram is a very

01:02:19.929 --> 01:02:24.349
interesting tool so I decided to move my idea

01:02:24.349 --> 01:02:27.369
from a blog into an Instagram account and I opened

01:02:27.369 --> 01:02:30.230
an Instagram account about it and it's called

01:02:30.230 --> 01:02:34.809
The Souk and I tried to talk about businesses

01:02:34.809 --> 01:02:41.469
and artists fashion again and anything that is

01:02:41.469 --> 01:02:46.909
interesting happening in the swana region the

01:02:46.909 --> 01:02:50.829
mina and swana region and i think with some things

01:02:50.829 --> 01:02:54.949
happening in the last years there's been some

01:02:54.949 --> 01:03:02.930
of a kind of like a pattern of dehumanization

01:03:02.930 --> 01:03:08.190
of people from those specific regions. So having

01:03:08.190 --> 01:03:11.030
a platform where you can talk about it and showing

01:03:11.030 --> 01:03:13.190
that there are things happening in these places

01:03:13.190 --> 01:03:16.949
which are different than just poverty and war,

01:03:17.170 --> 01:03:20.010
it helps them understand that there's so much

01:03:20.010 --> 01:03:23.809
more to find out. So it would be worth it to

01:03:23.809 --> 01:03:26.369
travel to those places and to meet people from

01:03:26.369 --> 01:03:30.519
those places. And I hope... That by talking about

01:03:30.519 --> 01:03:34.159
specific topics, I could just spark some interest

01:03:34.159 --> 01:03:36.320
in some people to just find out more and make

01:03:36.320 --> 01:03:40.199
them their own research. And let's see. It's

01:03:40.199 --> 01:03:42.000
just the beginning. So let's see what happens

01:03:42.000 --> 01:03:45.420
with it. But right now, for now, I'm quite happy

01:03:45.420 --> 01:03:49.400
with it. And I don't have this urge of wanting

01:03:49.400 --> 01:03:53.440
to do something so big as I did when I was a

01:03:53.440 --> 01:03:56.280
young blogger. I just do it for myself and for

01:03:56.280 --> 01:03:59.780
the few people who are following me. And I hope

01:03:59.780 --> 01:04:01.780
that it could spark some positive conversations.

01:04:02.980 --> 01:04:07.559
So the Instagram handle is at The Souk. So T

01:04:07.559 --> 01:04:12.840
-H -E -S -O -U -K. And there is way more than

01:04:12.840 --> 01:04:15.719
just a few followers. Congratulations, Leila,

01:04:15.800 --> 01:04:19.820
for building such a great space. We are all learning

01:04:19.820 --> 01:04:23.159
so much from that region. And to close this episode.

01:04:23.820 --> 01:04:26.739
What last advice can you share with us? Either

01:04:26.739 --> 01:04:30.019
that the younger version of yourself would have

01:04:30.019 --> 01:04:34.119
loved to hear or just or any version of yourself.

01:04:35.039 --> 01:04:38.619
My advice is what I would give myself right now

01:04:38.619 --> 01:04:41.380
to like, I don't think it's for like just a specific

01:04:41.380 --> 01:04:44.619
moment of your life, but I think it could be

01:04:44.619 --> 01:04:48.500
applied anytime is to do what you're deeply passionate

01:04:48.500 --> 01:04:52.940
about. So it won't feel like working at all.

01:04:54.890 --> 01:04:57.690
I couldn't become a human rights lawyer, but

01:04:57.690 --> 01:05:02.909
I try to do something connected to that every

01:05:02.909 --> 01:05:07.769
once in a while, helping people and trying to

01:05:07.769 --> 01:05:14.489
be useful in that sense. And that fools me. I

01:05:14.489 --> 01:05:17.969
can't go back in time. But if you're deciding

01:05:17.969 --> 01:05:21.329
what to do in your career, I would suggest to

01:05:21.329 --> 01:05:24.929
sit with yourself. Sometimes think about everything

01:05:24.929 --> 01:05:28.190
you're good at and your passions and I don't

01:05:28.190 --> 01:05:31.429
know, write them all down and then look at those

01:05:31.429 --> 01:05:35.690
and start deciding what to study or what to do

01:05:35.690 --> 01:05:37.690
in your career based on those. And that could

01:05:37.690 --> 01:05:40.289
change, that could shift. I was into fashion

01:05:40.289 --> 01:05:42.150
and then it completely changed a couple of years

01:05:42.150 --> 01:05:46.690
later. That can also change for yourself. Like

01:05:46.690 --> 01:05:49.489
when you decide what to study, that doesn't mean

01:05:49.489 --> 01:05:51.409
that you have to do that as a job too. So it

01:05:51.409 --> 01:05:53.969
could be connected, but it could also be something

01:05:53.969 --> 01:05:59.210
that changes throughout your career. So the different

01:05:59.210 --> 01:06:02.889
positions that you have are not connected to

01:06:02.889 --> 01:06:06.449
a specific degree that you have. It could be

01:06:06.449 --> 01:06:09.429
just also based on something that is interesting

01:06:09.429 --> 01:06:11.630
for you in that specific moment of your life.

01:06:12.750 --> 01:06:15.650
Keep your options open. Thank you so much, Leila.

01:06:15.730 --> 01:06:17.650
Thank you for your time. Thank you for the advice.

01:06:19.110 --> 01:06:22.469
Wishing you all the best for your new role and

01:06:22.469 --> 01:06:26.630
for the souk. Thank you so much. Thank you for

01:06:26.630 --> 01:06:28.829
joining us. Thank you for listening. And please

01:06:28.829 --> 01:06:31.789
don't forget to subscribe and follow us whether

01:06:31.789 --> 01:06:34.809
you're listening to the podcast. And I'll see

01:06:34.809 --> 01:06:35.429
you next week.