Blog 2 - Why I did chose this career

  Hi, dear fans  (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Today I'll explain why I chose my current career.

(Warning: A LOT of text)

Honestly, when I was younger I used to be a hyperrational kid, so, I had a strong interest in exact Sciences, astronomy specifically. This science was my first subject of interest, I remember I used to ask my parents for books about galaxies, stars, constellations, black holes, and planets (instead of toys or dolls), also the numbers, and counting things relax me a lot, for this reason my favorite subject in primary school was mathematics; and I wanted to be an astronomer when I was 4∼12 years old. However, at that time, I had an accident on a school trip (when I was 8), so, while I was in the rehabilitation of my left leg, thanks to my mother I started to draw more because I was too frustrated and sad. I was good at drawing from my early childhood, but since that moment I developed a strong relationship with art, as a way to "make real" anything I couldn't do. And since I was 12, as a way to create a lot of different worlds in my mind and put them on paper. I still think the art of drawing stories was my salvation (in different ways), because I was a victim of school bullying at that time too.

BUT, because I was good at learning languages (I started to study Japanese when I was 12, while I was studying French at the same time XD) I was not sure if I wanted to be an astronomer or a translator, as a university career/undergraduate education. When I entered High School I had a lot of vocational doubts because it was an "emblematic High School", so we got a lot of academic pressure; additionally, I had severe depression and anxiety disorders when I was a teenager so I gave up with the idea to enter at the university (in a "good university" particularly). I hyper-focused on studying Japanese to protect my mental health. Ironically I entered in Bachelor in Physics with a mention in astronomy at the University of Valparaiso while I was studying Japanese at the Institute! However.. 

I dropped out of the career because it was too long (I had to get a Ph.D. if I wanted to be an astronomer) and "unprofitable" for me. Some time later, I finished the entire Japanese course, worked in various types of jobs, and entered the Industrial Engineering degree. But, when I was in my second year, I had severe headaches, so I had a brain scan and an electroencephalogram, and later the neurologist diagnosed me with vertigo and epilepsy, for which I was prescribed medication to treat it. In the third year, I was unable to walk long distances, stand on my feet for a long time, or go up and down stairs (and I fell frequently), I had trouble even holding a pencil. The dysesthesias and paresthesias also made my doctor very doubtful about my prognosis (and he is an eminence of 94 years old). I was very afraid of the future, I cried several times and I remembered that I did not want to lose the ability to do what gave my life the most meaning: drawing.

I thought that if I died the next day or the next year, I wanted to do it doing what I liked (sounds extreme, but it was that intense at that time). So I thought: "It's now or never"; for which I abandoned engineering, and took the exam to enter the basic cycle of Visual Arts at the University of Chile; when I saw my name on the list of selected people it was one of the happiest days of my life. ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆

My experience in the career has been just as intense hahaha I've been here since 2019 but with the social outburst, I couldn't finish the first year of the basic cycle in a "normal" way. Then, due to the pandemic, and my bedridden grandfather, my mental health worsened and I suspended my studies for a year. Now I'm in the second year of my degree and I love my instrumental courses! I am in painting, sculpture, and engraving courses. Honestly, I don't want to think too much about the future anymore, because I try to bear studying and working at the same time (I'm always tired), and I must take medication until today; but I would like to be able to live independently making art or illustrations (Because I'm a neurodivergent person, so I prefer not to be "bossed" by someone else), also working in a museum would be great, but my biggest dream is to publish a graphic novel.

Sorry for oversharing a lot, I'm millennial too (ಡ‸ಡ) 

You can follow me on my Instagram accounts (if you're interested of course): 
@ale.lermanda (for academic works) and @azumicchii (my kawaii drawings (◕‿◕✿) hahaha)

Final work of Volume I course (Basic Cycle - 2019)

 

 Me