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my name is Alessandra. I am 47
I was born and raised in Lugano, where I still live
I am an educator. I worked for 20 years with disabled children
after high school I started university in Zurich
but I dropped because it was not the right choice for me
then, I worked for a couple of months in a hospital
to gain experience
in Autumn I started a one-year-long language school
afterwards, I worked in Zurich for 3 months
but I realised that not even that job was interesting for me
so I did one-year internship
in a lab for disabled people
and I decided to study therapeutic pedagogy
the subject I had started at university was psychology. it was interesting
but I was not ready
I was not emotionally ready. I was not ready to leave home
I was not ready for that kind of life
so I dropped it. I did not feel ready for it
I have always liked children
I went on a holiday camp with disabled children when I was 17
that experience really touched me
I left it aside for a while
I tried to do other things
but I realized that what I really wanted was working with these children
to be honest, it was not difficult
because I couldn't wait to start again
having done one-year internship
to understand which kind of job to expect after training
I had liked it so much
that I really couldn't wait to start studying again
to do that job
it was my decision
for sure, my parents have always strongly supported me
it helped me a lot, also when I dropped and then started again
I am happy. Even if I "lost" some years
I did not lose them, actually. I learnt many things
I met people and gained experience
I can now tell about many experiences beyond my current job
to me, it was positive
maybe at that time I went through a crisis
but now I can definitely say it was positive
the most important thing is following your interests
ask for advice, maybe to a professional counsellor
parents can give advice, for sure
try some internships, in different workplaces
professional internships to understand what it means
to do the specific job you are interested in