Life Events that Shaped Me into Who I Am

Dear Alice,

A couple of weeks ago, I found a very interesting online exercise for the mind and I did decide to complete it, since I found it fun, useful, and challenging. It was an easy exercise that required that the reader thought about some important life events or situations that contributed to forming the reader’s personality and that basically shaped its life. A very intriguing and excited exercise in the same time I would say. I would recommended it to you in a moment. You will get to learn even more about yourself.

So here are some life events that shaped me into who I am:

  1. Childhood summer holidays scattered with the wise faces of my grandparents.
    Wise sayings, wise lessons, funny and useful stories, all of this during my holidays at my grandparents. I learned so many things from my grandparents among which: it is the little things that count in life, always shown compassion and help the others as much as you can. And I am indeed very grateful for them.

    Visiting the BMW Museum in Munich, Germany.


  2. Freedom of choice from my parents. This definitely contributed to my independence and to my free spirit. I think that this started even from primary school, and it definitely made a lot of life situations more easier or more challenging for me, depending on the situations. I think a certain degree of freedom is definitely necessary to form a certain level of independence.

    Hiking at Gruenersee in Austria.

  3. First time I rebelled against convention. This sounds a bit harsh, but it is not. It was sometimes in primary school. During school hours at the playground the rules were quite rigid, and this means that the boys were playing football and the girls were not supposed to run or to play on these fields, but they were supposed to play in the corners of the playground. Together with the group of girls I was part of, I lead them to rebellion so to say: first, I insisted that we also use the playground dedicated to football, and second I stood up to the boys and defended our corners on the playground. Yes equal rights for everyone right? I think that going out of the normal pattern occasionally is quite important, in particular when you want to make your point of view heard or/and to protect your rights.

    Enjoying the Maroon 5 Concert in Munich, Germany.

  4. First friendship. I must say that I am pretty lucky to have a lot of great friends in my life, that I can always count on and that bring a lot of smiles, joy and happiness into my life. I am very grateful for this! I have been blessed with extraordinary friends! Still the first friendship I experienced happened sometimes in high-school and it taught me a very important thing about life and about friends: real friends are always there for you no matter what and you can always count on them.

    Hiking in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

  5. First time I failed. And that was more exactly in college when I lost my wallet for the first time. This was somehow the first time I failed and I felt a really big amount of responsibility on my shoulders. I also learned that failure is part of the process called life and that I can only take it as it is, learn from it, forgive myself and move on. The funny part is that I found my wallet 2-3 weeks after I lost it. It was found at the school library and was brought to me by a colleague. Yes, hope dies last. You never know what the future holds for you even in the most unexpected situations.

    Enjoying the views in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

  6. First time I compiled my first program in Turbo Pascal. Okay so this one sounds a bit technical but it is not. As a student I was studying mathematics and computer science, so it was kind of expected to program and to write programs in different programming languages as homework or just as a way of practicing to improve my skills. I remember that computer science was something new to me, since I had never studied this in high-school, so I was also curious to find out my own feelings towards this new discipline. And I did discover them when I first compiled my first program: it was a unique experience that brought a lot of fulfillment and smiles on my face, so I thought I do want to see what this discipline will bring in the future for me.

    Enjoying the BMW Welt in Munich, Germany.

  7. My undergraduate studying year in France. This contributed to my ability to cope with difficult situations, to make decisions on my own, to embrace my flaws and to stand up for myself. Since I was quite young when I was studying in France (it was during my second undergraduate studying year), this made me embrace all kind of situations on my own and it did give me a big sense of responsibility. I also adapted some French trends, including cooking and great recipes or meals, or those well known French fashion styles tricks like for instance always having a scarf (sometimes even in the summer) and wearing the pullover on top of a dress πŸ™‚ . Yes definitely French fashion style rules that I still embrace with a lot of excitement.

    Dressed for Halloween as a “French Toast” πŸ™‚ .

  8. Having the opportunity to teach courses at the university. This was one of the best things that happened to me and that taught me so many important lessons. First of all, I liked having that sense of contribution to other people’s life and trying to help them in some stressful situations that they had to face. Secondly, I liked teaching, and this means I kind of liked explaining all kind of complicated notions in simple terms so that everyone can understand them and that they can be motivated by the complex subject. Thirdly, I always found that mathematics and computer science have contributed to my analytical thinker side. And lastly, I liked the human interactions with the students, as each of them had their own story, their own purpose and their own life experiences. Yes I learned a lot of useful things during these teaching years, things that I still use quite often in my every day work or/and life.
  9. Getting the chance to study abroad for obtaining my PhD degree. This was definitely a great opportunity for me, that I embraced with a lot of enthusiasm and partially some fears. And I think it is a normal feeling: you are enthusiastic about the chance that you have been given to study for a PhD degree in applied mathematics and computer science abroad (in my case it was in Linz πŸ™‚ ), you are enthusiastic about the new and the unknown, but in the same time you are scared about the new and the unknown. Still, seeing the new and the unknown as a challenge will definitely help you in getting to know and to conquer the new road ahead of you. In my case, I faced a lot of challenges : learning German from scratch, starting a new life away from my friends and my family at that time, majoring in complex technical fields for getting the PhD, adapting to a new culture and a new mentality, finding time for my self and for my self development.Β  Still I learned things that I could now not live without. So if I were to choose again I would definitely choose the same path without thinking twice.

    Enjoying city of Amsterdam.

  10. Traveling around the world since I was 21 and getting to know and to mingle mentalities from different countries. Yes I started traveling abroad when I was like 21 years old and I obtained my first studying scholarship in France (as you already know it by now). I was happy, I was excited, I knew it was a new beginning! And indeed it was! I later came to Austria to study for my PhD and then the traveling experience extended even more, mostly for the PhD work related tasks such as conferences or staying abroad visits to different universities: France, Germany, US., Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, I had the chance to visit them all. And along with broadening my technical knowledge, I got the chance to learn new people, new cultures and new mentalities, and to even mingle them with my own life experiences.
  11. My first job in industry. This was definitely a big step for me, and a small kind for mankind πŸ˜€ . It was definitely the transition from research to industry, the transition from doing abstract things to doing applied things that are used in real life situations. It showed me that you never know what the future holds for you and that you should always listen to that voice inside of you. In my case, that little voice was there already for some time at the end of my PhD studies and it told me I should follow a new path. So finally I did listen to it. Moreover, it was also during my first job in industry that I started to speak German regularly, and to even start thinking in German. Yes it was way easier for a lot of situations than translating everything to English. So, way to go!

  12. Turning living as a foreigner abroad into my way of living and into my new lovely home. Yes, I am truly happy and very grateful that my way of living abroad turned into my new lovely home. And another significant detail is that I perceived the transformation as an usual life event that gradually metamorphosed itself into something regular and normal. Yes living abroad is something that requires all of your body and soul at work, but once you have started to adjust to the new rhythm and you have started to adopt it as your own, then you are basically home πŸ™‚ .
  13. First apartment. Yes this was a big step in my life that I am still embracing with a lot of enthusiasm and happiness. A new adventure has started and I am pretty sure that I have embarked on a very challenging trip, a trip that I am ready to face. Other than being a unique experience, it also feels great to start a new project with your partner and to share those burden of responsibilities as challenges and those moments of joy and laughter as happy moments πŸ™‚ .

What about you: what are some life events that shaped your personality?
Sincerely yours,
Madalina

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