Hi there! I'm Francesca, I am a 22yo philosophy student living in England.
I'm extremely excited to finally be part of Steemit and look forward to sharing my insights with you :)
But first, I want to tell you a bit about myself, my interests, and the journey I am on, so that you can understand what type of content you can expect on my blog.
I grew up in the south of Italy where I stayed until the age of 18, when I decided to take off. I couldn't wait to start anew and recreate my life from zero, far away from everything and from everyone.
I was not at all scared by the fact I would have to leave my friends, my family, and my life-style behind. I found it absolutely thrilling. I was not afraid of losing people: after all, the ones who loved me would have supported me.
Growing up, I spent most of my time studying (even things I wasn't completely attracted to). My parents were quite strict on my education, and as most parents, they thought they had the answers to everything.
I had to start playing the piano at the age of 7, and by the age of 12 I was already attending a music conservatory. At the time, I didn't really like having to sacrifice several hours a week for something I didn't truly enjoy: sitting down and having to learn how to execute perfectly Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven, didn't really appeal to me. I wanted to hang around other kids, play outside, and have fun like any 12 year old should be able to do (although now I am kinda proud I can play an instrument).
According to my parents, I had to only focus on my studies and the development of my musical abilities: from their point of view, I had no time to deal with others as they would only serve as a distraction to me.
But hey, did I mention my parents were strict?
So that's why leaving the place where I had grown up for the pursuit of freedom, was an idea that kept me awake most nights visualising and imagining what would happen next. A new chapter in my life was on the horizon.
So I left, and I moved to England. London, the huge, lively, hectic, city of London.
I started attending the University of Westminster, where I studied and and completed a degree in French and English language.
Living in London was great. I was only 18, and it was a period where I met fantastic new people with such different cultural backgrounds. It was a period of rediscovery of myself: I learnt how to look at things from different perspectives; how to embrace and incorporate aspects of other cultures into my life; I learnt about the importance of traveling as a means to improve and discover yourself; and so on. Here are some photos from my trip to Beijing in 2016:
I also noticed that the broadening of my experiences and perspectives helped me discover abilities I never thought I had: I started writing poetry, painting, chasing the creative side of myself. I later understood that this creative surge was nothing but a consequence of feeling free, unchained, and hopeful: I was no longer bogged down or affected by the so called 'moral' judgments.
It was time to be Me, and to become more aligned with my higher being. But I needed a peaceful, calm and quiet environment.
London had served its purpose: at that point, it appeared to me as a noisy, dull, polluted city. I truly felt as if the environment I was living in was seriously affecting the way I felt and went about my life. I was striving to become more in tune with myself in order to attain a clearer understanding of who I am as a being in the world. That's where my philosophical enquiry began.
So I moved to Brighton, in the south of England, and finally I started to B-R-E-A-T-H-E. I was no longer haunted by the polluted air, and was instead, by the sea.
Once again, I felt inspired to start anew and recreate myself.
It was when I started to go out more into nature, having long and thoughtful walks by myself, meditating on the beach, that I became more in sync with myself.
I started reading plenty of books about the individual's condition in the world, as well as works from Ancient Greek and Latin authors. It seemed to me as these writers where providing me with all the answers I required. I started relating to what they said.
However, the greatest shift was when I encountered Existentialism for the first time. Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir became my mentors: I was completely smitten by their bold claims about being, choice, responsibility, and authenticity.
It was especially through the reading of Existentialism is a Humanism (Sartre 1946) and the Second Sex (de Beauvoir 1949), that I started to truly understand my role as a human being.
For a long time, during my life in Italy, I was not able to stand up for myself, to say 'no' whenever I was not ok with something (I believe this was mainly a consequence of my upbringing). Finally, I was regaining entitlement over myself and my life: I started understanding that only I have the right to choose the life I want for myself. It is my responsibility. Therefore, the choices that make up and shape my existence must come from me and not from other people.
Discovering Sartre, inevitably conduced me to my hero and mentor: Friedrich Nietzsche (a name that you will see quite often if you read my blog..). I devoured his major work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883); and I have not stopped reading it ever since.
Every time I pick a passage from it, I discover new hidden meanings and messages. Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883) is definitely a book to read more than once or twice. If you truly resonate with it, you'll find that it never stops providing you with insight, and this is namely because the teachings it provides you with are timeless and centred around the notion of becoming a better version of yourself.
Following my personal studies of Sartre and Nietzsche led me to a MA Philosophy degree at the University of Sussex (which I am still in the process of undertaking).
However, my interests have broadened even more since then: I started to get interested in everything that appeared to be 'occult'. Therefore, I undertook the task of studying astrology and planets: I am fascinated by the motion of planets within a birth chart and their symbolic meanings in relation to the astrological signs and houses.
I also started to enjoy Tarot cards and their mystical symbolism.
During these last months I have been incredibly keen on graphic design and illustrations: I have learnt (and and am still learning!) how to use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop in order to create creative content for my art account on Instagram (@fraabaee). Here are some of my illustrations :)
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Currently, I am also a French teacher in a school, and I work with children and teenagers on a daily basis. Which can be quite funny at times.
What do I intend to write in my blog?
As you may have noticed, I am quite an eclectic person. I derive inspiration from many diverse sources (for instance, my latest passion is cryptocurrency!).
However, these will be the type of topics you can expect to find on my blog:
- Travelling
- Existentialism and other philosophical thoughts
- Spirituality
- Poetry
- Reviews on books and music that catch my interest.
I look forward to sharing my stories with you, and I am thrilled to discover this new Steemit world as well as meeting new great people with whom I can have a constructive and insightful exchange of opinions :)
À bientôt!
Francesca