ON STUDIES, LIFE CHOICES AND FEARS

My last couple of weeks have been all about exam revisions and my lack of new updates on the social medias raised some questions about what I study, where do I find time to do so etc. So, now that I’ve written my final essay and am officially on my student holidays I decided to dedicate this article to the answering of those questions.

When two years ago I finished high school I was already in my 3rd year of blogging, and the question of the future carrier was a tricky one to me; see, at that time I already knew that my future laid in the path I created myself with the blog, whatever I might become, it will be linked to my primary passion. But blogging does not deliver a degree right? And my parents, though they would probably never admit it, wanted me to get one. And me, though I’m I like thinking of myself like someone independent, wouldn’t have wanted to disappoint them after all their support. So I went for Geneva’s University (not Lausanne’s, which would have been closer to my home), as it allowed me to move to Geneva and thus get closer to my meetings, events and … well to the airport, which turned out to be a clever move seeing my actual travel agenda. The question of which faculty to choose was quickly solved; in high school I studied philosophy and psychology for three years and while I liked those classes my real affinities laid in literature and history. Being a bookworm since my early age, nothing can retain my attention more than a good historian novel, or a literature subject, even fashion does not have such an impact on me. I thus chose the Arts faculty in French literature, Russian literature, history and culture, and Latin.

You may ask, why Russian? Well as you know I was born in Saint Petersburg and lived there for seven years, which means that 1. I have a cute accent that testifies of my foreign origins, and 2. I never got the chance to study the language, it’s grammar, linguistic etc., my level of Russian is very very basic. + I never read Dostoievski, Tolstoi or Gogol in original versions, only in English which, for a Russian lady is quite shameful.

My first year at the Uni was like riding a broken car through hell without driving license, hope that’s graphic enough for you to understand. I had many classes and constantly a huge pile of books to read, which can seem like a standard student struggle but over that I had the blog to work on, a blog that started developing quite fast at the time. It came to a point where I had zero pleasure from reading anymore and honestly thought about quitting the studies. But I straightened myself, discovered Vitamin C whose daily dose saved my life, and learned to say no – because no, I don’t have to be everywhere, meet everyone and work for everything. I became much more selective on my blog’s projects which eventually made me grow and gain a certain positioning in the Swiss blogosphere.

At the beginning of this academic year I took the decision of studying part time only: 50% of classes only for 50% additional years at the University. Some might think getting a degree in five years instead of three is a high price to pay, but then we can talk about the quantity over quality debate, and I’ve always been a quality defender. I prefer to enjoy and fully integrate what I study and not simply swap my time and energy for grades and a degree. Many might think it silly, but after a couple of months on this program I knew I had taken the right decision – mainly because my blogging schedule went crazy and we started travelling a lot for cool projects, if I had had been studying full time I would have never been able to keep up the pace, I would have either missed opportunities, or failed at all my exams.

Yes, juggling with both studies and blogging is hard, and surprisingly it is not only about time, but mostly about the contrasting mental pressures both spheres represent : wherever I am, whatever I do I cannot help thinking about that book I have to read, or that essay I have to send – and the emails I have to answer, or the articles I have to publish. It all piles up, because believe me, there is always something to worry about, and sometimes I feel like I fall short, that at some point it will all slip out of my hands and I do am afraid. But here we are, another academic year came to an end and I’m truly grateful for not having laid down to my uncertainties in the past months.

What I like about studying, apart from the subjects I chose and the University itself which I’m quite smitten with, is it’s faculty to bring me back to reality. The fashion industry is a fascinating world, it is rich and addictive, filled with magic and beauty – but it is also superficial and dangerous in the sense that it changes people, and sadly not always in the good way. I might name snobbism but it would be way too caricatural, it is more about appearances and how they come to represent everything for certain people. It’s not easy to explain but after having been immersed in fashion for too long, let’s say for a FW season, coming back to University is a chock – and I like that. Going to classes, learning things that have nothing to do with clothes or makeup, being surrounded by people that are mostly not interested by Instagram and don’t know me from my image, that don’t know me at all, is exactly what I need sometimes, to simply remind me that the center of the world is not a phone app.


SJYP jacket

NAKD tshirt

Zara pants

Celine bag

Gucci shoes

Acne Studios’ sunnies

Bvlgari’s leather bracelets

Cartier’s love bracelet 

Belle By Annabelle’s hand-bracelet

Cartier’s Juste Un Clou ring 

Belle By Annabelle’s one-stone ring