My name is Yoana
Introduction
I bet you want to know something about me. Something like where I am from, what I have studied, my favourite song, book and so on...
I am not very good with such introductions, but I will try. In school we used to fill in such questionnaires and exchange them with friends. I can imagine it is something like this. Right?
I am from Bulgaria - a small and beautiful country in Eastern Europe.
I love nature and travelling. Sofia, my home town, is close to the mountains so I go hiking very often. I love the sea, as well. And I am a supporter of the cultural tourism.
I do not have one favourite book, song, colour... I love to read good books, listen to good music and the colours - they depend on my mood.
I love chocolate, sweets and cakes, fresh bread and cheese.
I have a cat. His name is Mister and he is a gray furball and sometimes a small disaster.
I live together with my husband, whom I love a lot!
And I have awesome friends, that support me in my struggles.
If I have missed something, feel free to ask :)
Hobbies
Writing
Reading all sorts of books
Painting
Cooking and baking
Travelling and visiting new places
Meeting with friends
and generally enjoying myself
Languages
Bulgarian
English
German
French (work in progress)
Work
experience
My First Job
So, my first job was as a salesgirl.
I cannot say anything good about it, except maybe that I had so little free time on my hands, that I could not even spend my measly salary...
Copywriter and Journalist
For one year and a half I worked as a copywriter and a journalist. During those days my written English significantly improved and I learnt a lot of complicated German words, as well.
I had a great team of colleagues - all young and cheerful people.
In my heart this is my first real job...
Traineeship at the European Commission
This was short but very sweet. The best couple of months, as they included a lot of travelling and meeting all kinds of people! I made some really great friends.
The best part was, that it really got me thinking about what I want to do. Before that I had dreams, afterwards I had goals.
Meeting countless young and motivated people gave me the strength to follow my dreams and never give up. I started thinking - there are so many amazing men and women and I can be one, too!
Expert at the Ministry of Interior
No, I was not a policewoman! Not even close to one.
I was part of a team responsible for the cooperation and dialogue with other countries and international organisations.
It was fun and very dynamic. I faced new challenges every day. And got to meet a lot of new people! I made some true friends that will always remain in my heart and I met my first mentor (what she taught me will help guide my decisions throughout my life!).
This is one of the most wonderful periods of my life.
And it was the most satisfying job a person in his twenties could have!
Project Specialist and Event Organizer
No matter how good a life a person has he starts having doubts.
I have had mine!
For a year and a half I bashed my head against the wall and tried looking for new jobs, callings and realisations.
I am sure everybody has to go through such a period - where you fret if your life choices have been the right ones. The worst part is doubting yourself and your decisions, fearing that you have been wasting your time.
But give it time and some thought and you will find yourself once again.
Policy Expert at the European Commission
So, I came back to my roots.
I am again working in an international environment, meeting diverse people and making interesting friendships.
I have changed my country. Living abroad again.
Back to working on various topics, travelling and feeling important.
I am doing a job that will shape the future of Europe (or so I choose to believe)!
Education
I am sure you want to know all about the schools I visited so I will start from long, long ago...
Professional school for Design and Fashion
My secondary education was in a professional school and was all about fashion. It was not a girls-only school, but as you can imagine, there were not that many guys. There I met most of my closes friends, with whom even today I talk almost all the time (God bless modern technology and all the gadgets!).
What you will find interesting, is that during those looong years my passion for writing awoke.
And for a couple of other things....
My Bachelor in European Studies
This was a very fruitful time. I tried doing a lot of things - writing short stories, essays, longer stories and so on. I even tried sending my creations to a couple of publishers and competitions. My essays were well received, but not the fiction...
Obviously people found my writings on politics, international conflicts and organisations, tolerance, legislation, etc. more thrilling.
How strange?
A Qualification in Management
I tried to learn something more practical than international relations and EU policies and initiatives, hoping it would be useful one day. I was young and ignorant.
Finally, Master in EU Law
Yes, I returned to my initial choice... But it is interesting and it actually proved quite useful.
After all, writing is something like a side-job and not a real one.