I had to face my demons to choose the career I really wanted

Angelique Lusuan (@anj_lusuan) is PhD and a Content Curator at Fondazione iCons — iCube Programme. In this story, she talks about the challenges she had to overcome to choose the research career she really wanted

Doing science, as I recall, wasn’t an ordained destiny I wished to pursue.

As a kid, I was always driven by curiosity. I asked questions constantly and never held back as I explored other ways to express myself through art. I read tons of books on dinosaurs and volcanoes and sketched possible blueprints of future submarines. The adults around me would often ask me innocently, “What would you want to be when you grow up?”

As naive as I was, I had no clue.

The pressure of adulthood hit me hard in the face as I was surrounded by people who expected me to bring food to the table after finishing college.

I was haunted by self-doubt throughout all those years.

I was unsure and just drove myself up the wall as though I were a bull charging at a flaming red cloth. But where was I directed? I passed exam after exam, wishing I had a better clue of what I expected of myself. Perhaps I’d be able to work at IBM or at NASA. Who knows? Dream big was what my dad would tell me.

Interested to know how Angelique was finally able to choose a career of her choice? Read her full story here.