The long story and the new path.
I flirted with this profession for a long time, unconsciously at first. Having grown up with a journalist father, his world always seemed fascinating to me. Television was something new in Greece back then, and the people who appeared on it, had a seductive allure, they were bigger than life. And I had the chance to meet them.
At the university, enamoured by literature, I opted for an academic career as I was quite disillusioned by the media. I toyed with the academia for a long time, but finally decided that it was not for me.
After taking on a few jobs where I often encountered and collaborated with journalists, I finally had a chance to cross over to the other side and work as a journalist. My first job was at a weekly newspaper. Soon, the adrenaline, the pace and the excitement of meeting iconic figures from the arts world as well as emerging artists who were offering a new vision of our society, had me hooked.
Other jobs followed with the longest being that of broadcast journalist for the Greek Public channel. There, I worked in different departments and got a fairly whole picture of the profession. There are things that are liked and things I did not. After a while, while working as a cultural correspondent for the channel, I felt trapped, found my work repetitive. It had started to feel like Groundhog day.
A long period ensued with a lot of soul searching and failed attempts at professional conversion, amidst bouts of exhilaration and disappointment. More importantly, my attention had shifted onto other issues. The current economic and social situation in Europe and beyond, together with the refugee crisis, left me feeling angry and powerless. Eventually, anger morphed into a need and a determination to come up with new possibilities and search for solutions. Two questions were going around my brain; How could I voice my opinion, how can I affect change?
And so, a new path opens up…
