Espresso-Fueled Ambition

From espresso dreams to design studios—navigating passion, purpose, and finding my own way forward.

I have many plans this year.
I must say, the more free time I have from university, the more possibilities seem to unfold.

First and foremost, I want to graduate from Politecnico happily—and with an amazing Master thesis.
Since it will already be around 300 pages—relevant to the subject, filled with personal illustrations and grounded in design—I’ve decided: I will publish it as a book.

Why not? Then I’ll have a published book.

I don’t really want to work in academic research…
What I want is to continue my research.
And to write.
To write as much as I can.

I can’t express how happy I am that I’ve found my way back to writing, after years of endless drafts and constant postponing.

Not the best timing, I admit—because instead of studying these last few days, I’ve been writing for my blog like a maniac.
But I’m so happy, so… fuck it.

Short-Term Goals

• Pass all the exams in July.

• Then the internship.

• Then the thesis—already demanding, already intense, especially under such high-level supervision and expectations.

Right after the exams, I have a meeting with the three brilliant women—our last one before summer. That should give me a clear direction for the next two months.

I don’t know yet when I’ll return to Milano—maybe early September, maybe October.
But I will be back.

God, I can’t wait to be back.
To drink a proper espresso.
I will miss the coffee.
And the pastries.
And the pomodori.

Anyway—those are the tangible, near-future goals I must achieve.
(Not the pomodori—but yes: exams, internship, and thesis.

Meanwhile...

I’m building my design studio brand.

Yes—my own studio.
I want to work with me, for me.
Well… for my future clients.

Why try to get a job when I can create one?

I’m building this with some university colleagues who are also interested in working on projects.
Funny enough, we already have two projects lined up—but no time.
So slowly, step by step, we’ll get there.

We still need a website, branding, and basically… everything else.

Rebranding Myself

As a classic millennial—
Although maybe I shouldn’t generalize, since others seem to be better at this than me.
So maybe it’s just… classic me.

It only took 30 years to learn what a strong social presence actually means.
I’m still figuring out how to build it—but hey, if you stick around, I promise you’ll see progress.

I’m determined.

So, to Recap:

• Design Studio: Product development, product design, materials selection, production planning—and we’ll also be offering graphic design.

• Social Media: Build a presence that won’t embarrass my future kids. Something stylish and classy. Me, in all my lunacy—my lifestyle, my writing, my aesthetic.

• Writing: Continue working on my blog and other projects.

• Skills: Practicing design 2–3 hours a day. Software, sketching, and pushing myself to become better.

• Photoshoots: Offering shoots in Italy and when I travel—mostly to help fund my adventures. Some editing included.

• Podcast: A long-term project on taboo topics—the ones that still fracture societies. I’m gathering content now so that when recording starts, we’ll have lots of words ready to roll.

• Languages: Always a work in progress.

• Thesis: That beautiful monster.

That makes eight.
My lucky number.

So—good luck to me.

I’m honestly optimistic.
Maybe stupidly so, but it still counts.

Sometimes I feel like I’m a bit behind—like I should have done all this in my 20s.
But then again… maybe it’s better this way.

Looking back, my 20s were full of confusion.
Constant running, not understanding anything about what I truly wanted.

Now, at least, I have a direction.
A nostalgic and romantic one, but a direction nonetheless.

In my 20s, I tried to prove things to others—and to myself.
I was stuck in identity crises, seeking validation in everyone else instead of myself.

Now I can say, gracefully:
Fuck off.

I know who I am.
I especially know what I don’t want.

As for what I do want…
We’re working on that.
Baby steps.

Right now, I have a 6–12 month plan.
After that, we calibrate again.

And Also… I Want a Motorcycle

Next summer, I want to travel through Italy—from north to Sicily.
To explore the country in depth, to meet locals and strangers, to try divine food and work with breathtaking views.

Online work, of course. For my projects.

Now that it’s all out in the open…
Let’s see how much of it I actually manage to do.

Feels scary to share.
But that’s the whole point: to not be scared.
To learn to live out loud.

And Now… It’s 5 AM

I really should sleep now.
I need to study for my Tuesday exam, and then I have another one on Wednesday.

But the excitement keeps me up.
My brain won’t stop spinning with thoughts.

I need to learn how to chill.
To rest, so I can achieve all this.

It needs to be programmed into me—
Re-programmed, because I used to be better at this.

What’s Next?

Next week I’m attending a social hackathon, somewhere in a tiny village behind Rome.

I’m working on a project to support immigrant integration—helping people navigate legal paperwork, make social connections, and maybe even get support for job hunting.

I’m planning to win that competition.

Why?

Because I want to be called back next year—as a mentor.

I’ll be there three days, working on the project. Then the final pitch and competition.

After that, I return to Milano and give it all I’ve got to study for my final exam on the 11th.
And then?

Travel season begins.

A bit of tourist time in Milano, then Bologna, then Rome, then Berlin.
From Berlin, I’ll hop on a train—stop briefly in Hamburg—and finally arrive in Copenhagen, where I’ll be for a month or two.

In the middle of all this traveling, I need to keep my wild Google Calendar up to date.
Tasks per day. Structure, even while moving.

Conclusion

Maybe I’m not late after all.
Maybe, at 30, it’s time to know how to manage this—especially if I didn’t in my 20s.

In my 20s, I worked hard.
In my 30s, I want to work smart.

Also… my knees hurt.

Okay. Stretching, then sleep.
My mom will call in 3 hours to wake me up.

Va bene. Ciao.
Thank you for being here.

Ah—after I wrote that title, I wanted to mention something.
I’ve been drinking decaf coffee for maybe a year now.
So no, my insomnia is not because of the espressos.
Just pure, unfiltered excitement and ambition.
(And maybe a little chaos.)