And no, it wasn’t art related at all 😉
I studied Electrical Engineering.
And since this decision has quite a funny background story, I thought it would be fun to share it with occasional drawings merged in!
The story will be in two parts.
Here is part 1!
I was raised bilingual.
Not by choice, but coming to a new country as a refugee you don’t have the chance to prepare for something like this.
Where most people would consider it a privilege to learn two languages from a young age, it confused me massively.
I wasn’t a talker in any case.
I am not sure if I was exceptionally shy or my family was just louder than me, but I preferred to stay quiet.
I think I was partly embarrassed for not being able to speak any of the two languages properly, but rather a mix of the two.
This is when my dad started communicating with me in a language I liked very much:
NUMBERS
At that moment, he was an electrician, but studied Electrical Engineering.
So, mathematics has been a big part of his life.
And after teaching me the basics, we moved on to more difficult equations.
I certainly wasn’t smarter than my classmates, but I did get some recognition for my skills in this subject.
Which for a loner like me was quite a nice experience.
Then one Christmas, I must have been around 10 years old, after decorating the tree, mum was excited to see the Christmas lights being turned on.
But when she plugged in the power …… nothing happened!
”It’s broken”, mum cried while dad stood there smirking.
”I will fix it”, he assured her.
This is when my first lesson about electricity started.
He taught me the difference about light bulbs (or any resistor) being connected in series and parallel.
And together, we “fixed” the Christmas lights.
From there on, he taught me about switches, breakers, VAC, VDC, transformers and more.
He showed me some of the electrical drawings he used for his job.
The more I learned, the more excited I became about this topic.
And in the back of my mind I already planned a future as an Electrical Engineer.
This is why, at the age of 16 when I had to choose university, I surprised everyone, including myself, I chlose to study Industrial Design….
So how did I end up studying Electrical Engineering?
Stay tuned for part 2!
Andrea, Children’s Book Illustrator 
Andrea! I’ve got goosebumps reading Part 1. ☺️ Thank you for sharing this snapshot into your life. 💚
I think it’s lovely that you were able to share this interest and ability with your dad. I’m sure it was an extra boost of pride for him to see you take a liking to his work. Who knows the positive impact you may have had on him in his professional life, as well. This is definitely a gift you were born with. I’m looking forward to reading Part 2.
Humorous takeaway: Sooo… I was trying to guess your nationality using context clues: refugee, bilingual, loud family… I was gearing to say Hispanic (Cuban was my first choice) or Italian. Then you threw in the use of “mum” and threw me for a loop! Hahaha.
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My father was the same! My son is a Mechanical Engineer. They were both bilingual. Fascinating! ❤️
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These were so cute!
Do you like oranges?
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Aww thanks so much for the lovely comment.
Part 2 will be funnier, but a bit more embarrassing for me, hahaha.
Yeah, dad and I always had a great relationship because of mutual interests!
Haha, I am not British. But I think my keyboard settings are.
I am from Bosnia! Especially Balkan women are quite loud. I guess it skipped a generation because I just don’t have the energy to be loud, hahah.
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Ah that is so amazing to hear! 😊
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I do! I think the orange season is about to end sadly.
But, they are very annoying to peel, especially if you have a paper cut on your hand 😫
I love mango, but that is also very annoying to peel.
I can’t wait for the watermelon and cherry season.
It’s how I usually loose quite some weight in the summer because those two things are pretty much all I eat. I just can’t get enough of it 😀
Do you like oranges?
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I like oranges a lot, too. In fact, I like pineapples and cherries, too. (but oranges more)
Pealing a citrus with a paper cut is definitely challenging! It makes you aware of the cuts you didn’t know you had.
Mangos are not my thing.
Watermelon’s are great, too!
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I absolutely loved the pictures!! I can absolutely see your dad’s real face in my mind, too! (Some people’s drawings evoke more realistic versions in my mind… I think you really showed his personality well!)
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Wow, I loved the way you helped us to connect with your story through these wonderful pictures. I’m looking forward to the next part!
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Well written with the picture . Well shared loved to read this ❣️ thanks 💞👍
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Hah yeah, he doesn’t have pineapple hair, but the face expression definitely defines him. He always had the glasses lower on his nose which made his eyes look smaller. 🧐😁
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It was a lot of fun to draw and choose a character for each person! 😁
Writing however, to be honest I don’t like it too much. Or, it doesn’t come naturally to me at least.
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We each have our own special mediums for expression. You have such a talent for portraying stories through your illustrations, it’s breathtaking.
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Hey, enjoyed reading all three parts of your story. Keep writing.
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