In my previous post, I have shared how my dad made me passionate about studying Electrical Engineering from a young age.
I ended the post by saying that after all that, that was not at all what I choose to study!
Initially, at least.
Today we are continuing with part 2 of the story.
Since it seems longer than initially intended, I will post the final part tomorrow 😉
A small note:
Please keep in mind that this happened between 2007 – 2010.
There was internet, but not like today.
Nobody I knew had a smart phone nor all their information on a social media account.
You are allowed to get a bit nostalgic 😉
I was 17 when I started university.
Partly I think that is too young to make such an important decision.
Partly I was disencouraged by those around me who said that Electrical Engineering might be too hard for a girl.
It would be easy to go full blown feminist on this, but I got this type of talk from BOTH genders.
And partly I was simply misinformed about what the classes would entail.
Regardless of it all, I was super excited to start this new chapter in my life!
That amazing feeling lasted for about a week.
It was very clear that I was never going to be a good Industrial Designer.
First of all, I have very low spatial awareness, which isn’t great when you have to make 3D drawings.
There was absolutely no mathematics or real engineering.
And then we were told about all the materials we needed to invest in: special drawing paper, markers, a laptop that can carry a heavy 3D drawing software.
I went to the store to check out the prices and nearly fainted!
I did not want to spend all this money on something I didn’t;t even enjoy and most likely would never be good at!
I talked to teachers, classmates, friends and parents about it, but kept getting the same gender reasoning.
My dad was supportive, but he also saw doubt in my eyes.
And that is never good thing for a new start.
I have never been “I’m gonna prove them all wrong” type of person.
So I decided to give this designer education another chance.
And I really did try, but sometimes that just isn’t enough.
One day during class, I was very close to tears because I just couldn’t seem to keep up with my classmates.
I got up and ran to the dean’s office.
Feeling a bit shy, I knocked on the door.
That’s when I saw him….
The blue eyed, blonde god of my dreams, smiling at me!
My parents were strict, I guess.
I wasn’t allowed to drink, go to parties or have any romances until I graduated.
Now, you might think that this is the cruelest punishment to a child, but I honestly couldn’t care less.
I certainly hadn’t met anyone that caught my interest.
Until that moment!
I fell head over heels for this guy!
I wasn’t sure if he was the dean or a fellow student who experienced the same as me.
He seemed mature and confident.
At the same, a bit young for a serious job like that!
He told me to sit down and asked me what he can do for me.
I blushed and wasn’t able to speak properly.
But somehow, I stammered my entire story.
Just when I was about to ask if he could help, an older man stepped in.
”Playing dean again?”, he asked to my crush (let’s call him “B”).
I died there and then.
I just made a HUGE fool out of myself.
The actual dean smiled.
”Let me finish with this trouble maker. Could you come by at the end of the day?”, he asked.
I was beyond embarrassed, which was only amplified when B looked me straight at me with that twinkle in his eyes and winked.
I went back to my class and buried my face in a book.
Later that day I talked to the dean.
He was a very nice man and told me that it might be difficult for me to be the only female in class, but I certainly also shouldn’t continue studying something I didn’t like.
He promised he would arrangement a meeting between me and an Engineering professor.
I went home, feeling very confused and insecure about my future.
That’s when I got a text from an unknown number.
I think you should do it. Become my classmate.
It couldn’t be, could it?
Was it B?!
I texted back.
I just might.
But my mind was made up.
I was going to transfer to Electrical Engineering no matter what!
Stay tuned for part 3 tomorrow! 😁
Andrea, Children’s Book Illustrator 
Aww, the plot thickens, with a fateful encounter. You mentioned writing not being your forte, but you are doing a wonderful job with the written story to go along with your illustrations. Hooray!
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I am hanging on every word here and look forward to the next installation. As per the previous comment you are doing a great job as a story teller and artist!
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I’m loving your story and can’t wait to see how it ends!
Your little weeping orange made me want to hug her/past you.
(Granted, I believe a hug fixes most hurts, but hey…)
I *died* laughing when I saw that this handsome stranger was a cheese!
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Aww thanks so much!
I think it is partly a language thing.
But it also shows how important an editor is to tweak the words where needed!
Have you ever thought about doing that?
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Thanks!
I just posted the final part! Curious to know if it ends as you think it might!
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Cheesy… isn’t it? Hahaha.
I nearly chose to draw a banana, but that might have not been the best idea 😅
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I think I remember you recounting that story on one of your previous blogs. It’s so much more vivid this time around with these drawings.
Movies made it seem like it was easy to change a major, but I just thought it was in the movies. There was never a time when I considered changing, but if there was, I probably wouldn’t even try as I believed once you chose it you were kind of stuck with it.
It’s amazing how amazing you’ve become at expressing emotions with every piece of your doodle. This orange has different eyes in every picture, which greatly improves the strength of the emotion. Seeing the orange under the blanket reminded me of all the times I read my book when it was ‘lights out.’
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It can be a language thing sometimes. The way you wrote the story here was nicely done, though.
Editing is an interesting idea. I have thought about it, but I also get worried about doing a good job when it involves someone else’s work. Then again, maybe I should give it a shot. Thank you!
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Yes, you are right! I did write about this before. It is one of those things that seems significant enough to always remember.
I choose simple figures for this story so that I could really focus on the face expressions. I am glad to hear that you liked it!
The orange in the blanket was my favorite in fact! I was the same!
Many of my classmates and friends kept changing their major. Some even more than 3 times. I think at some point you just have to stick with something.
For me it was scary to do as well. In my time, education was paid for by the government, but only for 4 years and I did not want to end up with debt.
I did miss the first half year of Engineering, so I had to catch up with that somehow. And luckily I managed.
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