ANNALISA: What is the place where you feel at home, or where you once did?
YASMINA: Paris, without a doubt.
I could start from a thousand different things, and I’ll tell you, this is a question I’ve been asked before. That doesn’t make it banal. Quite the opposite, actually. Every time I’ve answered it, I’ve given a different reason. In this answer, I want to talk about the people.
Paris allowed me to meet people who really activated, or reactivated, my cultural awareness. I’ve met so many different people, in so many different contexts. Some people I met through online exchanges, Instagram, things like that. Some at parties, some in cafés, some literally in the street. Some through friends.
Truly speaking, I have NEVER EVER been in contact with as many people as I have over the last few years in Paris, which says a lot. And I’ve built a strong network of people who support me. That doesn’t diminish in any way the networks I have in other cities.
Rome is probably the second city where I have the strongest network, and you are definitely one of the pillars of that network. Also because, if you think about it, the last time I went to Rome, you were one of the only people I saw.
And of course, now that I’m thinking about the people who are in Rome, I can think of so many people I would love to hug right now, and who are living there.
But yes, the people I’ve met here have been incredibly formative for me. Most of them are still present in my life, in different forms, different shapes, different intensities, but they’re there. And I love them so much.
Paris is also the city where I went through some major life changes.
My first real job, for example. My actual work life, my career, started here. What I was doing before felt more like student experiences. I came here right after graduating, so for some reason that also makes it feel like home.
And of course, adopting my dog was also a huge life decision, and that rooted me to Paris in a completely different way.
And then I’d say that’s it. That’s the core :)
But again, it’s such a big question, and I feel like there’s still so much I could add and so much I could say. This is the answer that is coming out of me right now, and we’re going to respect that.
