As students head back to school, we asked some of our all grown-up colleagues to walk with us down memory lane. And their childhood dreams will put a smile on your face!
Check out what they told us:
Rositsa Gardjeliyska
What was your favourite subject at school?
Before high school my favourite was art. After that this subject was not included in my schedule and literature quickly took its place.
Who was your favorite teacher?
My favourite teacher was Parush Parushev, a writer and a Literature teacher at my high school. As a teacher he had the strongest impact on me and my development as a young person.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I’ve always said I wanted to become an artist.
And what did you become?
I guess I became an artist of a sort.
What do you remember about your first day of school?
I remember kids holding hands, flowers, very hot sun and confusion as to why I can’t play with dolls anymore.
Nikolay Mishonov
What was your favorite subject at school?
Physics.
Who was your favorite teacher?
Velichko Mihailov – he was my Geometry teacher in seventh grade.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I’ve always wanted to do exactly what I do now.
Here is a picture (check it out in the comments). When I was 10 years old I bought a Luke Skywalker postcard. Then I took a picture of me, cut out my head and glued it over Luke’s face. I took a photo of it and developed the film (it’s black and white as this was 35 years ago). Later I realized that this was my first compositing.
And what did you become?
I’m right where I have to be. I’ve tried doing a lot of things over the years but the visual effects have me entangled in their webs.
What do you remember about your first day of school?
I was pretty scared. A third-grader kicked me during the first recess, and I believe I didn’t go out of the classroom till the end of the term.
Daniela Yavasheva
What was your favorite subject at school?
Math and art.
Who was your favorite teacher?
I liked most of them, especially when they didn’t make me stand in front of the black board.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
When I was a kid I used to dream big! I used to imagine that I would become a painter, a policewoman, a doctor, and of course – a princess. Looking back at my childhood, I think I’ve always been a free spirit with a lot of different ideas and interests – never settling down, always willing to change and grow.
And what did you become?
Workwise I’ve chosen a career as an HR expert. And although I didn’t get any of the jobs that I used to dream about as a kid, I think I got even more out of HR! I’ve been able to acquire valuable communication and people skills through this career and I’ve been blessed to work with so many professionals with different talents and knowledge. In a sense, I think of HR as a real “queen’s job” – I feel that I’m making a difference in other people’s lives by helping them grow while also growing myself as a professional and a compassionate human being.
Vesselina Georgieva
What was your favorite subject at school?
History.
Who was your favorite teacher?
My art teacher.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I wanted to become a space traveler.
And what did you become?
I became a visual effects supervisor.
What do you remember about your first day of school?
I remember I had to recite a poem in front of everyone.
Iveta Ivanova
What was your favorite subject at school?
Maths, I didn’t always like it, but it was something I enjoyed being good at.
Who was your favorite teacher?
My high school Philosophy teacher. He made an effort to get to know us and tried to teach us a thing or two about life.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I had the classic girly dream to be a ballerina.
And what did you become?
A digital artist.
What do you remember about your first day of school?
My memories are vague, but I remember the school bell, walking into a beautiful sunny classroom and the smell of geraniums.
Svetlin Tsonev
What was your favorite subject at school?
I’m not sure, history and art maybe.
Who was your favorite teacher?
Hard to say, there were teachers with whom I could get along with and others with whom I couldn’t.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
This changed a lot over the years. Perhaps the first thing that I wanted to be was an aircraft pilot… Damn you math!
And what did you become?
I became a VFX artist. I have always worked what I have wanted to work (and what was suitable for my skills).
What do you remember about your first day of school?
Let’s not spoil the nice moment
Iveta Tsvetkova
What was your favorite subject at school?
I’ve always had an affinity for humanitarian subjects.
Among them, I really loved Literature as it was expanding my imagination and it took me to other worlds.
I enjoyed discovering the hidden messages that each book brings.
Who was your favorite teacher?
My teacher in primary school – Lena Valeva.
I remember her being very nice and good with us, an amazing teacher and someone who inspired us to learn.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
As a child, I wanted to be a lot of things.
At first, I wanted to become a princess (just like every other little girl I guess), but it seemed pretty challenging so I decided I’d become a model. I’ve also imagined how cool it would be if I could become a detective working on tangled cases. It suited me as I really liked investigating pretty much everything. Curiosity was strong with me :)
And then I started singing in a children’s choir and thus my biggest childhood dream arose – to become a singer on a cruise ship and to travel the world in this way.
And what did you become?
Well, I did not become a princess, a singer, etc., but I became a worthy Project coordinator at WWFX.
I plan and organize the work in the team, distribute the tasks and ensure deadlines are met.
Sometimes I even have to investigate one thing or another so I go back to my childhood dreams in a way. And there’s never a dull day!
Our industry is very dynamic and each day brings something new. That makes my job far from boring and this’s the reason I like it so much.
And the most exciting part is when a project’s deadline approaches while the next project is rushing our way! ๐
What do you remember about your first day of school?
I remember my mom cut my hair short (almost as if I was a boy) and that I was the tallest kid in my class.
Once we gathered in the courtyard of the school and met our teacher, we had to find a kid to hold hands with and to go to the classroom. All of the children were happy and excited except one who began crying very loudly when she realized we are going into the building without our parents. Then my mom told me: “Ive, go to that weeping girl and hold hands with her”. I went to her, took her hand and that was the beginning of a friendship that continues to this day and is very dear to me.
Cute, isn’t it? ๐
Carlo Orlandi
What was your favorite subject at school?
Literature up until high-school then descriptive geometry at the university.
Who was your favorite teacher?
My main teacher for the first years of the elementary school, she was the sweetest and most caring teacher I ever had and after many years she still recognizes and remembers the name of all of her students!
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I wanted to be a pizzaiolo!
And what did you become?
A VFX compositor and a photographer.
What do you remember about your first day of school?
I remember that day quite vividly, but most of all two moments: when I took a picture with my brother in front of our house before going to school and after that getting to know the classmate sitting to my right, to this day he is one of my best friends!
Vanya Beneva
What was your favorite subject at school?
Definitely Literature. Since I was a kid, I’ve loved reading and writing. Some people freak out to this day when they hear the question “What did the author mean?” but to me it was one of my favorite things – to think anะฐ analyze a text, to express verbally or in writing my view on various subjects in life, that were often leitmotifs in literature.
Who was your favorite teacher?
Given my favourite subject, it was my Literature teacher in the Shumen Foreign Language High School. He was very good – he does not only teach you, he actually prepares you for life. He loved to say metaphorically that he’s only putting the armature of our future building and that it’s only up to us what building we would build on. Well, I try putting a brick in my own building every day, let’s see how far up it would go. His name’s Miroslav Diakov. I didn’t meet a better teacher than him at the university so for me he’s the teacher with a capital T.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
One of my earliest memories is how I sing with a deodorant in my hand (I mean a wireless microphone) on top of the garage. I really wanted to become a singer which occasionally becomes a reality but only in front of some very close people, but I never became a professional singer.
And by the way, there is a John Lennon quote very relevant to this question: “When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
And what did you become?
Explorer, a mountaineer, and a good person (I hope), seeking truth in life. Workwise I became a PR, a journalist and cultural events organizer – things I am currently freelancing. A few years ago I became a Project coordinator at WorldWide FX – thus somehow systematizing my love for communications, project management, cinema, and visual arts. One should never stop learning new things and to experiment – the more things you know how to do, the better. For me, every day is like the first day at school sometimes.
What do you remember about your first day of school?
Oh, I remember I was very funny to look at – having bruises all over from falling around but all dressed up in a purple dress. As we used to live right next to the school, my mom told me to behave very well in class because she could see what I was doing. I must have looked pretty strange trying to catch a glimpse of her from my desk on the second row in the middle of the room, and I was even waving to “an imaginary friend” somewhere out there occasionally.
Vladimir Vatev
What was your favorite subject at school?
My favorite subject at school was art. I really loved to paint and I bet I still keep somewhere my drawings of the Disney characters.
Who was your favorite teacher?
I loved my English teacher mostly because she was super fun as a person and she used to translate for me all kind of things that I had heard in movies or songs.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
I used to watch a lot of films and I really wanted to become an actor. I loved repeating movie lines and memorizing them.
Now that I think about it I regret nothing because I am still a child of some sort despite all the difficulties I’ve been through. And I still repeat movie lines and some people even don’t want to go to the movies with me because of that.
What do you remember about your first day of school?
I only remember one thing that happened on the first day of school. I was in the same class with one of my neighbors and we went to the opening ceremony together with our parents. We were playing around and he kicked me. I chased him and I tripped. I fell right in front of someone’s feet and as I looked up it turned out they belonged to some very grumpy looking person. Then I ran scared to my mom. That person turned out to be my Geography teacher who continued to frighten me with her grumpy face. But at least we had a lot of fun in her classes because… ย But that’s a story for another time! ๐
Photography by Milena Radeva.