Akshita

I had a very sheltered and protected childhood, as I am an only child. I was definitely showered with abundance of love and security.  Nevertheless, I have never been  pampered or spoiled. My parents are both from creative backgrounds, they are commercial artists. I remember the house I was born in had a printing press on the top floor, my parents were very encouraging of me taking up different hobbies and trying different things. I was a very confused teenager, till the age of 16 I was convinced I would go back into the acting industry as I was a part of it when I was young. But I don’t know at some point  it didn’t seem appealing to me anymore. I switched between studying economics, psychology, to a dance masters and then finally finishing my undergraduate in fashion communication. I really enjoyed and still enjoy going out with my friends back home. One of my favorite memories in my home country is probably eating a lot of authentic Indian street food.

I decided to leave the country because I wanted to do my master’s degree in Fashion communication. Back home there were not many opportunities in this field. In my opinion, the acceptance of fashion or any creative industry in India is very different from the one in the western world, hence I decided to leave. I also wanted to explore and learn from different cultures.

First, I moved to Florence for my studies. I spent almost one year there before moving to New York to pursue my internship at Hugo Boss. I spent one year in NYC and then got offered a job in Reebok global in Boston. Upon talking about job offers, they told me that they had a position in a small global creation center in Barcelona which is the extension of the Boston headquarters, and whether I would be interested. I had been to Barcelona once before, as a tourist and fell in love with the city. And that’s how I ended up in Barcelona.

I think the language is my biggest challenge. I am extremely slow and bad at learning languages, so it has been a struggle for me. I think the cultural difference has been more of a learning experience than an obstacle or challenge.

I am still working for the same job that brought me to Barcelona five years ago. The best part about living in Europe is convenience and learning how to value life. Coming from a conservative Asian background, working around the clock is something that is very easily normalized and appreciated.   My mindset has radically changed since I moved to Europe. Here, people appreciate and value people’s personal lives. Lives don’t always revolve only around work.

I recently launched a hybrid between a webzine and a creative agency, it is called “two odd.” I would like to work on making it bigger as my next steps.

Of course, I have dreams and hopes, don’t we all? I am a hopeless dreamer and if I take the time I will end up writing pages about my dreams. To keep it short and simple, I want to continue to learn, continue to work hard, and live fearlessly and happily.