About me!

Hi everyone! I'm Steca, the webmaster of this website. I'm a biology student at university, therefore I live in a flat with my roomate when I'm attending lectures, and I go back home during summer holiday and exam sessions. I'm an only child, so my family is just my mom, my dad and me.

I'm not exactly the kind of person you would expect to create their own website. If you had told me two years ago that I would be doing this right now, I would have probably burst out laughing. That's beacause I've never really enjoyed computers and anything that had something to do with technology and informatics. I almost hated it. Each time I had something to do with technology that wasn't straightforward I soon got anxious, and the first tiny problem drove me totally crazy. "Why the hell are you doing this then?" you're likely wondering. Well, beacause a few things have changed in my mind and in my world since my first approach with computers in middle school. First of all, I was forced to use my PC more often in Heigh School during COVID-19 emergency, because of remote teaching. I kept using it afterwards to take notes at Uni. It was just basic stuff, but it helped me feel a bit more confortable. In addition to that, during my first year at Uni most of my friends were studying programming languages as an academic course. They often talked about it when I was present. I understood almost nothing, but I started getting curious about that strange and intriguing world I knew nothing about. Maybe it wasn't that bad after all. Maybe all I had to do was let go of my prejudice and look into it a little more closely... That thought stayed with me for a while without me acting on it, until one of my closest friend started talking about a new website she was working on. She sounded really excited about it, and she was looking for somebody to share that great hobby with. It took me a while to find the time and the courage to try this out, but...here I am.

My friend taught me the basics of html and css, then I watched some tutorials on Youtube. It seemed really fascinating and I couldn't wait to get started with my project. But when it came to put all the knowledge into practice all my confidence faded away. I was about to give up.
Four main reasons scared me:

  • I couldn't find anything about my life and hobbies that I believed was worth writing about in a website.
  • I was afraid of not being creative enough.
  • My mind was crowded with all the theoric information that I had learned about html and css, but they seemed confusing and unclear.
  • English is not my first language and I don't use it often, so it's easy to think that my writing is not good enough.

      • I don't even know how I overcame all these doubts. I haven't probably. I just sat down one afternoon and began the project. I started from the "About me" page of the website (which was supposed to be the easiest one). I spent the first hour and a half trying to come up with a creative, brilliant, unique idea...but of course nothing happened. But at some point a faint light started brighting up. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't particularly original, but it was an acceptable startpoint. Even that turned out to be harder than I expected, but I guess it's normal, I needed and I still need a lot of practice to gain confidence with this new skill. It took me a lot of time to bild just these three first pages. But what matters is that they are done now! Creating these raised my self-trust and made me more eager to continue with something new.

      As regards the content of this website, well, I realized that I don't necessarily need an all-absorbing passion. I am just going to talk about my occasional hobbies, interests and whatever happens in my life.

      And finally let's deal with the "English problem". I've always had troubles accepting that my speaking and writing aren't perfect, and I still find it difficult. But at the end of the day the hard truth is that if I never practice it because of fear of making mistakes, I will never improve. So I'm gonna try not to focus too much on flaws. What I will try to do is thinking of English more as a tool for obtaining something else (like enjoying the pleasure of creating a website), rather than a goal itself. It might sound obvious, but for me it's not always the case. I've often studied and practiced English just in order to get good marks in school or to show other people that I was "good at English". But I'm slowly trying to shift this perspective, and I hope this website will help me with this as well!

Main interests

Climbing
I've been climbing for two years now. I mainly climb inside in boulder gym, but I would like to rock-climb outside more often. I usually practice twice a week when gyms are open, a lot less during summer, when they are usually closed.
Reading
I've always enjoyed reading since primary school. Of course there periods in which I devour one booke after another, and others in which I get much slower. Anyway it's a hobby that I pursue quite consistently. I don't have a favorite genre, I like to wander between various authors and topics of both fiction and non-fiction books.
Meditation and Mindfulness
I've been practicing maditation almost every day for one year and a half. It's become part of my routine, and it really makes the difference in my day whether I have meditated or not in the morning. I find it more difficult to bring mindfulness from sitting meditation to everyday life. But I believe it is worth cultivating this skill, because it could become a strong asset during tough times. It also gives me pourpose in uneventful days and enhances my mind clarity when I feel stressed out. This doesn't mean that I never encountered diffioulties along the path. I still struggle and need to take some days or even weeks off at times, but I usually fell much better when I start watching my emotions and thoughts in a more mindful way again.
Yoga
I started taking yoga classes with a teacher in October and I continued for nine months. Then I started practicing yoga on my own when I feel like it. I use yoga apps as a guide for series of positions. It really helped with flexibility and it has a calming affect on my body.
Psychology and Neuroscience
I think human mind and brain are extremely fascinating and I wuold really like to learn more about them. I've read a few books on the topics I was most interested in and I often listen to informative podcasts on the matter. But my goal is to gain a professional grasp on at least some of the topics of this huge subject. I wuold like to continue my studies with a master degree in Neurobiology and maybe find a job in that field afterwards.
Running
Since climbing is an anaerobic activity, I chose running in order to train my physical endurance. I usually run few kilometers, five at the most. I do it only when I have some spare time and improving is not my main goal. Sometimes coming home sweaty and exausted after a run is satifing and liberating, but I can't say I love running with all my heart.
Hiking and Via Ferrata
Hiking in the mountains is a hobby that I've had since I was in kidergarten. I started with my dad and I still go with him most of the times. Aosta Alps and Dolomites are the areas I visit more often.
Travelling
I have the good fortune of being part of a family who likes travelling and can afford it. So I've had the chance to visit a lot of places, mostly around Italy and Europe, but also outside Europe in a few cases. I have mainly travelled with my parents, but I took a few trips with my friends as well. We usually visit cities, but trekkings are great too.
Crochet
This is an activity that I practice occasionally. I started last year by making a classic beanie. The result wasn't the best, but it turned out to be more useful than expected. I hadn't realized that the colors of the hat were the same of those of a popoular Italian soccer team. When a friend of mine (who is a supporter of that team) saw it, he was thrilled, so I gave it to him as a gift. After a few weeks he told me that my beanie had brought luck to the soccer team during a match: after he wore it, the team won the game. I don't know if that story is true, but I am really glad that he appreciated it. At the moment I'm working on Christmas nativity figurines. It's gonna take a lot of time, that's why I began so early. I hope I will be finished by Dicember.
Painting on bags and t-shirts
I had always doodled a lot during class in High School (and I still do it a lot now). I couldn't help it. Last summer I got the idea of turning this automatic behaviour into a form of art and, why not, even a source of money. That's when I started painting shopping bags with the purpose of selling them. I didn't sell them eventually, but I gave two of them to my aunts as a Christmas present. Right now I'm working on a t-shirt for my uncle.
Cross-Stitch
I worked on just one project for now: last Christmas' nativity scene. As you might have noticed reading the "Crochet" paragraph, making crative nativity scenes for Christmas is something I do every year, since it's a family tradition. I haven't made anything else since then, but I would like to take this hobby up again in the future.
Swimming
I started swimming in my childhood. I used to go to the swimming pool every Saturday in primary school. Currently I don't swim in pools anymore, but I often take swims in the small lake near my town in summer. I'm not a big fan of swimming in the sea because of the annoying effect of salty water when it goes into my nostrils.
Skiing
I've been alpine-skiing since I was five years old. I'm lucky enough to live close to the Alps, so sometimes I go there with my dad on winter weekends. I used to do it more often where I was younger. I went skiing only three or four times last year and the previous ones, but sometimes it's just great to take a day off and slide all day on snow-covered slopes.
Journaling
I tried journaling a few times when I was a child and a teenager, but none of the attempts lasted long, because I found it hard to be consistent over time. Even though I wasn't very hopeful, I gave it one last go one around a year ago and it worked surprisingly well. Since then, I've been writing a few lines every day or every second day. I realized it's something that I really need, expecially when I feel confused or overwhelmed. It helps me put order into my thoughts and let go of them when they are no longer useful. Writing down my emotions is also a way to see them from an outside prespective, which I find really effective.