How many of us do what we dreamed of; Something we’re really good at that allows us to reach our full potential? And how many of us went for “ready-made” a “appropriate” job, what our parents chose for us, what society expected us to do, or simply what offered us security put aside our childhood dreams? Spring in the Panhellenic Mountain is an opportunity for all of us to think, maybe we have moved somewhere else, and our life has taken us somewhere else?

Physics teacher Kostas Zambelis he thought of all this when at the table his dear friend wished his daughter: “Let’s see her and the scientist.” “I don’t know, it somehow seemed to me,” he says, referring to “K”. “So just to joke, I said, ‘Why not a dancer.’ “Oh, I’m not a dancer either,” was the reaction.

She remembered when he was a child. The influence of the house was clearly directed towards the positive sciences. It is no coincidence that his younger brother also became a physicist. The fate of Kostas in life, however, was not like that – or even not quite like that. What he really wanted to do was work with children, so he decided to combine physics with education. “But we live with the same stereotypes as then,” he says. “A child who ‘should’ become an architect, a doctor, a lawyer, not to mention an engineer.” It was these reflections, and the related discussions with his students, that became the inspiration for his first tale.

“Come out of your shell!” (2022, 24 letters) is a musical story, illustrated by Katerina Khondrobila and narrated by Kostis Rasidaki, about the desires or fears that the environment projects onto children. “Look around,” calls the teacher and author. “You can find countless examples from friends who sometimes wanted to learn, others studied, and still others finally pursued their profession. It’s hard to find people who follow their childhood dream.”

Driving with background music

I overtook George at the wheel. At 26, he has already found what satisfies him – this is driving. driving and music. “I grew up in a classically stressful Greek environment,” he says. “I was under a lot of pressure to do well in class. “Read and don’t give the right in school” was the constant exhortation of my parents. This created a lot of stress for me, so at some point I gave up. In response, I stopped going to school altogether.” In Panhellenic, he entered the TEI of civil engineering.. “I didn’t like it, and how can you do well what you don’t like?” Having changed many jobs, tried different things, eventually he became a driver. “I like it because I work alone, I’m constantly outside, I see images, I have time to think.” He may live behind the wheel, but he expresses himself through his music and his band. Gradually his people accepted his choice. “They wanted to see me succeed, but not in the way society wants. So that I don’t suffer.” He often assures them that he is happy.

He left the pharmacy to investigate

OUR Kostas Gardikis, 44, is one of the few in Greece who has given up working in a pharmacy. From the stock of pharmacists, his course was almost preordained. “I can’t say that my parents pressured me, because I also had a great passion for biology, physics and chemistry, so it was a good combination,” he tells K.

“But I could not work in a pharmacy, so the business was eventually sold, although it had existed since 1939. Being in box 14 hours a day, from Monday to Saturday, seemed unimaginable to me even with 20 times the amount. Others don’t mind. This is something you can support.” Instead of a pharmacy, Kostas was engaged in pharmaceutical research, as well as music. Today, he is Director of Research and Development at Apivita and composer and performer for the metaphysical pop group Dance with Invisible Partners. “To tell the next generation to ‘do what you think’, you must first do it yourself.”

Passed chemistry, will become a physiotherapist

OUR Matina Guma it was after he took the EKPA chemistry course that he realized that it had nothing to do with the subject. “I realized that the reason I announced the school was its high base.

It was motivation,” a 23-year-old student who has always been a good student tells K. Finally, he applied for a transfer and enrolled in physical therapy in Athens. “I really like it and I’m already finishing.” Her parents were initially opposed to her leaving EKPA. “It was a high-level school, and physiotherapy was a university. But I went against it and it worked for me.”

Soldier instead of a farmer

OUR Dimitris42, yes military. “It was a rational choice,” he says honestly. With a heteroprofessional farmer father and a secretary in the village community, he grew up with the understanding that farming is difficult, a profession with no prospects. “What my parents went through, they didn’t want their children to go through. Read, do something better, they told us.” In area the trend towards military schools was strong. “They offered a fixed salary, security. I thought I wouldn’t burden my family. At that time there was no career guidance at school, I didn’t know what other prospects I had.”

He remembers his mother telling him, “Come, get you and let’s go” during a visit. She instinctively knew that there might be something else outside the camps for her child. Nevertheless uncertainty prevailed. And Dimitris was happy to start his life early, not dependent on anyone. “The only thing that I gave up student life, complete assignments, attend lectures. I had a high school diploma of 18.7, I could transfer to school. What I found in the army is that most of the kids were there not because they wanted to pursue a profession, but for livelihood reasons.”