Anca Acaru IED Milano
25 years old
Turin, Italy
How has your everyday-life changed? What do you do to fulfill your day?
My daily life was in Milan, where I live on my own (and not with my parents anymore), alternating classes and work with my schoolmates the the great offer of cultural events and off-duty activities, but also to the discover of this beautiful city and its inhabitants. I'd say that everything has changed. I came back to my parents' home in Turin before it was announced the lockdown, I closed myself at home and I started to follow online courses.
The key-word to live this quarantine at its best is just one: discipline. I need to know how I intent to spend my time (I need this to feel good), I need to schedule my routine and then follow that schedule. My days are passing by following online classes, group works, courses and interesting lives (social are full of those kind of initiatives), but I take time to read some books both for professional and pleasure purposes. To stay calm, I try to maintain my relationships with friends, colleague and family: I'm living with my parents, and I try to spend the best time with them, making some real memories that we will carry forever with us. But I also need to take care of myself with my beauty care, yoga and workout. Its has been very important to make some of these days special, like the day of my birthday or the Easter festivities: it was vital to come out of the monotony. My outfits are always comfortable and I almost never wear any make-up.
Your work is built on creativity. While we’re all in quarantine, what is your solution to keep on being creative? Where do you find your inspiration in this moment?
The best way to stay creative is to remove every distraction (honestly, I think that's the best way to do it even when everything is normal). I usually take some time to disconnect from everything and everyone else, I do not tend to fill every minute with any kind of stimulation: that means no social medias, computer, calls... These are the moments when I stop and I start listening to myself, letting my mind free to imagine. I think, reflect, wonder and sometimes I let myself go to feelings, then I write. When you set your mind free, it become able to connect all the missing dots and generate ideas that you could have never imagined. For me, it's important to write: I need to mark every thought on paper, so that I could go back to my reflections anytime I want. Old ideas always inspire me to generate new ideas. It is important to tell them to somebody else, too: collaboration always brings something new.
What is your biggest fear right now?
I love human contact, I'm a very physical person. My biggest fear is that the social distancing measures will not be over soon, despite the ending of the strict quarantine (it could take months, even years). A reality without human interactions would be so different from the one we used to know, and I certainly wouldn't like it. Furthermore, I'm afraid of all the economical consequences of this crisis, that will lead to a general social discontent. Unfortunately, this scenario makes me really sad.
What will you do once all of this is over?
I'm staying positive. I hope that we will be more careful to the environment, that there will be more respect and a new way of co-existence. I'm thinking about the words of Giorgio Armani: less consumerism and superficiality, more awareness of what really matters. I think that smartworking will become more and more vital to industries - and that the work-hours will always become more flexible, and I actually like that.
