My name is Lucia Morena Afonso and I am 21 years old. Since about two months I am the new employee in the team of the Norddeutsche Konzertdirektion and I am slowly getting used to it. But all beginnings are hard…

And that is exactly how my life started. A large advertisement in the newspaper with the inscription

“On 14.03.2001 a little BOY was born". And not only as a new-born, but also as an adult, it is not easy to get people to write and pronounce my name correctly.

My roots are partly in Africa, in Angola to be exact. However, I grew up in a small town on Germany´s north sea coast, in Nordenham. There I spent my childhood, my youth and the first two years as an "adult" until I moved to Bremerhaven. Of course, caused by the love…but Bremerhaven is also a much better place to live than Nordenham.

After graduating school with my A levels, it was time for me to dive into the "working world".

I decided to do a business management training as tourism and leisure merchant in Burhave, to work where others go on vacation. After three years of training and a successful graduation, a new path should then be taken. The NDKD. 

With a changed mindset and new confidence, I was looking for a new adventure in my life…

If I could ask my younger self, what my interest were, she would say dancing, eating ice cream, birthday parties and dogs. Now I would say, dancing has been my passion for 15 years. Whether it is cheerleading, Hip hop or acrobatics. I also like to watch ballet or other dances, but I am only good at hip hop dancing with my own dance group called Diamonds Crew.

Further, I would say ice cream is still the best thing to eat in summer, but not year-round without gaining weight. And birthday parties are not as big of an event the older you get. But I still have a favour for dogs.

And there are a few other things I am interested in: travel, museums, cultures and music, for example.

And I have learned that good health for everyone you love should be at the top of your Christmas wish list and not the new Barbie princess doll.

If I were to ask my younger self what she would like to be when she is older, she would say a mother and an ice cream saleswoman. If I were to answer the question now, I cannot clearly say what I want my farthest future to be. All I know is that I would like to explore the world and never stop dancing.

I have changed a lot over the years, but this is a short version of my life.

Photo by Barbara Grevesmühl