For years I was obsessed with my professional career. I just thought about how to be more productive, and the steps to take to remain in the scientific system and do what I loved. But there were (and are!) so many facets inside me I was not paying attention to! Oh, so many! The scientific part of me grew so strong and dominant that there was no room for other parts of myself room to grow and develop. I kept them in a kind of lethargy for years, so many years! Although from time to time some of them managed to go out a bit and see the light. But they were quickly repressed or ignored by me, of course.

One day (well, it was not one day, this had been happening inside me for some time but I had just denied it) I started to doubt if I wanted to pursue the academic path any longer. And the crisis appeared. Suddenly the floor disappeared, the certainties also, my identity was in jaque… This is material for another post, for sure. So long story short, I ended up visiting a therapist (a nice way to say I was highly desperate to find an answer and get rid of that huge anxiety and despair). She helped me to remember that I was not only a scientist. Little by little I started to remember that I have so many other interests I had been ignoring/not listening to. The therapy reminded me how much I enjoyed doing many things, particularly creative things related to the arts. I clarify this because creativity is indeed required to work as a scientist. I used to be creative at work, but that disappeared, and also the joy and fun. Research as it was had no meaning to me anymore and I felt empty.

So, getting back to the point, the therapy helped connect with other parts of me I had put aside for a very long time: riding my longboard, having deep discussions with random people and friends, reading, and enjoying visual arts and music. I am deeply interested in design, human behavior and culture, languages, event planning, writing, photography, and blogging. And the list continues… If I had to choose one word, I would say I am deeply attracted to LEARNING!

It was hard to start feeding all my inner parts and giving them time and room to grow. It was hard to find a way to combine all these interests. And here I am, in the process. Little by little I start to feel the project is developing and blooming! (Yes, yes, totally linked to the name of this website!).

The other day I received Aniko´s newsletter* announcing her new book called “Cosas que te golpean en la ventana” – which could be translated to “Things that hit your window”, a book of creative writing with tons of exercises and tools to help you start writing and improve your texts.

The title was inspired by a quote from Julio Cortazar** (ohh one of my favorite authors! More info below!) referring to all these thoughts, histories, and emotions in our mind and waiting for us to open the window and start to write about them. I loved Aniko´s idea of inviting you to open the window to all those things you have inside to feed your texts.

Aniko´s book made me think about all these things hitting at my window aiming to be let in and all all those things I want to share and let out. This blog is one of them. Lucuma in Bloom is the way I found to combine all my interests and passions. Here you will find a melange of my interests and passion projects, including my love for books and libraries, texts about the creative journey, my little steps into design, collages and zines, my adventures discovering the Nordic countries, and all those things hitting my window asking to be heard, developed and shared.

I opened the windows of my little world and I am happy to share it with you. And what about you? Which things are hitting your window waiting to get in?

Update: I have just received Aniko’s book! I am ready to jump into the exercises!

*Aniko Villalba is an amazing traveler, writer, author, and blogger (just to mention a few) from Argentina I have been following since 2014! Check out her website!

**Julio Cortazar (1914-1984) was a novelist and short-story writer from Argentina. Britannica says “Cortazar combined existential questioning with experimental writing techniques in his works”. I truly agree, and it is perhaps the reason why I like his texts so much. If you like short stories, go and check “End of the Game”(1956), Bestiary (1951), or Cronopios and Famas (1962). But it is so hard for me not to recommend all his pieces!