Brando De Carlo Coleman
Polimoda
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21 years old
Florence, Italy
How has your everyday-life changed? What do you do to fulfill your day?
Everything has changed, all of a sudden. Our university had just reopened, after being closed for a week following the directives of other regions such as Veneto and Lombardy, despite not having been forced to do so. I was normally living my life which always led me to walk through much of the center of Florence to get to my university. Out of nowhere, one day, I was contacted by my mother who asked me to return to Vicenza, the city where I grew up and where my family lives, whereupon I took a train a few hours later with a bag containing the most essential things (various chargers, Mac, a couple of clothes and a few books) mistakenly thinking that the restrictions would last for a maximum of 2 weeks. Despite everything, fortunately, this new daily life has not totally upset me since I am a boy who lives long enough in his very own world. With the exception of the various online lessons that I am required to follow, I spend the rest of my time reading books, magazines, watching films and TV series that I promised myself several times to watch when I had the right time to do it, so that I could appreciate them at best. I also spent part of this free time to go through the unseen and unanswered messages that get lost in normal hectic days, thus taking advantage of this moment also to re-establish relationships with old friends.
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?
To continue to be creative, one must continue to remain positive, one must think that sooner or later it will return as before. My ideas are the various books that I read, when reality is so dark, you have to find ideas in your imagination or looking to the past and then immersing yourself in other realities in search of new meanings. In addition to books, following the right profiles on Instagram can help, especially in this period, or even podcasts or online educational platforms. Don't think too much, go for a walk with the dog with the necessary precautions.
What is your biggest fear right now?
To never be able to return to our normal life, to no longer be able to adapt. We Italians are very warm and emotional people, this virus therefore affects us even more than other nations, because it pushes us to stay away from each other. I wonder, if when we come out of this unhappy spiral, we will be more German than before, colder.
What will you do once all of this is over?
I hope to return to Florence as soon as possible, to return to my daily life with my friends and school mates. I hope I can continue to look for and find my work experience for the summer, but for what are today's premises, it is not that we can hope too much. In any case, hope always remains and that is the most important thing.