“I can trust my experience. When an activity feels as if it is valuable or worth doing, it is worth doing.” Carl Rogers, On Becoming a Person

When I was 14 and a half, I wondered what I could start doing that would be both challenging and exciting. Learning a new language by myself seemed the perfect choice (mind you, this was before the Internet Age) so I gave English a try.

I remember staring at the phonetic symbols, head in my hands, asking myself what on earth they meant. Somehow, I cracked the code, which was a source of pure joy, then I gradually worked out all the grammar rules; the rest was, by comparison, a piece of cake.

Having studied English for a year as if my life depended on it, I told my parents what subject I wanted to study at university.

It was a foreign language which, in a communist country like Romania in the 1980s, must have sounded quite apocalyptic, therefore my parents’ gasp for air. It was also a self-taught language which rendered my idea totally unfeasible or simply dumb, therefore their sigh of relief.

My eccentric endeavour, fully supported by my parents after a brief period of hesitation, paid off wonderfully as in a few years’ time the unimaginable happened: communism collapsed and Romanian people turned the page (or so we believed).

I did study English at one of the best universities in Romania and I became a teacher of English, a job that offered me great professional and personal fulfillment.

After I took up teaching drama, I began to write original monologues and adapted plays which I later collected in a book called Masks On! At my school I started my own theatre group, “The Irresistible” and, as a playwright and director, I involved my students in numerous county and national drama competitions where we won fantastic prizes: Best Actress and Actor in leading roles, Best Show of the Festival, Best Script (to mention only a few).

My own three talented children, whose teacher I was, got first and second prizes at national drama competitions in English.

In 2010 I decided to do something that had never been done in our county, namely to participate in a theatre competition abroad. Despite many difficulties, The Irresistible and I made it to The World School Theatre Festival in Sanremo, Italy, where my students presented my own adaptation of The Twelfth Night.

When the winner of the competition was announced, it took us a few seconds and a nudge from an Italian organizer to walk onto the stage and get the prize.

What made those moments especially memorable was the fact that I shared them with my daughter who was the leading actress in the play.

About fifteen years ago on my birthday, knowing that books make the best gifts for me, my mother gave me Jeffrey Eugenides’ famous novel, Middlesex. Little did I know then that the book whose odd title intrigued my mother (and me) was soon going to be part of the research for my doctoral degree. And that I would also relocate to another country just like the characters at the start of the novel.

Writing my PhD thesis in English literature involved incredibly hard work and numerous sacrifices. Needless to say, I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family.

Moving to England in 2013 proved to be a challenging but amazing life experience. I continued to teach mainly English as a first language (yep!) and drama to secondary school students. I also started working on a novel in English while attending a great creating writing course in London where I lived for seven years.

The coaching course appeared in my life after the first lockdown in England, when the highlight of my days was watching dozens of swans gliding nonchalantly on the lake near my place.

“Coaching is going to change your life.”

This is what my sister, who had just finished doing the course, told me one day.

Yeah, sure, I thought, rolling my eyes. And yet, despite my bewilderment, her conviction resonated deeply with me. I trusted her. And, guess what? She was right.

I started discovering hidden, fogotten and locked parts of myself. I started facing my limiting beliefs, negative patterns and fears.

No wonder I love coaching so much: I know for a fact that it can change your life and I want to return the favour.

My clients are fully supported to align their beliefs, feelings, values and internal stories.

They are helped to identify SMART goals and take the necessary action to achieve their goals.

They are encouraged to rediscover their potential and empower themselves to create the life they truly want: meaningful, fulfilling, authentic.

Coaching is a highly rewarding job which keeps me excited and makes me want to become the best that I can be for myself and my clients.

I am grateful to be part of people’s journeys of transformation which will impact the quality of all their relationships, starting with their families.

Other details about myself if you’re still interested:

• My three children are my gifts.
• If coffee hadn’t been “invented,” I would have done it myself.
• I sometimes become nostalgic remembering the times when I did ballet and rhythmic gymnastics. I’m sensible enough not to try making the same movements again.
• When my children were very young, they couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to have a pet, especially a dog, so I allowed them to take care of a fish. Sadly, the poor thing didn’t survive long. Mind you, we had no pet conversations after this dramatic episode. Now I have the time and space for three dogs.
• The beach is the only place I am willing to give up my high heels (and the mountains, if I think twice).
• Swimming is, above all else, healing and freedom.