Hello, we are Lisa and Teo, and in this article, we want to tell you how we came to write this article and create our blog.

We were both born in 1998, in the summer, in the same city just outside Milan. We grew up in a predominantly flat area, surrounded by rice fields, humidity, mosquitoes, and fog. Our area is considered the most polluted in Europe, so we can say that it is not the ideal place. However, it is a fairly quiet area where life always flows the same.

We met as children but we ignored each other until high school.

After finishing her first year of high school in tourism, Lisa decided to change everything and switch schools, opting for the field of chemistry, materials, and health biotechnology. And that’s where she met Teo again.

Teo, definitely one of the top students in the class, created a rivalry with Lisa. We often confronted each other during laboratory lessons, and our methods and logic clashed. Alongside our academic relationship, a friendship and a large group of friends developed, which accompanied us throughout our school years.

Lisa, disappointed that she couldn’t find a job in chemistry, decided to pursue university studies in biotechnology. Teo, convinced since the age of 14, enrolled in the same faculty.

At the end of high school and graduation, our friendship turned into something more. It was 2017, and our deep knowledge of each other’s strengths and weaknesses made us fall in love slowly. Despite our differences, we learned to balance each other every day.

In love with science, we started our university studies and also began working in restaurants on weekends to avoid burdening our families and gain some independence. The college years, juggling commuting, studying, and working, were not easy, and we faced many obstacles along the way. We decided to start living together to dedicate some of our limited time to our relationship. Thanks to an empty apartment owned by Teo’s grandmother, we were able to start our adventure together, only having to cover maintenance costs with our part-time jobs.

In 2019, the beginning of cohabitation coincided with a very difficult moment: the death of Lisa’s grandmother and a series of events that led to a long period of physical and mental distress for Lisa.

In 2020, as we all know, the pandemic broke out, a terrible time of suffering. However, the isolation that negatively affected most of the population turned out to be a salvation for us. The constant rush between college classes, thesis labs, and work, followed by starting the next day in the same way, was taking a toll on us. The pandemic pressed the pause button on our lives, and even though it affected everyone, it gave us the opportunity to stop and breathe.

We completed our studies and graduated in biomolecular biotechnology. After a few attempts, Lisa managed to find a job in a purchasing office, a field completely unrelated to her expertise nor a passion. On the other hand, Teo quickly found work as a laborer in a chemical industry. Although these jobs provided us with enough money, we knew they couldn’t be our future, so we started organizing ourselves to pursue a master’s degree in Denmark or Milan.

It was then that Teo was contacted on LinkedIn, and we both got interviews with a pharmaceutical company in the Netherlands. Only Lisa was hired, but we immediately decided to leave, and Teo soon found work in another pharmaceutical industry, taking on various roles until becoming a project engineer.

As you may have realized, our educational background is scientific, and we have a passion for science. Unfortunately, this passion was not reflected in our work experiences. If she could go back, Lisa wouldn’t be intimidated by six years of veterinary medicine and would combine her love for animals with her passion for science. If he could go back, Teo would invest all his studies in computer science and natural sciences.

We can’t go back, but it’s never too late. Among the many plans we have in life, there is always the idea of continuing our studies for personal growth, in a more dynamic and free way. After a long and complex period, we created Wandering Pantala to combine our curiosity, the desire to explore the world, and the desire to engage with others in one place.

You can find out how we got to this point by reading other articles in the “About Us” section.