At last, she made her mind up ...

Remember my persuasive post against my cousin's prospect of studying Philosophy at university level? [Sorry, it was in Italian only because that was the way I conceived it at the time and it was mainly addressed to her.] After loads of thinking, rethinking, arguments and discussions, this morning she phoned me up to have a last *self-convincing conversation* about her academic future. I supported her choice and gave my approval to her rationale. She then went to pay the fees.

She decided to read Communication Studies at the University of Rome 2. Following this statement, I except loads of objections from the many people I have consulted over the last two/three weeks reminding me that in Italy *everybody does it* and it will be increasingly more difficult to accommodate in the work market all the future graduates. Anyhow, I think that Valentina's global reflections on the matter worked really well: she passed the entry test and got in 19th position; she explained that she liked all the subjects included in that course--which is promising; and that in the last two years of the course she intends to pursue the journalism/publishing path where only 20 people a year are accepted, making it much more selective (this is a 3+2 year course). She finally assured me that she is ready to combine this course with a post-graduate Master Degree in Business or Marketing for the cultural/information industry. She is also willing to find a placement within a radio or a publishing house while at university. What to say? She finally knows what she wants... So, let her go. At least she desisted from the plan of studying a so-detatched-from-world-subect such as philosophy.

The other cousin has officially entered into the adolescent world: his nickname on msn messenger is now: Gino (devilish angry emoticon), against any form of power and control ANARCHY. His photo has been replaced by the image of a skull. Brilliant. Lofty said: I love when they turn teenagers... Hmmm, I am not too sure about it.