E147: She Had Everything — But Was Living Someone Else’s Life | Natalini

This is where my grandmother comes in, in the whole story.

So I was raised, I was born in... late 80s in communist Bulgaria and my grandparents were on my father's side were politicians.

My grandmother was a very powerful woman.

She was a general secretary for culture for the communist party and was very influential.

She was one of few people that were basically curating the entire, you know, cultural kind of experience for the nation, you know, choosing, you know, communism was very sort of controlled in terms of which artists get to publish, which artists get to be seen.

And so she was really one of the people that were kind of part of that mandate.

And I was three years old when communism collapsed and my grandmother went into a huge crisis.

There was like a moment of, I think, I don't remember now, but she was hospitalized for a moment, you know.

I mean, it was a huge shock for everybody, right? My family more, I think, more so because part of my family was really part of the system.

And Anyways, after we transitioned into a brand new sort of capitalist regime, my grandmother went from being very influential, very powerful to really being a nobody and not just being a nobody, but being not appreciated for her legacy because the elite changed completely.

And so

she was no longer a hero.

She was actually the opposite.

And I think, you know, she really focused on raising me and kind of turning me into her natural kind of...

The natural continuation of her career was me.

And I was very studious.

I was very ambitious.

I was always into, like, succeeding.

That was, you know, she didn't force that into me.

I had it already, but...

the direction that it took was very much dictated by her.

And so ever since I was, I think, I don't know, like 10, 12, 13 years old, she started kind of raising me to be a politician.

You know, and that kind of agenda was always there.

And I was always prepared for, you know, for a big career, for working really high level, for becoming whatever.

In her, you know, in her dream world, it was either, you know, a minister or a prime minister or president.