Who am I?
For a large part of my life I have felt as an “Expat” without a homeland. My mother was born and raised in Egypt, she had both Austrian and Spanish roots, and was the third generation to be raised in the land of the Pharaohs. My father is German. My parents met, fell in love, and married in Cairo where I was born.
From the first year of my life, my father’s profession led us to live for periods of between three and four years in different countries of 4 continents. My childhood was filled with magical adventures, exotic landscapes and an incredible richness of different sensory impacts through smells, sounds, colours, and taste, … as well as hundreds of goodbyes, thousands of losses followed by new beginnings, new friends, customs and languages.
Each beginning also meant the mourning of what was left behind, a new exposure to the gaze of unknown people, a feeling of being strange, weird, or different, because of the colour of my hair, the colour of my skin, the language, the culture, feeling estranged again in the midst of strangers, having constantly to renew my sense of identity and my references.
Like a chameleon, I developed tools that helped me adapt to the environment with the sole objective of being accepted and avoiding being identified as the "new" kid.
During my adolescence, this ability shifted into a “dare to be different” that over time became my walls and my armor, while the vulnerable part of myself retired to an inner cave to appear only when I was overwhelmed and my emotions would run high expressing themselves with aggressivity or extreme vulnerability.
My parents’ divorce when I turned 16 was the last straw. And I lost myself … yearning to belong without knowing exactly to what, bonding without really bonding, feeling homesick for roots that I did not know the location of, searching eternally without knowing exactly what I was looking for, aching in a rebellious, often dependent and angry way.
I have been able to accept and integrate that my roots are not in a single place called “home, or country”.
Now I know and feel that my roots are in all those places in which I have grown up and that have contributed to the construction of my being. That I can find them in my entire family system, from my parents, to my grandparents and great-grandparents.
Spirituality has been an important part of my journey, although only recently have I allowed myself to acknowledge it and give it its rightful place in my life. Spirituality is what helps me connect, through all my 5 senses, with my true being and the essence of what surrounds me. It helps me to understand myself and my environment, to identify what I want, what I need, and / or where to direct my next steps… Just by allowing myself to feel, listen, taste, touch and see through my inner silence.
The nomadic life I led during the first thirty years of my life, has made me a staunch defender of diversity, both in race, culture, beliefs and personal orientations.
And today, after years of training and personal growth development, the tender experiences of my childhood and the healed wounds of the past guide me in my professional life and are the colour palette that I turn to when working and empathizing with my clients.
The important thing is not what they have made of me, but what I do myself with what they have made of me
A little more about me
- My mother gave me the name Katja, after Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, she represented to her the strength and independence she wanted me to have in a world of men.
- According to German law children only have one surname and when I was born, the surname you were given was the one of the father. For me it is important to identify myself through my father’s family name as well through my mother's. Her last name and therefore my second surname is Becker.
- As a child I dreamed of being an actress and wanted to do my first steps in the theatre or as an extra in the opera, just as my father did in his youth. As a teenager I was fascinated by psychology and philosophy and used to “philosophize” entire afternoons, about life, the soul and the human mind, with my best friend Nathalie, trying to understand the world, and especially our parents and our family. When I turned 18, I thought of becoming a missionary and work in cooperation projects in Bangladesh.
- I speak 6 languages, French, German, English, Italian, Spanish and Catalan.
- When I was ten years old, I gave my first massage to a neighbour who complained of back pain. And I still remember fondly how nice it felt to watch her surprise not believing that a massage performed by a kid could have made here feel so much better.
- I like almost all forms of artistic expression, and the ones that I practice the most are dancing, writing, painting and singing, although I only sing in private.
- The sea, the sun, the countryside and nature give me life and I frequently need to connect with them getting away from the bustling city, to reconnect with myself.
Should you want more information about my official curricula, click here.
It is unbelievable how one’s vision of things can change, I started seeing Katja without really wanting to and feeling angry with life and everything. And today when I think about here, I get feeling of home sweet home and peace. I feel very lucky to have met Katja, she helped me to discover and face many aspects of my life I had put aside, which did not allow me to smile. By my own decision I still want her to be by my side when I feel that something is holding me back and I always feel enrichened by our meetings. Thank you Katja.