Monique, Cape town, South Africa

“Getting to my 30s, I really want to have children and I actually plan to.”

Name : Monique Forcioli

Gender :  Female

DoB :  01.04.1985

City of Birth : Cape Town, South Africa

Status :  Married since 2010

Family :  4 Sisters

Hometown :  Cape Town, South Africa

Education : University, Sports sciences

Job :  Baker

Religion : Christian

Politics :  –

As a child… How would you picture yourself at 30?

JOB – How did you decide to do this job? When I was a kid, I really had no idea of what i wanted to do! When I grew up, I was into sports, so I imagined myself as a coach or a sports teacher. That’s how I became a bio-physiotherapist, even if it didn’t make me happy.

Today, I question myself a lot more than before. And that is the reason why I decided to change my career path.

HOME / PLACE OF LIVING – Where you thought we would be living by now? I have always imagined myself growing and living in my family, close to them. Except around the age of 18, when my older sister moved to England. I wanted to follow the family model so I did a summer camp in the USA to see how living overseas would be like.

Monique works as a baker…. Here she is baking some delicious pastries in her kitchen

Monique spending some time with her husband Kevin in the center of Cape town.

Striking and memorable events…

IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE – What are the most memorable event of your personal life? Wow… I have plenty! 1- When my parents got divorced, if affected me a lot and made me nervous about getting married myself. I remember that I really feared getting married because I didn’t wanted my marriage to be a failure… 2- When I travelled overseas and worked as a counselor when I was 18, I learned a lot about myself. 3- When I got married in 2010 as we worked a lot on knowing each other asking us the right questions. 4- When I travelled around the world, it was the moment when my eyes learned to appreciate and to marvel at new things every day.

BEST MEMORY – My best memory would be one of the biggest decision I made of my life… I grew up while receiving religious education from my family, I went to church a lot. Then, I decided – by myself – « to give my life to god », and that was my own decision.

IN THE WORLD – What are the main events that stroke the world you are living in? The main thing for me is when Nelson Mandela came into power in 1994. At that time, I did not understand the all significance of  it but I knew it was really big (Monique was only 10 years old).

GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT – Generally speaking, I am proud to pursue what I really want to do in life. I do think that the easiest way is to follow the influence of your relatives. For example, I decided to quit my job and to start my own baking business because it was what made me happy… so why not?!

Looking back / Reviewing expectations

10 YEARS AGO… I thought I would be married, have 2 kids… work as a teacher in the sports area and that I would travel a lot.

TODAY… Well, I am married… and I have been traveling a lot. The main difference is that, today, I ask myself much more questions than before and I also think I know myslef better… This is the main reason why I decided to change my career path.

Monique choosed 3 objects. 1) A picture of her wedding symbolizing her mariage. 2) A kitchen tool that represents job as a baker. 3) A painting of Nelson Mandela, a great man that she admires.

One of Monique favorite’s place is this view on Table moutains… The 12 apostles are a symbol of Cape Town.

30 years old, a turning point?

Getting to my 30s, I really want to have children and I actually plan to. We had this talk, Kevin and I, around a cup of coffee: « When do you want kids for real? » That is planned for next year, hopefully!

I don’t feel old or young, you’re getting older, for sure but I think you mustn’t regret to get older.

OLD OR YOUNG? – Do you feel « old » or « still young »? I don’t feel old or young, you’re getting older, for sure but I think you mustn’t regret to get older. You only have to see the good sides of it.

CHANGES OR REGRETS? What are the things you would like to change? When I was 16 or 17, I wish somebody would have gave me an insight … to make me study harder.

My Values

My Typical day

And tomorrow?

YOUR STORY IN 10 YEARS – What is the story you want to tell within 10 years? I will be a loving wife and mother of 2 kids and I’ll be working in my successful bakery.

THE WORLD IN 10 YEARS – How do you imagine the world you will be living in within 10 years? For South Africa, I hope that people will appreciate and value people differences. I wish the quality of living will increase and that the resources will be better divided between people. I only see education for all as the key success factor of it. People really need to go forward and stop referring to old quarrels…

Fears and Dreams…

FEARS – What are you afraid of?  No, I am not afraid… I deal with events, I do not have a choice. That’s my philosophy of living. I think it’s pointless to have fears!

DREAMS – What is your craziest dreams? I want to open my own bakery shop. I can picture it in my head, I want something sweet and really pretty. (Smiles)

More pictures…