Dimitriya Paunova — The Best Is Yet to Come
It was Tuesday night. I was finally at home, tired from all the work and classes I had that day. While waiting for an important call, I felt excited and a bit nervous. I know how busy people could be, but then I got a message from Dimitriya, that she is ready to talk. In that moment, all the anxiety and tiredness disappeared. During the interview, I wasn’t exhausted at all, maybe because I was drinking my third coffee, but mostly because Dimitriya answered all the questions in a very intriguing way.
After joining our Zoom meeting straight after work, she said with her calm and confident voice: “Zdravei.” I was so happy to hear her speak in Bulgarian. However, we switched to English when she started introducing herself.
Dimitriya has a British accent. However, I wasn’t surprised because she has been living and working in London in the sphere of Software Marketing for almost 8 years now. Dimitriya describes herself as adventurous, open-minded, and a giver rather than a taker. Taking care of others is in her philosophy. She is one of those people who pursue their dreams, and they come true.
Dimitriya Paunova, Didi for short, opened the conversation with her time at American University in Bulgaria (AUBG). I could feel in her voice the warmth and love while she was talking about the university. She joined AUBG in 2006 and started majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication and Political Science (POS), but as many AUBG students, she changed her POS major to European Studies. Her dream was to become a journalist, and she quickly realized that she wasn’t interested in European Studies. When thinking about her majors, she concluded that she hasn’t used it throughout her career.
“I love AUBG, and it was probably the best decision that I made in terms of education. AUBG is an amazing place, builds such amazing relationships with people, and gives you a very diverse experience because we can live with people from different countries and learn from international professors. I tried to get the best out of AUBG.” She did quite a lot — a work and travel exchange program in Hungary, she was part of many clubs and a Resident Assistance (RA). Not only that, but she was very sociable, and she noticed that everywhere she goes, she meets someone from AUBG, which is exciting for her.
Because of her adventurous spirit, she went for one semester on an exchange program in Hungary during her third year. She loved it. When she was telling me about her experience in the town called Eger, where it was her university, she smiled a lot. It was an incredible experience for her because it was a new culture, but she didn’t speak the language. Even when she went shopping, she had funny stories. She often bought things she didn’t want because everything was in Hungarian language.
Her experience in Hungary made her path to go to an English speaking country to study for her Masters. She describes her exchange program as something wonderful: “It is one in a lifetime experience. I would definitely recommend it if you have the chance, go for it.”
After her graduation in 2010, she decided to start a career in Marketing and Advertising, but firstly, Didi stayed for three years in Bulgaria. She did an internship for a PR agency and a newspaper and wanted to see her options and what she likes and wants to do. Three years later, she started her Master’s degree in London because she wanted to expand her horizons. She wanted to meet new people and didn’t plan to stay in London, but this is her seventh year there. Her first job was in Software Marketing during her dissertation. She wasn’t interested at first because she did pharmaceutical advertising in Bulgaria and thought she would continue doing that. Her first job in London gave her the direction of her career development.
Didi is an adaptable person and never gives up. When she moved to London, she went alone. “I was all by myself,” said Didi. Her only friend was a high-school friend who studied in London. Didi asked for help because the dorms were very expensive. Her friend helped her find a common house, which was way more affordable. Didi moved to a house that she hadn’t seen and started living with nine people, who she didn’t know by the time. All of them were studying at her university but with different majors. Most of them were undergraduates.
Her whole experience in England was a bit harder because she is a foreigner. She felt like she was starting a bit later than English people because they graduate from university at age of 21 and start working immediately. She moved to London when she was 25, and one year later, she started her first job, but she was competing with people who had five years of experience. This was hard for her, but she was motivated and took this challenge.
Despite the fact, Didi didn’t know many people in London, she quickly made friends. At the beginning of her Master’s, she had a freshmen week. She had a lot of fun and made new connections, met new people from all around the world. She had only two English colleagues and all the other students were international. A whole new international experience. On the one hand, very similar to AUBG, but on the other, very different. “We were very spoiled coming from AUBG. We were getting so much support and working together, living together, all of this. A community spirit. The final result depended on so many things,” but in London, she didn’t have this. “You go to classes, study and have one assignment, and one final exam, and that’s it. If you fail, you fail”
Didi has a lot of achievements in her career, especially when she moved to her third company. She had to build a marketing team from scratch because she was the only marketing person at the beginning. The company was small, around 100 people. She worked there for four years but then she moved to a bigger company. Now, she works with 2500, which is a whole new challenge and experience.
Didi kept in touch with many people from AUBG for quite a long time. “It takes effort,” she told me. There is a core group of people she keeps in close contact with. The first time her boyfriend came to Bulgaria. It was last year, and they went to the wedding of her old flatmate. “It is a nice experience to go to an AUBG wedding and see your friends, and it’s strange for someone from the outside to see how everybody knows everyone, and you hadn’t seen each other for a while, and it’s nice that you still feel so close to these people.”
From a business perspective, Didi has achieved a lot, but she wants to do something more from a humanitarian perspective. She wants to help others. She is not working in a charity organization where she can see change. “You are basically working to survive, or so you can make money to have a good life, and for me, there should be something more. I am building my career now so I can help later on the people in some way and it’s not just work so I can support myself and my family but leave an impact on the world.”
Didi does volunteering, but it is difficult right now because of the situation we are in. Didi and a friend of hers are trying to do volunteering with elderly people in London. She feels better when she is helping somebody else other than herself.
“Unfortunately in this country, many of the elderly people who live in their homes don’t speak to anyone and they need physical contact because they haven’t talked to anyone in years. This makes a difference in a person’s life, and now because we can’t visit them because of the coronavirus, we can at least call them and make sure that they are alright.”
Taking care of herself is important for Didi. To achieve happiness you should have a balance between work and personal life. In her free time, she loves traveling and socializing. She often goes to visit her best friend, Lora, who lives in Cyprus. They met on their first day of the orientation week at AUBG and have been best friends ever since. Lora described their relationship like this: “It doesn’t matter if it is something positive or negative I always call and tell her. We laugh together, cry together, I can tell her everything. I can definitely say she is a friend for a lifetime.” Even though Lora has been living in Cyprus for almost ten years, and Didi lives in London, they are still best friends. They have a really strong relationship and visit each other at least three times a year.
Didi is a person who believes that everything can be better, and her favorite quote is: “The best is yet to come.” She encourages everyone to live by this quote because if you have a positive attitude, your dream can easily come true, just like hers.
Desislava Taskova is a senior at the American University in Bulgaria, majoring in Business Administration and Journalism and Mass Communication. She loves to meet new people.
