(New) Home Alone

So first of all, I’m a child of divorce. That simple fact has intricate itself in many areas of my life, including why I have two names, and why pretty much no one knows the first one. It’s in honor of my late grandmother (mother’s side), whom my father didn’t like very much: Yolanda. The second one was chosen by the man himself, my Vater, who had a niche reference to a little town in Mexico that he crossed through when he was working as a miner in the sierra, although my mother is quite certain he just had a thing for actress Lucía Méndez.

Each one of my parents called me by their preferred name, until my mom gave up the fight and decided to prioritize my six-year-old mental health and call me Lucía too, at which point I was also convinced it was a much prettier name and not for old people (in all fairness, Yolanda was my granny’s name). So, I do have two names which now, after much introspection, love dearly, but I’m mostly known by the diminutive of Lucía, which is Lucy, just because we’re mexican after all and no one’s calling anyone their full name unless they’re psychotic or the name is really freaking short.

I also go by Rat, but that’s just for the inner circle. 

It actually turns out Lucy is a pretty good name to have as an international student. Easy to remember, to pronounce, famous even. One thing I didn’t have to worry about when coming to Munich to live for six months, all alone. And it’s something about the alone part and being traumatized by the paranoid feeling that you can’t be anywhere or do anything alone or you may get killed that made me want to come to a city like Munich, famously known for being nice and safe. 

I was scared at first, but not more scared than I felt on the daily, consumed by responsibilities, work, anxiety, and an impending feeling of being trapped in a fish tank for my whole life (with amazing food at the very least!), which is just a side effect of turning 25, but still, tough.

As an overachiever of sorts (I don’t think I’ve achieved my position in that rank, but it will have to suffice for now), my only real objective was to have a really cool CV. I’ve always liked school, and I am lucky enough to love my career of choice, so studying in another country in a widely known university was always my dream, and for a moment I really didn’t think it would happen, between COVID and getting engaged to my college sweetheart. But hey, look at me now!

So, so far, my expectations were very limited, and in the short time I’ve been here, they have surpassed even those my imagination could not conjure up. The CV now, well, that’s the last thing on my mind. For the first time in a while, I’m just happy to be here. I’ve gotten to travel more than I even believed I wanted to, and plan to continue to do so.

Next three months, I’m taking myself to Copenhagen, Prague, Paris, London, Rome, Edinburgh, and any new place that pops up in the amazing mind of my very good friend Paula, whom I just met but already have unforgettable experiences with. Diego (my fiancé) and my sister are joining me in some of those spots and I can’t wait to see them and show them the beautiful city that hosts me for now, and which I already know I will deeply miss once I’m back home with a very, very broken bank account.

On my trip to Budapest, picture by Jatma García, 2026.