Today, 32 years ago, the European University Institute conferred me a full-time, research doctorate.
The world of learning, for me, began much earlier as a card catalogue. I was twelve, standing in the hushed grandeur of the Royal Dutch Library. My mother, a researcher herself, taught me how to navigate that universe of knowledge, one meticulously typed card at a time. I can still recall the scent of aging paper and wood polish, the satisfying click-clack of the small drawers, each one a portal.
That library was a promise: if you followed the system, if you learned the structure, you could find anything. You could chart a course from A to B, from question to answer. This was the map I would follow for years.
