Marta lives in Rome and recently quit high school to train as a hair and makeup artist. She is younger than the others in this series, but we loved her bubbly personality and determination.

My family lives in a small house on top of a hill in Monterotondo near Rome. My parents and I live with my grandmother, Carmela. I’m an only child. I get all the love! I’m almost 17 years old. 

Two years ago I decided to leave high school and find work. I’d attended an art school run by Ursuline nuns – a bit strict. I didn’t like it there. In just a few days I changed my life. It was a gamble. My parents weren’t too happy because they wanted me to go on to university. But I wanted something different. I went to see my aunt Lory who has a hair salon and told her I wanted to work with her. She wasn’t expecting that. I have a beautiful and open relationship with my aunt. I told her I wanted to study hairdressing and makeup. 

Soon enough I found a professional school. They accepted me. The teachers say I’m talented. I’m passionate about this profession. My dream is to rise to the top! I want to do better than Lory, better even than Federico Fashion Style, which has salons in Rome and Milan. 

This year we suddenly had the pandemic and the lockdown. I felt miserable. It was as if they’d taken everything from me. It was painful to be far away from my school and my work. Before the pandemic I’d had a very busy schedule. It was hard to be cut off from all of that. 

At home we ordered food everyday, which meant I could see my boyfriend, Leo! He delivers food. He never stopped working, despite the lockdown. His employer decided to start deliver food to elderly people in particular. 

Now it’s summer. I’m back at work but only part time. I won’t be travelling anywhere with my parents this season – and anyway I’m at an age now when that would feel awkward. So I think I’ll just spend some time on Ostia beach [near Rome] with Leo and some friends.

During the lockdown I listened to a lot of music: Katie Perry, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande. They inspired me – and also my hair colour. I started experimenting with it, inventing new shades. I was blonde, then pink, and now my hair is red like fire. 

The lockdown made me really worry about Italy. So many people died. I was scared for my grandmother who is 95 years old. We didn’t trust the politicians nor those who were in charge of handling this pandemic. It was chaotic. I don’t know how it compared to the rest of the world.

My father first took some time off, then he started working from home. His company manages highways. Meanwhile my grandmother Carmela told me about her life. She once worked for the police, and during world war two she worked on a farm. She experienced many things during the war. She told me how her brother, Evaristo, came back from Germany by foot during the war. He walked an entire two months from the frontline. When he arrived in Italy they took him to a bunker and cleaned him with disinfectant. And today here we are using disinfectant all the time because of Covid-19.

My grandmother remembers the time when she was my age, 17 years old, during the war. Her life started with that terrible experience and now she’s going through another nightmare, with Covid. Her war stories are sad. They are stories about losing a father, about hunger and even a suicide. There’s a small vegetable garden near our home. Suddenly my grandmother decided to cook again – she prepared zucchine. 

Lockdown made me feel like I was in prison. So I watched some TV series on Netflix, such as ‘Dark’, ‘Skum Italy’, ‘Vis-a-Vis’ and ‘Requiem for a dream’. One day I want to become a makeup artist for the movies and the music industry. Do you know what makes me feel proud and brave? The fact that, while many salons stayed closed after the lockdown ended, ours reopened.