2.2 Me, an ordinary person

I’m from a small town in Venezuela, South America. Growing up, I faced the usual teasing at school for wearing glasses and having messy handwriting. I don’t remember much about reading, maybe because it was a tough experience. What I do remember is enjoying ballet, playing instruments, and making paper dolls. I did think I was ‘stupid’ in the classroom.

In secondary school, I discovered my love for graphic design and technical drawing. I struggled with other subjects but did okay in chemistry and physics, even though I didn’t like them. Despite my poor handwriting, which often got me into trouble, I excelled in sports and ballet. I also started to enjoy being alone, maybe because of low self-esteem.

My parents didn’t go to university, but my mum was incredibly supportive and encouraged me to try everything we could afford. I never felt pressured to do well in school; it was my own drive to excel and be praised by teachers. I worked extremely hard and kept looking for what I could be when I grew up. I never knew exactly what I wanted to be – a dancer? A firefighter? A designer? In my last year of school, the pressure started about what to do next. It seemed my parents had already decided for me – I was going to university to study law! Even though I had no dreams of going to university, and if I did, I would have chosen architecture or engineering. Law wasn’t my choice, but I found my own methods to succeed. I used visual aids, charts, and colours to understand the material. Some of my peers were very helpful, explaining things to me. It was exhausting, and at times I felt like a failure and stupid, as my marks showed. But I discovered I wasn’t really that ‘stupid’ because I did well in oral exams. I persevered and graduated, even though I had to resit a few exams. There were many times when I called home and cried a lot. It wasn’t about being a quitter; it was about feeling exhausted, lost, and like a failure.

Next on the agenda was marriage. Yes, I was young, too young, but it was expected at the time. Thanks to my husband and his support, I could enhance the skills I thought I was good at. I went to university again and did a Masters in England. Crazy, right? I even got a scholarship to do a PhD. This time, I looked for things I liked, like business, technology, and creation. I found intellectual property law (IP) – it connected with my love for inventions, art, dancing, and architecture. I accepted that I wasn’t good at certain skills, but I didn’t need to be good at them to be successful. I am successful because I do what makes me comfortable and happy.

Today, I am Dr. Patricia Covarrubia, Abogado, LLM, PhD. I am the Programme Director of the LLB Full-time at the University of Buckingham. I work as an IP expert at the IPRs SMEs Helpdesk, European Commission. I have written over 400 posts on the IPTango blog, several journal articles in top UK and European journals, chapters in textbooks, a monograph, and an international edited book. I have given conferences around the globe, including in Indonesia, the USA, France, Spain, South Korea, and China.

By the way, I have dyslexia – although I never heard of it until my 40s (still a taboo in my country). My email reply reads ‘This email is written with ‘creative expression and thinking’, do expect ‘creative spelling and grammar’ too. I have dyslexia. Please understand I do my best to reduce these errors.’ Thanks to my colleague and co-author on this course, Sarah J. Myhill, I feel encouraged to tell you about my journey. I am not going to lie, there are still days, especially in meetings, where I feel uncomfortable, especially if they ask me to read something on the spot :( or to attend events where there are many papers to read, and I don’t manage to do it all. But life is a roller coaster, isn’t it?

Now, I want to encourage you to pursue what makes you happy and aim for what is your idea of success. It’s not always easy, and sometimes the path isn’t clear, but with determination and support, you can achieve it. Keep pushing forward and find what you are good at, rather than focusing on your weakness. Believe in yourself.