"As a child, I would always ask the why questions. Why does it work like that? Why is that so? And my grandma, who was an engineer, has a saying, “All of life is physics”. And she would do little experiments with me in our free time to show me how physics can explain stuff. She would just explain to me everyday phenomena like why ships float, like a toy ship that we had at our pool, for example. And so that really sticks with you, if you hear it over and over again.

I was reading a lot as a child, and I stumbled upon a fictional book series by Stephen Hawking and his daughter, Lucy Hawking, that is set in space and brings in a lot of space facts. And so that kind of pushed me in the direction of astronomy. And I went further and read some more public science books on astronomy, and that's what really got me into that topic.

Astronomy is so interesting to me because it explains everything, but on a much larger scale. It’s like you zoom out where Earth and our everyday problems are just part of this huge machinery within our galaxy, and then within the galaxy group, and the further out you go the more insignificant things become. We’re just part of this entire cycle.

The best parts of Stockholm are the people I’ve met and the access to water everywhere. I really enjoy swimming and just being near the water. And then I've met wonderful people and it's just a really cool city to live in. I have a great friend group that’s very supportive – we can be silly together, but we can also have deep discussions about things. They really shaped me in the past two years and I hope that we can stay lifelong friends. Having somebody to back you up in following your dream is very important.

It’s a bit surreal because I’ve dreamt of being a scientist for so long now. I’m pretty proud of what I’ve achieved so far and want to continue down this path to a career in research."

Every year Stockholm University welcomes thousands of international students from all over the world. Each bringing their own backpack full of experiences, expectations and dreams. Each with their own story. Meet Annalena from Germany who moved to Stockholm to study the Master's Programme in Astronomy and Astrophysics. #studentsofSU