Do you want the happy ending?

Tina is eighteen, an only child. Tina has had a boyfriend for two years. Tina will soon complete her A-levels. Typical scenario. But what is also typical: Tina is overwhelmed. For at least six years she has been prepared for one decision: "What should I study?" – career aptitude tests, taster courses, Girls' Day, internships, personality assessments, company visits. Not to mention Mum, Dad, Grandmas, Uncles and the bloke from the bike shop round the corner… they all stand by Tina with advice and support:

"You'd best become a civil servant…"

"You can earn a lot of money in cosmetic surgery."

"Best marry a bricklayer, then you can build a house."

"Follow your dreams. You can achieve anything if you just believe in it."

What is a teenager just emerging from puberty supposed to do with so much freedom? Do what you think is right. – Great, but what is right? What should I base my life on? Money? On final exam grades? On family wishes? On the university's sports facilities? Or should the tea leaves decide?

Option 1:

In all this chaos, nobody has come up with the idea of asking Tina directly what she actually wants to study. If they were to ask her, she would furrow her brow, look down sheepishly and murmur very quietly "German as a Foreign Language". Grandma would jump up from the sofa and cry: "Oh no, you'd be dealing with all those foreigners. That's not for a delicate girl." Dad would ask: "Can you make money from that?" Mum would remark: "But you did biology as your advanced course, so that was a complete waste." – In short, Tina keeps quiet. That way she doesn't have to explain herself either. – This attitude carries her through life: the others know better. She studies food chemistry, straight away in the next largest city, so she can drive to her parents at weekends. It doesn't take long before her boyfriend calls and says he's fallen in love with someone else… actually not a problem, his snoring had been annoying anyway and Mum didn't like him either. Her bachelor's degree is mediocre, but that doesn't matter… she just wants to be finished. Tina finds a job as a laboratory assistant. Actually the work bores her, but the job is relatively secure and not too far from home. She takes an Italian course at the adult education centre because she's always wanted to go to Italy, but first she needs to learn the language properly… and that takes time. Eventually she also has a child… by a bloke she's met a few times… actually not her dream type… but better than nothing. When her mother finally develops dementia, she moves back into the family home. Tina's son moves out. It wasn't easy with him, but now he's gone again. He's studying business administration now. And eventually Tina dies – at 78 years old. She worked in the rubber factory for 41 years. She leaves behind a husband, a son and two grandchildren. She spent 75 of her 82 weeks of holiday in Tenerife, where everyone spoke German anyway. She had never been to Italy.

Option 2:

In all this chaos, SOMEONE comes up with the idea of asking Tina directly what she actually wants to study. The shy "German as a Foreign Language" makes Mr Nagel perk up. A pretty explicit wish for an eighteen-year-old, thinks the biology teacher. When he questions her more closely about it, Tina's fears gradually disappear. Her eyes light up as she explains how exciting it is to look at the language from different perspectives. She hopes she can somehow combine it with Italian. The language sounds so beautiful, but unfortunately it wasn't offered at her school. Mr Nagel is relieved because natural sciences really aren't this poor child's thing. He encourages her to apply to various universities. "Best at the southern state border, then it's not so far to Italy," he says jokingly. But Tina is so enthusiastic about this conversation that she now wants to move heaven and earth to get her "dream degree". It doesn't take long before her boyfriend calls and says he's fallen in love with someone else… actually not a problem, he wouldn't have moved with her anyway. So goodbye to him. Eventually she studies German Literature and Italian at the University of Konstanz. Then she meets Janis, the Greek exchange student. Months of happiness, copulation and expansion of language skills follow, as both communicate mainly in Italian. They even manage to organise a joint semester abroad in Italy. But then the fun is over. Janis has to and wants to go back to Greece. Tina would love to go with him, but she still has two semesters ahead of her. She's afraid of a long-distance relationship. What should she do?

Option 2a:

When she's lying on her bed again, not in control of the situation and completely in tears, scrolling through Facebook, a shared blog post catches her eye. She's (unfortunately) never really engaged with feminism, but the post about self-determination and the power of the individual woman does leave its mark on her. She gives Janis an ultimatum: either he stays and finishes his studies here or it's over. Tina can't live with this uncertain situation. Janis, who studies German and Italian but doesn't have a penny for a longer stay abroad, returns to his homeland with a broken heart. Tina is also struggling, but she's made the right decision. After her studies, she actually moves to Italy, marries Fernando, a true Italian. In Monza she teaches German. With her three children it's not easy financially. Fernando has already gambled away some of her savings, but that only happens very rarely… when he's had one too many to drink. When her mother develops dementia, Tina brings her into her home. There's always chaos. Only when the children have left home and her mother finally succumbs to her decline does peace return. Until the end of her life, Tina spends her evenings feeding the backyard chickens with grain. Only on the fifth day after her 85th birthday does the poultry go unfed.

Option 2b:

Actually she just wanted to lie around today, cry and feel sorry for herself in her bloody situation. But her neighbour had loud female company all morning, so she went to the lecture anyway. "Educational Systems in Relation to Diversity"… why had she enrolled in that? Who does that? Anyway, it gives three ECTS points. Life is crap and pointless anyway. But actually this lecture not only gives Tina courage, as her biology teacher once did, but also gives her an idea: why not learn Greek too? You don't get dumber from it. Somehow it'll work out. And then she can stay with Janis… quite by accident. Maybe some kind of double degree? But for that she'd have to change universities, wouldn't she? How much Greek does she need to know to be able to study on site? What does it all cost? Janis isn't much help either, he keeps bursting into tears of joy when Tina philosophises about her plans. All this requires precise timing now. Tina creates a financial plan, with semester breaks, possible side jobs, study-extending measures, BAföG, her savings account and Janis's family silver, which he's promised her… and somehow it all seems to add up. Tina is in her 13th semester when she realises she's also in her second trimester. She'd only come back to Germany for her bachelor's thesis… she'd told Janis a couple of months. But when Tina realises she's pregnant, Janis, now working as a translator, comes straight away. Everything can continue, the two believe. With a calm belly, Tina continues writing her bachelor's thesis, glad to finally be finished soon. Until the results of the amniocentesis show: her son has Down syndrome. With that it's clear: Tina stays here and gives birth to her child in Germany. The Greek health system is nothing compared to the one in her home country.

Tina never completed her bachelor's degree. Instead she looked after her little ray of sunshine. From morning to night he filled her with joy. She was grateful every day for her family. Phileas was 27 years old when he finally died of a congenital heart defect despite many operations. Tina and Janis moved back to Greece. Neither of them could bear to stay in Germany. It was good to spend some time away from sad memories. So months eventually became years. Once her mother called. She seemed confused. Asked about Phileas and where everyone was. Tina didn't respond and quickly brushed her off. Half a year later she received a call on the same number saying her mother had passed away. Tina ignored the funeral. She didn't want to go back. Meanwhile she was translating children's books for a small international publisher. Janis gave language courses and wrote books himself. He died at 69 from lung cancer. Tina followed him only a few months later at 64 years old. The family silver still stands in the cabinet. They never had to sell it.

So what is the good ending?