26M: Graphic Designer turned Baker, now lost in Germany. How do I merge these two worlds?

I’m 26 years old and I’m in desperate need of some clarity. I feel like I’m at a crossroads and I’ve run out of places to turn.

It all started with the dream of becoming a graphic designer. I spent four years in school, earning an EQF4 qualification, convinced it was my future. Then I hit a wall: the fifth year required for my diploma was only available privately. My family couldn't afford it, and I was left with nothing but a handful of dust. Not wanting to give up, I settled for a free marketing and trade school. That was the beginning of a nightmare.

It had nothing to do with creativity. I was facing subjects like business economics that I'd never seen before, and a 'graphics' teacher who didn't even know how to turn on a PC... I felt like I was dying inside. The teachers targeted me; they made me feel like crap despite the fact that I’d been the top student at my old school. Eventually, I snapped. I quit. I still remember that moment standing at the school gates: no diploma, no plan, just the sheer terror of going home to my parents empty-handed.

I sent out hundreds of resumes for design roles. Silence. Not a single word back. After civil service and a failed attempt at freelancing opening a VAT number with high hopes only to close it out of fear of taxes when the company I collaborated with collapsed, I felt like a failure. I did everything: volunteered for 'visibility' (the usual trap), worked part-time as a shop assistant, and even had an agonizing stint in a fur factory that left a deep mark on me.

That was when I realized I had to leave Italy. I took a bakery course and, incredibly, I found my spark again. I loved getting my hands dirty, learning a real trade, away from the monotony of a PC screen making endless tweaks to local flyers. I left for Copenhagen dreaming of the 'Scandi life,' but reality slapped me in the face: two months of total darkness, hundreds of CVs, and ruthless competition. I toughed it out for a year and a half between pizzerias and hotels growing immensely as a person, but never seeing a real financial shift.

Now I’m in Germany, in North Rhine-Westphalia, following my partner. And I’m back to square one. The kitchen is a great environment, but it doesn't pay the bills considering how much it grinds you down physically. I don’t want to work in a factory for thirty years and pretend to be happy. I want to bridge these two worlds: graphics and food. I’m thinking about food styling, branding for the restaurant industry, photography... but I’m scared. I’m scared of making another mistake, of failing again. I’m tired of fighting without a clear direction in a world that seems to be falling apart. I just need help figuring out how to turn this mess into a future.