Bezpłatny fragment - Ocean of thoughts

Family

Family can be our mainstay and our shield. We can rely on it — though not always — something I have touched on in my poems. Despite everything, we should love one another. My mother instilled this in me from an early age, wanting our family to remain close forever — something I will try to honour at all costs.

My late grandmother once told me a family story from World War II. Of course, it was filled with horror, fear, and sorrow. In my opinion, folk tales and family histories influence our everyday lives.

We live in a country with a rich, tragic, yet triumphant history. Our ancestors fought for an independent Poland — a great home for future generations. Fortunately, their efforts were not in vain.

My great-grandparents fought in the Warsaw Uprising and later joined partisan struggles against the Germans. My great-grandfather was eventually killed in an extermination camp in the Third Reich. My pregnant great-grandmother was left alone with my grandmother for a short time. It was then that she met my adoptive great-grandfather. They worked in Germany for a long time, but their hearts continued to yearn for their homeland.

These events profoundly shaped the generations that followed. My grandfather and father both served in the army and received decorations. My father, as a soldier, taught me what true devotion to one’s homeland means. Poland is a gift born of tears and blood. She will always wait for us, long for us — and we will always long for her. In times of peace, there are many ways to serve your country: charity work, cultural and artistic activities that sustain our unique heritage, and more. I practice both of these forms of service, and I promise that I will continue — I devote myself to you, dear Poland!

Family and patriotic upbringing are among the most important pillars of a noble Pole. Let us praise God for granting us life in an independent country. Let us never allow the memory of those who shed their blood for Poland to be forgotten.

Mask

The wild current of life entangles love, joy, sorrow, and hatred. It can sweep everything away and force us into terrible actions. Every day we put on a mask and play the roles our enemies expect. It is time to throw those masks to the ground.

My teacher, Olga Kluba — the best mentor in the world — ran a theatre club. She taught us that everyone is equal and unique. The motto of our performance was: “Be yourself! It is worth being yourself!”

I remember, as if it were yesterday, walking onto the stage with my hands wet from stress. At that time, I didn’t manage anxiety as well as I do today. My mentor helped me through it — without her, I wouldn’t be the person I am now.

In my opinion, everyone deserves acceptance and tolerance. I want to tell you, dear readers, what I once said during a school performance. I received a huge amount of hate. I put on a mask, and false words fell from my mouth. I regret that deeply. We must talk about hate; otherwise, haters will go unpunished and the spiral of hatred will grow.

I call on everyone: do not repeat my mistakes. Fight for your own good. Seek support from your loved ones if you can — and if you cannot, find someone you can trust. It is better to endure hardship with someone than alone. Let us not wear masks. Let us cast off hidden pain. Our inner selves are the most beautiful part of us. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said:

“What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

I agree with this great French writer wholeheartedly. No treasure in the world can change that.

It is not worth pretending to be someone we are not. Each of us is unique and beautiful in our own way.

Love

Love is a broad concept — you can feel it for your homeland, your friends, your family, or your crush. I will begin with a quote from a Brazilian writer and poet, Paulo Coelho:

“Love must be built; discovering it is not enough.”

Had I found this quote long ago, I might not have made the mistakes I regret today. Mistakes exist to teach us. They are what change us for the better. If we do not learn from them, we risk stagnation and ruin. I am far from perfect; I make mistakes and fail too, and I won’t hide that from you, dear readers.

I learned that a successful relationship must be built on mutual support, and that love means being willing to do anything for another person, no matter how difficult, in health or in illness.

Adolescence is hard. Hormones surge, bodies change, our worldview shifts, and a new understanding of love emerges. I searched for ‘the one’ because I felt weak while my mother was ill. I needed support and kindness. I was foolish, and because of that, I could not build a good relationship. It did not last long, like most first teenage loves. With age comes understanding — ‘to have a good head on one’s shoulders’ (in Polish we say ‘to have oil in the head’.

Love is like a diamond: it must be polished to shine. Infatuation is like the wind — sometimes present, sometimes gone.

Knowledge

We acquire knowledge from childhood. We need it to survive in this huge world. Later in our development, we do not want to acquire complicated terminologies. This is understandable, I don’t want to convince you to learn. I just want to share my love for it.

Science has been with mankind since antiquity, its beginnings were the first writing, mathematics, counting time, the first calendar and poetic works. The great poet of ancient Greece was Homer*. Man tends to self-educate himself and order the world around him.

*Homer (Greek: Ὅμηρος, Hómēros, Greek: Όμηρος) (8th century BC) was a Greek wandering singer (aoida), epic, singer and reciter (rhapsody). He is considered the father of epic poetry. The oldest European poet known by name, who probably took over the legacy of the long and rich tradition of oral heroic poetry. His works include the epics: the Iliad and the Odyssey. Greek tradition also saw him as the author of a collection of hymns, the so-called Homeric hymns, and several heroicomic poems — Margites (The Fool), Kerkopes (The Kercops), Epikichlides (The Giggles), and Batrachomyomachia (The Mouse-Frog War). No Greek poet surpassed Homer in fame. On the islands of Los and Chios, temples dedicated to him were erected, and in Olympia and Delphi statues were erected. Pisistratus introduced the recitation of Homeric poems on the Panathenaeans.

Thanks to learning, we have learned a lot of secrets of the world, which makes our daily routine easier. A lot of inventions were created — up to the objects we still use today.

We should not forget that you need to know moderation in everything, even in this matter. We can’t sit for centuries with our noses in books. Everything is for people… In addition to personal development, a young person needs to have fun and spend time with friends. Such a balance makes us better and better.

Experience can also teach us a lot. Thanks to it, it is possible to change one’s behaviour.

There’s a popular saying:

“Science is the key to power.”

If it weren’t for it, we might not be able to control our original behaviours. We could universally believe in the magic and idols that our ancestors worshipped. No matter what education we have, it does not prove our worth. We should respect people of science. The most important lesson we should profess is to be kind, sincere, generous, loyal and merciful, and sensitive to the harm of a stranger.

From the depth of myself

I am a creative and ambitious person. I strive for my goal despite being tired. When I set a goal, it rarely happens that I don’t achieve it. Nothing and no one discourages me!