51 not following any specific rules, or individual that we ought to and is at the same time without rhyme or rhythm praise and be controlled by. We, everything else, because and totally nonmetrical. This as complex, energetical beings nothing can exist outside of new writing style broke the and our connection between everything else in the universe, boundaries of 19th century’s each other creates the universe. no object can be fully separated poetry, thus revolutionizing it. „The hand of God is the eldest from the others and only exists Walt Whitman represented brother of my own” means in relation to what is around it. the bridge between Realism that we are intertwined as „The palpable is in its place, and and Transcendentalism, individuals through energy, it the impalpable is in its place”- he movements and their core powering our atoms which are feels content being connected ideologies being clearly visible made of the same material for to the palpable and impalpable throughout his profound all of us. as well, he is everything. verses. The latter followed the „They are alive and well „I have pried through the fundamental psychological somewhere; The smallest strata and analyzed to a hair, belief that we cannot perceive sprout shows there is really no and counselled with doctors the world around us in its death, and if ever there was and calculated close and found whole complexity due to us it led forward life, and does no sweeter fat than sticks to my only being limited to our 5 not wait at the end to arrest it, own bones”- referring to the senses. Thus, we can only react and ceased the moment life creation of Adam and to the „real”, tangible world, appeared” - resembling the Eve, he does not believe in and being restricted from the soul’s immortality and never- romanticizing and venerating spiritual and energetic side ending nature. He believes in a bigger force (God), as of the universe. Whitman reincarnation and the soul’s mentioned earlier, he is one experiences a spiritual ability to go beyond what we with the universe the universe is illumination, believing experience. God and he is made of the same that the soul, after it is pure Throughout his work, Walt material. and has truthfully understood creates scenes with visual „I am the poet of the body, I and felt its connection to elements which tell a story. He am the poet of the soul, The nature and spirituality, is able creates images which are the pleasures of heaven are with to comprehend what we call best way of poetry writing and me and the pains of hell are with Divinity or the „transcendental storytelling, through visuals, me, the first I graft and increase self ”. By transcending, the soul rather than just presenting upon myself... the latter I goes beyond our world (which abstract ideologies through translate into a new tongue” - is called phenomena), and colorless words. Each natural heaven and hell are concepts our mundane understanding element resembles a spiritual invented, those are seen on of it. This is achieved through one, it being a characteristic earth, Heaven, as pleasure, is faith and intuition. Hence why stylistic choice of Whitman. accepted and taken, and Hell, Whitman starts his poem „Song Everything has a double as experiences to learn from of Myself ” with “I celebrate meaning as it has in life. and shift into development, myself, and what I assume (Whitman observes different thus shifting its tongue. The you shall assume, for every types of people) poem ends with the line „I atom belonging to me as good „And these tend inward to me, contradict myself, I am large, I belongs to you”. and I tend outward to them, contain multitudes” – meaning He believes that God is in all of us And such as it is to be of these that I am the whole universe, and is represented by the energy more or less, I am, therefore I am all ideologies in that is interconnected between And of these one and all I one, I am a contradiction, I am all living beings and nature. weave the song of myself.”- the a walking paradox by design, He says, „The supernatural is universe is one and it is whole, he admits that his deeper self is of no account,” meaning that the author, connecting with beyond expression, despite his Divinity is not a higher force his spiritual self, connects with artistic abilities.
52 Margaret Atwood (born November “The Handamaid’s Tale” by Margaret 18, 1939) is a Canadian author best known for Atwood Book Review her prose fiction and her feminist perspective. Atwood’s works encompass a vast variety of By Tudor Dancu themes including gender and identity, religion and myth, the power of language and climate change. Many of her poems are inspired by myths and fairy tales, for which she has manifested an interest from a very early age. In her early poetry collections, Double Persephone (1961), The Circle Game (1964, revised in 1966), and The Animals in That Country (1968), Atwood ponders human behaviour, celebrates the natural world, and condemns materialism. Role reversal and new beginnings are recurrent themes in her novels, all of them focused on women and their relationship to the world and the individuals around them. The Handmaid’s Tale is among her most highly acclaimed works, providing the readers with a glimpse into the everyday life of a woman living in sexual slavery, in a dystopic future where women have been stripped of their rights by a repressive Christian theocracy. The narrative portrays a dire future, where nuclear warfare has brought the world in a state of tremendous environmental disorder, which enabled an extremist religious group known as the Sons of Jacob to overthrow the government of the United States of America and seize control of the country which they rebranded as the Republic of Gilead. The policies they enforce are strongly rooted in the biblical texts of the Old Testament (the access to which is shown to be permitted solely to members of the ruling class, in a clear effort to hoard knowledge away from the masses) and they seek to control every aspect of public and personal life, with emphasis on the role of women in society. Women, many of whom have been rendered infertile by prolonged exposure to radioactive substances in the atmosphere, have been deprived of even the most basic human rights and compelled to fulfil very specific functions in society, most of them centred around serving the men of the higher class. The story is narrated from the point of view of Offred, one of the few fertile women left, who is, therefore, forced to bear children for the Commander, a member of the ruling class, as a Handmaid. The narrative
53 unfolds as a patchwork of everyday occurrences in the protagonist’s life and flashbacks that shed light on her past and the early days of Gilead, with emphasis on the main character’s innermost ponderings regarding the world around her and the people that she is surrounded by. Thus, the novel excels at creating compelling characters and constructing a world that is equally immersive as it is ominous. The main character Offred is extremely effective in showcasing the disturbing acts that this society glorifies as well as the constant feeling of distress caused by living in such conditions, while also having a tragic and incredibly moving background. A significant aspect of the Gilead society that her character demonstrates is how it is impossible for its members to fully trust one another, as putting one’s faith in the wrong person can lead to one’s doom. This is best illustrated by Offred’s relationship to Nick, a character whose allegiances factor in the book’s ending while also staying unrevealed both to Offred and the readers, thus contributing to the air of uncertainty that the entire story, but the ending in particular, was dominated by. This actually goes even further, as Offred observes how women treat each other differently according to their role in society, thus showing that the system is specifically designed to divide the oppressed in order to prevent them from joining forces against the authority. Additionally, a creative decision I found endlessly interesting is that Offred’s real name is never actually revealed, thus reinforcing the idea of how the society presented in the book can successfully strip someone of their identity, while also contributing to making the protagonist’s experience seem universal for the women living in that world. To summarise, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is a dark and disturbing but incredibly thought-provoking and complex reading experience that I thoroughly enjoyed for its relevant subject matter, its exquisite characters
54 “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky Book Review By Iulia Sălăjan “The Perks of Being a his talents by exposing him to Charlie summarizes the lessons Wallflower” is a young adult, literature. Also, he meets step- he’s learned about being in the coming-of-age epistolary novel siblings: Sam and Patrick who present, knowing that things addressed to an anonymous integrate him into their friend will always get better in the “friend” by American writer/ group and take him under end, that your feelings are aspiring filmmaker Stephen their wing, helping him come valid and it’s okay to be open Chbosky, which was first out of his shell and experience about them, that you have published on February 1, 1999, new things like cigarettes, to face whatever scares you by Pocket Books. alcohol, drugs, but also love! the most and that in order to The novel is narrated by He developed a gigantic crush “participate” in life and not let Charlie or the wallflower from on Sam but is throughout the things wash by you, you have the title aka a person who almost entirety of the novel to really be there and do things would much rather observe life except the final few pages, too and be okay whatever those than engage in it, who writes afraid to act on it. as he isn’t things turned out to be. letters to a person he trusted emotionally solid enough to be In my own experience, I related starting from the night before able to be in a relationship with so much, maybe too much he started high school. We are Sam, for the most part, until Sam to Charlie and some of his informed by these letters about gives him a motivating speech experiences, most of the time, the events of his life and what about how “participating” in life it felt like it was me writing he feels about them, learning is not just going to that social those letters. The novel showed on the way about his family, event, but actually doing things, me that whatever happens, friends and especially Charlie being yourself, doing what we have a right to feel the himself. From the beginning, you want and not internalize way we feel and it reminded we find out that Charlie is a your feelings for someone. By me of the how great and how troubled kid as he had gone trying to engage in a mutual warm a friendship makes through his best friend taking intimate relationship with you feel. After reading this his own life and he’s been Sam, Charlie uncovers from his wonderful book, I have gained haunted by guilt ever since his subconscious a long-repressed courage to persevere through aunt Helen passed away in a truth about Aunt Helen, that the darkness because there’s car accident on the way to buy she sexually-abused him as a light/“downtown; lights on him a birthday present. His life small child which explains his buildings and everything that changes for the better, virtue passivity on sexual experiences makes you wonder” at the end of two things: Bill, his English throughout the events of the of the tunnel. Just like Charlie, teacher, who recognizes that book as he’s been associating I often find myself in situations Charlie is special in the best way love with someone taking where I find it difficult to and becomes Charlie’s mentor advantage of him or forcing realize that happy emotions figure, helping him develop their will on him. At the end, can also exist . In conclusion, I would 100% recommend this book to anyone who reads the trigger warnings first, because it’s great for all ages, especially teenagers however, but also as an adult it can take you back to when you were in the same shoes as Charlie, surviving high school, as a child it shows you what lies ahead and as a teenager it inspires you. And I’ve heard adolescence is the most difficult time of your life, when you find out who you are and where you belong.
55 ARTICLES Why I Like Jypsy Music By Dorotea Șandor Recently, I’ve been listening to a blessed with a fortune that goes and skill. Secondly, they vast discography of some Balkan from generation to generation. remained to a simpler life, Gypsy folk music, mostly to the They master a wide variety of which brings tradition to Taraful Haiducilor. They are a instrumets such as: the violin, everyday life, with rhythms and Romanian-Romani taraf from the cimbalom, the flute or the dances, variety of sounds and Clejani, who got so well-known accordion. Watching some joy. I have this imagine of them, in the 90’s in Western Europe interviews of the members of taking their hands in hands, and America, that Johnny Depp the band, I have seen how they slowly forming a circle among. became fascinated by them and easily started playing Paganini, The rapidity of their motion invited them to his personal as if they had practiced it for gradually grows. Along with it, house in New York. Firstly, I weeks. It’s amazing to see the it grows the commitment and would like to give you a clear magic they create on stage, the energy of the musicians. view on this traditional music. the way they armonize with Such an electrical effect. It’s like It is a big difference between each other and the warmth a rithual, it makes you want what we associate nowadays in and eccenticity they transmit. to be part of it. Even though the music industry with gypsy It seems that for them it’s maybe you can’t understand music (usually commercial and not about whether they are anything, their language nor lacking artistic value) and what famous or not and they remain the significance and meanings great value the music made by authentic in their behaviour and implied. We wouldn’t go back Taraful Haiducilor actually has. music with the same pleasure of there, that’s maybe why we can Talented musicians, they’re performing, the same devotion appreciate it more.
56 Extracurricular Activities and Interests By Iulia Maghiari This article aims to brief participants and give a hand to would be the best at. students’ extra-curricular those in need. There are also Why have an interest or an activities and interests by activities such as sport clubs, extracurricular activity? As an stressing out their utmost drawing clubs, debate clubs, adolescent grows, a great deal importance in someone’s life. where an individual can express of feelings and emotions rest Apart from that, it will include their personality to the fullest. inside his/her soul: one of them some inside views (from How about interests? What being the search for meaning. someone inside the job - me) do they represent? When As the world moves and with the hope to encourage talking about one’s character, evolves around us and we can more people to take up similar interests play a crucial role in do nothing to stop it, a passion pursuits. its development. The world may be the key for finding our What is an extra- has reached this stage only purpose. Be it skiing, reading, curricular activity? An extra- because there have always been playing football, when doing curricular activity is defined people who love their work. A something with pleasure, as an action one does for the passion can express itself in a time flies. Furthermore, each sake of themselves and others, creative way, such as writing, experience shares its merit outside the school-yard. It sculpting, painting, acting. in our formation as adults can take many forms, such as To give a concrete example, therefore participation comes scouting, helping people, or one of my personal interests is with nothing but wins. simply enjoying leisure time by psychology, therefore I dedicate In conclusion, I truly doing something productive. time and money in order to recommend giving a chance Volunteering, for example, make a future from this passion. to all the things you have been exists in many ways in multiple Not only that, but a piece of my intrigued by but afraid to do so associations, each of them soul rests in this field of human far! Feel free to express who you having the goal of developing mind and behavior. I believe I are, to find what you want to be, the city or making the world a have matured, like any one of and to be the best in anything better place. The focus of this us, while trying to find what I you are going to do!
57 The Paradox of Information By Teodora Moldovan The human being has always the false information can lead granted. Who is willing to make been craving to know about to irrational decisions with such an effort? Not everybody. the facts and events happening unwanted consequences which Our society is rapidly changing in society, in order to fully affect the well-being of the and the ‘’breaking news’’ is comprehend the reality around entire society. One example of constantly subjugating the him and to make rational this could be the conspiracy individual to keep up with the decisions. Various types of theory called ‘’Pizzagate’’, actuality. Thus, there is not the mass-communication like created during the USA necessary time to assimilate and TV channels, newspapers and Presidential Elections in 2016. eventually verify exhaustively social-media hold the purpose Apparently, certain politicians all the information, so the of informing the population, were thought to be involved majority of people will be only but the individual is now in a pedophilia ring and that partly informed or even lost in overwhelmed with information. their illegal activities were the abyss of shallow and false What would be the drawbacks done in a basement of a pizza briefing. of this information overload? restaurant. Unfortunately, the Another aspect of mass- The dramatic side of these false allegations have spread communication is that people communication channels rapidly through social-media have the tendency to search, would be that the transmitted and many people believed read or hear only those news information to the population them, including a man who or TV channels which are in might not always be veridic. was determined to stop this accordance with their own As a consequence of the criminal act by entering armed opinions, conceptions, and rapidity and ease with which in that restaurant. beliefs. In other words, people information is disseminated Moreover, the individual is want to hear only what they in our contemporary society, confronted with a massive like. For example, vegans and the phenomenon of fake- quantity of information, which meat-eaters will always prefer news and disinformation has he or she should subject to to gather information from been concerningly increasing processes of analyzation and dissimilar sources: one which over in the past years. Also, verification, before taking it for praises the veganism and its contribution to a healthier society, the other one which opposes veganism and shows the benefits that meat might have for the body. Despite being presented with accurate and verified information, if it is contrary to their beliefs, people will rarely accept it. In brief, our society is confronting with an unprecedent information overload, so the citizens must put the effort to verify and to perceive with an objective eye anything that is served by the media. Other- wise, the contemporary person might find themselves in a paradox: despite having plenty of informa- tion, they might end up misinformed.
58 “We want to open the doors to the world of argument through this club, a world where people battle their social anxiety, public anxiety and intelectual limitations.”
59 Volunteering in High School Article and Design By Timea Florean
60 Article and Design By Timea Florean
61 The Meaning of Life By Valentina Panas I was asked a year ago by my little niece what is the meaning of life. We hadn’t seen each other for two years due to the pandemic and I hadn’t realized how much she had grown mentally, but anyway, such a profound question from a 9-year-old got stuck me for a moment. I didn’t know exactly what to say to her to make sense. There have been philosophers who have sought an answer to this question, and, in turn, the answers are so numerous leaving room for so many interpretations that there is no valid general truth. We are billions of individuals of the human species on this planet, so different, precisely because we think. However, there are also many adults who do not ask themselves this question, nor will they ever ask themselves. And momentarily, I had an inspiration, answering her: you must try to be the best version of yourself at every moment of your life. It goes without saying I explained this syllogism to her using examples from her life as a child. As an individual, it is, however, very complicated to achieve this because it requires a lot of knowledge and self-knowledge, and regarding the latter it is difficult to recognize the limits of your incompetence. Knowing these limits gives you, as a unique individual, the opportunity to evolve in an attempt to work tenaciously to overcome those limits, but if you have high self-esteem you will succeed in the end. As a teacher, your mission is to facilitate students’ knowledge and self-knowledge in a continuous process of forming a complex set of skills, but perhaps the most difficult process is the one related to the development of their thinking. Reducing the educational act only to the skills of memorizing information is proof of the misunderstanding of your professional mission, and if you add to this simple evaluation standards in the desire to give students only high grades, then you prevent them from accessing genuine, true knowledge and self-knowledge. Perhaps, for us as teachers, in the light of our mission, it is appropriate to ask more often what is the meaning of life because this answer even if it must be the same, the answers know a continuous dynamic of manifestation as a result of the fact that knowledge itself is in such an rapid evolution. So, what is the meaning of life?
62 Be Patient! By Alexia Pop Ancu Be Patient! Sometimes you have to go through the worst to get to the best! Patience is a very important aspect for every person as this quality may help you see the silver ray in every cloudy situation. Moreover, this means that you will keep your spirits high and you will never give up, no matter the odds. Since ancient times, the Greek and Roman thinkers and Confucius as well, have mentioned the fact that patience is a virtue! Why? Because waiting is the hardest thing for any human being. Time passes with a different speed when you wait, when you have to prove that you are patient and generally, because of the chaotic and fast-speed society we live in, people have lost this ability. Moreover, the statement that says ‘sometimes you have to go through the worst to get to the best’, is somehow linked to the idea of being patient. In life we want many things and we never take the time to think if they will bring us the happiness we need or not. Difficult experiences For example, when I was always build a person’s character and personality 11, I changed schools because someone who has seen the bottom will and although the for the always know how to appreciate even the little bits first few days everything of happiness that life brings day by day. was fine, suddenly I started being bullied by a classmate. I spoke to my mother about this, strong person and and she told me that I must be patient and wait that by being patient, for him to get used to me, and that I should calm but assertive, any not care too much about it. For a while, things situation can be solved. started getting better, but then my mother I also feel that this situation brought to light got sick, and I could hardly manage to cope an important quality of mine, patience. Had I with the situation. When my classmate not been patient, maybe I would have reacted heard about this, he started bullying me in a violent way towards my classmate, which again. But this time, I decided not to share may have stopped his behavior towards me, it with anyone, especially with my mother, or it may have escalated. Patience is a virtue, so I wouldn’t make her sad. I just started and please bear in mind that all things come giving my classmate the cold shoulder, I told at the right moment in life and in order to be him my opinion about the situation, and he able to enjoy every good moment, you must stopped. Afterwards, I knew that I am a very see that there can be sad times, too.
63 Smartphones By Emanuel Maxim How much truth do we hold when we say that one simple object can have tremendous effects on teenagers, that it can “steal their lives”? The smartphone is, in my opinion, the most revolutionary invention after that of the television, the plane and the car. The telephone had noble aims: that of helping people communicate whenever, wherever, and with whomever, that of enabling people to take photos of every special moment in their lives, to access the internet at any moment of the day or night, and lately, that of enabling people to pay their shopping with only a simple touch of their smartphones’ screens. However, how can I state the fact that smartphones are stealing people’s lives? The negative effects are, unfortunately, not few nor unnoticable. People use their smartphones too much on a daily basis. They never take their eyes off the screens, not even when they are walking on the streets. They are completely absent to everything friends or when they spend that is going on around them, time with their families. One of even when they go out with their the saddest images of our time is that of a group of friends or family members who are at a display certain levels of table and instead of talking, physical or verbal aggression. laughing and communicating, And that is not all, with the they are all staring at their help of smartphones and the phones, barely uttering one apps people download, they word. Moreover, people not have access to different body only become zombies in their altering filters or situations own lives, but the videos and in which people can build the games they are watching a fake persona, a different on the different apps installed personality, a different life. on their smartphones may Everybody can pretend to be influence their behaviour and whoever they want. mood, therefore influencing In conclusion, phones are the the reactions people have in greatest theft humanity might different situations. People be affected by, allowing people may isolate themselves and to become the thieves of their accentuate introversion, they own life with the help of could feel intense levels of their “trustworthy friend’, the anxiety or they might even smartphone.
64 Ancestry FINDING OUR ROOTS - FAMILY STORIES By Raul Pop-Săvan So after a chat with my grandfather I have found out some mildly interesting things about my family’s past and its members. Today I will talk about my great-great- grandfather, Leibowicz Aaron. He was born in 1881 in Debrecen, then in Austria- Hungary, in a large family, being the youngest child of six. His mother was a housewife and his father was the rabbi of the Debrecen synagogue. After finishing high school in his home town, he moved to Vienna alongside his older brother, Klaus. Having an appreciation and fascination with money since he was a child (which is the very embodiment of the greedy Jew stereotype), he wanted to go to the Vienna school of finance, but he wasn’t able to afford to get in. Although, with some help from his brother, who got another job to gather money for Aaron’s studies, he managed to learn finance there. After he finished his studies, he moved to Budapest and started investing into the stock exchange, and to say it was a success is somewhat of an understatement. In a fairly short amount of time, he managed to become a rather wealthy man. There he also met his would-be wife, Krekneak Matilda. They married in 1907 and between 1908 and 1913 they had 4 kids. At the beginning of WW1, Aaron volunteered to fight in the Imperial Army and was deployed first in Serbia, then on the Russian front and finally on the Romanian front. During the initial battles in the Carpathians, he distinguished himself for his bravery on the battlefield, but was badly wounded in 1917 and thus sent back home. After the war, he got back to being a stock broker during the interwar period, but at the start of WW2, most of his wealth and assets were seized by the Horthy government and he was forced to take up a low- paying steel mill job. Things were now pretty bad, but they at least were alive. But then, the Germans invaded Hungary to topple Horthy, who had tried to pull the country out of the war and in late 1944 started deporting the Jews within Hungary to various concentration camps. Aaron, Matilda and 3 of their children were rounded up and boarded onto a mysterious train, which they didn’t know where it was headed, but they eventually realized: Krakow concentration camp. They spent several hellish months there, until the remaining camp inmates were liberated by the Red Army. From there they made their way back to Budapest, being relieved that their grandkids and son managed to avoid capture by staying in hiding. After the war he worked as a librarian briefly, before going into retirement. Then he lived in peace and quiet until he died in august 1973, 2 weeks after his wife.
65 The Story of Magdalena and Maria By Adina Costin Yesterday was rewarding! As a summer assignment for my English class, I had to dig deep into my maternal grandma’s memory in order to discover captivating life stories of her grandparents. After a long lasting and fascinating talk, I was able to say that my family has a surprising past. Let me share this story with you! In the spotlight will be Magdalena, the mother of my grandmother’s father. She had a sister named Maria. With a view to prospering, even though they were in possession of a lot of land, the girls’ parents decided to go to America to work. Magdalena and Maria, 13 and 9 years old then, were tutored by different relatives who beneficiated from their parents’ fields, harvesting food for all of them, including the young ladies. After 4 years, through some of their father’s friends, it was planned for the girls to go to America so that their family could be reunited and move there for good. A great idea you may think! All said and done! Changing a few trains, the itinerants arrived from Romania to France. Soon, they crossed the English Channel, then headed to Liverpool to board the ship. There, realizing how huge the ocean is and knowing that they had to travel this way for 3 weeks, Magda strongly and stubbornly refused to embark. Also, being afraid of change and unknown, Maria followed her sister’s example. Who would have thought…? Therefore, along with others Romanians who returned, the girls went home. They moved on with their lives, raised a family and claimed their inheritance, corresponding with their parents all the time. But guess what? Meanwhile in Chicago, two siblings, both girls too, were born. One of them became a doctor, graduating Oxford University, and the other a nun. The letters stopped coming once the parents died. Seeing the photos received during the last years of correspondence, the girls, already women at that time, could easily deduce that their parents became quite wealthy. So, they assumed that the reason for not writing anymore was closely related to the younger siblings’ heritage. Rude, right? Nevertheless, this didn’t affect them so much since they weren’t having a hard life either. Check out the pictures above if you really want to connect with the characters and the story. You can see the nun with her mother, Magdalena with her grandson as well as her birth certificate. Spending the majority of your life far away from your parents’ guidance, especially your mother’s while being a teenage girl, must be as difficult as it is painful. I’m currently thinking about how many young people nowadays would do what they did. Well, this was the story of two sisters who took a risky decision and ended up being strong and responsible. My finale question is: would you?
66 Hope is Won By Ciuban Oana Adelina Every person has a story; and some… have more. And not all stories belong to them. The stories were told… maybe in an evening, maybe on a Saturaday morning. Also, a single story can be heard by several people. Then the story will branch into as many stories as there are people who heard it. And everybody will have a different truth because once the days go by, the real truth fades. A song says: “Dimmi le tue verita” (tell me your truth) … and here I am, to tell you my truth about some people who live a long time ago, the grandparents of my grandparents. It was war, pain and a quote: “Hope is won”. Ion, a simple man, forced to go to fight like others, decided to go home. He wasn’t alone. A friend called Robert came with him. They traveled on foot and mostly during darkness so no one could see them. Their destination was Romania. They knew the direction, but, at one point on their way, they argued… because Robert wanted to go to the left and Ion… to the right; and so they did… Robert on his way and Ion on his. After three months of traveling, Ion arrived in Viseu de Mijloc. He hid himself in a cemetery for a couple of days. Some kids were playing nearby. Ion gave a knife to one of them and he told him to go and to give the knife to Maria Ciuban, Ion’s wife. And then she knew. She found him and they decided to live on a hill, in a small house, raising cows until the danger goes away, but they remained there forever… and their house is still on the hill and in it there is a table and on the table there is a knife... Meanwhile, the same war, another story. Vasile came home for some weeks and when the time to go back came, he hid himself. When the army came after him, he was under a bunch of branches. A military man saw him, but he didn’t say anything, he understood. The military men left and Vasile was free some years, until another war arrived. He broke his own leg and never tried to cure it so he won’t be able to fight anymore. Another man called Vasile came back home when the first war was over. He told his grandchildren about the times when in the night, he and his friends were playing cards with their enemies and in the day light, when they were fighting, they shot the trees around, not the humans. Their enemies did that too. This Vasile returned on the fight camp to fight in World War Two when the military men came after him, but he never came back… All stories are best if they are written. It would have been wonderful if the grandparents of my grandparents had a diary, a kept diary. As my history teacher says: “Write your diary!!!”.
My Great-grandmother 67 By Țiudic Mihai My great-grandmother, Firona, was a woman from the country but very respected. In the 1870s, in Romanian villages, school was seen as a waste of time for girls aged 15-16, when they were already considered suitable for marriage. Her father arranged a marriage with a handsome, modest young man with a considerable social status. All the girls dreamed of marrying him, but it was their parents’ decision, not theirs. Upon hearing the news that she would get married, Firona decided to oppose but her attempts were in vain. She was not bothered by the fact that she is getting married, but the fact that she will not be able to study further, she will not see her colleagues, teachers, the classroom where she spent precious time accumulating new information every day. She decided to run away from home with her best friend, Marisca, who was also forced to marry. They run to the neighboring village, to a forest where everything around them was trees and animals. However, their adventure did not last long because their presence raised suspicions to the forester, who was a good friend of Marisca’s father. He approached them, telling them that he could give them food and water if they went to his wife. But the forester, a clever man, called the girls’ families to his home, entrusting them alive and unharmed. The girls could not believe that they could be so naive. Firona and Marisca’s parents were impressed by the efforts of the two girls and by their devotion to school, so that they postponed the marriage of both girls. After 3 years, Firona finished her high school studies, but her financial situation did not allow her to attend the desired university, as it was far from home. However, the lack of university did not prevent her from using her agile skills and thinking. She was engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, married Marisca’s brother and had 3 children. I am sure that Firona could have done much more than that if she had had the necessary conditions. Her story and devotion impressed me.
68 My English teacher challenged us at the end of the 10th grade school year: to find out information about a grandparent of our grandparents. I was very pleased with the idea so I did a lot of research and asked my parents and my grandparents about our tree family and they told me a lot of stories, but I can remember just one very well. That story impressed me a lot and I loved it. It was about a very poor man, called Stefan. He was a handsome, tall boy with blue eyes and blond hair. He is my grandmother’s maternal grandfather. Being from a village and being very poor, the boy went and helped people, from an early age, for the maintenance of his own family. Stefan entered my family as a servant, receiving only food and shelter. He helped with household and farm business, and from what I was told, he had a bed in the stable where he slept. Stefan was very hardworking, always there when you needed him. That is why they loved him excessively. My mother told me that those in our family he worked for could not have children, so they adopted Stefan. His new father, in 1800, went to America for two years, and returned with money, which he used to The Story of Ștefan buy agricultural land, thus By Emanuela Bușecan becoming very rich. Of course, after his death they all became as much as they did, and eventually they got married. At the beginning of the relationship, they chose to keep it private because they did not think that their parents would be that happy for them. It seemed to be a very sweet story, and that’s why this is my favorite story. After marriage, Stefan was requested to go to the army, but not as a soldier. He helped the colonists prepare, clean the weapons, did all sorts of chores around the house, and lived under the same roof with them. Stefan was a funny boy since childhood, and this quality did not leave him even in his old age. He loved children very much and entertained his grandchildren every day. Although he was old, he looked like he was 20 years old, fighting with water with them. He lived a beautiful life with his wife, whom he loved immensely, and died of old age.
69 My great grandfather, Grigore Laza who was born in 1902, experienced the compound life during WWII. My mother told me a part of the story (only parts that she remembers since she was little) about how life was in the compound and how he got from Siberia back to Romania only by foot. A part that I found pretty interesting, was that there would be put to work people with a good physical condition. And what they meant by this, they would pinch your skin with their fingers, and if there was more than 1 cm of fat between their fingers, you were obliged to go and work. What my great grandpa did at some point, was that the only meal they had a day, he would give it to others, only not to go and work, as the work was extremely hard and exhausting. Too bad for him, because until he reached the “1 cm rule” the whole compound got into a phase, where everyone was obliged to work, men and women, no matter how skinny or weak you were. This is how he remained skinny and hungry. After that, he ate all of his meal all the time, which was not a lot, usually My Great-grandfather’s Story a good amount of bread with some By Cristina Șoncodi jam or sometimes cold soup. When he escaped the compound, he got back to Romania by foot. It was very hard, it was cold and he barely had any clothes, he was weak and hungry, and did not have that much to eat during his way back home. I know that it took him a good amount of days, maybe weeks, but what was important was that he got back home, where he was taken very good care of. My great grandfather died in 1994, aged 92. He lived a happy life after all of what happened to him, and I am so proud of him for not giving up his goal of coming back home. If he did, I would probably not be here writing this. I really enjoyed finding out this detail about my great grandfather, which is the only memory that my mom has, when he used to tell her this in real life. I wish I could go back in time and meet him, and hear the story on the whole.
70 i An Unexpected Meeting By Adelheid Maria Reuss This is the story of my great-great-grandparents’ meeting. My great-great-grandfather, Johan Reuss, was an army general in Germany, in charge of troops on the Western front. During the Christmas Truce of 1914, the two armies did not hesitate to turn a blind eye to the higher-ups’ orders, enjoying their holidays. On Christmas Eve, soldiers from both sides dropped their weapons and, at night, the singing of Christmas carols began. My predecessor was an outgoing man so, despite his position not allowing him to take part in the celebrations, he couldn’t sit around, waiting for war to start again. In the middle of the night, as the festivities were going on, he sneaked out of his quarters to pay a visit to a childhood friend he knew to be currently cared for at an improvised hospital nearby. As they met up and started rejoicing together, drinking some schnapps my ancestor had brought and smoking tobacco, a nurse came to tell them to be quiet, out of consideration for the patients that needed rest. They did go outside, but not before my forefather jokingly exclaimed: “You should join us, it’s Christmas after all!” She unexpectedly showed up a few minutes later with some cake the nurses had managed to bake. It was not much, just three thin slices of a rather unappealing dish. And yet, despite its looks, the texture was that of the finest sponge cake. As for the taste, one would expect it to be plain, given the available ingredients and yet, the subtle fragrance of cinnamon was quite soothing. After tasting that seemingly miraculous creation, both men were astounded. My great-great-grandfather did not hide his amazement and kindly thanked the nurse for sharing such a treasure in those trying times. He then asked her her name, to which she replied that her name was Cathrin Adler. After that fateful encounter, he would send her letters regularly and occasionally visit her, if his duties allowed it. She was initially trying to keep her distance, but later started replying tenderly. They eventually confessed their growing love for each other and the bloodline was kept alive to this day.
71 The Story of my Great-Ggrandfather By Augustin Giovana When I was a little younger, me and my mother went to visit my great- grandparents’ house, because no one went there after they died. As I entered a larger room, I noticed some crutches made of wood, so I asked my mom whose they were, and she began to tell me the whole story. In my great grandfather’s time, the boys were forced to go to war to defend their country, whether they want it or not, so he had to go, too, leaving his wife and two children alone. My great- grandmother was stressed because she didn’t know if her husband would come back at home. After a long time spent on the battlefield among bombs and powerful weapons, my great-grandfather returned home, accomplished that he defended his country, but unfortunately without a leg, because he was shot. After returning home he was seen as a hero, because he helped to win the war, managing to return home alive, which many could not do because the war made millions of people die, fighting like real heroes for their country. People from everywhere came to ask him what was actually going on on the battlefield and how he managed to survive. This story has made me understand how hard times have changed and what democracy has managed to do, but thanks to our great-grandfathers we have the freedom we enjoy now and without which we could not live. To me my great-grandfather s a real hero that I will be proud of all my life because he has done everything he can to help the country complete the war.
72 THE PANDEMIC YEAR 2020 AND LESSONS WE’VE LEARNED By Mara Dod-Marinca By Kristina Felleg 2020 was the craziest Because I'm quite interested challenge I ever got in my entire life. At the beginning of the pandemic, in this astrological part of life, I can since the virus spread and we slowly say that most people want to know started online school, I was a little as much as possible about the new bit scared. On the news channels year to come or if it is better than they presented us many positive the previous one. That is why, cases and quite large numbers of 2020 has been predicted as a year dead people. Eventually, I began of changes, developments and to adjust and learn that I needed agitation. From my own experience to take care of myself and my I learned a lot this special year. In health, not just for me, but for my the first part of this year, I realized family too. Last year, I started to that spending free time with appreciate much more the time loved ones, enjoying the moments spent in nature, in the fresh air. It together, because they won’t live was like pure heaven to enjoy little forever, is more important than things like playing with my little seeing my introverted side, sitting brother outside every day after on the phone. One thing I didn't school. I also understand that it is think I would see accomplished okay not to be okay all the time. It is that I managed to learn to is okay to be vulnerable and have snowboard, which is because if awful days. When I was feeling you don't focus entirely on school, sad, I began to cook and to bake. you discover different passions I mastered new recipes of pasta that could be beneficial and useful and cakes. I found out who my for your lifestyle current or for true friends were, who stayed with the near future. Despite the fact me through better and worse and that we weren’t allowed to meet I started to love them more than I with friends, I learned that long- already did. I am extremely grateful distance relationships can be just for going through 2020 and ending as strong regardless of distance, it pretty well, without toxic people and degraded relationships were and regrets. I discovered that social due to destiny. Considering that media is fake and I learned to be I traveled a lot and in 2020 I was true to myself and not to care about limited only to the place where I other people’s opinions. was born, it made me appreciate more the little things offered by any experience. And the most important thing learned is to live every moment as if it were the last, because we can no longer recover these moments, these changes making me a better version of myself.
By Iulian Onea 73 2020 was an unexpected year. No one ever thought that we By Tudor Rus could experience such a disastrous The year 2020 is definitely situation like the pandemic we one that we’ll remember for the rest encountered the past year. We’ve of our lives. It was March 2020 that been through difficult times and we thought we were going to stay at had a lot of challenges to surpass. home for a couple of weeks at max. During this period I’ve learnt a These weeks turned into months lot of things about myself and the which turned into a whole year society that we live in. One of this (and it doesn’t seem to be stopping lessons is about time management. anytime soon). Still, I learned a I’ve realized that with that much couple of valuable lessons during free time I could do a lot of things these special times at home. that could actually help me in the First of all, I learned not to take future like reading more books or things for granted. I thought that learning different skills. On the school, parties and all of the fun other hand humans are people projects would always be there. that have their own routines and This year taught me to enjoy these one change in their daily activity kinds of things even more, since could really mess up their plans they’ve kind of rare these days. I am and make them not do anything at now aware of how important these all. The coronavirus pandemic has moments are, which makes me brought a lot with it but I think the enjoy these things even more and most important aspect is related not take them for granted – every to our health. Staring at a monitor evening spent with my friends, for more than 6 hours a day is sure every fun activity and every party. not healthy for our eyes and not Second of all, I learned to deal with being able to go outside sure made isolation. Being isolated almost all matters worse. I realized that my day everyday has definitely changed parents were right that from one my life – at first, for the worse. I felt point of view their life was better quite sad at first, since I wouldn’t than our technologized one. Finally be able to meet my classmates I learnt that happiness comes from and my friends everyday. The spending time with the people you lack of social interaction was love and that you should really quite saddening. After a couple of live in the present because each months of adapting, I started to fill moment something terrific could my free time with other activities – happen and destroy almost all the such as reading, playing the drums, good things in one person’s life. studying and watching movies. This made me more happy and more fulfilled. 2020 is a year to remember, since it taught us a lot of useful things – and it forced us to adapt to a new way of living.
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