Hania B.

School started almost a month ago and I am finishing fitting extra classes to my timetable. I gave it a lot of thought recently and at some point I felt unsure about that routine I was creating for myself. Some people in my age claim that they need ‘freedom’, in context of not having anything planned for their time after school. In my opinion it might be connected with the fact that some people need a lot of changes and variety in their teens. The routine might make it harder. On the other hand, without systematicity it is hard or even impossible to learn certain things you might never have a chance to learn as an adult. But the problem does not only apply to young people. Grown ups also struggle with ‘burning out’ because of getting stuck in a rut, e.g. in reference to their career life. I feel that whichever option you pick, you miss out on something. Striking a balance between these two is extremely difficult and means something different for every person.

Last week I came across a survey results, showing the decrease in the number of people who read books regularly. I realized that indeed, in case of me and my friends literature is definitely not the most common topic of conversation. It made me wonder what the cause is. Is it some generational issue? When I talk to my parents, teachers etc. they make an impression that in their younger days reading was something desired, something that led to long and passionate discussions. Maybe that change is a result of different understanding of mass media after the Internet’s emergence? It is not only for the teenagers that literature keeps losing its importance. I know a lot of adults who used to read a lot when they were young but now they rarely find time for it. That raises the question how will it look in 20 or 30 years when our generation will be our parents’ age. Will anyone read books at all if most of teenagers now do not enjoy it?

Recently I've seen a play "Zapiski z wygnania" in Polonia Theatre and I've been to an exhibition "Estranged. March '68 and Its Aftermath" in Polin Museum. Both of them ended with a similar conclusion that hate is something pervasive and over the years the only thing that changed is the way it is expressed. Their endings were focused on recent examples of hostility in polish society, for instance posts on Twitter, comments or recordings from manifestations. Those events made me think about the source of such behavior and feelings. In my opinion they were unfounded and adressed to strangers those people knew nothing about. I started wondering where does it all come from? Is it the influence of such person’s environment, the way of upbringing, family or friends? Or is it some psychological issue that makes them more likely to ‘express’ their bad feelings in a way that hurts other people? I found it really disturbing that people from the same country, with t