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...

The message coming from this film is that in modern society people's lifestyles are based on possessing and following the trends. The main characters' work is selling a certain way of living. It is focused on buying various products to become more similar to the 'perfect family' which becomes a role model for the whole community. Steve, Kate and their 'children' try to impress and influence others. As a result, people imitate them by purchasing products they use and recommend. Neighbours want to be appreciated for who they are but for what they have. This community stands for a significant part of the society, as nowadays many people follow the trends and buy more and more products just to admired by others.

I think that art does not have to be beautiful. It's aim is to make people think about something or arouse certain emotions. It should in some way relate to reality, which is not always beautiful. If art was focused only on pleasing things, it would depict just a small part of people's' lives. You could compare it to movies - if they were only showing nice and beautiful things nobody would watch them, because we would find them boring and not relevant to our everyday experiences. Art also should show all aspects of life, also the 'unpleasant' ones.

Being a real man nowadays equals being a good and respectful person. There are some qualities that are necessary to create any well-working relationship, not only in the love sense but also in family or at work. All relationships should be built on mutual esteem but it is surprisingly hard. In today’s world men are more likely to impose their opinions or try to dominate in various questions, and often it comes without a bit of respect for the others. I think the most significant feature of a real man is that he is simply respectful to other people.

Last week I watched a short scientific animated film named "The tree of life" narrated by David Attenborough. It was focused on the theory of evolution. The film was very interesting and for sure was based on reliable research. In my opinion it was an essence of the whole theory and made it accessible and understandable for many people, even though many of them do not have sophisticated knowledge in this field. I believe that such films are a good source of education for all people and it would be beneficial for all of us if they spread and became available in more languages etc.