I really have a hard time not only comprehending how quickly the last few months have past, but how different that person looking ahead from a few months ago is. I am now for the first time in the paradoxal situation of looking forward to studying for my exams, because of how simple that is – you don’t make arrangements or intricate schedules or negotiate with the books, you just goddamn sit down and study from them. Too many things have happened recently, most of them demanding that I put them down of paper, but it simply didn’t feel right to do it yet. But now it feels right.
Here are some of the things I’ll write about which have been going on in the past few months:
– As I said, I’ve changed. I’ve realized what I want to do in life and this has had an incredibly profound influence on me. The way you see the world, yourself, the way you plan, act… all of this has changed. The fast, quite smooth ride now, however, is a result of going over some very thorny roads, and if I didn’t take those – and have had the opportunity to take those – I wouldn’t be where I am today. I want to analize how and why it happened now, why it didn’t happen sooner, and what you, in case you still don’t know what you want to do in life, can do to find that out.
– my experimental language workshop is ending next week – an incredible experience. I’ve learned so much about languages, motivation and, most importantly, the power of learning in groups. This workshop has had a huge impact on how I see education in general.
– a project in which I’ve visited 12 high school parliaments across Serbia is almost done. Seeing how much the students if they only get a little guidance, can do, but also how small the obstacles barring them from doing it can be, has had a profound effect on how I see activism and the training necessary for doing it right.
– I’ve written more serious papers in the past few months than possibly during my entire life. One of them is a research paper on my experimental workshop which I’ll present this summer at an international conference on education in Barcelona. I’ll post it here soon.
– Having helped organize elections for my student parliament, I’ve had a brush with the sort of power-hungry young people I’ve almost forgotten about – the politikants. How do you fight those people, both until the next election/project/etc. and long term?
– I’ve been a witness to several awful situations in which I felt a need to do something, but didn’t know what – a mother yelling insults at her traumatized child in the bus, a man in the post office screaming at the clerk… How do you react in such situations? What message do you want to – can you – send to the idiots and the public?
– While developing my workshop I’ve had the chance of witnessing how ideas develop – from that flash of inspiration to the participants testing your flash out in front of you. I’ve analized the process and I’m posting my thoughts soon.
That’s it for now. I’m very much looking forward to writing about these things and to seeing your thoughts on these issues.
New post tomorrow.
Beating Tolstoy 