Editor’s Note:
This article is a part of the Holos Project, a four-way partnership (ENGin, The Los Angeles Times Insider, Published Points of View, The Outspoken) established to empower the voices of Ukrainian students across the world through one-on-one journalism mentorship. This article was written by Svitlana from Ukraine with the mentorship of Kiera Horne from the United States. “Holos” is the Ukrainian word for “Voice”.
School is a place where all of our memories and moments are stored. We spend a large majority of our time here, to many people, school is like home. In each country, the educational process takes place differently. As a sixteen year old student from Ukraine, I have experienced various fond memories of school that have imprinted on me.
It was the last lesson on the day, everyone was exhausted and wished for food and rest. The teacher was late to class and we all sat around lethargically waiting until we all had the brilliant idea to run to the cafeteria and buy food. We chose two fearless students to complete the task. The two chosen students were my friend and I. It’s not that we were fearless, we just wanted to eat. We walked down the corridor to the dining room, everything was calm and still not a person in sight. We bought 5 pies and 4 teas. Now just imagine that I have two cups of tea and two more pies in my hands and one in my teeth. My girlfriend has two cups of tea and two pies in her hands. We left the dining room, as the class teacher stood in front of us, looking us in the face and saying: “Let me help you.” Of course, we agreed. When she first entered the classroom, everyone was shocked, but when she entered, we were all happy.
In our class, there is such a law: if you want to eat in class, treat the whole class and the teacher. Since there was enough food for everyone, we all ate together. But if you think that this is the end of our adventures, you’re mistaken.
In our school, they create interesting quests for students. This is the moment when the class gets stronger and everyone stands up for each other. It happens quite interestingly, we gather in the hall and the game begins. We have an hour to find the solution, but it is not easy, because this solution is an interesting fact or story about our school or our city. Sometimes remembering these moments I want to cry because you understand that this cannot happen now and that precious moments of life were simply stolen from us. We have a lot of memories about school. They are pleasant and bad, but now many Ukrainian pupils, students, and children have realized that these are the most pleasant and unforgettable moments. On behalf of all Ukrainian teenagers, I want to tell you to appreciate these stories. When you have a hard time at school, just remember the pleasant moments, because they are so important.
