If you try to remember a casual acquaintance with whom you have not seen for a long time, you will focus not on age or appearance – on the impression. You will remember the «aftertaste» that remains from communicating with a person. You will not forget Ivanna Yatsyk for sure – the explosion of positivity and wisdom remains after the meeting for a long time. At 16, she has experience in projects, volunteering and international internships. And although adults are not always ready to accept children’s wisdom, Ivanka’s experience is interesting and may be useful not only to her peers

«I learned about volunteering a long time ago – my mother volunteered all my conscious childhood. It was the «Angels» movement of the public organization «Youth Foundation of European Initiatives», which often held various actions. At first, I just came as a child and watched what was happening. Then she grew up and began to participate in the actions as a full participant. This attitude to life and the desire to change the world around me for the better was instilled in me by my mother»

«One of the experiences I volunteered in America was during my internship: I worked in the library with my best friend. We had to check the books, and we had a lot of fun together. If I did it myself, it might not be so exciting, but it was more fun together. Therefore, I have only warm memories and the best impressions about volunteering… Volunteering cannot be done by force. When you do something of your own free will, the results are very different… Any volunteering is important, and you need to choose what you like. You can try different things: today at the marathon you give the participants water, and tomorrow you dance as part of a charity event. You just have to be more discriminating with the help you render toward other people. Everyone has a theme that strikes the soul: young children, sick people or the elderly. You can always try to fix something or just improve your mood… It’s just important to understand why you are doing it, to have your own goal. Someone does it for personal pleasure – and it’s very good too. If you’re excited about the process, it’s great. It seems to me that teenagers definitely need to try themselves as volunteers. Now young people are cool – smart, talented. It’s just that not everyone is able to show themselves or do not understand where they could apply their talents and skills»

«Abroad at the time of entering the university, they are interested in what you did to improve life in your community. Sometimes this is very noticeable and can be chosen from among others, given your active social position. I believe that we should introduce such a practice. Start with school, give certain recommendations taking into account the interests of children and adolescents. For example, in graduating classes there will be fewer hours of such social practice, as it is necessary to prepare for exams. In middle classes, where there are no exams, you can give more hours for social or community work, more options for choosing projects. This can create a good atmosphere in the classroom when students have common interests and start working with those with whom they did not want to communicate before because they simply did not cross paths. Volunteering brings people closer»

«I had to take part in international projects both in Ukraine and abroad… It helps a lot to learn a language, gain experience, improve language skills. But more importantly, communicating with people from other countries helps to perceive the world – sometimes it literally turns the mind. It does not matter where a person comes from, how old he is, what his hobbies are, but you can feel a kindred spirit in him. It helps to realize the difference of people from other countries, from other parts of Ukraine and to find a common language faster»

«When I was on an internship in America, I had the same problems as everyone else: it’s «home seakness» when you miss home. At first, of course, everyone is in a state of euphoria. You’re in America – «wow!», High. But then begins school, adaptation, search for friends, clubs. And then the exams begin or there are some small problems. And you think, «It would be better at home». Or you find out that your mother baked your favorite cake, and you start thinking only about home and miss your family. This was the most difficult, because there was an understanding that it was impossible to change the situation. On the one hand, it’s cool for you here and now, you need to catch the moment, but in the evening you come and want to call your mother, who is asleep at this time, because it’s night in Ukraine. It was also difficult to join a company that had already been formed. We were even recommended to join the chang-groups first, i.e. to communicate with those who also came for the exchange. I was very happy to meet a girl from Germany who came for an exchange. We were friends all the time, and only then began to be friends with other classmates»

«I was not the first person to come to this school on an exchange program from Ukraine, so some of my new friends knew a lot about Ukraine. However, I had a whole week to present my homeland – I agreed with the teachers who allocated some part of the lesson. Some gave ten minutes, and some a whole lesson. I came to school in an embroidered shirt, showed prepared presentations, and then everyone could ask questions. They asked about different things: about traditions, about dishes. My peers really liked the stories about Ivan Kupala’s holiday, our songs, they liked our embroidered shirts. I actively tried to convey that we are hospitable and sincere. She told about difficult moments in the history of Ukraine, when it was necessary to defend our will, but we showed resilience and fought for our independence. It was close to my listeners, because there patriotism and active life position is brought up from an early age – it becomes part of both school and home education»

«I would not like to leave Ukraine forever, but I would like to travel. For example, choose a profession that would provide an opportunity to earn a living, but not tied to one place. I want to see different countries, get acquainted with different cultures. I have many friends abroad that I want to see. Today I have no problems with communication – I know Polish, German, English, I learn Czech, Spanish and Italian, I was fond of French and Latin, I studied these languages for 2 years… I am very inspired by people: if I have a cool environment, I am ready to work day and night. People bring a lot into our lives, so we want resourceful communication and new meetings»

«Education is important. Any, even at university, though self-education. Some say that they will not get knowledge at the university. I can understand this, but everyone chooses what knowledge to receive. If you come to a lecture just to show up, of course, you won’t get anything, you won’t understand and you won’t know. It’s a different matter when you come to a lecture, listen, ask questions, clarify and get answers… Studying at university and college is not just about gaining professional skills. This is both self-discipline and the ability to cope with stressful situations – the defense of a diploma, internship or exams. It is important to understand why you are doing something… Now the option of self-education and self-development is being advertised. Most likely, it may bear fruit, and universities will never be so relevant. But I believe that in the future they will not disappear completely, because there will always be people who want to continue to receive something from teachers, rather than looking for information on their own. When you study on your own, you can get lost in the flow of information – there will be no system. And it’s easier to plan time at the university»

«I was lucky – I was raised strong and independent. And that’s a big plus. My parents are teachers, but I knew they would never tell me anything about the current grade of «six» or «seven» – I knew it was in my best interest to have good annual grades. I will not be scolded for grades. I’m a teenager, I also make mistakes»(Laughs)

«Parental support is very important, especially when you are a teenager. The family is the closest people, so it is important for teenagers to understand their emotions, show them, talk about them. The option «I will decide everything about myself» does not work: call, write, explain. You can’t talk – write a message. Even the emotion «I do not know» is absolutely adequate. It should be explained that this is not just a reluctance to answer parents’ questions, but a person really does not know. Say, «I’ll think about it now, figure it out, and answer later»

«Sometimes I can’t explain my actions, and then conversations take place. Mom is more emotional – she can make a bright remark, and I listen to her. And long conversations with my dad. And I’m already sitting like this: «I understand everything». These are different methods, but both are effective… I know that when my parents make remarks to me, it’s not to tell me I’m bad, but to make me better. It is obvious to me that for my parents I am the best in the whole world. They may not tell me that often, but sometimes I wake up, go to school with my dad, and he says, «Well, you know you’re cool?» And it makes it easier for me. Or I come to my mother and say: «I have project activities, I’m nervous». And she answers: «Why are you nervous? Everything will be fine». It calms me down»

«I’ve never taught adults before, but in reality we all learn from each other. From someone you can adopt the style of conversation – gestures, words. From someone – the style of clothing. We learn not from mistakes – from life. And we meet people not just like that, but to learn different things from them: to listen to others, to support them correctly, to be able to ask questions to get an answer. We learn and teach at the same time. Maybe there are already people who have learned something from me»

«I love our park very much. This is not a specific place, but the park as a whole. It’s atmospheric: a lot of trees, always walking with children, with pets. Warmer next to the trees, not on an empty street. And I really like Zhytomyr murals on the walls of houses, created by professionals or just talented people… »

«I am both a dreamer and a pragmatist at the same time. I am a dreamer in what I cannot control. For example, my dream is to learn to fight. This is not an urgent need now, but why not in the future? And in matters related to external evaluation, I am a pragmatist – you need to prepare for external evaluation. You need to dream, but then pragmatically realize your dreams. This is what happened to me with the desire to get to America: first I dreamed, then I learned about FLEX and gradually overcame each stage. My dreams and goals go hand in hand»

«I am absolutely sure that there are no lucky people. However, if a person considers himself lucky, according to research, so be it. That is, you will definitely be lucky. Lucky people are people who are ready for any conditions, and are able to see something special in quite ordinary things: they will notice the ads on the pole and find the job of their dreams. And those who do not consider themselves lucky, will just walk past that ad, thinking about their difficult lives. Lucky people work a lot on themselves, and this work concerns not only the state or shape of the body, or mental skills. Such people know how to control or demonstrate their own emotions, how to communicate. Lucky people just get high from life, and create this moment for themselves»