When people ask me how my life has changed since the beginning of the

war, they usually mean February 24th, 2022. But we should remember that the
russian aggression against Ukraine itself started in 2014. At that time, the hybrid
war in the east of Ukraine hasn't gained the world publicity yet. But if the world
isn't aware of the war, it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. Thousands of people had
to leave their houses or stay under the shelling. Considering the fact that my town
Sloviansk is situated in the east, the war didn't overlook me too. My family had
had to go from my occupied town away to the city of Kharkiv. After several
months Sloviansk was liberated, people could finally turn back to their normal life.
But not all people were so lucky: lots of cities, towns and villages have been
remaining under the annexation since 2014 until now.

The first thing I realised in the morning of February 24th was that the fear of
coming close to windows turned back to my mind. I've had this fear before, in
2014, when the war has just started. I even forgot I had frightened by such thing.
Probably, the thing that has changed for me during the war is the ability to
appreciate home. "Home" is not a house. It is something much bigger than just
walls. For example, my memories take a valuable place in the notion of home. It is
the place where I was raised in, where I experienced my grief and joy. Now I'm
devoid of opportunity to be at home. I have to live in a completely unfamiliar
place, where I don't have any friends. The only thing I want is coming back where
I have born, visit my school, where I have been studying all my life, meet those
who I was raised with, go for a walk along the streets, which I know since my
childhood.

For lots of Ukrainians, war became not a drive, but a need of integration to
the foreign society. Unfortunately, I've had a similar experience too. I have been
living in Latvia for four months. Did I become open to the society of that country?
Absolutely not. Despite the fact that I like finding out something new about the
culture and mentality of other countries, living abroad was incredibly difficult for
me. Everything seemed so unfamiliar in the worst sense of this word. I'm sure, if I
were end up there in other circumstances, I'd like Latvia. But the only thing I could
think about there is Ukraine. The distance between me and my home made me feel
awful. I like everything connected with tourism and travelling abroad, but if I'm
forced to do it for an unknown period of time, it's completely different thing.

I used to think about leaving my country and moving to more developed

ones. But after I had remained without the opportunity to be at home safely, I
changed my mind. Now I'm sure that the best place is the one which brought you
up.