Edulugude võistlus

Success-story competition
„Small Town Inhabitants – Educated or Uneducated People“

To begin with, my childhood was quite ordinary, I spent a lot of time in my country home, spending most of my time playing. I have been raised by my mother. As I grew older, I got more and more interested in different things. At one point it occured to me that when I want to be successful in some field, then I really have to educate myself in that filed.When my friends have characterised me then they have mainly mentioned that I am an active person, who has been successful in different fields. I still do not think I am succesful because it is a really complicated definition, but I know that I have succeeded in doing several things. For me the key is my so called success has been that when dealing with a particular thing I have tried to delve into the subject as deep as possible.
Firstly, when we are talking about success and asking the question who is a succesful person, we have to understand that success means various things for different persons. The main question is what makes a human being happy? In my opinion, as a person claims that he is happy, then we can firmly say that this person is successful in life because he feels content with his life. Contentedness and happiness are the key factors in determing how succesful someone is.
It is often said that for a small town inhabitant, it is a lot harder to achieve something in life. I totally disagree with this statement. There are just other values in a town with a small population density. Values concerning family life are coming more forth, career and such kind of personal ambitions are kept in the backround. Also it is often mentioned that making a successful career in a small town is largely impossible, because of the lack of different resources and opportunities. By these it is commonly ment a uncompetitive education and few opportunities to develop extracurricular activities. In my opinion it is again a misunderstanding. I am at the moment eighteen years old and I have spent all my life in a beautiful small town called Tartu. From the early age I have been interested in photography and the world in general. Photography is a pretty expensive hobby and starting with it was quite difficult in the beginning. I had to take photographs with really poor cameras and more than once I heard how somebody was laughing over me because of my uncompetitive equipment. Still I remained selfconfident and full of determination. Time passed and I had enough money to buy a bit better camera and from this point, things started to go uphills. By the present moment I have achieved good results in different competitions and I am working as a photographer for two youth magazines. I have managed to buy myselt contemporary equipment what professional photographers would be very proud. At the moment photography has compensated itself fully. The best thing about it is that I am really good at something and people respect me because of that. I am proud that I had enough determination in the past that I did not give up my hobby.
Another well-known statement that I have heard is that small town inhabitants haven’t seen the world. As we know, travelling broadens the mind. I agree that in a small town it is often harder to find the right resources for going abroad. Some years ago I felt this kind of situation very clearly. I really wanted to see the world! The only question was how, because my financial resources were limited. Nevertheless, I think, it is the perfect situation in life. If you are eager to get something you have to think how it is possible to fulfill your dreams. I knew I was interested in writing and photography . Then came the question, how could I combine them. I examined the theme thoroughly and to my suprise there have always been many nationwide competitions for students and the prize sometimes has been a journey to somewhere. I rememember clearly that the first prize that I got for an essay was a backpack and the first journey that I won was to Brussels. To this day, thanks to these competitions, I have had the chance to visit about ten foreign countries and many of them even twice. Herewith I just want to say that nothing is impossible. The main thing is the desire to gain something. When you have found a goal, then you just have to start working for it!
Big city schools have always been preferred to small schools. Even so, it is unfair to say that schools which are situated in big towns are giving better education than the ones in small towns. Mostly, examination results are being compared, when making this kind of statistics. I truly believe that the only difference between schools is that some institutions just give better conditions for students. At the moment I am studying in Hugo Treffner Gymnasium and this school is highly valued in our country. After finishing the basic school, I knew that I would like to continue my studies in that school. The main reason was the fact that in Hugo Treffner Gymnasium it was possible to study social sciences extensively. The contest was hard to get in, but I had set a goal and I managed to fulfill my expectations.This school has given me better conditions to study the subjects which interest me. Still I think it is wrong to say that so called valued schools are essential for a good education. It shouldn’t be forgotten that nine tenths of education is encouragement like a French poet Anatole France has said.
I remember clearly that from a very early age, I have been interested in foreign policy. For most of the elderly people it was ridiculous, because what could a young boy know about such a complicated theme. In retrospect I can understand them because even professors of this subject are constantly acquiring new information. However, I am proud that I didn’t walk away and tried to read different books about it. At one point I wanted to evolve more in this topic and for this reason examined different opportunities that a secondary school student had at the moment. I found out that for college students there was a circle at the university called Circle of International Relations. I knew that this would be very useful for me but certainly I was afraid, because there were all adults in this circle. One day I summoned up my courage and went there and it was so interesting! Currently, it is my third year there and belivably I am still the youngest participant. My interest about the subject has not disappeared, just the opposite, it has become stronger!
When I consider which are the things that I am most proud of at the moment, then it is pretty hard to point out something special, because I think that they are not really mighty achievements. One thing I hope is that I have been a son my mother is proud of because I have tried to listen to what elderly people say and have stayed out of trouble. Still, when I should bring something out, then I am glad that I have been honoured to represent Estonia in some international events. In 2007 I was a member of Estonian delegation in a youth summit in Rome, which was called „Your Europe- your future“ and it was the first of its kind. There we discussed Europe’s future and expressed our opinions about different themes. Another event was this year and it was called Model European Parlament. I was selected to represent our country in the all-Europe event in Slovakkia. I am really interested in foreign policy and for an ordinary student they are like Oscar nominations and that is the reason why I am proud about my participation. I worked really hard to be chosen and I succeeded, becauseI had made an effort big enough.
For me it has always been unpleasant when someone is between the lines trying to say that you will never succeed in something. I have always taken such situations as challenges. This year I participated in a work shadow day. I remember that I had to fill in different forms, concerning the subject of the theme. I got back an answer that they do not have anynobody to offer me at the moment. Although they attracted my attention that I had a chance to apply for the crowns of the work shadow day, for who was a really tough competition. I saw there was even the foreign minister. At that moment I instantly knew that I really wanted to be his work shadow. I dared to write my motivation letter and also sent my CV. Days later and I got a phone call, telling I was elected to be the working shadow of the foreign minister! Later I found out that for his place was the toughest competition in Estonia. I had an unforgettable day with the foreign minister and its all because I had enough selfconfidence in myself. This is a small example, but I want to say that you shoul never be afraid of doing something ambitious, even when others do not have faith in you. It even does not matter if your expectations are going to be fulfilled, because you are gaining more experience and courage for sure and this is the most important thing.
Stereotypes and their place in the society has interested me through out the years. I have even been an organizer for two Estonian-Finnish camps, the goal of which was to break the typical stereotypes between those two nationalities. For me, one of the most annoying stereotype is that being a small town inhabitant limits your opportunities of achieving your goals and fulfilling dreams. This isn’t true! In my opinion, being a small town inhabitant is a great advantage! We have to work harder to find the right ways to pursue our dreams and nothing comes easy to our hands. I really like this situation, because then we are going to enjoy our achievements more in the future and besides, small town habitants are more able to compete, because we have had to create our chances for success ourselves. Thus this stereotype is giving false ideas about the real situation.
Occasionally somebody has asked my advice how to succeed in doing something. In this case I have answered that they should do the things, which they really like, because in my opinion it is useless to strain every nerve and waste energy doing something that you really dislike. It also has become clear to me that one of the most important things is not to get upset about trivial things. Often people say to each-other very thoughtless things and with that a lot of relationships are ruined. It is obvious that a person can not be loved by everybody. Nevertheless viciousness isn’t the solution. Thirdly I would like to bring forth the fixity of purpose in finishing current activities.It is hard to succeed when being disorganized and never finishing the started things.
I really hope that with my activities even my home town gets benefits. When I’m in a foreign country, I have always tried to introduce my domicile from a good perspective and always with a big smile. This is the best way to excite interest in something. Also I think that if a person is really active, he can engage other people in his activities all the time and this is really positive in the neighborhood.
What about the future! Questions related to my future have become very frequent lately. People are all the time asking questions about my future and it is always been very hard to give a complete answer about it. I have mentioned my interests then and that at the moment my dream is to study political science in England after the military service here. To tell the truth, I don’t know who I would like to be in the future. To my mind, it is always hard to talk about future because it is a path of coincidences. Future events tends to appear unexpectedly- it is impossible to say which factors are going to determine my life in the end. My greatest goal in life is to be happy but the moment it is pretty difficult to say something certain about my future. Everyone has to hash out exactly what makes them happy and after that pursue their dream. This is my aim for the future and I’m surely going to move towards it
Albert Schweitzer has said that success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. This is the key principle in my life, which I try to follow.

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