I am almost 23, I live in Poland with my parents and a younger brother who’s 15. Our parents have created us a good home. Not a perfect home, one I could proudly describe to you as examplary, but a good home nevertheless. There is a lot of arguing going on – in all possible combinations. I fight a lot with my brother, but the person who makes me cry most is my mom. We differ on so many levels that it’s almost a miracle we haven’t killed each other so far. I genuinely hate her at times. However, my mom is also the person I can rely on, discuss every problem with; the person that will support me no matter what. That contradiction is difficult to understand by some of my friends, and they’re usually surprised when I tell them I had a fight with mom. The common response is: But you seem to have such a good relationship. Well, yes, we do. But we also argue on a daily basis. Anyways - my mom made me the person I am today – even if I grew up quite different from her expectations and hopes.

My dad, on the other hand, introduced me to the love of my life – reading. He’s the one I remember reading me bedtime stories most often – and he did it perfectly, too. He also took me to the movies. When I was old enough to read on my own, and started looking for something different than just fairy tales, he showed me science fiction. He chose books for me to read which I would find interesting and not too difficult. Later on, I read all the books on his bookshelf. Thanks to my dad, I acquired my literary taste by reading the best sci-fi and fantasy writers first – Le Guin, Tolkien, Lem, Herbert to name but a few. Only then, armed with knowledge and experience, did I start experimenting with other authors, thus avoiding some serious mistakes, and severe indigestion.

My brother is fun to be with.

I usually am quiet and shy. I can get nasty at times, though, especially when someone really pisses me off. My reaction then is sudden, hasty, and sharp. People get really surprised then, even the ones that know me well because such my behaviour is very rare . Unless it’s between me and my mom, or me and my brother. They get to see the nasty side of me much too often. I would like everybody to like me and often worry about what people think about me. Weird, huh? At least my parents say it is. I don’t have a boyfriend, and never had one before. I’ve never even kissed. This really bothers me. I’m wondering if there is anything wrong with me. I guess not, but it makes you think ...

Next year I’ll be graduating from university. I will officially be a translator/interpretor. I don’t know what I’ll be doing afterwards, but I sure hope it will be interesting. I’m thinking about applying for the one of the jobs at the EU. They will be needing new people when we join. I might get too scared to do that, though. I don’t really have a very high self-esteem. Still, that would be a great chance. Whatever happens, next year will also be the end of the sheltered life I’ve led so far. I never had to worry about money, housekeeping, etc. My mom also thinks that because of this sheltering I know nothing about the real life. She says it was a mistake because I’m too idealistic. Which is to say I value satisfaction from a job more than money ::shrug:: I told you we differed. Anyways, I hope I will be able to successfully start the new chapter of my life. But I don’t need to worry about this for a couple more months, so I just won’t.

Well, that’s it. Hmmm....

-Kama
The Polish Girl

PS. As a reward for reading all this, you get to see what I look like:

(Warning: poor quality scanning done by brother’s friend. I really need to get this digital camera soon)

here,
here,
and here

[edited to add smilies]

-Paul
The Evil Kid

The pictures were taken in Bulgaria, which is a beautiful, beautiful country.

[But there are beaches in Poland, too. At the Baltic Sea]

As others commented, it's easy for me to see myself in a lot of what you write. And it's wonderful to be able to put both a face and a background to your name.

I'm guessing you copied the information in here from another program, and you had two smilies in there before. The smilie, in programs such as Word, is in the WingDings font, and corresponds to the capital J in other fonts. So when I saw the two J's at the ends of paragraphs 1 and 5, I saw them as smilies, and no, I wasn't offended (as many would like you to believe).

Let us know what's going on in a couple of months, when you start worrying.... *wink*

The pictures are a nice tradition addition (of course, not everyone will have the desire or ability to do that, so it's not mandatory).

One question: What's the deal with putting a 'J' at the end of two of your sentences? Is that a Polish thing or something?

Okay, thanks for figuring that one out, Sherlock Moose.

Also, I have every confidence that things will work out for you. Besides all of the promising information in your post, the fact that you post on Hatrack at all spells "success" for you.

*and Hatrackers*

Dzieki Kate!

And, so you all know: POLISH GIRLS DO NOT HAVE HAIRY UNDERARMS!!!!

Anyway, Kama, I hope you find what many of us do as we make our own way in life -- that our relationship with our parents becomes much nicer and rewarding.

You are a very pretty woman and I find it hard to believe that you won't also find yourself very popular in your new life as well. It's very tough having a boyfriend/girlfriend while still living with your parents IMHO.

Anyway, congratulations on the 1000th post and on your pending life change!

Kama - You are beautiful. Sandy and I were talking last night in parachat about having to take out Denmark and kill all those hot, Nordic people for being so freaking beautiful. Apparently, we are going to have to hit Poland next.

Bob, Ralphie, I'm going to save your posts and read them every time I'm sad or depressed. In fact, Im going to save the entire thread.

*dances*

Yes, Hatrack is cool.

*dances more*

quote:

---

and people like you much more than they like me.

---

Hey, why the negative attitude Pop?

I wan't you to find a mirror, look at yourself in it, and repeat after me, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darnit, people like me!"

Don't just say it...feel it....know it.

There, feel better now?

Boy, should've kept that question to yourself huh?

edited to say that no smilies were used for the benefit of Papa Moose

<edited to say that while many people can break mirrors with their face, not too many can do it without getting bloody glass shards in aforementioned face>

jehovoid: I'll need to think of a different name than Kamalet - that's just too similar to omelette.

quote:

---

Leto: You know, you really should visit Poland one day *wink, wink*

---

Hey Kama, my sister recently went to Poland, where she'll be staying for a year. Shes in Krakow right now, and shes studying right now at either Jagilonian (sorry for my spelling) university or the Polonia institute, I forget which, or even if they're different.

*prepares to testify that Leto knowingly and willfully messed with peoples' heads*