Nastya Selikova

Childhood

   I was born on September 6th 1988 in a small town Belitz, 20km near Potsdam, in German Democratic Republic, which doesn’t exist today anymore. At that time Germany was divided into two countries: capitalist country FRG (Federal Republic of Germany) and socialist country GDR. During that time in GDR they said “for the safe protection of socialists borders” there were located forces of another today not exciting country — USSR. My father was a doctor in one of the divisions, my mom as the officers wife, of course, lived with him.
   I lived there for four years and I hardly remember Germany, only some fragments, random and short pictures like mosaic shots. I restore Germany more from our family pictures, family videos and my parents’ stories other than from my memory. My parents liked the band “Queen”, at home we often listened to the tapes, watched videos and concerts. In 1991 the leader and vocalist of Queen F.Mercury died, I remember I was constantly crying when I found out.
   When I was 3 yeas old me and my parents came to Donetsk for a holiday. We stayed at my grandmother’s and my grandfather’s flat in a 9 storied house on the Illicha avenue. For a few days I’ve been out in the yard when I asked my grandparents “Grandma, everything’s so interesting here, but where’s the “plaz”?” My favorite hobby at that time was going on a ride by tram with my grandparents. That tram was the indelible impression at that time.

Preschool

   I went to the kindergarten for two years. I can’t say I liked it, I felt uncomfortable there. Despite being brought up in an army town I was still a “family” kid. I didn’t hate it or cry over it, but I didn’t like staying there. The day-time sleeping hours were exhausting, I never slept there.

School life

   In 1995 I started school, Donetsk school № 12. My parents chose this school because the teaching there was in Ukrainian language, and despite the whole family was speaking Russian my parents decided that their daughter is a citizen of Ukraine, and should like and of course be fluent in Ukrainian language. I now understand the it was a fair enough decision, and I’m grateful to them for it.
   I must have been a charming little lady because unexpectedly I was chosen from all other first years as a “decoration” — I was sat on a shoulder of a graduate and given a little bell. Together we went all along the whole-school line-up giving the symbolic “first bell” meaning the beginning of a school year. That is how I started school.
   Practically at the same time I began having art lessons in art studio “Fantasy” at the “Regional Palace of The Children and Youth Creativity”. That was a luck! Our head of art Galina Romanova was the first class professional artist and a Teacher (that’s right, with a capital “T”). I took art lessons the whole time I went to school, although I didn’t really make any big progress in art. That’s probably because for me, it was more like leisure, I went there, relaxed and created my paintings — that was great!
   By the way, the first school unfairness that I remember is my school art teacher asking me “Why did you draw a landscape on a matryoshka? There should be a pattern”.
   I learned how to read by the second school year and up until the end of school I was the first in reading. In 4th form I read the whole pioneer’s collection of books — that is about 10 longest books. We lived with my grandparents and they saved this collection from the time my father was at school.
   At about the same time I tried to have piano lessons, the teacher, with who I had private lessons, taught my aunt Natasha when she was a child. I don’t know why, but I only had lessons for 6 months, than I didn’t see the point in having the lessons anymore. Strange, because I seem to have the abilities for music.
   After year 9 of school I went to Donetsk college, where I studied in math & physics class. It was much more interesting, I met good friends there, but again I faced the fact, that it isn’t always excepted when you write what you think even if it is justified. With help from my father I wrote an essay “How I see Ukraine” and only got a C, for “freethinking” and being too open-minded. However during my school years in college I felt myself as a citizen of Ukraine — this great country.
    At that time walkmans were very popular. I had one, and always took it with me everywhere, as it was one of the latest ones. That is how my friends began calling me “a girl with a walkman”.
   I was studying hard for a whole year before uni, kind of getting ready for it and preparing myself for it. I had extra mathematics lessons which wasn’t too bad, and extra IT lessons which I never liked. Then I got used to it, I got into uni, but not as a paying student. I got in for free, I was second best in the rating, which of course was nice.

Student’s life

   First year of university was not nice at all. A lot of disagreements with my lecturers and teachers, I didn’t get straight into the process of studying, got a few Cs, but then it got easier. I recall in my mind a conference, during which my speech got me so excited, I was so into it, the only thing was missing was a plait around my head — than it would have been a full compliance.
   I studied German for two years at university. Master’s degree wasn’t exactly my choice — more likely to be the choice of my parents.

Family

    I have a lovely family (my mother, my father and a brother). Together we traveled a lot when I was a child, during the school years, while I was a student. We visited wonderful corners of Russia: Nizhegorodschina where my mother and my relatives from her side are from; the “Golden ring” of Russia that we drove around; Povolzh’e, where my father’s army friends live; we visited the Baikal lake, this amazing place, like a deep eye of the earth looking up into space; the Kavkaz — with it’s pearl — the red glade (Krasnaya polyana). Last year we started to discover Belorussia — Raubitschi, Hatin’, Mir.
   I love the sea side of Ukraine, the Azov area and the Crimea, the steppes, the great and ancient city Kiev. They say, to love the place you live in you must see it all — I totally agree.
   I am absolutely lucky in being brought up in a family I have been. All my relatives are really friendly with each other, a lot of them reached their potentials because of the professionalism and a desire to work hard. They are all kind and altruistic. We often have a family get-together in Kiev, Donets, Feodosia. Very often during these gathering we have serious conversations and debates. Maybe these conversations and debates in some way made me interested in history, politics, social science. Now I can admit that my best teachers and coaches are my parents. I really wish to be like them in making and taking care of home, family, children.

Plans for the future

   Plans for the future — I haven’t got a clear certainty. I’d love to find myself doing something “real” and “true” using my theoretical knowledge gained at university. In other words I would like to find a job not just for the sake of it, but to put my abilities and theory I have learned into practical work. My long-term plans depend on my short-term plans.