Eurovision 2016

I don’t think that I have ever in my adult life watched the whole Eurovision final. Unless it happened accidentally and without me paying attention.

Well, somehow, this year I did. It had been a long week and I needed an evening at home, so somehow I ended up watching most of it while chatting and commenting with friends. Don’t get me wrong, I am not taken by the quality of the performances, it’s quite devastatingly bad, especially if you compare to some old school classics.

While watching with one eye, the Ukrainian song got my attention as I had recently been pointed that out. And I read the full story, and was impressed by their courage — as the whole thing was basically an accusation (righteously so) towards Russia and some shady events in the past (very relevant at this very moment as it happens). And then at some point, my mom started messaging me and asking who I am supporting, so I announced Ukraine. Oh yeah, and then they won. And my mom, asked me how I knew. And I think she was in a slightly festive mode, but we chatted for a bit and she said: courage always wins.

And as with the puzzle pieces earlier on, this was also one of those moments.

I have always known, that a very large part of how I see the world, and what I believe in, is because of my parents. And for this, I am forever grateful. Because they raised me to be curious, to look for answers, to be open-minded but also skeptical. And I do, I do all those things — I am curious beyond anything else, and that is what amazes me in this world, the amount of things there is to learn and know.

And at the same time, the belief in courage, the right winning over the wrong, the hope for peace and a happy world — those are ideas which have grown stronger as I have grown older and wiser –and I have seen this in so many people in my adventures that there is no doubt of its existence. But I know that the, root, for me, of these ideas- it was planted by my parents while I was growing up.

And this will be also what I will teach to my children, may I be so lucky.