About Me — Tania Juricevic
Who am I? Vast question we generally answer with labels that put us in tiny boxes. But until we find a way to share our essence telepathically, this is the best we can do.
Now, if I follow the social construct that says that our identity is defined principally by our name, nationality, country of residence, employment status and position, family, and so on, then, I’ll play the game.
Name:
I am Tania. Two syllables, emphasis on the last, open vowel at the end. A rather “global” name. Easy to pronounce. At least for that, I do not have to struggle when I go abroad. Thanks, Mum and Dad!
If you want to have a laugh finding out what kind of things I do struggle with when I travel, have a look at this article:
Nationality and roots:
I am French. Born in Paris. Please, do not hold that against me…
First of all, because all the French are not horrible (you just did not get to meet the right ones!)
Secondly, because I am French, but not really. My father is from Bosnia, you know that ex-Yugoslavian country where Islam is the main religion? Yes? Great, except that my father is actually one of the few Catholics from there. And he would consider more himself Croatian than Bosnian. Still following? Perfect. Let’s complicate this a bit then: my mother. Well… She is French, but for most French, she is not really. See, she comes from Guadeloupe, a tiny butterfly-shaped island in the Caribbean sea. And she is Black. Then again, for some Black people, she is not really.
Did I go through an identity crisis at some stage? Have I ever wondered how to identify with a specific culture, a country… my parents!? TBD.
As to the country of residence… Well, being a true child of the Universe, I have none. Right now, I am in Portugal, but leaving for Brazil in a few hours!
Studies and Career:
I am, as stated above, an immigrants’ child. As such, education was of the utmost importance (some of you might relate). So I did rather well. I kinda had to… Thanks again, Mum and Dad!
I’ll skip the dull (and not so dull) details, one of the requirements for the story being to be less than 5 minutes long.
Studying in France is free, they say. Everyone can do it, they say. Just do it! they say. Sure!
I still had to work in the evenings, at the weekends and during the holidays.
I am not complaining, on the contrary, since the most notable “small jobs” I got ( leadership roles in summer camps for teenagers, and then for mentally and physically handicapped people) were going to open a whole range of possibilities in the close future.
While doing this (and also truly enjoying life), I finished my master's degree in a bilingual program and became a French teacher for foreigners. That allowed me to travel, live in different countries, and to be paid to do so! What else could I ask for?
Very early on, I decided I wanted more responsibilities in my career. This is and has always been a huge drive for me. My past personal and professional experiences allowed me to get a position as a Gifted and Talented Coordinator for the students I was teaching, and later on, Head of Department for Language Acquisition.
In layman’s terms: I took care of gifted students and was in charge of a team of teachers working with me.
The IB curriculum (a specific framework schools follow to teach in a certain way) allowed me to be both extremely creative and innovative and at the same time pass on to “my children" some values that are dear to me. Don’t worry, I was not brain-washing them…
Life values.
If you’re still here, I’ll keep it short. It would be a shame to lose you now, this close to the end of my bio…
- Love,
- Integrity,
- Gratitude,
- Learning and,
- Contribution.
If you want to know more though, here is an article where I describe the importance of some of these values for me, but also some of the greatest sports coaches in the world:
Reasons for being on Medium:
I believe I can contribute, whether it be thanks to my professional experience that allowed me to teach in diverse countries such as Scotland, Mexico, or the United Arab Emirates or, thanks to my personal life (a huge, scary, but fun roller coaster). A road that may be a bit less traveled, but one that is constantly pushing me to strive for self-development, and personal/spiritual evolution.
Ok, you’re still on the “roller coaster” part of the paragraph and are wondering what I meant. Here is an article that illustrates it:
Conclusion — Thanks for sticking with me:
I do research, I read, I go to conferences, I enroll in new courses, I teach, I travel, I dance, I have conversations with whoever crosses my path, I believe in the Universe, I choose freedom whenever I can (always!) and I live life as if each day was my last.
On that note, here’s one last article for the road:
I hope that what I have shared, and will keep on sharing here can be of value to some of you, just like so many things I read from you are of huge value to me!
So thanks for reading so far and thanks for all you share!
With Love,
Tania
