The Philosophy of Being an AUBGer
It is a Wednesday late afternoon. The dusk of night falls earlier in the end of November. The flickering of the Christmas lights, hung on the front desk, makes the atmosphere in the main lobby cozy and welcoming. Radio Aura plays in the background. She is on duty. Meanwhile she studies for the upcoming exam.
Verona Petkova is one of the resident assistants in Skaptopara I. It is her last year in AUBG and in Spring 2020 Verona will graduate. Her majors are Business Administration and Information Systems. Rony, the way her friends call her, is from Pernik. However, she does not feel it is where she belongs. For Blagoevgrad she talks with much more enthusiasm. “I can describe Pernik as a peaceful town. Still, I don’t belong to it. While in Blagoevgrad I feel much better. As a student town Blagoevgrad is the greatest option for me,” she says.
Verona talks about AUBG as being a school of life. She describes herself as a very credible person after four years of study here. If she could, she won’t change a single thing from these years. She believes that everything that happens, happens for a reason. “If I change something, I won’t be the same person, who I am now,” says Verona.
She dreams for the simplest things in life- happiness and health. “There is nothing more important than seeing your loved ones happy and in a good health,” she says. Verona describes herself with three words- generalist, perfectionist and a happy person. Her greatest success is the achievement of relatively harmony and balance in life.” The whole life is a peculiar path of finding the balance and the golden mean. I believe I am on the right path,” she says as she looks pensively around the lobby.
Verona’s greatest challenge is being a short-tempered person. She believes that it is a drawback in certain situations. But Desislava Manova, a senior RA in Skapto I and Verona’s friend, says exactly the opposite. “If Verona has a problem with you, she will sulk a couple of days, but after that she will come and say what is wrong. Most of the people don’t have the courage to speak up their opinion,” she says.
Desislava talks about Verona’s character as having different aspects. “When talking about Verona, I can describe her in couple of ways- Verona as a student, as a RA and as a friend. As a friend, she is very patient. She is a pretty good listener. When I need advice, Rony is the first person I talk to. As a RA she is very strict. She always tracks if the work is done properly,” says Desislava as Rony checks if the vacuum machine has been returned.
Verona talks about being a RA with a high level of dedication. This position gives her the opportunity to communicate with a lot of people. Additionally, it teaches her valuable skills, which redounded to the improvement of her personal culture. Owing to being a RA, Verona develops her social responsible thinking, as well. “As RAs we are supposed to organize one wellness within the semester. At the end of Fall 2019 we decided to raise funds and to donate them to a specific cause. Everyone can contribute to the successfulness of our benevolence, here at the main lobby in Skapto 1,” she says as puts coins in the donation box on the front desk.
She describes her future plans as something that is yet to be decided. “My plans for the nearest future is to complete this semester successfully and to enjoy the well-deserved winter break,” says Verona. “I need to be on my own for a while, in order to be able to decide what is the best for myself, “she says. Verona looks back to her first week in AUBG with dose of nostalgia. “If I can talk to my younger self, I would say to me that everything that will happen, is worth it,” she says. “I would advise all of the upcoming students that everything has its price, but will definitely pay its value off,” Verona says.
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Emanuela Naydenova studies Marketing at the American University in Bulgaria. Her hometown is Pernik and she does not feel it is where she belongs to, as well.
