Ten Things About Me: Smiling World Challenge
Crazy and stupid things about me that make me proud and bring a smile to my face.
I started writing here in January 2023 but never introduced myself on Medium properly. So when I saw the Smiling World challenge by Veronica Llorca-Smith and her A Smiling World publication, I realised it was a good idea to share some facts and trivia about me.
1. I’ve never dreamt of having kids.
Yet I have three children: 18, 15 and 12 years old.
Losing my mum at age 14 left me deep scars on my soul. So I wasn’t sure if I wanted kids. I was an ambitious young journalist when I met my lifelong love — my husband.
Suddenly, priorities have changed, and I’m positive my family and our love is the most precious thing I have.
Being a mum is the most complex and rewarding thing in the world.
2. I’m heavily left-handed…
but write with the right hand.
Why?
When I was little (40 years ago), it was embarrassing being different in my country. During testing for school, even the psychologist recommended that I write with the right hand because I knew how to write with both hands.
Today, I use the right hand just when I have to for writing.
3. I was a breast milk donor.
And that’s one of the things I’m the most proud of in my life.
I founded a parenting organisation in my home country, Serbia, and we have been trying to increase the percentage of women who breastfeed their babies for more than 18 years(when we started, only 13% of babies in Serbia used just mum’s milk for the first six months).
Since we have a Milk Bank in Serbia, I was honoured and proud to collect milk my youngest daughter didn’t need and give it to premature babies.
4. I am 180cm tall.
And still the shortest in my primary family.
People in my family look like the basketball team.
My mother was 184 cm, my dad was 194, and my younger brother is 197.
Yet, we never played basketball (which is a shame, as the Serbian basketball team is so talented and has been winning European and World medals for decades now).
5. I was age 40 when I started my Marketing Master.
And wasn’t even the oldest in my ECU class, Perth.
Before I got into marketing, I was a journalist for 12 years and held a BA in Journalism. After a few years of learning things online, I decided to take a step further:
I went to Australia with my family and enrolled in a Master's Study in marketing and innovation management.
I got my degree two years later, and here we are, still in Perth, trying to get permanent residence and stay in this amazing city.
6. I was the first blogger in Serbia to film a TVC.
My relationship with Pampers, a global diaper brand, is really one to put a smile on your face:
- In 2010, pregnant for the third time and forced to lay in bed due to health reasons, I started my parenting blog — Mums’ World. I bought a domain, and when I wanted to open a Facebook page, I realised that Pampers Serbia already has a page named Mums’ World!
- In 2012, they noticed my blog (well-established and with an extensive community) and started advertising on my blog.
- In 2013, they suggested including me and my friend, fellow mum blogger Ivana Cirkovic, as mums to film a TVC. It was a fantastic experience!
- In 2016, a marketing agency approached me, recruiting me to work as a digital account manager. Guess who my client was? Pampers Serbia! So I closed the circle, and Pampers changed my life in a good way (besides the fact I changed around 15,000 diapers for my three children).
7. I survived sanctions, civil war and NATO bombarding
I’m coming from Serbia, unfortunately, well-known for the civil wars during the 90s.
I wasn’t directly included in the war, but my husband was; he is still traumatised by these experiences and refugee life.
Serbia was blamed for the war (so far from true, but that’s another story), and because of that, people there suffered so much, being under the EU and USA sanctions for many years.
As that wasn’t enough, when Albanians from the South of our country wanted to declare independence, the Serbian government fought against it, but our country ended up being bombarded by NATO in 1999.
Thousands civils were killed, and my family and I were lucky to survive.
Well, every cloud has a silver lining.
All these difficulties we survived made us much more resilient and well-equipped to fight against any small and big stress.
Also, to appreciate and enjoy life fully, like every day is the last one.
8. I love drinking alcohol, yet I have never been drunk
I come from a traditional country where great food and booze are part of every event; from birth to funeral, we celebrate every occasion by having a drink. We drink when we’re sad; we drink when we are happy.
I’m fond of good rakia (national brandy, really high in alcohol, around 40%) and nice wine. But, with the little control freak type of personality, I have a mechanism that stops me from drinking as soon as I don’t feel good.
So, one of the things on my bucket list is to get drunk and see how funny I feel.
9. I can’t live without coffee
My grandmother introduced me to coffee when I was 15; I can’t live without it since then. It was her way to spend “one-on-one” time with me and chat about life, so every morning when I hold my precious cup of strong, black coffee, I remember my “nana” as well.
Luckily, I live in Australia now, where coffee culture is so strong, and they have amazing coffee: long black, cappuccino, flat white, latte, you name it.
10. Writing saved my life
I lost my mum when I was 14. That was so sudden and devastating that I found myself completely lost and depressed. I couldn’t imagine what would happen to me if I had not started writing my diary.
So, I started writing about my feelings in my diary to feel better. It was a love at first sight.
Since then, all amazing and extraordinary things in my life (and I mentioned some of them here) have happened because of writing and thanks to writing.
Even falling in love with my husband started with his help to print some of my poems ❤.
That’s all, folks! Thanks if you get to the end. Please let me know in the comments what you think, even if it’s boring: I’ll survive; like I said, I’m incredibly resilient.
You still have a little time to write your own story for A Smiling World challenge. Try it, it’s fun!
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