This is me as everybody can see me. Optimistic and cheerful, enjoying the best parts of my life. All in all, I am a 17 year old girl with big dreams in a small town on the banks of the Danube River, Romania. And I haven't lost my hope yet.
I might not know what I'll be doing in the following years, but it doesn't scare me. I am ready to try something new as ever since I was a child I moved with my parents in different cities for new beginnings. This might be my future life too. Always striving for more. That's why my motto is now 'Never Ever Settle'.
Being a girl can be harder than it seems, as from time to time, doors may be suddenly closed in front of you. You are expected to do the impossible and when you try to prove you can, you are told it's not good enough.
You can hardly oppose to what you've been conditioned to do. Can you use force? Is there any point in talking to walls? I've never been the girl waiting for them to fall. I'm Anastasia and I break them down myself. I believe that access to education is the only way to break walls down and to earn yourself a voice. Thus I make time for reading. My backpack is always full of books to share and recommend to everybody.
Once you go back to the real world, you may find the old criticism, sometimes from your parents, that you are not the daughter they dreamed of or from teen lovers, for ruining your expectations.
I believe in God and I pray whenever I feel very alone or very happy. Therefore, going to church is an important part of my life. However, the role of women in church has been long debated. Being raised as a Christian, I have my own doubts about getting involved in the debate. Not only tradition is important, but also making it adjust to the world we live in.
When you are a girl who has grown up reading and not playing so much, it will take a time to start relating to others. You might find yourself alone, waiting for somebody to come and talk to you. You are too shy to feel accepted.
You will sit like me and wonder where did it all go wrong. It didn't. It's part of growing up. People are changing and you change with them. It's okay to be quiet, as long as you realise the only way to be happy is to be contented with solitude from time to time.
I am getting ready to pack. For a person who wants a great future, this is a place where nobody should ever return if not convinced to make a change. The corrupted politics brought the town into bankruptcy and education is estimated to be at some of the lowest points in our country.
No more jobs and there has been announced there will be no more heat next winter.
How can anybody live in a town like this? There is no surprise that the most of us are going away.
I believe that I can write my own personal future and that I am capable of making a move in the right direction both for myself and the places I'll be going.
This was the story of Anastasia Moraru.
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