WriteOn! 2024

 

1st Year University, 1st Place
Name: Ana Doko, Fier
City: Fier, Albania

 

White, everything that surrounded me was white. Nothing else. Then there was this bright light blinding me. And there a pair of stairs right in front of me. As there was nothing else around me, I started climbing the stairs. Stairway to heaven I thought; praying that they weren’t actually taking me there. It would be a shame to die at such a young age. Ugh, these stairs didn’t really seem to lead to anywhere. I was starting to get exhausted. I was really considering going back, but back where? It all seemed pointless. Then, the stairs finally were beginning to come to an end. About time! The end was a bit bizarre, I dare say. It looked like a large balcony, the floor was marble white and shining also. I got to the end of this huge, large, strange balcony and I glanced down only to look at the ocean. Yes, the ocean. Massive deep blue water. That was what was going down under my feet. I heard a booming noise behind me and looked back. A few meters behind me large smoke was coming from the floor and was beginning to slowly fade. A very beautiful woman; blonde hair caught in a messy bun behind her head and wearing a robe like the ancient Greeks. She nodded at me in greeting and I slowly approached her. ‘Hello’ she greeted me in a melodious voice, and I stammered back ‘hello who are you?’- I wondered. ‘I come by many names,’ she said. ‘Some may call me an angel, some fate and some spirit.’ I was really confused. I asked her what did she want from me. Suddenly she clapped her hands and held her palms out and two boxes appeared in each hand floating a couple of inches above her hand with slow pulsive movements. She started talking in her sweet voice: ‘These two boxes contain all the things of life; everything there is to it. But they are divided into good and bad. You are chosen to give some good or bad to the people of the world and you get to choose what to give and who to give.’ I was very surprised. I wanted to look at the boxes. She gently pushed one, which slowly started floating and stopped in front of me. I slowly opened up the lid and stared. It was marvelous. Nothing, not had I ever seen so much light and brightness in a place. That kind of place made this crystal clear white room look like a dump. It was marvelous. A sweet melody which sounded like a violin playing coming from the box. And a second later I could see some spheres in there floating which read: gratitude, kindness, and all the best qualities of life. I noticed that the other box had approached me. I opened that one, leaving the first one opened. At first I didn’t see or better say, I couldn’t see anything because it was all dark. And then I could firstly hear a metallic strong noise coming from that box which started giving me a headache. And then these small black spheres started shooting from the box. They read poverty, misery, greed, crime and all the terrible stuff in life that no one wants to hear. Something, a small movement under my feet, caught my eye. It was New York City. It was populated but the people were numb, were not moving, were not doing anything. Then the view changed to London, to Tokyo, to Lisbon, Moscow, Paris, Istanbul, and so many other cities. But the people looked like they didn’t feel anything at all. They were just standing; like muppets waiting for someone to pull the strings. The blonde angel started talking to me: “Choose now. Give the people good or evil.” I didn’t know what to do. I was exasperated. I went down to the balcony to look at the ocean in the hope that it would calm me. It didn’t help. How could I choose to give to someone good or bad qualities. I couldn’t possibly do that. Then a thought, a small idea came across my mind. “You know what,” I said to the blonde- “they are people, not muppets. They can think and they can make their own decisions on what to follow good or bad. I’m not going to be like Pandora!” I grabbed the two boxes and threw them down to the ocean. That action got the beautiful blonde really mad. “You little insolent child!” she yelled at me. “Do you have any idea of what you have done?” She came at me running and I started backing down really quickly and then I fell. I could feel the smell, taste the salt in the air of the ocean as I suddenly opened my eyes, startled. I was in my bed, my sister standing above me with a big bottle of water. “Come on, wake up” she told me. “We gotta get to school.” I was so relieved that I had been dreaming. And I really hoped I had done the right thing.

 

 

1st Year University, 2nd Place
Name: Laura Hitoaliaj
City: Sarande

 

            We all know that life has ups and downs. In a specific time it is going to amaze or surprise us whereas in one moment it is going to give us a lesson or to hit us. Both ways are in our favor. So up to a phrase what kills you makes you stronger. Bad times aren’t always as bad and good times aren’t always so good.

 

            My box of best things in life would be that one that will include health, wealth, fortune, good family and success. All these are what matter in life. I didn’t mention friends that aren’t less important. If you are healthy you have strong abilities such as to work, to do anything. The most important is having a good family because family will never let you down and is going to support you in whatever the situation. Having success is another key to a happy life that includes wealth and fortune. Being successful is reaching all your goals and taking advantage of all your opportunities. If you are successful you get in touch with a variety of people that one day might become your friends. Until now you are accomplished.

 

            On the other hand even if we don’t like it we have another box. This box includes the bad things. I might say that I consider bad things all the opposite things I mentioned before. For what is more to add being alone, without family, without friends, abandoned, having nothing for a living are the worst parts of life. You are not motivated, not supported you don’t have anyone to say “you can do it” but at the end you will survive because these things make us stronger. If we have a look at some celebrities we can easily see that most of them have had a bad life. They have been poor. But where are they today? They have reached on the top. So that’s our motivation to see how others can do even if they don’t have the opportunity. They can do because they believe in themselves. Believe in yourself. You don’t know how you worth. Bad times aren’t always as bad.

 

            To sum up I can say that life sometimes is weird. It offer good and bad things. As I said before all are in our favor. Both ways help us to get stronger, motivate us to do our best. Dealing with problems doesn’t mean you are weak. It means you are strong enough.

 

1st Year University, 3rd Place
Name: Kaltra Musta
City: Tirane

 

During each and every day, people say “this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me” and on those very lucky days they say the opposite. But is the quote true?! Do we really understand what we are saying?? Is really an action, a look, a touch, a moment, a conversation the best or worst thing in life?? Can there ever be an exact scale for such thing as life??

 

   However we are asked to say what is in each box… I frankly couldn’t choose a thing, instead I would choose someone people, each one, you myself that very inner self named as a soul or scientifically as unconsciousness. That is the best and the worst part, thing, empty that exist in life. So there comes the question “why?”…

 

   This question will be answered in fact later because firstly I would like to mention a division which society makes but which I don’t fancy at all.

 

   People, society divides each other people (that is so funny in fact, people judging other people) in three main categories which are:

 

   A) Normal people, meaning people who live their lives in a moral way and don’t harm the others.

   B) Good people, which are people that do good to society.

   C) Bad people that are people who harm something or someone.

 

According to these main catagories sincerely I can’t see myself fit in. Are things really so fixed, is this all we humans can do?! I refuse to believe so, but that is a whole new essay that I would have to do. I stated the previous paragraph to say that is the end of the day is all about us, people, it is we that do everything good and bad, better and worse, do the best and the worst. Why?...

 

   Because we do “the best” things in life like help each other, to charity, help animals, help the environment, help the aged people, save someone, etc. Is exactly that soul that makes us interact with others, makes us do everything we had never thought we would do. Is that subconciousness which makes us throw ourself into a dangerous situation to save someone, something else, makes us jump off a cliff save someone who is drowning. That is the best part of us all. That are we do without thinking, that loud laugh we berst into unexpectedly, that hug we need so much, even that smile we give to a stronger everything small tone with love makes us big.

 

   On the other hand, is again this part of ourselves that we have no control over which makes us the worst for one another. Yeah, scary as it is, this two different sides are in the same people. Even in those very good people as we say. That soul as good as it can be, also worse. It is a human that one who killed, who roped, who murdered called hearted, who invented terrorism, war, weapons, who stole, who killed the animals and the tree. Yeah, they do it in the name of someone, or something, or because they needed to. Exactly they needed to. That, that is the terrifying part of it all. They do everything for their selves. Humans do everything to serve themselves.

 

   But it is only because of these actions that I consider the human nature the worst and the best thing? Of course not. Another thing that scares me about the human nature is the way they spend time. I believe that time is the most precious thing that we have, and unfortunately it is limited. There are so many people who just waste it on unimportant things, or just let it flow.

 

   That is life, time is life, everything you do during your staying here is life. I really don’t know how people expect so much from doing nothing all day. I’m not saying that we should do great things all day, but do something for yourself, help yourself and you will help those around you and so on.

 

   So what was all this writing about… All this piece of writing were the reasons I chose the human nature as the best and the worst thing in life, in every life. But what can we do, we can’t control it…

 

   No we can’t control it sometimes but we can cultivate it during our living, our growth. We can start by being a good example for those around us and then for those after us. I believe that this is everyone’s mission, to be a good example to follow. Live but live in a beautiful way, love but love healthy, don’t damage yourself, love is not supposed to hurt you, have fun but don’t make fun of the others, do whatever you like but not to whoever you like. In less words do the things you will never regret and for which you will be remembered as a good example. Live happily…
 

3rd Year University, 1st Place
Name: Hristina Mallanezo
City: Sarandë, Albania

 

   Do you want to know what’s the miracle all Europe talks about? What’s the secret formula that shocked the world of medicine, beauty, science?

       Well, the ancient secret is not secret is something we all know about it and it’s something we use everyday and we can’t live without it. It’s the reason life was created and exists.

       It’s oxygen.

       Have you ever considered why so many people suffer from diseases? Why our body is so sensitive and with the pass of time destroyed? Some may respond that this is the natural process, the human DNA is weak or humans can’t live longer than 100 years. But they can.

       A highly experienced scientific group before 3 years started research. The project was to find and to carefully examine the most aged people on earth. The goal there was to reveal their longlivingness secrets and to progress them, to make these secrets more powerful and accessible for every person.

       And they did it, they found and created “The True Oxygen.” The true oxygen is not just another product for sale, this is not an advertise promotion. We talk about life, progress, beauty, health in just one formula.

       After the examination of the most elderly people in our planet, one thing resulted in common. Their body cells were decades younger than their age, but the laboratory examinations showed that was irrelevant with their DNA structure. Another thing interested scientists minds was that these people that were chosen to be examined actually were really isolated from civilization, they’re living in areas of wild nature that probably a common human would never visit. Moreover some of them belong in tribes that their members live decades after their 100th birthday and interestingly follow an active everyday life.

       Scientists after the first findings, examined the environment of these people, everything that was related with them. The water they drink, the kind of foods they eat, the activities they are doing daily, the places they spend their day, the hours of sleep they get, etc. The results they got were pretty obvious. The lifestyle of these people had helped them to maintain healthy although all these were not answering the question of their longlingness.

       Then Dr. Christina Keitsworth examined the oxygen they were breathing. The idea came to her when she found some strange elements in the water she examined. The results were astonishing. Their oxygen was different than ours. It has more minerals and natural elements, that was the key to their success.

       The lifestyle we follow in big cities is unpreventably unhealthy. We can control what we eat but not always and not all of us, in a smaller degree we can control the water we drink or the exercise we do but definitely we can’t control the oxygen we breathe.

       But now we can, due to “The True Oxygen.” “The True Oxygen” are bottles of enriched mineral oxygen from Amazon areas that you breathe everyday once or twice a day. People claim that they have seen amazing changes since their first use. They have been released from chronical pains and problems and they’re looking decades younger.

       Surely it deserves to try it. Those who have tried it have loved it and can’t live without it, besides is far more economical than the deluxe creams and medicines we used to use. But we used them until now. Because now we have “The True Oxygen.”

 

3rd Year University, 2nd Place
Name: Angelina Sinaraku
City: Sarandë
 

“Nina, get up! Get rid of those books and come here to help me!”

“Nina, how many times do I have to call you?”

“Nina, Nina, Nina…”

 

You know, I can’t get rid of that voice in my head even now that I’m almost 21. I was a young girl when I discovered the love I had for books and foreign languages. I could sit all day long in my room, alone, reading French passages, English materials and things similar to those. But what would come next was the voice of my mom telling me that my friend used to study only two hours and the remaining time she helped her mum with housework. I really hated that comparison!

I know now that my mother was trying to make me a better person in managing my time and to have scheduled events but I couldn’t know that then. This was the first time I faced the struggle of comparison in my life. It wasn’t something I enjoyed though. I couldn’t stand the fact that I had to be compared with someone else in everything I did, and no one does. People differ. Not only in appearance but even in character and likeness. There is the deepest difference. Me, or everyone that had been in my shoes, couldn’t enjoy what he/she was doing if being compared with someone else. I like books, someone else doesn’t, another one likes movies and there are others who like doing housework. If someone tells me or the world that I should be or you should be like that other person, then he’s killing my/your “me”/”you”.

 

But on the other hand, there are people who give death to their joy themselves. I was once in the park, reading a French novel and I unconsciously heard a conversation between two ladies that were next to me. Briefly, one of them was saying how beautiful was the life of her high school friend. That sounded to me like a silly comparison full of jealousy because in the time she’s being jealous for her friend, she’s not enjoying what life gave her.

 

People compare themselves with others, I do it too sometimes and there’s nothing wrong with it but if this comparison turns into jealousy and obsession, as it randomly happens, one can’t enjoy his days, his activities, his life as it should. You’re killing the inner joy of seeing your child succeeding in acting if you keep comparing him with a child that has high grades. You’re not enjoying the cup of tea you’re having in a cold winter day if you’re comparing it with the chocolate someone else is drinking. You can’t say “I want what she has” instead of “I want what my heart wants.”

 

How can you enjoy being you if you’re comparing yourself with him/her? I think we’re all lucky people but in different ways. The moment we throw away that luck and kill our joy is the moment we’re compared. This prevents you to see how wonderful is your world and from enjoying it, enjoying what you have instead of what you might have.

 

3rd Year University, 3rd Place
Name: Anthulla Mallanezo
City: Sarande

 

Please, don’t do that! Please don’t compare me to anyone! Don’t do that because if you do that is like you’re killing me! You’re killing my own personality. I am one of my own and no other is like me, this is something that we all know. Everyone is different in this world, you and I do not have the same thoughts, the same needs though we are different and this difference makes us important and we have our own space in this world.

 

As I am not similar with you I am not similar with any other person because we have our own characteristics that make us different from the others. So don’t compare one with any other girl. You may know, one hundred, one thousand, one million or how many girls you want but no one is like me. I have my own way of doing things, I have my way of loving and this is not like others love you. I love you in a different way. Love you in a different way not because I am the only one in this world but because my character makes me so.

 

As I am not the same with others please don’t compare me because everyone in this world due to her character and specific details of their own is special. So am I; special in my way of life, love, breath and every other thing I do. I have my place in the universe. So many people are called like me but its my character that places me on top where I make contributions and then you can distinct me from all the other people. So why do you compare me?

Comparison is the death of joy. And yes it is because when you compare two things all the time you are searching for similarities and differences between them; you are not seeking for what it is that, that makes them different and at the end you lose the essence. You lose the essence because you are losing things on your way to discover the similarities and the differences.

 

So don’t compare things because they are made to be different. Comparison once said to me is the root of everything and is the root success. No, nothing should be compared, especially people. The root of everything is attitude and the attitude differs from person to person. Don’t compare me with anyone. Don’t do that because I will lose the essence between us and when I will lose the essence everything will be lost, my feelings my happiness and the most important…I.