In 1989 I was 10 and watched my father celebrating the collapse of Communism more than anything he ever celebrated. He had fought Communism his entire life and had great hopes for the free Poland. In reality, the free Poland brought a lot of uncertainty to our family. Both my parents were artists and, despite their grate hopes, they never managed to make a living as artists on the free market. My mum emigrated to the US and my dad tried all types of unsuccessful business ideas. This time was very hard for my family. We experienced deep poverty and isolation.
I think that this experience defined me and also gave me an incredible resilience. I think that living through the system change was an experience that made me believe that system changes are painful but definitely possible, and it gave me strength to fight for better systems later in life.