Episode Transcript
007 Andreea Gabriela Ciocan
Aziz: [00:00:00] Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorce mother. She is my superhero. That's why it's important for me to support women, to share their uniqueness, their personalities, perspectives, and emotions about this world. In these difficult times in human history, we need to bring the people of the world together.
And when we hear women, when we listen to real lives of women from other countries, we connect our cultures without our differences or stereotypes. And we get inspired by their stories to live a better. That's what this podcast is all about. My guest today is Andreea Gabriella [00:01:00] Ciocan.
Andreea lives in Braila and studies at Georgia Valan Theoretical High School, where she is. The president of the student council, she previously held the position of vice president at county level, followed by interim President, and currently the director of the Department of Culture and School programs of the County Council of students. Andreea is an idealistic person, thirsty for new things and to develop herself. She puts passion in what she does and actively participates to be the change she wants to see in this world. During Christmas, she usually organizes the Be Better for Christmas humanitarian campaign through which the volunteers offer smiles and gifts [00:02:00] to children from poor families. Andreea loves sports such as running in the park, going to the gym, spending time in nature, observing the beauty that surrounds us, and she also likes to spend her free time with the people that are special to her soul. The motto she follows is "Carpe Diem" translated from Latin Live in the moment.
Andreea, how are you today? Uh,
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: Hello. I'm good, and I'm so glad to take part in this project.
Aziz: I'm honored. I'm grateful. And I'm really curious about you as a person. This episode is all about you, so I'll begin with this nice question. If your friends could describe your personality, what would they say about you?
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: Uh, I think they said, uh, she's a smiling, optimistic person because [00:03:00] I like to enjoy every little moment in life that actually means everything. Uh, I like to spend my time with my friends or people in general. I'm a sociable person who likes to get their experience and discover new stories.
Aziz: I love that answer and it makes me very curious because too many people are not so positive, and maybe we live in a world with negative news and social media is full of people who look perfect and make everyone feel like their life is bad. So usually people who are positive, they either have high energy and that energy gives them and feeds them with positivity, or they had difficult times before that made them appreciate the moment and decide to not be a victim and to not be negative. Or some people it was a pandemic and the social isolation, they said, no, I refuse. I want to enjoy [00:04:00] life. So to you, where does that positivity and the belief that you should seize the day to Carpe Diem comes from,
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: uh, very good question.
Time ago in my life I went to more difficult moments that later made me struggle with anxiety. . I know that many people go through something like this, and I want to say that you're not alone. That all this is temporary and will not last forever. Personally, it helped me realize and look for the place where all these ones come from, uh, whether it's about the past, why you felt or why it happened, uh, spending time with yourself to understand yourself can be this solution. I managed to find myself after long battles with me. And, now I live in the moment. I don't can, uh, get lost in my thoughts. I just take a breath and look at the blessings around me, the nature, the people, the simple fact that you can [00:05:00] walk or that you can see. So life is short. It shouldn't be
Aziz: wasted.
I agree. I love your gratitude and that. Perspective that you have that allows you to be really a positive person. And it makes me think, what are your metaphysical beliefs? I mean, are you a spiritual girl? Do you believe in good karma and bad karma and manifestation and destiny? And maybe you love to read tarot cards to see that your future is bright, which gives you even more positivity, or you just believe your destiny, you are in a world where things will go okay in the end that you're protected and a good hands, or what do you believe about this world and how life works that adds to your positive attitude?
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: Uh, so yes, I, um, Believe in destiny. And what is given to be will always [00:06:00] be think, uh, sometimes I manifest my, my happiness, my, uh, uh, actual life.
I, um, uh, escape for my, uh, Fears or traumas, uh, that surrounded me. And, um, also, I also believe in, um, soulmates and, uh, real love in people who not only look alike, but choose to stay next to each other to live. Through each other. Uh, so yes, I am a, believer in destiny.
Aziz: Thank you. It sounds to me that you're a hopeless romantic.
Does this mean you spent a long time reading romance novels, watching telenovelas or TV series like that? And therefore to you, maybe you believe love is the strongest power in the universe or. It makes you want more excitement and drama and fights in your relationships and life, or how is that part of your personality and how does it [00:07:00] support your positivity?
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: So sometimes I, uh, write poems. Many of them are about love and about the deep mistakes. Experiences I have felt. I have a blog where, where I publish them, uh, it's called, uh, an Infinity of Hypetheses where I have created a small community of readers for me, love is the essence Love is something superior, something that bring us to the sky that, cannot be explained in words, in simple words.
Aziz: I like that. Although I wanted to ask you what is love to you, but then you said it cannot be explained with simple words. So I'll ask you about the name of the blog, an Infinity of Hypothesis. Why that is it that you're trying to figure out the world and you believe there are many truths and therefore, , [00:08:00] all of them should be explored to find what resonates with our soul.
Or is it another thing like love could be unique to each two soulmates? Or what is the source of that name and what made you choose it?
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: So the name describes my, your different and, uh, complex, uh, lives. describes the balance between suffering and love. And what I felt at, uh, uh, in a moment in my life, uh, sometimes when I felt so lonely or, um, sad, I just open my laptop and write, write, write, write.
And, um, when I feel stressed or. When I used to spend my nights with my eyes on the wall, thinking about different things that did not give me peace, I just write, and that's my source of inspiration [00:09:00] myself. I just write what I really feel, what I really feel, and I don't say. Sometimes
Aziz: thank you. You answer my questions even before I ask them.
I was going to ask about your source of inspiration. So if I understood you correctly, whenever you feel intense emotions or anything like that, writing is like your meditation that allows you. To process the emotions by writing it down and it allows you to understand yourself and release tension, if I understood correctly again, of course. And to ask you then, because to me, writing it's both a pain and a pleasure, and that it feels like there is so much tension, like the idea or the words or whatever we're creating need to come. It's like given birth , and then you write [00:10:00] it and there is a kind of sound or the right words that need to go on the page that resonate with your own feeling.
If you don't write those correct words, it feels like no, no, no, and you change it and you make it into. That vision and then when you finish you feel I'm done. And it feels like after you had a massage or something, it's really relaxing in that sense like. The idea, there is some philosophers who believe ideas live in another universe and they're looking for people to come out to this world through, and if they find you in the right space, it wants with all this energy to come to this reality.
And that's why there is that intensity when you are creating and writing. That's my experience. How is it for you when you write? How do you feel? How do you know in your emotions it's the right time to write? What tells [00:11:00] you you;re writing in the way that expresses your emotions, and how do you feel afterwards?
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: When I wrote, I connect with myself. For me, writing is healing. It's change. Um, It is as if I'm no longer part of the ordinary world, , um, part of this world, and I passed into a superior world full of essence, of sense.
Aziz: I like that some people feel the same when they're working out or running and connecting with the beauty of nature, et cetera. Is it similar for you when you are doing sports, when you are running? Is it also a way for you to have time away from everything? to connect with yourself, or how is that feeling different to you writing and connecting with yourself?
Uh,
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: I also like when I [00:12:00] feel stressed or. Sad or something like that to do sports and listen to music. So, uh, walking nature, relax me, change my batteries. Sometimes I simply sit on a bench and take a deep breath, organize my thoughts and start over.
Aziz: Thank you. And as a girl who grew up in Braila, can you explain what does it mean to be a Romanian girl in 2023 who grew up in your town or city? Is your culture traditionally Romanian and therefore, what does that mean? Or are you a mix of the cultures of the world? Because of Hollywood movies, you're a bit American and because of, uh, anime, you're a bit Japanese and a mix of many cultures.
Or how is the attitude, personality, and way of thinking [00:13:00] of Andreea in 2023 compared to her mom or grandmother?
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: Um, so I told this place is not very developed and does not offer for me many possibilities. Uh, although I will not give up until I reach where I want. And when I say this, I mean the way I think about success to be different, to help and listen to society in the true sense, to be appreciate.
And when I met someone to say, Hey, it's Andreea, she helped change me. We're thankful that there are people like her. Uh, so I think, uh, Andreea in, uh, 2023, uh, is the girl who truly understood the meaning, who continues to know herself daily and to evolve. Uh, she's not afraid of the new and. What evolution means either learning a different language or eating something other than traditional [00:14:00] Romanian food or what concern other feels.
Andreea, in um, 2020 compared to her mother's not afraid to and act, uh, is not afraid to say, uh, what she's thinking and she fight for her dreams.
Aziz: Thank you, Andreea. I really admire that and it makes me think. To you, what would be an ideal place that will really be a perfect fit for your personality? Are you a girl who dreams of living in a huge metropolitan with like 10 million people like New York, or you would love to be somewhere just near the ocean away from everything, but you can work online and find those opportunities or.
What would be something, a place that would be so perfect and so developed that matches your desire for [00:15:00] evolution, your perspective, and positivity.
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: Uh, so, um, an ideal world for me. Is the world in, which I feel, ideally with myself being a sociable person who likes to live among people. I would choose to live in a big city, I guess, uh, where I can get to know new stories and, uh, new experiences. Um, I, uh, believe that I don't, uh, like working in a closed office, uh, but I, uh, would like, in a workplace that, uh, offer me the opportunity to share my story, to share my thoughts with others, my, uh, life experiences.
Um, What I believe about, uh, socially, about Destiny , uh, about, uh, um, taboo's, uh, discussions.
Aziz: Thank you. I love that I have understood so much more about you, about the reason for your positivity, your ideal location. I want to understand a little [00:16:00] bit what motivates you to be the change that you desire to see in the world. , what motivates your desire for creating volunteer work? For working? I mean, like doing all the activity for the student council, for the county council.
What drives you to put that extra effort instead of, for example, relaxing at home, doing homework in that time, or watching Netflix or anything like that?
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: Uh, so the moment I decided to get involved was when I discovering myself the desire to be the change to help the, the evolution, uh, to be the voice of the needs of the people around who hides different stories. Um, um, I believe that a good leader is born a good leader during the experience. He, uh, perfect, he or she perfect and form itself.
Um, being a good leader is not only about having, the status or [00:17:00] giving rules, but about understand the people around, uh, him, uh, being close to them and their soul.
Aziz: Thank you so much, Andreea. I love your introspective attitude, your ability to connect with yourself, to trust your inner voice, which gives your perspective wisdom compared to. Anybody else, because I understood and noticed what you're saying comes from your truth. It's not repeating something you have heard or listened to.
I wish you success. I wish you to keep being a leader and contributing. I wish you to always feel better and better, evolve more and more, and I thank you so much for participating in this podcast.
Andreea Gabriela Ciocan: Thank you so much. I'm so happy to take a part in your project. So, uh, I wish you [00:18:00] all the best and all the success in the world.
