Episode Transcript
Hello. My name is Aziz. I'm the son of a divorced mother. She is really 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 the voices of women,
when we listen to real lives of women from other countries,
we connect our cultures without differences or stereotypes.
And we get inspired by their stories
to live a better life.
That's what this podcast is all about.
My guest today is Yasmina Radu.
Yasmina is a 20-year-old girl from Timisoara, Romania,
and she currently lives in Vienna and studies economics
at Vienna University of Economics and Business.
Her hobbies are playing tennis, painting, and traveling.
She really likes going out with friends
and to explore the streets of Vienna.
Jasmi is definitely a cat person and she loves meeting new people from all over the world.
Jasmi, how are you today?
Hi, thank you for the question. I'm really good. I am happy because the sun is out in Vienna finally.
And I really enjoy a Sunday in Vienna.
I'm happy to have you here. I love the good vibes. I'm really curious to know even more about you.
So I'll begin with this nice first question.
If your friends and the people who know you best
in Timișoara and in Vienna could describe your personality,
what would they say?
And would it be different,
your personality in Romania compared to Vienna?
I think it's the same personality.
Like I'm a really happy person, energetic person.
My friends say that I'm a smiley person.
I smile a lot.
And yeah, I like spending time with my friends,
laughing with my friends, being crazy with them.
So yeah, that's what I think they're going to say about me.
I love that.
And then I have a question because you mentioned
that you love being crazy with your friends.
Does it mean when you're alone,
you feel more shy to be crazy?
So you need that social support of your friends
to be crazy with them,
Or you can be that way regardless, whether it's new people or friends you know.
It's more with the friends that I know because I feel more comfortable with the friends that I know,
like people that I know, and that allows me to be crazier and like feeling myself with them.
Thank you. I love that.
Usually though people who need to feel comfortable and need time for comfort,
They don't take too many risks in life, yet you do and you're traveling and you live in another country and all that.
How do you balance your desire for safety with taking risks in order to build a better future?
So I have a code that I lead my life with and it says that the moment when you are the most afraid then is the moment when you need to jump.
And that is what I usually do when I feel the most afraid,
like moving abroad or do things that I'm not used to do.
That is the moment that I really do them.
And that makes me feel like comfortable in some situations
that I wouldn't be comfortable.
Perfect. And you love playing tennis.
Did you learn anything from tennis that is helping you
with your life right now?
Are there lessons about how to be as a person,
how to take risks that playing tennis
was a pivotal point in your development?
I would say it was a really important part of my life
because I started playing tennis
when I was just seven years old.
I played it for like 10 years until I was 17.
It really helped me like control myself
and be really strong by myself because I usually played simple tennis, just me and the opponent.
But when I started playing in a team, like in a double, I started learning how to play in a team
and not to be just myself and to count on the strength from another person. And I think that
really helped me like the teamwork in a double play.
That's great.
And also to understand your culture
as a girl from Timișoara.
How are the women and the people there,
especially in a time where many girls from Timișoara
say we feel empowered because we're women
and there are places in the world where it feels like
what is the meaning of being a woman?
People are unsure.
Some women say, no,
being a woman is being oppressed.
I don't know, like, what is your perspective on that?
Especially that I know, especially in the Balkans
and in Timișoara, there is a different culture
and attitude from the different women.
I always felt comfortable being a woman in the Balkans,
despite the fact that some people think
that it's dangerous being a woman in the Balkans.
But I never felt that way, and I don't know what to say.
It's interesting to be a woman in every country.
It depends on how the people think about a woman
and how the people think about a man,
like if they're equal or not.
But I never felt like not being as good as a man in Romania.
And how is the difference between the culture in Romania and in Vienna?
Some people say that Romanian people are more warm, more open, more friendly while in Vienna.
Some people are more distant and a bit colder. Did you experience this?
How is your perspective there of the different cultural shifts?
Yeah, I felt really like a difference. The people are warmer in Romania than in Austria,
Like in Vienna, the students are a little bit cold with international people, but the people in Austria are more tolerant than the Romanian ones.
And I mean in these times, like with women that are transgender and everything, like everyone trying to find what they really are, they are more tolerant than the people in Romania.
And yeah, that's a really big difference that I noticed here.
Thank you. And you love painting.
So to you, what inspires you to paint?
When do you feel it's the right time
or the right inspiration to go for painting?
Usually I paint when I'm alone
and I have not a problem really,
but I need to express myself
and I do it really good painting.
I haven't painted in a long time because here I don't really have the time to do this.
I usually tend to be with people and not to stay alone.
But I started painting when I was a child and I really enjoyed it back in Romania.
But yeah, I should paint more because I really enjoy it and I like painting.
That's great.
And it makes me think of your desire and interest in exploring the streets in Vienna.
Is it the architecture? Is it something else? What draws you to exploring those streets and what fascinates you about them?
Yeah, the architecture is wonderful. Every street is so unique in a kind, but they blend together so well.
And they are so different from back home in Timisoara. Timisoara is called the little Vienna,
But I never had really the feeling that Timișoara is similar to Vienna.
It has like similar architecture buildings, but Vienna is so much more wonderful and really
unique in this kind of area, like the architecture.
And also the vibe on the streets, there is a unique vibe and you feel like comfortable
walking around and seeing people enjoy their life.
That's what I really like about Vienna.
So how do you spend then your day
in order to take care of your education,
of your mental health, of the social life?
Because some women might feel they're sacrificing
everything for one thing, maybe it's their career
or their education.
Are you able to find that balance
or what's your advice to yourself and to them?
Like you said earlier, I should paint more.
I try to find the balance.
I try to also to learn and have good grades,
but also to meet people to do what I like to do
in my free time.
So I usually learn the most of the time
because I have a lot to learn.
But on the weekends, like on the sunny days,
I enjoy going out on evening
or spending time with friends.
I haven't prioritized the painting
because it's more solo activity, like doing alone.
And I don't like being alone here
because I think I miss the chance of seeing new places
and meeting new people.
But it's really important to have a balance
and yeah, to prioritize your education
but also to prioritize what you like to do.
I love that.
And you're a woman who loves things
that connect with her emotions, I understand,
since you love architecture, painting.
Why choose economics?
Because it's very logical
and it's like using a different side of your brain
than the creative one.
As I said earlier, I like the balance
and I also like the part like the maths part.
I was really good at maths back home
And I think economics is like a mix between not really being creative, but you have like an area where you can be creative, but also to be really logical and doing rational things.
I love it. I really, really like that you balance yourself and therefore what kinds of people do you choose as friends that you build friendships with?
Are you balancing by being mostly around logical people?
Are you balancing by being mostly emotional, creative, crazy people?
How is it for you, especially that your friends inspire your craziness?
I like having friends from different areas.
I have friends that are really crazy.
Like yesterday I was with a friend dancing and singing in a park.
Like at 12 in the morning, just the two of us and other people were looking at us.
We are, we don't care. We just had a good time singing and dancing that are the friends that I am crazy with them and I feel comfortable.
But I also have friends that are more introverted and liking the part that is not so creative.
And I enjoy spending time with them because I have the feeling I can learn from them and they shouldn't be as crazy as I am
because I inspire them also to leave their comfort zone
and to be crazy with me.
And I learned from them to be like quiet
and more patient.
And yeah, I like to have friends
from where I can learn from them
and to develop myself in every area.
I really, really like that you inspire other people
to go out of their comfort zone? What's your advice to some women who maybe because of social
media they worry and think oh I'm not beautiful I should hide my face and myself or oh no because
maybe of social awkwardness of the pandemic and the social isolation they worry oh strangers maybe
will judge me too much or parents will think I'm a failure if I make mistakes. How do you
Do you recommend to them to find their confidence, go out there, aside their comfort zone, even if there is risk of failure?
I think they should all the time try to be themselves and not think what the strangers think about them.
Yeah, it's really important to take into consideration what your friends and your family think, but also to be true to yourself.
And yes, social media is not a really friendly place, most of the people post and say just the good parts of their life.
And you should know this when you're looking on social media and know that the people that are posting there, they don't have the perfect life.
And you shouldn't have the perfect life because it's going to be boring every time to be perfect and to have the perfect day, to be sunny, to feel good.
And it's also good to have bad days to be grateful then for the good days.
So life is not about being perfect, life is about being true, about being happy.
And yes, I don't really recommend spending so much time on social media, more spending
time with people outside in the nature, feeling themself connecting with the nature
and be true to themself, that's the most important thing.
Thank you. And I understand if you're a woman that loves architecture, you also enjoy,
you spoke about the sunshine today in Vienna, you probably enjoy the snow and different things.
In a different way, I will ask you, are all emotions important to you?
Do you sometimes prefer to cry, other times to be happy, sometimes to be heartbroken just to experience it and all that?
Or are you someone who has some preferences, like you only prefer sunny days, you only prefer
good emotions. How does it go for you? Because, you know, some women would say,
I want to cry. I feel like a good cry right now. So she puts a sad movie and she's like,
oh my God, that was so good to cry like that. And other people will say that's not right.
Like, that's not the way I would prefer it. Why not just be happy all the time?
I think you should experience all of the emotions, but you should prioritize the emotions that you
like. And I think I like being happy. I like prioritizing being happy to find a good part
in everything, to be optimistic, as I said. But it's also good to cry sometimes if you
feel the need to cry. I usually hide from people when I cry because I have the feeling
that I'm too vulnerable to cry in public.
And I usually don't cry.
I hold the emotions in me
and I don't think that's a good thing to do.
But I try to develop myself in this kind of area,
like the emotional one,
to embarrass all the emotions that I have,
all the things that happens in my life.
And sometimes I try, like I try my best
to learn from every situation that made me sad
or make me happy and to see the good part in everything.
That's important to me.
I agree 100%.
And for your future, what are your goals?
What are your expectations?
Do you have clear dreams for it?
Are you taking it step by step?
What would make you very happy
for your next years and the future?
I don't have a really concrete plan
what is going to happen next.
I know that I want to finish university here in Vienna. I know that I don't want to do a master
here in Vienna because I have the feeling that there are so many other cities, other countries
that I haven't seen. And it's not that I don't like Vienna. I really love Vienna and maybe
one day I will come back when I'm older. But now, because I'm young and I'm not really
attached to a place.
I have the opportunity to go everywhere
and to see every country and experience new cultures.
And I think this is something that helps you.
This is something that teach you what you like
and what you don't like, because if you
are going to stay your whole life in the country
that you were born in, in the same city,
you'll never know the other countries, the other cultures,
the other people, what they think,
because you're going to be like just what you think,
what the people that surrounds you think.
And I really like to explore new continents,
maybe I never been out of Europe,
but it's one of my goals in the future.
And yeah, I think this is something
that I really want to do in the future,
but I don't know when I'm going to do this,
but someday for sure.
Yes, and I notice you use the words explore and experience as well multiple times.
I understand that you're excited by, fascinated with, having new experiences.
To you, what is really the most exciting thing about traveling outside of Europe or
learning new things or experiencing new things?
Is it that you discover new things about yourself?
Is it that you grow and then you're fascinated by that,
or is it the exciting new emotion of discovery
and that's what keeps you not bored
because maybe you get bored easily or how does it work?
Yeah, it's true.
I get bored very easily.
I need to change something every day in my life,
like to do new things.
And yeah, I am really fascinating about people growth.
like I really all my life want to grow and seeing new continents and exploring new cities,
countries and learning from new people that don't have the same mindset as you have.
I think it's really helpful for your growth and to learn what you really like about life
and where you want to settle maybe in the future.
And I think that's the only way you can really find yourself
in exploring and seeing things that you have never tried or seen or everything.
Thank you so much, Jasmi.
It was my privilege and my honor to have you here,
to share your voice, some of your thoughts, perspectives and experiences.
I wish you all the exploration, discovery and new experiences and never ever to be bored
and to always reach your potential, your confidence and inspire everyone around you.
Thank you for participating.
Thank you very much for the invite and it was my pleasure to be here.
You are welcome.
