Jelena – Brčko
“Set your own trends.”
“When I was a kid, my mom worked at a clothing boutique in this building in downtown Brčko. I spent all my free time there playing games among the clothes. She would even prop me up in the window like a mannequin and see how long it would take the customers to notice me!” Jelena’s time spent in her mother’s shop taught her a love of fashion, but also a love of people. She went on to study law with a hope of helping people fight for better futures with legal action. Despite her enthusiasm, job opportunities are limited in Brčko so she’s not restricting herself to just one dream. “I’d love to live in the big cities like Banja Luka or Sarajevo where the creative side of me could flourish. With access to a bigger market, I could become a fashion or interior designer. I know I’ll find a job soon that fulfills me. I’ve always been told my big imagination sometimes has impossible ideas, but actually it’s my imagination that has given me the courage to try!” While Jelena does believe in her future in BiH, she wishes that her government would provide more support for young people looking for jobs or growing a family. Regardless, she’s not giving up on anything – including her wardrobe. “What you wear is what you feel – and I’ve never let someone else dictate either one for me. If there is a trend that I don’t like, I don’t follow it. In BiH, one current trend right now is for young people to leave. That’s simply not my style. I’ll be here with my best red lipstick on!”
Other stories
Hannah - Sarajevo
“BiH must define herself by the diversity of all her citizens and be unshakably proud of it.”
Živan Ugljevik
“It’s time to accept the truth, unite behind it, and leave future generations an opportunity to succeed.”
Ivana – Banja Luka
“We can all be community organizers…we all just need a little push. I want to be that push.”
Magdalena – Prijedor
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.
Mirna – Stolac
“WWI ended. WWII ended. Yugoslavia ended and the most recent war ended. This period of time will also come to an end.”
Stela – Banja Luka
“My friends tell me not to fight the wind, you cannot win. But I can try.”
Velida – Podlugovi
“It begins with individual action. Through it, I believe we can initiate change in our home communities.”
Nikolina – Banja Luka
“Sometimes we are given two options to choose from, and we are told that this choice is democracy, but what we really need is to demand new options.”
Aleksandar – BL
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only this that ever has.”
Vesna – Vitez
“Having different points of view makes for much more interesting conversation.”
Božo – Trebinje
“Bosnia and Herzegovina’s reliance upon the international community needs to end.”
