I was born and raised in Soviet Union, in what was then the Soviet Ukraine. My childhood was punctuated by being captivated by the imagery of the Russian language, its psychological nuances that carry the wisdom of Russian peasants and the pagan past, come manifest through reading ,Russian animation and the Soviet cinema. When I was 14, I em/immigrated to San Francisco with my nuclear family. The transition is a story in itself. The first things that struck me were not the plentiful amounts of food in the stores, but the absence of people on the streets and the way the educational system was designed (designed to dull and to conform). Around the age of 16 I woke up to vegetarianism, feminism, political critical thinking, sociology, anthropology, paganism and spirituality. One can rarely say with conviction what one thing propelled them into their current state of mind. The only assured thought is that you are a culmination of many nuances, many factors in your life that come together, as parts of a mosaic, to present one multi-faceted and complex image. Part of who I am was growing up in Ukraine, with a culture which still was patriarchal and traditional in many ways, has always valued intelligence, emotion, closeness, intimacy and imagination as its strengths. Part of it my was my father. Some of it were my first american friends-raised by their mother, an ex-hippie vegetarian, poor but determined. Her daughters grew up independent, strong and kind and with them I explored my teenage years, lit by ganja and echoed by the sounds of reggae. Then came the time of some pain and frustration, tinged by love and acceptance, embodied in the experience of human sexuality and first relationships. Mother Goddess, Nature, Jesus and St. Francis have always remained in my heart and I know that the day shall come when my purpose on this planet (which I fully know even if I don't fully attest to it) with enough self-nourishment, will come to fruition. Nothing is what it seems, as sociologists love to say! and I adopt that slogan, along with the personal favourite "The only destiny is Earth, everything else is relative!" May everyone be blessed on their paths and bring more kindness into our messed up society. We all need it. Peace. One love.