Hi, I’m Kamila. I study analytics, love books, old music, and travelling. And I’m a dancer. So… Wanna dance?
Something my first dance teacher used to always tell us, and some might think is not true: success is only 10% of talent and 90% of hard work, not the other way round.
At the moment I am back in my family home, living in a very small but very beautiful village in the south part of Poland. What really makes me feel at home here is my family and old friends I’ve known since my childhood. And sitting on the porch of my house on warm evenings listening to the crickets chirping.
A city that has also felt like home since my first day there is Cambridge, where I’ve spent the past 3 years – and still feel like I’ve left a part of me there. 🙂
As for my breakfast, it really depends on what I have in the fridge, but I like to get creative when preparing my meals and rarely follow recipes as I should.
As for Cambridge, there’s this little café called Indigo Coffee. I found it magical, like a treasure hidden amongst all the buildings and greenery around.
As for my home village in Poland, you should definitely visit my house and try my mum’s amazing cheesecake!
When I think of a breakthrough moment in my life, there’s one day that instantly comes to my mind. Right after I finished high school, aged 19, I went to visit my cousin in London. At that point, I thought I had everything planned – I had passed my high school exams well, got accepted to one of the best universities in Poland, and was going to study languages and live with my best friend in Krakow. And then my cousin took me on a trip to Cambridge.
I fell in love with the city at the first sight. That day I forgot about all of my plans and decided that I want to stay and study there. I never expected myself to be strong enough to make such a decision, simply following my heart just like that. And that really was just the beginning of my journey, which has been a bit tough at times, but definitely worth every minute.
Besides being an analytics student I am a dancer, a bookworm, an adventure lover. As for my wild dreams or plans – I have a long bucket list full of things ranging from travelling (from seeing northern lights to dancing salsa in Cuba) to dancesport championships, to learning languages (including the programming ones!). I am passionate about learning and developing, so – as idealistic as it sounds – my vision for the future is to do something that will let me have real impact and never stop growing. And, of course, I can’t imagine my life without having the time for my passions.
There surely were many people that have strongly impacted my life – my parents, from whom I think I got the passion for learning and who have taught me to go out there and fight for my dreams; my dance coach, who has shown me how important it is to work hard, and that talent alone is never enough to make you successful; my statistics teacher whose passion about the subject has inspired me to study analytics.
Surely having to work to support myself alongside my studies has also shaped me a lot, letting me experience many very different jobs (and teaching me that sometimes being constantly tired is totally worth it!).
It was definitely hard for me to start over, alone, in a foreign country, having to rely on myself. I remember I would always tell myself to try to take one day at a time, make the most of it, and simply give myself a chance of making that the best time of my life.
There is so much I can learn every day, so many ways I can develop in, so many new things to try. I think this curiosity is something that makes me wake up in the morning with some kind of sense of purpose. I am currently studying analytics and am constantly amazed by how much we can learn and achieve using all the information available nowadays, and if we use it well, we could have so much impact on others’ lives. I want to be someone who drives that kind of change.
My passion for dancing has also always been the fuel that kept me going, an unfailing escape from all the problems and a way for me to express myself. I’ve read somewhere that when we dance, we turn into the best versions of ourselves. I think that’s what dancing has always been doing to me, teaching me so much about stretching my own boundaries and becoming better than I was yesterday.
I know that sometimes it can be hard to be or feel different, but as Maya Angelou said (and this is one of my favourite quotes too): “If you always try to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be”. So I would ask you all to help me find all the other hidden misfits, outliers, and rebels that are out there, and help them spread their wings and make the most of their potential. Imagine what we could do if we all joined forces!
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