Z radością informujemy, że uczeń klasy 2P, Paweł Andrzejewski, zdobył wyróżnienie w ogólnopolskim konkursie literackim w języku angielskim „Opowieść o mieście”, zorganizowanym przez Fundację Kultury Irlandzkiej w ramach projektu „Irlandia w szkole”.
Zadaniem uczestników było napisanie eseju w języku angielskim, inspirowanego twórczością Jamesa Joyce’a. Autorzy mieli przedstawić swoje miasto z perspektywy codziennego życia – autentycznie, kreatywnie i z wykorzystaniem własnej wyobraźni. Jury oceniało przede wszystkim oryginalność pomysłu oraz samodzielność pracy.
Opiekunem merytorycznym Pawła była pani Katarzyna Smulska-Perez.
Serdecznie gratulujemy Pawłowi tego sukcesu i życzymy mu kolejnych osiągnięć literackich.
Poniżej publikujemy wyróżnione opowiadanie Pawła Andrzejewskiego. Zapraszamy do lektury!
My neighbourhood
All of my days in Poznań begin in Piątkowo. Early in the morning the neighbourhood is still quiet, but you can already see signs that the day is starting. Lights appear in apartment windows, doors open, and people slowly walk out of the tall blocks of flats or houses that are in the area. Between the buildings there are small paths that lead toward tram stops, shops, a train track and playgrounds that will later be full of children.
In the morning everything feels calm and a little sleepy. The air is usually cold, especially during autumn and winter. People walk quickly with their jackets zipped up, their hands in their pockets, and backpacks or work bags hanging from their shoulders. Some go to work, some to school like me, and some just go for a walk to relax and enjoy the nice views, even if they are not that extraordinary. I like those views. They are really special to me, so I often just walk around, mostly on the field and a forest next to my house. There aren’t a lot of people there so it’s quiet and peaceful.
I leave my building with my backpack and start walking toward the bus stop. Around me there are other students from nearby schools, parents taking younger children to kindergartens, and adults heading to work. Some people look tired, others scroll through their phones while walking, and a few carry coffee cups that emit small clouds of steam into the cold air.
Soon the quiet of the neighbourhood is interrupted by one of the most familiar sounds in the city: the trams and busses arriving. You first hear the metallic screech of the wheels slowing down and the soft electronic beep when the doors open. People step inside quickly, and within seconds the public transport is moving again, continuing its journey toward all the parts of Poznań.
The bus ride from Piątkowo is part of my everyday routine. Sometimes I manage to get a seat near the window, but often I just stand and hold one of the metal bars, while the bus moves through the city. I like watching what happens outside the window as we pass through different parts of Poznań, and besides, there might be people who need the seats more.
At first, you mostly see apartment blocks similar to the ones in Piątkowo. Small grocery stores open their doors for the first customers of the day, and people walk their dogs along narrow sidewalks. Some dogs move slowly, clearly not excited about the early hour, while others pull on their leashes with energy, even if their owner isn’t showing the same attitude.
As the ride continues, the city slowly changes. The streets become busier, more cars appear, and more people enter the bus at every stop. Sometimes it becomes so crowded that you can barely move. Students with backpacks stand next to office workers in long coats, and everyone tries to find a comfortable place to stand without stepping on someone else’s shoes, but it only makes me think about the world more and how it all looks like we’re all just ants working and trying to live our lives to the fullest, not even focusing on what that even means. Some people think we should only seek happiness, some have a stoic mindset, and some a nihilistic one. In my opinion, yeah we should enjoy our lives, but also not try to force the enjoyment all the time. After all, if a person is happy all the time it loses its meaning and that said person isn’t living better than a person who is sad all the time. Without balance things don’t exist, so we should cherish negative emotions just as equally, as long as we don’t hurt anyone or act because of them.
Despite the crowd, the atmosphere is strangely quiet. Many people are still waking up. Some listen to music, others look out the windows, and a few try to read or finish something on their phones before the day really begins. I prefer to use this time to either just think deeply, or revise school stuff.
I like observing small details during the ride. A student finishing homework at the last moment before school. A man reading a newspaper. Two friends laughing too loudly for such an early hour. These small moments might seem unimportant, but together they create the everyday rhythm of the city.
Eventually I get off near my school, and the atmosphere changes again. My school is located right next to Park Cytadela, which is one of the largest parks in Poznań. After the noise of trams, cars, and busy streets, the park feels almost like a completely different world.
Cytadela is full of wide walking paths, open grassy spaces, and tall trees that are older than many of the buildings around them. In the morning the park is usually quiet. Joggers run slowly along the paths, dog owners walk their pets, and sometimes cyclists pass by on their way to work. When there is fog, which happens often in autumn, the park looks almost mysterious. The trees disappear slightly into the grey air, and everything becomes quieter. You can hear the sound of footsteps on the paths or the distant barking of a dog, somewhere between the trees.
After school I sometimes go there for a walk, it reminds me of that field next to my house. It’s a good place to get some fresh air after sitting in classrooms for hours. Even though the city center is not far away, the park creates a feeling of distance from the noise of everyday traffic.
The park changes completely with the seasons. In autumn the trees turn bright shades of yellow, orange, and red. The ground becomes covered with leaves, and when you walk through them, they make a loud crunching sound under your shoes. The air smells fresh and cold, and the sunlight shines through the colourful branches. Winter transforms the park again. Snow sometimes covers the paths scattered across Cytadela. Everything becomes quieter and softer. People walk faster because of the cold, but the park feels peaceful in a way that is hard to describe. It’s kind of ironic how cold can be cozy. Spring is probably the most exciting time. After months of grey skies, the trees slowly turn green again and the park fills with life. Students sit on the grass after school, cyclists ride along the paths, and families come to walk together in the warm weather. The sound of birds in the trees mixes with distant conversations from people walking nearby which is really nice too.
Sometimes I see groups of students sitting on the grass, talking about school, music, or plans for the weekend. Other people walk their dogs or just sit on benches enjoying the quietness.
From certain places in the park, you can see parts of the city around it, like for example buildings, streets, and tram lines stretching toward the center of Poznań. It reminds you that the calm park is still part of a much larger city, full of movement and noise, while not breaking its beauty.
Poznań changes a lot depending on the weather. When it rains, which happens not that rarely, the streets shine like mirrors and umbrellas appear everywhere. Puddles form along the sidewalks, and trams arrive full of people shaking water from their jackets.
But when the sun appears, everything feels different. Cafés open their outdoor seating, people spend more time in parks, and the city suddenly feels more relaxed.
Sometimes on weekends I meet friends in the Old Market Square. The colorful buildings surrounding the square attract tourists who stop to take photos or listen to street musicians. At noon, people gather to watch the famous mechanical goats appear above the Town Hall and bump their heads together. Even though I’ve seen it many times, it still feels like a small tradition that connects the city’s past with its present.
But what really is Poznań for me are not the tourist attractions. It’s the everyday moments that happen again and again, like waiting for the bus in Piątkowo, riding through the city in the morning, and walking near the old trees of Cytadela.
These small details might seem plain or boring, but together they create the feeling of living in a place, a place that’s close to me. So basically home.
Poznań isn’t perfect. Sometimes the trams are late, sometimes the weather stays grey for days, and sometimes the streets feel crowded and noisy. But there are also moments when everything feels calm and familiar.
For me, Poznań is the place I’m growing up in and making memories I’ll always cherish. It’s the routine of the bus ride, the quiet park paths, and the feeling of moving through the city together with thousands of other people who are all living their own everyday stories. I’m really glad to be part of the community.
And even though I travel the same route almost every day, something always feels a little different, for example a new shop opening, sunlight breaking through the clouds, or the sound of wind moving through the trees in the park.
Maybe that’s what makes a city feel like home. Not the famous landmarks or the places tourists visit, but the small, ordinary moments that slowly become part of your life. This place may seem ordinary, but it’s actually really beautiful and I’m happy and proud to live here among all these colours, infrastructure and with all my closest friends and family.