Everything that happens to us teaches us something. War also does not come alone, it brings its lessons with it.

The lessons I have learned are not as sad as those of many other Ukrainians who have lost their homes or loved ones. But the war changed a lot of what I knew, and it taught me to look at the world with fresh eyes and understand what I did not understand before.

Anything can happen.

It was one of the first lessons that I learned from the war. We all believe that nothing bad can happen and that trouble will bypass us. Just a few months ago, I couldn’t even imagine that there would be a war in my country. But then it happened. Now I know how quickly my life can change in a moment.

Now I know exactly what war is.

Thanks to television, we all think we know what war looks like. We watch news from distant lands. We watch movies like Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg or Dunkirk by Christopher Nolan. Or those endless documentaries about World War II. We consume it all from TV screens or smartphones without thinking about what war really is.

It’s easy to watch a war on TV when you know that it’s just a movie or a report from a distant country where you’ve never been and are unlikely to go. It’s quite another thing when you see places in the news that you know. Places from your country or your city. And you know for sure that it’s true. Because looking out the window or going outside, you can see it with your own eyes: soldiers, destroyed buildings, burnt cars.

War is a strange feeling inside. Like a black hole that sucks in all your emotions.

I hate air raid alerts!

I hate air raid alerts. Trust me, it’s the most annoying sound I’ve ever heard in my life! It was the first thing I heard when the war started. From that day until the moment I write these words, I have heard these alerts every day and every night. It’s impossible to get used to the sound. Because you know that the sound is a warning, you should run to the shelter because the city where you live is in danger. And you never know if a missile will hit your house.

Saving money for a rainy day was a good idea!

I’m not a rich person, I try to save money whenever possible. I never understood the people who spend money recklessly and live paycheck to paycheck. I always tried to have enough money so that in case of emergency I could live without a job for at least a few months. When the war began and I, like many Ukrainians, was left without a job, my saved money helped me a lot, so I could focus on other things.

I learned the actual power of new technologies.

Of course, we are closely connected to new technologies. Often we even blame new technologies for taking up so much of our time.

The war showed me the power and importance of new technologies in solving many problems. Thanks to mobile phones, we instantly learned the news. Any photo, video, or text flew around millions of mobile phones in an instant.

It seems to me that the Ukrainian government has done everything possible to use new technologies to help Ukrainians. We received accurate information on our mobile phones about where the bomb shelters were located and where to get help.

Many Ukrainians could receive financial help from the government by leaving an application on their mobile phones. With just a few clicks, we could resolve many issues that previously required going to public institutions.

New technologies unite people.

Thanks to messengers, Ukrainians have created many chats and groups for their cities, districts, or even apartment buildings. In the chat of the apartment building in which I lived, I could see how the tenants shared local news with each other or offered help: “I’m at the pharmacy now, let me know if someone needs some medicine, I can buy it for you”, “Can someone help me fix the lock? I don’t have money to call the locksmith.” And we all helped each other as best we could.

This consolidation of ordinary people with the help of new technologies helped us a lot, especially in the first weeks of the war.

I learned that we weren’t alone.

After the start of the war, Ukrainians saw an incredible, I would even say, unprecedented consolidation of the entire world around Ukraine. That consolidation took place not only at the level of states but also at the level of companies, brands, and ordinary people. I don’t know how many people abroad understood the importance of such consolidation, but I can say as a Ukrainian that it was incredibly important to us! Because we knew we weren’t alone. We saw every action and heard every word of your support.

Constantly watching the news is bad.

Smart people say that watching the news too often is bad. Now I know for sure that it’s true. When the war began, we all did not tear ourselves away from TV screens and mobile phones, watching the latest news reports. But after a few weeks, I felt I was only getting worse from it. I was so absorbed in the news that I could not think of anything else but the war. My brain got tired of that quickly, and I began to worry too much about every, even the most insignificant little thing that was said on TV or written on the Internet.

The war taught me to filter information, leaving only the most important, really important news.

War shows who a person really is.

War is probably the hardest test in a person’s life. War is like a mirror showing who a person really is.

The war made me look differently at many famous people, actors, singers, and athletes. Many of them showed themselves as true patriots, helping Ukraine in such a difficult time.

I was also surprised by many of our politicians. Many of those whom I had not even paid attention to before came to the fore and proved to be real leaders.

The most striking example is the President of Ukraine, who surprised the entire world with his devotion to the country.

The most striking example is the President of Ukraine, who surprised the entire world with his devotion to the country.

And finally, I want to say that what matters is not what happens to you, but whether you can learn from it. I think I’ve learned my lessons, and it made me stronger.