Ąžuolas, Joris and Markas

“After the birth of my first son, Joris, I started identifying with the role of a dad quite quickly. At the same time, I felt that I took a giant step in my journey of personal maturity. I no longer felt responsible only for myself; the superficial agenda for the day took on a lot more meaning, and my level of patience doubled. When Mark came into the world, my level of patience only continued to grow. When I watch both of my children grow up and communicate, I live through my childhood again in my mind. Joris is already a first grader. I remember myself well at that age – the first day at school, the excitement of learning new subjects, the routine and waiting for the weekend, developing my own interests and hobbies that seemed a little strange to my parents.

My most important task now is to raise my beloved and loving sons. Brave, curious, just. I have experienced bullying, so I understand what it means to be rejected or abused. I try to raise my children not only with thick skin for the opinions of others or the “treat others as you want to be treated” mentality. I want them to act in the face of injustice, to take care not only of themselves but also of others. I hope we will achieve this.”