17/12/2020
My Hercules Journal,
George Vakanas
DEDICATION
I was born on an island and at the age of 7, I became a refugee. I can choose to start my life from that painful event or
not, it is my personal choice. I will save the reader all the trouble of describing a war or a natural catastrophe and focus
on a fighting survival winning attitude instead, which all humans can display in times of trial. What do you do when you
lose a beloved uncle in a war, what do you do when you lose your house, your belongings and your toys? Well, you still
have options once you get over the initial physical and emotional shock. Out of all the options I had though, lucky or
unlucky, fortunate or not, I chose to “go to the moon.” At the age of 7, I wanted to be a pilot or an astronaut, and who
wouldn’t in that age of 7? If you ask a psychologist (no pan intended) they will nail it right there; the boy has suffered a
shock and, in his effort, to cope he dreamed of an escape from this earth (like the adage: “stop the earth, I’d like to
disembark now) and his love for space was born. Yet, there is more than meets the eye, this is not just an escapee, flight
over fight, it was also a drive to survive and succeed through means which are not conquerable, steal-able, one way or
another. So there’s the treasure I discovered through the shock at the age of 7: “Education is power and it’s probably
the only treasure a human has which can be secured without key locks and passwords even through calamities like a
war, a natural disaster or a human greed event like a robbery.” I cruised through elementary and high school with honors
and found my way to the “Land of Opportunity” to further my education, thanking God because to have “9 lives” like
a cat.
And the conclusion of this dedication is as clear as it could ever be: I dedicate this publication to my parents, family,
friends and everyone offered a helping hand along my life’s journey through education.
