My Lifetime Journey With Kasia
Ooh! Wow! Where do I start? Kids, gather around! It all began in the fall of 2002.. That's when I met Kasia, my partner in crime for life. We met at the university auditorium in our home city, Wroclaw, Poland, where we spend the next five years studying Architecture, getting street smarter, and doing the most stupid shit you will never prove us! ;P over the course of last two decades, we've shared our ups and downs, met all of each other's boyfriends/girlfriends (?), and learned how to support each other on different life stages. I wish everyone could find Kasia to their Anja. The world would be a better place.
It's not an easy task for me to select my best memories about Kasia and I because there's tons of them. It's been such an amazing journey for us to witness the other one growing up, maturing, healing from wounds, and just simply having fun! What I love the most about our relationship, is that we were able build a beautiful female friendship, against what society used to teach women. We never competed for attention of men or other friends. We did compete tho. In the most healthy and inspiring ways. We would push each other to aim for more by doing more and leading by example. "Ok! So she can stay up one more hour to make her design better? Why can't I?" It was that kind of thing.. We were never negative or against each other. When it was time to sleep tho, we would lead by example too lol! Now, we both are kick-ass professionals always rooting for each other.
Kasia is an amazing person and a loyal friend. She will show up when you need her and say all the stupid stuff to make you laugh through your tears and she’ll keep that wine coming. If it’s one of those nights, you will dance your ass off and go back home next day. She is very cute and positive, but don’t get it twisted, her quick wit is a deadly weapon if necessary! :) especially when someone tells her what she cannot do or is not capable of.
I’ve seen Kasia going through the best and worst life situations. I was also able to witness her growth. One of the times she surprised me the most was a few years ago when she decided to move from Poland to Mexico. She had just started her own business. She was making her due designing buildings in our house city, but when the opportunity of moving to a different continent presented itself, she seized the moment. Kasia didn’t want to give up on her business tho, so she worked overseas, adjusting her schedule to Central European Time zone. In practice it meant working at night and making business calls and virtual meetings @ 2am. In this whole craziness, she managed to learn pole dancing in a local fitness studio. Not only that, she became an instructor herself! She transitioned from a skinny, asthmatic girl to a fitness goddess with a 16-pack and body moves that even JLo wouldn’t be ashamed of.
As I mentioned before, Kasia had lived in Mexico for several years. I happened to visit her there in the last phase of her stay (now she lives in The UK). I was experiencing a very difficult time in my life at the time. Kasia gave me tons of support. And tacos. And gallons of tequila :) She was also a perfect travel guide showing me the must-see attractions, but also taking me to places far away from the tourist trails. One of those places was a gorgeous winery in the middle of nowhere where we did a half of our photo shoot. The winery was full of good wine and food. Also, full of very hospitable locals. Kasia spoke to them in fluent Spanish that she had learned in Mexico over the course of only three months, cuz why not? She kept getting complements on her language skills wherever we went.
AsW: When did you make yourself the most proud?
K: Oh! The most, huh? You know, I do’t think there’s just one event like that. There was a few situations in my life that I could say “I did it!”, “ I made it!”. It was definitely when I started my own business, when I managed to keep it running, when not only did I take up pole dancing, but also became an instructor. I was very proud when I moved so far away from home and I found myself in that new place. I’m very proud I learned Spanish so quickly. I think all of the above is when I made myself the most proud.
AsW: Especially since you have lived in more than one country, do you think there is something that women have in common across cultures and different backgrounds?
K: I think what’s very common for most women is their strength. I’ve observed it in women that I had a chance to meet and befriend somewhere out there in the world. They were all doers and go getters. I think, other thing that we have in common, is the level of sensitivity. I feel like the bond between women is stronger than between guys, at least when it comes to sensitivity. That’s how I feel, I might be wrong. That’s my personal observation. To sum up, I thing those two things are characteristic to women. Being strong and balancing it with sensitivity.
AsW: What do you most appreciate other women for? Is there a person who embodies those traits?
K: What I really appreciate in women is their multitasking skills. Hence, motherhood is something I most admire women for. I haven’t experienced motherhood myself yet, if you don’t count being a dog mom. I have two dogs. I assume it’s not the same as being a mother to a child. That’s why I really admire women who sacrificed a lot to become a mom. What else? I really appreciate women who can arm themselves against the world in difficult situations. They can put on an invisible armor when something really bad is about to happen to them. I think it all comes back to that strength I was talking about before. I think it’s not easy to survive and establish ourselves in the men’s world, so I really admire women who fight the status quo.
PS.
Dear Kasia,
What can I say about my appreciation for you that hasn’t been said before? Thank you for your energy at the shoot and all the laughs we had during the interview. Thank for all of the support you gave me in Mexico. That period of my life would have been much more difficult if it wasn’t for you. I am devastated you won’t be able to meet me here in New York this month as we planned. I hope, when the madness out there in the world ends, I’m gonna pick you up from JFK and we’ll spend some amazing time together. We both need it so much! Can’t wait to see you, boo!
With love,
Anja
