SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

I'm middle-aged. I have already had a few trials in my life. Work that has not always been easy. People who have come and gone. There have also been times when I have wondered if it all makes sense. 

I live in Slovenia. It is not a big country. And that is where I see its beauty. The fact that people still know how to look each other in the eye. That we can talk to each other. That the word is still valid. At least where people take it seriously. 

I often hear people say that there is no prospect. That young people are leaving. That it is not possible. And I will not say that I do not understand these feelings, because I have had them myself. But when I look around me, I also see something else. I see people who are working in spite of everything. Who get up early. Who are repairing, healing, teaching, creating. These people are Slovenia. Not the headlines in the media, not the big speeches, but everyday life. 

I believe that a successful life does not necessarily mean wealth. For me, it means living with dignity. It means doing meaningful work. To know why I get up in the morning. To not fear the future, but to understand it. And to know that I am not alone. 

I want Slovenia to be a country where work is valued. Every honest job. Where it is not important who you are, but what you contribute. Where knowledge is not lost in bureaucracy and where good people do not tire of proving themselves. A country where things are solved through dialogue, not division. 

When I think about the future, I do not think about perfection. I think about connectedness. I am thinking about being able to come together, even when we don't agree on everything. Of being able to listen. That we know how to admit a mistake. And to be able to say: Let's do it differently - better. 

I would like my children and other children not to leave because there is no opportunity at home. Let them go for knowledge, for experience, for breadth, but let them know that they have a home to come back to. That they are always welcome at home. 

Slovenia has everything we need. It's not perfect. Neither am I. But it has a heart, it has people. It has the capacity to pick itself up and move forward. If we can look at each other with more understanding and less fear, everything will be easier. 

When I close the window in the evening, all I want is for us to be able to live with each other; honestly, peacefully and connected. And I believe it is possible. Here. At home. In Slovenia. 

Tatjana Gostimirović