🇪🇺 TEEN European Digital Community: Emotional Oak from Cherkasy, Ukraine

Emotional Oak

I’m a creative and easygoing person whose life revolves around music. I sing, play guitar, and feel most alive on stage or with headphones on. Music is my language and my energy. I also love reading, roller skating, and skateboarding — always with a good playlist in the background. I’m an ambivert: sometimes introverted, sometimes extroverted, depending on the vibe. I enjoy deep conversations just as much as loud laughter, and I love experiences that feel honest, meaningful, and fully lived.

The soil / the need

Since childhood, my mom used to take my brother and me to children’s performances at our local theatre. At the time I didn’t fully understand it, but those moments planted something inside me. Theatre felt like a space where emotions were allowed to exist freely. As I grew older, this connection transformed into music, but the wish to try acting stayed with me — even if I kept that dream quietly inside because it seemed difficult or impractical.

The first seed

A parent / family.

Tell us about that first spark

Last year I attended a musical performance by MUR (Youth Ukrainian Movement) about key moments in Ukraine’s history before independence in 1991. In two hours, it awakened every emotion in me — laughter, grief, sadness, tears of joy, and a deep sense of how difficult the path to independence was. It was not just a show; it was an emotional awakening. I realized that what I had been looking for was belonging — a way to be part of something meaningful that connects art, identity, history, and emotion.

Roots (people & experiences that shaped your path)

The first and probably only time I stood on a real theatre stage was in childhood, through a vocal club when our teacher selected a few children to appear in a fairy-tale performance crowd scene. I still can’t fully describe what I felt then, but I know that this vocal group in my city awakened the desire in me. Even though I later left the group, I remain grateful for those years and for the teacher who opened that door.

The trunk (what keeps you in theatre)

What keeps me connected to theatre is its emotional power. Every strong performance reminds me how deeply art can move people, awaken identity, and create belonging. Theatre brings together music, history, space, and emotion — all essential parts of my life. Even when I am not directly on stage, the desire to be part of meaningful artistic experiences keeps pulling me back.

Branches (future / desire)

If I do not end up performing on stage, theatre will still remain a way for me to rest, reflect, and recharge. Going to performances — especially contemporary theatre — helps me step away from everyday problems and breathe. It gives me a space for emotional renewal.

Are you currently involved in cultural activities?

Yes, regularly.

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? Why?

An oak — even if it sounds cliché. In my culture, the oak symbolizes strength and resilience. I am also a very emotional person, so maybe I would be an oak that feels deeply: strong in its roots, but sensitive to the wind. I believe strength and sensitivity can exist together.

Contact

Instagram: @ollivole