Bios

OVERVIEW

My name is Nona. I came to Canada in March of 2022 from the Republic of Georgia. It is a little country located in the Caucasus and has a population of 3.7 million people. We call the Country "Sakartvelo" and we are called "Kartvelebi". The Capital of Georgia is Tbilisi. To the West, it is bounded by the Black Sea. Our neighbour countries are Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. We have our own language and writing.

MY EARLY YEARS

I was born and raised in a small town near the capital city of Georgia. My childhood was kind of short... when I was 7 years old anti-Soviet independence demonstration, which was held in Tbilisi was crushed by the Soviet Army. I remember watching it on TV. I remember the fear, the collapsed buildings, the dead bodies, and the difficult long hardship times after this: empty grocery stores, no electricity, no water, no gas... now, when everything is in the past I'm getting so surprised how our parents did manage to survive with little children in such difficult times. That period of my life formed my personality, which I can describe only now when being an adult. By that time I was feeling only resistance to everything that was trying to give me a strong identification of myself. Most of all I was resisting history. History can sow unconscious and unending enmity in people's hearts. It's like never knowing that every single human being has all the palette of colours because someone is trying to sell you only one, -grey colour for painting yourself, your boundaries, your country, and your mind frame. They also dictate to you the ways doing it and when you finish, you somehow know it's forbidden to cross it. It's like you're making your own prison by the name of all good things and then you are kind of obliged to protect it. I knew that something was missing from this concept: love and respect of your own self and others. I know how pathetic I may sound, especially nowadays, but I do still believe that someday we (human beings) will wake up and understand that life is too short and the only reason to be born on this planet is to help each other and the only way is, - love. As you know, a coin has two sides and the other side of this coin was the meaning of true relationships, good people, and friends. I remember how people were helping each other with food, with kind words, and with little things they had, which meant a lot. I remember cold, dark winter nights sitting with my friends and learning new songs and feeling happiness despite all. I graduated from Shota Rustaveli Theater and Film at Georgian State University in 2010 with Bachelor of Humanitarian Science in Film Studies. I worked in National Archives of Georgia for about 12 years as a Senior Specialist of Audio-Visual and Film Documents in the Department of Audio Resources.

MY LIFE NOW

Now, I have opened a new sheet of my life, where everyone is equally given all the colours to paint, where nobody is dictating what to paint, or how to paint. We're not given any patterns to follow... we are free. Since I came to Canada, I only have contacted people who do protect their own and my personal boundaries with love and respect. I'm like a new-born child who's trying to learn to walk. Everything is so new, so different, so interesting and diverse. Sometimes I'm getting scared, - what if I can't paint a good picture, maybe it's too late to start from the beginning? But thank God only sometimes I get hard feelings and most of the time I'm positive and willing to do my best, plus all good people are helping me with my path which fills my heart with gratitude.

MY FUTURE PLANS AND GOALS

In the future, I see myself as a fulfilled person who is able to overcome all difficulties and acquire new useful habits and skills. First of all, I want to improve my English for better communication with people and to find a job where I will feel comfortable. I'm thinking about studying in a college, too. My goals aren't very clear for now, but I'm working on them and hopefully, gradually I will see the whole picture where my family and I will be worthy members of society.

A FEW INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ME

I consider interesting my short musical life period from 2005 to 2008. I participated in several musical competitions, met interesting people, had the honour to sing with the Georgian Jazz Band in the big concert hall of the Philharmonic, and was also a participant in the anniversary evening of a Georgian composer as a young singer. I was also honoured to be the vocalist of one of the Georgian musician's bands. It was an interesting phase of my life.

A PERSON WHO INSPIRES ME

“And still, after all this time, The sun never says to the earth, "You owe Me." Look what happens with A love like that, It lights the Whole Sky.”

-Hafiz