I was probably 12 or 13 when my whole class was asked by our teacher to choose and then present a topic on our 'future occupation'.

At such an early age, it was a pretty hard task, however I already knew that I would be happy if my job had something to do with football.

I decided to become a sports commentator. During my lesson, I passionately tried to cover a match between my beloved Motor Lublin and possibly the most famous club in Poland, Legia Warsaw. I loved the whole experience!

Five to six years later, as a History student, I had to read and write a lot. Interestingly, I didn’t always enjoy it.

Looking back, I think that one of the reasons why I found it occasionally boring was the fact that reading and writing was 'imposed' on us. I couldn’t choose what I wanted to read and therefore my options were quite limited.

Since coming to Britain, and in particular since I started working in the community and voluntary sector in Hertfordshire, I had to quickly learn how to write reports, evaluate projects and often present a wide range of initiatives, which I was leading or supporting.

I wonder how many of us, in particular during the pandemic, took a bit of time to explore our new talents or re-evaluate our life priorities.

For me, the greatest discovery in the last three-four years was that I enjoy writing and that writing or reading can make a positive impact on us, our lives and our communities. I would actually argue that both can also help to transform lives.

In the last couple of years, I came across a lot of people, who, by writing, inspire others to stop, reflect on our lives, our daily routines and who very often, in spite of their own struggles, never gave up trying to create "bridges of dialogue and understanding".

I was truly inspired by a story of a still relatively young boy from Northern Ireland, Dara McAnulty. He has autism, he had a difficult school experience. However he found that writing helps him to express himself.

His book, Diary of a Young Naturalist, is already a bestseller. In one of his interviews, Dara talks about "layers of activism". Each type of activism can play a part in improving the way in which we perceive and understand the world.

So, what have I learnt since I started writing? Each topic, small or big, local or global, enables me, when I write, to reflect on my own perception of a particular issue and helps me to be challenged and educated. There is always something to talk about!

I often try to do my own research. It is quite important, actually critical in particular today, when available information might present itself as false or misleading.

I also try to be 'original'. This, of course, doesn’t mean that I have a fantastic style of writing. However, I tend not to share 'stuff' and I am doing my best to come up with 'unique' content.

Although I agree that something, a simple sharing might be actually quite helpful, it is quite a passive exercise. Yes, in order to do it and do it well, we need to have space, time and energy so that we can immerse ourselves in a specific subject or story.

There is one other, in my view 'magic ingredient', which makes the whole experience so special. Nowadays, when cultural and political polarisation has become a norm, I try to ensure that my articles are well balanced. It is, of course, never easy as writing is in itself an act of forming or expressing an opinion.

However, remaining hopeful, noticing a light in the tunnel, focusing on what unites us and not only what divides us, provides a platform for social change in our thinking and behaviours.

It is very true; language is so important. Words matter. Although access to social media made communication a lot easier; our verbal (online and face to face) conduct has in my view suffered a lot in recent years.

We all post quite a lot. We all share quite a lot. We all communicate a lot. The story of Dara demonstrates that writing can help individuals and communities to find a voice. It can also provide an important platform to continue building bridges between people. It can give us hope.

I know that I discovered that writing helps hugely to connect people. It is fantastic that we can all contribute differently to community activism.