Alisa Horidko, 15 years old

Winner of the 2025 Essay Contest, 2nd place

Uman Gymnasium No. 5

The teacher who inspired the essay – Lesia Vasylivna Zernyk

“The event that changed everything. The power of help”

It was an ordinary spring morning. I woke up because my mom woke me up and led me into the inner corridor – a terrifying air raid alarm had gone off. Then – a loud rumble, crackling, darkness. Everything started to shake. The walls were cracking, the air filled with dust… A russian Kh-101 missile hit our building – a multi-story apartment block on Zakhysnykiv Ukrainy Street 25 in the city of Uman. Our entrance partially collapsed, a fire started. The fact that I survived is a real miracle. On that terrible morning, 24 people died, among them – my friend Sonia…

For a long time, I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a horrible dream. I lost my home, friends, neighbors, favorite things, the usual mornings with my mom in the kitchen. Everything disappeared in a single moment.

At first, I felt a terrible, deep emptiness. The silence that came after the explosion was even more horrifying than the explosion itself. Questions kept spinning in my head: why us? where is dad? who survived? And the most terrifying one: what now? I couldn’t hold back tears – from shock, fear, pain, and irreparable loss. But then something happened that I will never forget. People, both familiar and unfamiliar, began to come to us. They brought warm clothes, blankets, food, water. They hugged, held my hand, silently stayed nearby when words were unnecessary. At Gymnasium No. 5, where I study, they opened a help center for those affected.

I clearly remember my first teacher, Inna Volodymyrivna. She offered me tea and a sandwich. At that time, I still couldn’t eat, but her gaze was so familiar, caring… For the first time after the explosion I felt: I am not alone.  Others share my pain, my loss hurts not only me.

I recall a psychologist woman from the State Emergency Service who talked with me and gave me a brown plush teddy bear; a volunteer from the Red Cross who brought a hot meal; my class teacher Lesia Vasylivna, who gently but persistently persuaded me to eat. The school became a new home for me (even if temporarily), and the city – a big family. The whole city united around our tragedy. Doctors, neighbors, teachers, strangers – everyone helped as they could. They didn’t just give essentials – they gave warmth, hope, and expressed support. This is something you cannot buy in any store, this is what heals the soul.

The dead cannot be brought back. The past days – neither. Then I felt:  I will live! Differently. But I will live.  And it was like learning to breathe again after a long dive underwater.

This event changed me. I saw how much kindness we have and what great power humanity holds!  I realized that even in the darkest times, one can find “light” in the embrace, smile, or gaze of a caring person. The help I received saved not only me and my family – it gave me the chance to be convinced that in the chest of every person beats a heart that is open, kind, strong.

I often think: what if no one had come? What if everyone had locked themselves in their apartments, not noticing another’s pain? But the opposite happened. People united, came together to help.

And this is our strength. Peace is not only silence without explosions. It is when another’s pain is not foreign. It is when you help even when you yourself are in trouble. The war took a lot from me, but it gave one important understanding:  Ukrainians are unbreakable! This day will forever remain in my memory. Now I dream of helping others – becoming a psychologist or a rescuer. I know what it is to be small and completely broken. And I know how important it is to feel: you are seen, you are heard, and you are needed. I want to be the one who helps, heals, inspires.