I have always felt a deep drive to write. This passion has been with me since early childhood, when I began keeping a journal and writing simple poems. Although their value today might only raise a smile, what truly matters is recognizing how writing has accompanied me through every phase of my life. Over the years, it has grown into several genres, from lyric poetry to prose, from academic writing to popular articles for wider audiences.
I am fully aware that my literary work is still developing and that this path is only in its early stages. What is important is that I believe we have a responsibility to record the chronicles of our own time, so that those who come after us may uncover our traces and connect with us.
After my early childhood writing, a new chapter began in high school when I had the chance to join the editorial team of its magazine, Cipó. I recall those years with great enthusiasm: how we reached out to authors for publication and how the magazine also gave space to my very first writings. I contributed reports, short pieces, and poems.
Later, during my university years, I became the section editor for the Youth Section of the Unitarian Herald, the national magazine of the Hungarian Unitarian Church. This role gave me valuable insight into how a professional editorial board operates, from editing and proofreading to printing. It was also during this period that I began to publish popular articles on theology and the Bible for wider audiences.
This experience opened the way for me to begin contributing to Háromszék, a renowned newspaper with more than three thousand print subscribers in addition to its online readership.
Afterward, it was an enormous honor to be offered the position of chief editor for the first issue of the re-established youth magazine The Sheaf, where we aimed to provide young people with the opportunity to publish their writings.
Later, new international horizons opened for me when I had the pleasure of joining f21 – The Century of Youth, an online Hungarian magazine, as a regional journalist. The magazine entrusted me with representing Transylvania, alongside other remarkable writers, and reporting on important cultural events in the region. Through this role, I had the opportunity to write about book launches, theatre premieres, and other literary happenings.
A time came when I realized that in order to develop my writing skills and build literary connections, I needed to be present at various forums and gatherings. To my great surprise, I was given the opportunity to join the literary workshop of the Association of Young Writers. This group provides a space for those interested in the art of literary writing and eager to develop their skills in giving and receiving thoughtful critical feedback.
I am deeply grateful that my writings are regularly read, discussed, and edited by the members of this group, and that I have had the chance to publish some of them in several national literary journals, including Pannon Tükör, Helikon, and Kulter.hu.
Through my participation in this workshop, as my publications also show, I have explored both poetry and short fiction. All these efforts and experiences eventually led me toward a larger project.
At the moment, I am working on my first novel, an autofictional work based on my journey in the Netherlands. In this book, I explore the emotions and impressions that were shaped by my experience of coming of age abroad and in solitude. Beyond this personal story, I aim to write from a sociographic perspective, comparing the two societies and nations, as well as their educational systems, teacher–student relationships, and the functioning of academia.
My hope with this novel is to offer young students who aspire to study abroad and enter international academia a chance to look into my story and, through it, to understand how such a journey unfolds, what to expect, what to pay attention to, and what to approach with caution. In simple terms, I wish to show how an international study experience can be meaningfully structured and realized by anyone who feels called to follow this path.
The unfolding of a literary path is an exceptionally slow process, one in which the presence of excellent companions, editors, and mentors is indispensable. I am grateful that many such people have guided my steps and followed my literary growth with care and attention.
Júlia Andorkó, Bence Vincze, Florencia Horváth, Sándor Kovács, Benji Horváth, Dóra Mărcuțiu-Rácz, Zalán Nagy, Tibor Juhász, Imola Julianna Szabó, Mátyás Kertész, Atanáz Tálos, Panni Szirmai, Erika Szántó, Boglárka Kovács, Eszter Szegedi, Eleonóra Kovács, Dániel Pál, László Mózes, and my one and only Ilka.
