Bohdan Syvoplias

My name is Bohdan. I live in Warsaw and study at Lycée Français de Varsovie.

I speak Ukrainian (my native language), French, and English. Starting in 2025, I'm also learning Polish.

I still remember that evening. We were sitting with my father in the living room and he suggested we watch Interstellar. At first, I didn't really know what to expect, just another science fiction film. But from the very beginning, I understood that this film was going to be different. The cinematography and the special effects were incredible. My favorite scene is the one with the black hole, which is so realistic, it's unbelievable. 

I remember that at the end I didn't even understand what was happening. It wasn't just a story, it was an experience, something that stayed with you, that made you think long afterward. We talked for hours afterward. I went back over certain scenes, asked questions, shared what I had felt.

I cannot say that I read a very large number of books, but the last book I read, Simone Veil’s Une jeunesse au temps de la Shoah: Extraits d’Une vie, made a very strong impression on me.

What affected me most was the way Simone Veil describes her youth during one of the darkest periods of European history. Her testimony is both personal and historical, and it helped me understand the Holocaust not only as a historical event, but also through the experience of a young person whose life was suddenly destroyed by hatred, violence, and injustice.

I found this book especially meaningful because Simone Veil is an important figure in French and European history. Her courage, dignity, and later commitment to human rights and European reconciliation show how education, memory, and civic responsibility are connected.

This book made me reflect on the importance of tolerance, respect, and defending democratic values. It also reminded me that young people should learn from history in order to help build a more peaceful and humane society.