Life is what happens to you while you're making plans

Abstract

I was born on the 28th of September 1955 in a small village in the middle of Transylvania. My international academic journey across borders spans two centuries, two continents, and two political divides involving time, space, and ideology. My father was the person who had most influence on my academic aspirations so I will begin with a brief family history. In 1918 my grandparents, on my father's side, had two children, first a girl and then my father. My grandfather never returned from the Great War, leaving my father an orphan at the age of one. When my father turned eighteen, he built his matrimonial home with his own hands. Twenty years later this became my birthplace. At the age of twenty-six, on my third attempt, I escaped from Romania. The first 'spark' for my academic dream was ignited at the age of six. The setting was a warm and peaceful evening in early autumn. I was entranced by the knee-high carpet of fallen leaves on the ground. I was crouched over, gazing at a beautifully coloured rusty leaf. As I was examining it, the silence was broken by my father's voice behind me. Although I recognized the voice, I was too absorbed to turn around. In a soothing voice, I heard him say "A learned man could write a book about that leaf". His comment stirred a world of imagination and anticipation in me. The notion that a wise man could tackle any subject and be able to talk extensively on it, and could even write a book about it, sparked in me a vision of the future and the possibilities that may lay ahead. My father's unassuming remark was a turning point in my life in general, and in an academic sense in particular. With one stroke, my father inadvertently instilled in me a love for knowledge and a sense of my own place in academia. His remark raised the possibility of studying and learning about new and fascinating things. At that tender age, I was not aware of the power and the hidden meaning emerging from those words, but they were the catalyst for my prospective academic path. His words shaped my attitude towards knowledge and learning. Despite his limited schooling, of only four years, he expressed a genuine wonderment at the ability of scholars. His constant reminder that a man could do anything they put their mind to opened the doors to my imagination and paved the way into the dream that my destiny would be determined by my academic achievements.