Throughout communism, a period which affected social life and living conditions for all families throughout Albania, I lived in a dazzling coastal city named Vlora. Even a small and inconsequential injury that occurred during my free time when catching fish, was enough to teach me how to be vigilant, responsible, and steady about my actions.
During hot and humid summers, I would always go and visit my relatives in Pogradec. A city surrounded by craggy, precipitous mountains and Ohrid Lake providing kids with an opportunity to amuse themselves with variety of activities.  My all time favorite passion was to go to the shallow lake each day and settle a medium sized jar filled with bread near the lake. Ohrid trout also commonly known as Koran in Albanian, was the common fish of Pogradec that would be considered as a common meal, yet it would be also trapped in the jar of a contempt competitive game. All of the kids, including myself, would have an abrupting competition against one another. The competition was based on who could catch the most fish, turning into a hindrance of voices, sounding like an enormous crowd of hyenas dragging their prey.
However, the fish wasn’t a sufficient amount of food for my family to live with. Therefore, I was required to help with chores around my relative’s house, even though I enjoyed spending my time catching fish in a jar to win the competition. Nevertheless, I would wake up early in a hazy morning, exhausted and being obliged to stand in line for hours to come across the possession of food for the family. As soon as I would complete my assigned tasks each day, I would run towards the lake filled with joy, excitement, and thrill. Moreover, one foggy and sombre afternoon, I decided to catch fish on my own on the other side of the lake, apart from my friends.
“Young boy are you heading towards the other side of the lake?” asked an old fisherman in curiosity, interrupting my way.
Yes, sir, I am going to try to catch fish independently today,” I responded.
“Well, I ask you to be very careful because that side has rugged and slippery small rocks which can cause injuries to a small boy like you,” stated the fisherman in assurance.
However, I ignored the fisherman and continued to approach to the unusual side of the lake. Everything was going fine and I had already caught 19 to 20 fishes in less than 30 minutes. The last three fishes were quite large and managed to jump out of the jar causing it to fall sideways. Therefore, I tried to grab the jar and not let it sink down to the lake. Meanwhile, I accidentally slipped on the rugged rocks and received scars on my legs and forehead. Hence, fishes had left the jar, the jar had cracked into multiple pieces, and I had experienced a small injury.
Seeing myself with a scar and blood leaking was a representation of disappointment and a sign of failure in the activity. However, I managed to get everything together in a few minutes. For instance, I started collecting all the remaining pieces of the cracked jar, cleaned my leg and forehead with fresh water from the lake, and gained energy to start the mission again.
I wouldn’t be injured and I wouldn’t have lost the fish if I had payed more attention to my actions, listened to the elderly fisherman, and stayed with my group of friends. An easy and comfortable way of living life is what we are experiencing nowadays, however a simple, uncomplicated, and effortless life was very rare during my childhood. Moreover, the major reason for this was due to the harsh rules and low economy of communism. Even though life is considered to be much easier today, I personally believe that the social life during my time was more interactive since we always played games that required effort, energy, and teamwork allowing friends to bond. The significant difference between my childhood and my children’s childhood nowadays makes my experiences unforgettable and unique due to the strong relationship between friends and relatives. Overall, my experiences allowed me to be more cautious, accountable, and obedient of injuries when he participated in activities.