If you thought we were running out of Anchor characters, then here is a short announcement - we are not even close to the end, yet. Meet Sofiya Iskrak, an incredibly positive person, inspired by books, art, natural sciences and we’re more than sure that the list goes on and on. Sofiya shared not only personal discoveries during quarantine period, but led the conversation to one of the most discussed topics of today - the role of women in modern society. Besides covering it, she got us thinking whether there are some habits we want to pick up or get rid of, and how to self-reflect on your lifestyle. Sofiya also highlighted that whether you’re stuck in quarantine alone or have a buddy by your side, it is the perfect time for self-discovery and new adventures. We hope that you enjoy reading this interview.

Books, art, and natural sciences. If I were to describe my biggest passions, I would probably start with these. I have been a bookworm my entire life, and wherever I go I bring a small library with me. Like every booklover, I also dream about writing my own book one day, however you might need to look for it in a science section. This autumn I am starting my Biomedicine degree and if everything goes well (fingers crossed) I might be among those lucky people who managed to turn their passions into careers.

Let's be honest, most of us blame the lack of time when it comes to doing something that we really like or want to improve. For me, it’s reading. And you know what? During the first month, I’ve only just read one book, which for a booklover is nothing! Productivity limps, and to help it out you need planning. Arranging your time, having the agenda. I try to switch back to my morning “phase” because I feel more productive then. Otherwise, if I wake up at 10am, it takes like two more hours to have breakfast, prepare myself for the day and “boom”, it’s midday, and for me, it feels like half of the day is stolen.

The daily routine should be our base. You should push yourself to do things sometimes. 

I realized that I need people. Even a half word in Polish in the coffee place queue can cheer you up. Smile to someone, wave to someone, tell a joke to someone, preferably without wearing a mask. Coming back to productivity topic, when you sit in a cafe you unintentionally compare yourself to other people, for instance, when you see that someone next to you is working in front of the computer or reading a book, you won’t want to watch  Netflix. You sort of also switch to «healthy work or leisure time activities ». 

Bring up rituals. It’s a good suggestion. I’ve moved most of my tasks to the first part of the day and saved some time for morning stretches. Such a funny thing that now I have like 19 out of 20 recommended Youtube videos about how to get toned legs, a perfect butt, and so on. Because nobody has canceled the summer season. 

The discovery of the year for me is that I actually need two breakfasts. I have a protein smoothie before workout, because, you know, I’m vegan, and “we vegans” need protein. And usually, I get hungry in an hour or two. So if I eat at 7am, then I need to have another meal at 9am. The second breakfast is a regular one with a toast or something. 

Between 7am and 9am it would be great to do a workout. I usually watch Blogilates, and April Han. Pretty simple exercises, but I see the results after doing them. April Han is also a mother of two kids, which makes her even more inspiring, when you see how her body looks. 

So after 9 am it's all about studying, studying, studying. I found a tip for how to study medicine better. Even though I had heard about it before, I didn’t apply it. So basically I’ve switched from just reading some information about medicine to actually drawing the graphs and illustrations by hand. Completely different results. You remember more then, when depicting and copying. Before I started drawing, I just took a picture from google and put it in my notes, but that was useless; Simply copy-pasting a picture onto your notes isn’t an efficient way of remembering things. No matter how curvy or imperfect the arrows connecting one area to another are drawn, it makes you remember the information.   

“Post-apocalypse” or “dystopia” I believe, that’s what pandemic can be related to. I guess it’s a nice idea for a movie about these times to simply depict the lives of people in one high-rise building, who live under the same roof. What did they face? How these people contemplate their lives? and so on. 

Some people are spending much more time together like never before. From some, many good things come from it in the form of new routines like breakfasts with your family, dinner, etc. Others come to the realization that the person they are with isn’t the “right” one. 

In the beginning, I told myself “OMG. Quarantine. I will dedicate 8 hours a day to work and study!”. This was harder than I thought. In the past we’ve all made excuses to avoid exercising, reading books or eating healthy, but the thing is,  it hasn’t exactly changed during quarantine. Some people just found new ones like  “this quarantine is so depressing, I’m not used to it, I have no motivation and so on”. If you wait for the “perfect” circumstance to make a change, it may never come so today is as good a day as any to start.

We are social creatures, we’re not meant to live in isolation but it’s good to have some time to yourself, discover what makes you happy, independent of others. It should become an interesting time, too. I’m not saying that you should exclude socializing with your colleagues, friends, relatives, it’s more about not letting these interactions define who you are. Be your own person, don’t be what others want you to be.

I’m waiting for a new season of Netflix series “Workin’ Moms”. It’s wonderful. It’s about how difficult it is to be a modern mom because there is no such thing as simply being “just a mum” anymore. She should have a career, at the same time also a good wife and mom. I love the topic of women in their 30s, who sort of achieved everything they wanted. Why sort of? Because we all know that it’s impossible to achieve everything, but still believe in this fairytale. We have hard times accepting that you can’t be perfect, but the society continues to put some pressure on you. And that’s why I believe these moms in their 30s are a perfect example of how we all struggle with such things. 

I should say that criticism comes from older generations with their traditional point of view of what women must do. They put tremendous pressure on women. What if you work, too? We change, and now women also work and earn money, they have a right to speak about something that matters. So it’s not a cliche that only women need to create home coziness. It’s the task for both partners to create it. It should be balanced and based on mutual understanding. 

When it comes to being a mother, it’s a huge responsibility, no doubt about this. It seems like your life is not your own anymore. You don’t have the right to be egoistic, because you have someone who literally can’t live without you. Unfortunately, this notion of a perfect mother still remains the same. Again, your life is your life, and it should not be lived for another person. Mothers should retain their identities as women with their own hobbies, some favorite things, personal space, etc.

Interesting fact, the brains of women change chemically after childbirth. Instincts develop in motherhood and you become smarter. 

Kids should not be the center of your universe, because when they turn 18, they’ll want to build their own. It’s important to take care of yourself first so you can be the best version of yourself for them. Like in the airplane when you put mask firstly on yourself, and only then on your child, because doing it vice versa may lead to you suffocating, and not being able to help out the child. So the same works in our daily lives.