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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 November 2017
Ewelina: Prospects for a Better Life in the European Union
Ewelina grew up in a working-class district of long, gray, socialist-period apartment blocks, but attended a college preparatory lyceum near the historic center of Krakow. The daughter of a state utility worker who had been active in the Solidarity movement, Ewelina was already a strong advocate of democratic and market reform while in high school. Now a lawyer, she remains a champion of market liberalization. She is convinced that EU membership gives Poland the best chance of developing economically, and individuals must work hard and exercise initiative to succeed. In 2005, Ewelina explained:
Not long ago, I turned 30. I married four years ago, three years ago my son was born. In the meantime, I completed two postgraduate certificates and began my doctoral studies. I'm a director at the same company where I have been since university. I moved out of my parents’ apartment and my husband and I bought our own place nearby. In other words, everything has changed. I'm a different person now.
Have conditions gotten better or worse in Poland? Definitely better. Not only in terms of basic conditions, like what is available in stores, but also you live much better. Of course some people say it's gotten worse and worse, but I think those people remember how it used to be selectively. I think that if someone is resourceful, hardworking and wants to achieve something in life, it's possible because there are a lot of possibilities. You can emigrate wherever you want. We've become more normalized; we don't have to chase after anyone; we have nothing to be embarrassed about.
And in my own life? Nearly everything in my life that I thought of and dreamed of has worked out. The only thing that hasn't worked out is I haven't been able to get my certification to become an adwokat [a lawyer licensed to represent clients in court], but after I finish my doctoral studies, I'll have the same powers as an adwokat. I hope that everything I've planned for will be fulfilled; in other words I want two children, but for now I only have one. I've learned that it's very difficult to reconcile home life with a professional career.
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