Stephen Hawking is my hero. He embodies all the noble qualities the modern scientist puts forward into the world. He is the man who pushes through all his personal hardship and fights on even though he is crippled by terrible disease; all in order to forward humanity’s quest for knowledge. His awe inspiring dedication to understanding how the Universe works speaks volumes of the great things we can achieve.

In our daily lives, we often find ourselves in situations where our plans fail and our dreams seem too far away to conquer.  In situations like this, I find myself thinking of all the scientists and great inventors that could not reach a conclusive result in their research for years and years but still pressed on, gripped by the certainty that after all their hard work, they will ultimately fulfil their goal of pushing the boundaries of human understanding. But of all the notable men and women who sacrificed themselves for science, the person I think most about is Stephen Hawking.

Not only has he found incredible ways of dealing with his illness in order to keep working, but he was never afraid to go back on his own theorems and disprove them. For example, while initially stating that black holes cannot get smaller, he lately reached the conclusion that black holes emit radiation – known today as Hawking radiation – and thus decrease in size. I think that the fact that he was willing to disprove his earlier theory speaks of the selflessness with which he pursues his work and he should be an example to us all.

Thank you Stephen Hawking for your priceless contributions to humanity, in both mind and spirit!

Oscar Wilde, your century did not deserve you. It makes me so sad to think about how underappreciated you were during your lifetime, and how miserable society made you feel for being yourself. They were too close minded to recognise you for the wonderful and fabulous man you were. I only wish you were born in this age, where we need you so much, and where you would be free to unfurl your majestic personality without fear of being judged.

You were an exquisite gentleman and master of elegance, both in fashion and in writing, born in 1854 to an Irish doctor and his poet wife. Your illustrious literary career bought you fame, but your refusal to adhere to the strict moral values of your epoch caused your downfall. Your most famous novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is still read today, along with numerous other plays that comment on the shallowness of high class society.

When I first read The Picture of Dorian Gray, I immediately fell in love with your absolutely fantastic wit and humorous manner. It became my favourite book of all time and I would have loved to memorise every line of it, to quote it constantly and let all my friends know what an extraordinary writer you are.

If I would have a time machine, the first thing I would do with it is kidnap you from the century that was too young to fully appreciate you and I would bring you to the modern day, where your books would all be bestsellers, your Twitter would have the most subscribers, and your fashion style would put you on the cover of hundreds of magazines for all to see. You would have a blast!

"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world." -- Oscar Wilde

Cats are the most amazing companions one could ever wish for. I have never achieved such a close and special bond with any other animal as I did with my cats. They are very independent and proud animals, and they immediately make you understand that they don’t need you in their lives (as dogs might, for example). But their apparent coldness is what makes their love seem all the more special and important. A cat’s love is genuine – they don’t love you to get things for you, and they don’t warm up to you immediately. But once you’ve earned their trust, you can be sure their love was meant to last.

If you are a cat owner, you might have noticed how cats seem to immediately know when you are in pain and nestle themselves near to where it hurts. This happens to me very often when I get a bad backache and I lie down in my bed, my cat comes with me and pushes herself against the area where it hurts the most and falls asleep purring.  Sometimes a little love is more efficient than painkillers!

Moreover, there have been times when my cats saw me crying and came to comfort me, meowing and purring, trying to draw my attention and make me feel better.  

I am very thankful to my cats for always watching over me as I watch over them, and being the most awesome cuddling companions!

We all have that one best friend with which we share every detail of our life, our victories and our failures, our interests and our worries, seeking council and understanding. How many times have we been disappointed by our best friends? Felt that they don’t understand our view point, or that they can’t be bothered with our problems right now? I can tell you that even if I’ve gone through similar times with all my other friends, there is only one person in this world that has never faltered when I needed someone to talk to, and for which I’ve never been less than a top priority: my mother.

My mother is the only friend I know I can count on no matter what. She has never been too tired to listen to me complain, and I always turn to her when I am not sure about how I should deal with things. I talk to her every day, and I feel that sometimes she knows my friends more than I know them myself. She always gives me good advice and even if I don’t follow it or I tell her I don’t think she’s right, it always turns out she knew how to handle the situation better.  I can’t imagine what I would do in life without at least asking myself the question: “What would my mother do?”

Maybe the bare truth she tells me about myself can hurt at times, and maybe she judges me too harshly, but in the end I can be certain of one thing: all the things she does and says are for my benefit.

The thing I appreciate most about her is that she was never too tired to discuss things with me, to explain even the simplest truths. Ever since I started asking her “Why?” about all the stuff in the world, she had the patience to sit down with me and make me understand how this world works. She is the reason for my inquisitiveness, and I owe her for fuelling my thirst for knowledge and my creative nature.

I think we all owe our mothers more than we give them credit for, and we should all take a moment to acknowledge that.

This goes out to the one cup of warm comfort that has always been with me through the many tight deadlines and cold mornings of my adult life – coffee. Its velvety black texture, its rich and soothing aroma, coffee is that friend who always reaches out for you when you need him the most.

I still remember when I had my first cup of coffee. I was studying for my exams in college and I had a lot to read and research about. I was feeling very nervous and I couldn’t really concentrate. My mother brewed me a lovely cup of coffee and told me everything was going to be ok. As I talked with her about the subjects I was most worried about, I already felt better and I had the energy to study harder and more efficiently. From then on, whenever I feel like things around me are starting to get a little bit out of control, I take a moment to enjoy a coffee and think things through.

Drinking coffee has special meaning to me. It gives me that moment of solace and quiet, like a very good friend saying “Hey, buddy, let’s sit down for a moment and enjoy the silence. Isn’t this nice?” And after I’ve relaxed, it gives me that extra energy to go back and finish what I have to do.

I don’t know what I would do without coffee in my life, and whether I enjoy it black with a piece of toast early in the morning, or milky and sweet with cookies when I go out with my friends, I am forever in love with this wonderful drink that can put a smile on my face anytime!

Thank you for being there for me, coffee!