Brilliant Young Mathematician, Murdered

I can not let go of it! The horror of what is happening in the Ukraine. I read articles about self care, noting that we can not carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. True. But they really don’t tell you how to let it go. I can’t.

The murder and genocide that is taking place in the Ukraine is unthinkable to me, but it is pretty much all I think of these days. It feels surreal. I see pictures that rip my heart out of my chest. There are so many pictures of wanton destruction, families split apart, and sadness and terror on faces. I don’t know how to deal with this. I limit my news intake, a pray constantly, I bargain and beg a higher power to end this senseless slaughter but we are entering the second week of bombs falling, tanks rolling and innocents dying.

I find one of the ways I can deal with it in a more positive fashion is to honor some of those beautiful, brave people from the Ukraine. It is not my intention to be negative, to focus on death and dying…but it is real. It is happening now. It is not about me, but I feel it so deeply. How else can I exist without talking about it?! It is one small thing I can do to celebrate beautiful people who have been unconscionably struck down, murdered.

This is one such person, Yulia Zdanovskaya. She was brilliant, beautiful, and 21 years old. A mathematician. Was a student in computer maths at Kiev National University. She was passionate about both math, computer science, and teaching. She was a member of Teach for Ukraine to become a mentor and role model for the new generation of young people. Yulia represented the Ukraine at the European Girl’s Mathematical Olympiad and took home a silver medal from that competition. She was one of the best mathematicians in Europe. Yulia Zdanovskaya was murdered in Kharkiv on March 8th, during a rocket attack by Russian forces. Kharkiv was her home and when invasion became eminent, she decided to remain. Her last message was, “Thanks, but I will stay in Kharkiv until our victory.”