According to the adopted methodology of the competition for the "Professor Borivoje Jelic" award, after the selected works are deciphered, we publish them in their entirety, as well as short biographies of their authors.

Award-winning works and biographies of authors

Amela Ramcevic, Iva Randjelovic and Dunja Kovacevic are the winners of the cash prize at the literary competition on the topic "Healthy family - the foundation of a healthy society", which was organized by the "Petar Mandic" Endowment in cooperation with the Nova Varos High School.

Code: KOSEM

"Healthy family - the foundation of a healthy society"

Mother, father, pillars of that great, most holy temple called family.

Such solid, unshakable, unbreakable, indestructible pillars on which we are built. You raise us from the smallest particle of sand, tiny and imperceptible; from that small and tiny, we come to the temple, the palace, the imperial court that you have built. From you arises the strongest fortress in the world, the family... No force would collapse the walls acquired with difficulty, not even for a century and a half.

We have forgotten the value of that fortress, the palace, that imperial court. We have forgotten the importance, the value, the strength. Oh, if only we had remained fully aware of what family means. How much weight does that word father have, that man with a tired face, calloused hands, grey beard and hair? How much weight does the word mother have, that woman with a soft heart and a gentle face? How much weight do the words brother and sister have, those two who are parts of us and our souls?

As long as we forget their importance, unrest will reign, fornication, and all that is terrible, treacherous, and disappointing. All those Jews, murderers, people without heart and compassion, were not pampered by their mothers, were not scolded by their fathers, they simply did not live in a real fortress, no one raised them to an appropriate throne, they did not know, they did not know how...

That is why I ask myself now: When will heaven look at us again? When will this oppression come to an end? When will every fortress stand still without moving? Will the world become a better place with all its fortresses? I will ask myself this endlessly until this numerous world understands the true value, the correct, honest, and true one.

Everything terrible and evil work will stop when we become a court of true pillars. Then, when our mother instils in our love, empathy, compassion, respect, understanding, and shame, and when our father instils in our strength, self-respect, faith, and fear of God, When we have all this, when we are aware, the world will breathe, people will see, and eternal spring will reign.

Let the true dawns break, let the suns lull the peasant colds, let spring come to every corner, let the darkness go into an endless, bottomless abyss, let people love each other, let everything smell of life, and not of gunpowder, tears, blood, sadness and suffering, let us no longer look at the black darkness, let the light that never goes out come into our fortresses.

We are the mirror of our family; do not let that mirror give us a wrong appearance. Let our vast world smell of purity, of that heavenly peace.

You parents, dedicate yourselves and your children and show yourselves.

Let us sow in our fields what will not attract weeds, what will remain beautiful forever, and what will make that field special.

Biography of Amela Ramcevic

Amela Ramcevic is a second-grade student at the High School in Nova Varos who loves literature, especially ours. She considers writing her "small works" to be her most excellent "hobby", and she singles out Ivo Andric as her most excellent role model in writing.

Code: 517

"A Healthy Family - The Foundation of a Healthy Society"

I opened my eyes, and a bright, white, blinding light flashed over me.
I inhaled the air, dry and heavy, into my unprepared lungs. I saw unfamiliar faces, white walls, and a bed. I smelled the hospital smell, sterile yet unbearable. I cried as loudly as my weak voice would allow. Where did I come from?

In addition to so many hospitals and doctors, we are not healthy. Our ancestors also suffered from various diseases that we still know today, but there is something new, recently discovered, with which they did not struggle, or at least their struggle was easier. Something insidious, unpredictable, without beginning and end, ready to poison and destroy us all – a sick society.

It threatens everyone. Some will remain immune, but there are many more who will succumb, becoming sick themselves. This disease is complicated because it has no symptoms or cure. We are unaware of it, and it eats us away from the outside and the inside.

Such a sick society seems quite normal, but in fact, it is a tightly constructed system of false values of understanding, lack of love and compassion, hatred, envy, and non-acceptance. The need for material things above the spiritual, which has been necessary food for the soul since ancient times, is present. Fear of life and loneliness in a world full of people are also present. Selfishness and insincerity are also present. Numbness is also present.

When a person finds himself in such a world, he is confused, afraid and insecure at first. He often tries to believe in human goodness, although many things convince him otherwise. He returns to the support that persistently eludes him. Then, after a specific time and a futile struggle, he begins to submit. He becomes part of the system that frightened him. He accepts false values as accurate; he stops loving and, imagining and understanding others. He forgets that he has been hurt and inflicts it on others.

However, not everyone ends up like that. Some are strong enough to persevere with love and cheerfulness, opposing a seemingly invincible world. Such people are the foundation of our society and humanity. They are precious to all of us. What makes them so? What is it so strong and persistent in a person, so pure and unspoiled that even a world like this cannot shake them?

I stopped crying. My mother hugged me to her chest. I felt warmth, her breath, her love. My father smiled, strong and confident. I knew that I was not alone, loved, that neither light, air, great white walls, people, malice, money, or loneliness could do anything to me. They are my support.

I already knew then that I would be healthy all my life, that I would always have the power and strength to face people, school, problems, first love, disappointment, sadness, and setbacks, that I would be ready wherever I went and still have somewhere to return to, and that this world would never change or defeat me because I have a foundation stronger than any evil - my family.

I fight life every day. It is a complex and continuous struggle. Sometimes, I want to give up; it seems there is no point in it, but I remember them. I remember everything they taught me, everything they gave me, and I tell myself that I will not disappoint them. I will give them proof that their struggle was not in vain. I will use the strength they gave me, and maybe one day I will pass it on to my children and mine. If we protect and nurture this strength enough, this world will heal after all.

Biography of Iva Randjelovic

Iva Randjelovic is a fourth-year student in the natural and mathematical department of the gymnasium. She has achieved results in many competitions in various subjects and in several literary competitions. Last year, she received the St. Sava Award, which she considers her most tremendous success.

Code: CALIFORNIA

"A healthy family - the foundation of a healthy society"

Without roots, a tree would fall, carried away by the first wind; without a healthy family, a weak young being falls, shaken by the storm of life.

We are born almost the same. Crying, weighing only a few kilograms, unaware of the situation we find ourselves in, and unable to survive on our own. Then we are sure that family is the only thing we truly need. Someone to carry us crying on our chest, put us to sleep when we are tired with a song, and give us life. To show us what it means to love and be loved. To have their voice revive the first words we hear, to support us as we take carefree steps towards growing up. We need to see security in it and become aware of ourselves through it.

We do not know what the world is or where the coming days will take us. But we know that our parents will be the ones who will take us with them throughout this time. That's why we are not afraid. We are only afraid that one of them will separate us. They take care of all our worries. They see us as a part of themselves because, after all, we have become them.

While we are still so young, our brain absorbs everything. It then develops, forms its laws, and creates an image of "normal". We will love others the way they loved us. We will take care of ourselves the way we were taken care of. We will see ourselves exactly how they saw us when we are not yet aware of the image in the mirror. The past has shaped our present. Everything we have experienced has changed us.

When we grow up a little and become aware of ourselves and the world we live in, the family's role does not end even then. We may now be able to do a lot independently, but we have not been through everything. The family plays a significant role in who we will become.
What will be our interests, what will we consider right, and what values will we respect? In the family, every day, we see love – or hate, harmony – or discord. We will consider what we are used to in the family desirable because a person strives for the familiar, even if it is terrible for him.

Great people develop from healthy, harmonious families filled with love and care. They are full of understanding, love, and patience. They are ready to love, give love, and show empathy.

The family has a major role in encouraging and supporting us in achieving our dreams. They show us that we can do anything we want and that they will be there for us even when we make mistakes.

Everything we have adopted in the family will follow us throughout our lives because the eyes of memory never go blind.

Biography of Dunja Kovacevic

Dunja Kovacevic is a second-year student in the natural sciences and mathematics department of the gymnasium, with the highest grades. In addition to her schoolwork, she participates in many extracurricular activities, choir, library, and foreign language sections, and marks important dates. She is versatile, and her interests extend to various fields of natural, technical, and social sciences.