Now is the perfect time to remember things. Or not??? I hear a lot these days around me that in this lockdown period you will have a lot of time... time to read, time to relax, time for almost everything you want. Mmmmm, this is not applying to me and maybe not to you too. But despite all my other activities, I reserved some time for me to remember TEDx Baia Mare 2019 and now I want to share with you this event.

It was 23.09.2019, a sensational Saturday for us.

We have started thinking about what this day will be from the moment we bought our tickets. Until then, we haven't been to a TED event so we didn't know exactly what to expect, but the list of speakers was impressive and the theme of the edition very exciting: BUILDING BRIDGES.

Besides the fact that it was a sensational day 😀, as I said before, it was also quite difficult for us. Once because we came to Baia Mare after 2000 km road trip in 3 days, and the second reason because we had to activate our sleeping neurons to "take" with us everything that was presented. The whole event had a very strong impact on us. We met SUPERHEROES!

You probably think that I'm exaggerating, but in my opinion, nowadays, the people who ACT are superheroes. Let's take it gradually 😊 and try to find the superpower of each speaker.

EDUARD NOVAK

SUPER PERFORMANCE. If I would design a dictionary, in this dictionary for the definition of super performance, you would find written in bold: EDUARD NOVAK. Even though he entered the stage alone, his presence made it seem that there was a whole band. CONFIDENCE, COMMON SENSE, DECISION and COURAGE were each in their place in the orchestra sensationally directed by the champion.

The story of this superhero's life made me realize that we, humans, have no limits. We have only barriers created by our own minds. I felt Eduard Novak's human quality also after his speech, in a break when I timidly approached to congratulate him for everything he has done and built, but also to thank him for his kindness to share with us everything he had experienced. Without making me feel weird, he has talked to me for a few minutes, strengthening everything I felt while he was on the stage.

GASPAR GYORGY

One of Gaspar Gyorgy's superpowers, as he declares, is CURIOSITY. It helps us build connections. Connections between us and other people, between us and our feelings, between us and everything around. If we want to try to develop this ability, we must pay close attention to "the way we are curious." Curiosity can also be toxic. But, if it is guided by empathy, it can create magic. Another piece of advice that remained stuck in my mind after Gaspar's presentation was that the suffering lived in solitude is heartbreaking, but the one lived in the presence of a trusted person is life-changing... so true 😃.

MELANIA MEDELEANU

Sometimes for children, sometimes for parents, sometimes for parents and children, Melania Medeleanu is the good fairy. She does not have a magic wand to do the good deeds. She has an iron will through which she coordinates people who believe in the same values ​​and who have the same unstoppable desire to be kind and good. If a project in which Melania truly believes ends up in her hands, it is known from the beginning that everything that is humanly possible will be done so that the project will be completed. The satisfaction of people who will benefit from it is a priority.

Even though during the presentation Melania had a trembling and full of emotion voice, she transmitted enormous energy and power to the audience. She made us realize how important is to make decisions, whether they are good or bad, radical or simple, making a decision is the most important step. It is actually the moment when we get up from the chair and start acting in one direction.

WALTER UBELHART

Many of us have the impression that if they set out on a journey in life they can no longer change their direction. They have the feeling that if they make a change of 180 degrees (or maybe only 45 degrees), everything around them will collapse and they won't be able to start over. You have to know that it is not our fault 😀. Our brain makes us always choose the most beaten and known path.

Living proof of the fact that changes of direction can be made in life and that you can be successful after that is Walter Ubelhart. He gave me the feeling that he is part of the TRANSFORMERS team. His superpower to move from one profession to another, to achieve his goal and do what he likes and makes him happy, impressed me. The fact that in life the process is more important than the result was confirmed by the numerous professions that our superhero had. He worked as a botanist, as an entrepreneur, as a detective, as a writer or as a director and in every moment of his life he enjoyed what he was doing and he was giving his best.

BIANCA MUNTEAN

I am sure that until now you have not heard anything about a superhero called BRIDGER. If you want to know the superpowers of this superhero, it would be good to analyze the activity of Mrs Bianca Munteanu. In short, if you have a task for this superhero, he/she will manage to bring together the right people, at the right place and time to find the ideal solution.
Although many people have not heard about Bridger, what is fascinating about this character is that his power can be found in almost every person. How so? Well, it's simple: it's in our power to create bridges between parallel roads, it's in our power to be a "CHANGE MAKER".

Everything seems very simple, but there is one more step. Great attention: THE CHANGE HAS TO BE EXECUTED NOT ONLY DREAMED!

DANIEL LEȘ

A man entered the stage. A piece of clay was present in his hand. Such a simple image. An image that suggested the sacred bound between human and earth. He was Daniel Leș. He is the superhero of SIMPLICITY. Nowadays we really need this kind of superheroes. We need to see that we can be happy without having an expensive phone in our hand, without having to ride in a fancy car and without taking into consideration the opinion of those around us.

Through simplicity in life, we ​​gain time. Time is one of the most coveted resources of modern man. Having enough time will give us the opportunity to sit at the table with our fellow man, we will get to know what is really in his soul.

For all those who have difficulties and challenges in daily life, Daniel Leș conveys an encouragement in a simple and direct way: the worries and difficulties of life bring to the surface all our impurities ... and thus we become a malleable clay, and from there, anything can be created.

CHARLEY OTTLEY

Have you heard about Captain Planet? No? If you haven't heard about him, take a look here: Captain Planet. He was one of the superheroes of my childhood. Why did I mention this character? Because I was thinking about him when Charley Ottley started to share with us his energy and thoughts. In my eyes, he became Captain Romania. A superhero who fights for normality, for history, for heritage and for the healthy development of human and nature. Through the passion he unleashed, through the desire to do good and stop any kind of destruction, through his actions, Captain Romania made the audience believe that each of us can be a piece in this puzzle. Each action matters when you fight to save your country.

But if we think that we are small and insignificant, can we really do something??? YES! We can protest, we can educate future generations to keep the traditions, we can be proud of our country and we can promote our values and traditions in many, many ways. And when we see something illegal happening near us, we have to take action. We have to report all the problems found and we have to act constantly,  not just one time, we don't have to stop. We have to keep on going, this is the only way in which we can change something around us.

NICOLAE WEISZ 

A superhero which can adapt to any new situation. This is what I felt when I saw professor Nicolae Weisz on stage. It was the first time I had the privilege of listening to him. Even if he did not have a "modern" presentation, we were completely surprised by the fresh and provocative way in which he transmitted his message and the lessons he learned throughout his life.

As a true master of teaching, while presenting different ideas and suggestions, he was creating a place for us, the listeners, to form our own idea, to create our own opinion. The topic that marked me the most after his presentation was that some education systems, from the desire to learn us everything, to prepare us for life, they do the opposite ending up squeezing our creativity.

CAMELIA ȘUCU

All I want to say about Camelia Șucu is that she is a real serial entrepreneur. I think that this title is resuming all we need to know about her. A thrilling life, a life with ups and downs, a life that is showing us that everything is possible when you dedicate yourself to your dreams and you work hard to achieve these dreams with determination and some luck.

ROXANA PAMFIL

Simina was really impressed by Roxana Pamfil. I think that she sees in Roxana the superhero of connecting the actual numbers with real-life scenarios from our lives. Roxana started her speech by explaining the Wisdom of the Crowds. This occurs when we have independent and diverse answers. We are social beings, and the way each of us interprets the world is influenced by what people around us say and believe, and that means we are not independent. We all prefer to interact with people who are like us and we get to reduce the number of interactions with the different ones. This is how we reach environments where the diversity of opinions is lacking. In an interconnected world, where opinions are influenced, can we have a Wisdom of the Crowds?

VLAD MIXICH and RADU GOLOGAN

What I wrote in the description of Walter Ubelhart's presentation about the brain, actually  I have learned from the nerdy speaker (as he described himself 😁), Vlad Mixich. He was the one who asked us from the stage if we like what the brain looks like. From his point of view, the brain is very beautiful. Beautiful or not, if we know how to train it, we obtain a very useful tool 😉. Speaking about ​​superheroes, I see Vlad Mixich as the scientist who is living in the shadows, in a cave hidden somewhere in a mountain. From there he helps those who need to push the boundaries, those who need to understand why certain things happen in a certain way. From him, in a very short time, we received a lot of useful information about unknown subjects. Very interesting.

Do you know who else gave us pieces of information regarding the brain? Professor Radu Gologan. He presented the important moments of brain development in human evolution and also how the brain is influenced by technology nowadays. I think that the professor would get along very well with Vlad Mixich in the same cave. Or does he have his own cave 😂?

ADRIAN HĂDEAN and MATTHEW K. CROSS

Adrian and Matthew were the two bridge destroyers at this conference. Although the other speakers were builders, they started from the idea that it is important to be able to destroy.

All I knew about Adrian Hădean was that he is a sensational chef and a well-known entertainer. In my mind, he was the SUPER CHEF superhero. With all this information in my head, I was eager to see what will follow. When I saw that he appeared on stage barefoot, without the chef's apron and with the title of the presentation "Burning bridges" I became more and more interested in what was to come.

About Matthew K. Cross, I read before the conference that he is a world-renowned author, strategist, founder and CEO. So I was expecting something very interesting.

In the case of the two, I will not give you exact details about their presentations because one of them is quite personal, and the other has a very interesting technical side. But here are some tips:

• Adrian Hădean is a person who manages to see his pains, his sufferings with joy.  This man is teaching us that everyone needs the right drama in their life. This drama is pure gold and we have to embrace it.
• Matthew K. Cross will help us discover the benefits of scientifically tested methods to guide us to live in the present, he will help us become aware of our desires, he will help us understand the role of chaos, he will help us become a better version of ourselves even if this means, in some cases, destroying the safe road from our lives and rebuilding new bridges that will connect us with new sensational things.