Writing

Words that move things.

Essays and opinion articles on youth leadership, education, sport, media literacy, digital citizenship, mental health, inclusion and social impact.

Op-eds and essays I write on youth leadership, education, sport and social impact - meant to be read, questioned and shared.

Every piece I write is published in full here, in English and Romanian.

Latest essays and opinion articles

Europe & language Sep 2026

The Language We Lose

What happens to Europe when a language disappears, and who gets to decide which voices survive? On minority languages, linguistic diversity and the digital future of endangered tongues. My sixth United Citizens of Europe article.

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AI & Culture Sep 2026

AI won't steal art. It will steal the excuses.

A seventeen-year-old, non-musician's case against the panic over AI music: why many of its loudest critics live on playback, Auto-Tune and retouching - and what real artists should do instead.

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Europe & migration Sep 2026

Raised for Export

What happens when an entire generation is free to leave but cannot afford to stay? On Eastern Europe's brain drain - and how free movement can start to feel like a one-way exit. My fifth United Citizens of Europe article.

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VolunteeringSep 2026

First Prize in Romania. For Volunteering.

I won First Prize (Young Leader in Volunteering) and Second Prize (Most Dedicated Volunteer) at the Social Volunteer Gala Romania 2026 - and I'd rather talk to you about volunteers.

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Europe & belonging Aug 2026

A Terrible Idea. Unless You're European.

A satirical love letter to Europe - open borders, the euro, one court - and why the everyday miracle of the EU feels so normal we have stopped noticing it. My fourth United Citizens of Europe article.

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Youth & technology Aug 2026

One Day in 1970. Could You Handle It?

A family wakes up in 1970 - no phones, no internet, no Waze - and by nightfall “back in my day” has stopped sounding like a lesson. A satirical essay on teenagers, technology and the gap between generations.

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Sport Aug 2026

Amalia Lică. Fata din autobuzul 335 care a ajuns în vârful lumii.

Aseară am privit-o urcând pe treapta a doua a podiumului. Lumea a văzut o fată care a luat argintul. Eu am văzut o fată care și-a câștigat dreptul de a fi acolo. Un omagiu pentru Amalia Lică - vicecampioană mondială la 17 ani - de la un tânăr sportiv la altul.

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Youth & democracy Jul 2026

You Call Us the Future. We Call It Waiting.

Every young person in Europe has heard it - you are the future. Listen again and you hear what is really being said: not yet. My third piece as a United Citizens of Europe Local Ambassador, on youth, power and what real participation would actually look like.

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Youth Leadership Jul 2026

When Leadership Has No Age Limit

At 17 I was nominated for the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize. What a nomination actually is, what it is not, who the Tällberg Foundation are, and why being considered matters more at this stage than winning.

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Sport & society Jul 2026

What Money Still Can't Buy

For seventy-nine minutes, Egypt had the world champions on the ropes. A 2026 World Cup essay on why money builds better football, but meaning builds better competitors - and what youth sport must protect. My second piece as a United Citizens of Europe Local Ambassador.

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Sport & mental health Jul 2026

Left on the Sidelines: Sport, Mental Health and the Young Europeans We Leave Out

Europe has one of its most powerful tools for adolescent mental health and belonging - sport - and leaves it on the bench for the young people who need it most. My first piece as a United Citizens of Europe Local Ambassador.

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Education 18 Jun 2026

If you study at a private school in Romania, you have no chance at FLEX. None. Look at the numbers.

I pulled the official numbers - and they show that private-school students are effectively shut out of FLEX.

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Youth Leadership 13 Jun 2026

I applied to a programme that says it wants young people. They rejected me before they announced who they chose. Coincidence?

How it felt when a programme that says it wants young people rejected me before the decision was even made public.

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Social Impact 14 May 2026

In Romania, your zip code matters more than your talent. And nobody is ashamed.

Why I believe where a child is born decides their chances far more than what they can actually do.

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Social Impact 3 May 2026

Parent, stop! Are you watching your child, or your own failed dream?

My direct message to parents who load their own unfinished ambitions onto their children.

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Youth Leadership 20 Apr 2026

Stop the hypocrisy. Stop blocking our future.

My call to the adults who praise young people in public and hold them back in practice.

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Education 19 Apr 2026

I spent 11 years in the same school. What I learned there you won't find in any textbook.

What 11 years in one school taught me - beyond grades and curricula.

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Sports 13 Apr 2026

Romania didn't lose Alexia. It drove her away, and called that normal.

Why I think Romania didn't lose Alexia - it drove her away, while the country shrugged.

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Youth Leadership 9 Apr 2026

I don't know everything. But I know exactly who I am and where I'm going.

My statement of who I am, where I'm going and why I believe in it.

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Sports 1 Apr 2026

I'm 17, I play basketball, and I'm done pretending Romania cares about young athletes' minds.

Why I'm done pretending we take young athletes' mental health seriously.

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Sports 28 Mar 2026

You don't select talent. You select connections. And you call it sport.

How I've seen access and connections quietly replace merit in youth sport.

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Social Impact 25 Mar 2026

Screens are raising your child. Not you.

My wake-up call on how much of childhood we now hand to a screen.

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Social Impact 20 Mar 2026

Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.

The idea behind much of what I write: talent is common, opportunity is not.

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Sports 15 Mar 2026

Injury doesn't end a career. Silence does.

What I've learned about injured athletes left without support - and what really ends careers.

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Sports 12 Mar 2026

We're training athletes. But we're losing people.

Why I think we build performance while neglecting the person behind it.

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Sports 8 Mar 2026

We are not lazy. We are exhausted. And sport is the answer Romania keeps ignoring.

Why we're not lazy - we're exhausted - and how sport could help, if we let it.

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Social Impact 20 Feb 2026

Banning doesn't solve it. It just pushes the problem into the dark.

Why banning minors from social media doesn't solve the problem - it just pushes it where no adult can see it. My case for real digital education.

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Sports 20 Nov 2023

A better version of yourself. My guide, as a teenager, to better emotional health through sport.

My guide, as a teenager, to better emotional health through sport.

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Social Impact 9 May 2024

Teenagers and the image in the mirror.

My op-ed on teenagers, self-image and the pressure of how we see ourselves.

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In the media

When others write about me.

Sometimes I'm invited to share my view, and my pieces get picked up by the press. These materials belong to their publishers, so I reference them with a short note and a link to the original.

Press31 Aug 2026

De la pasiunea pentru tehnologie la combaterea dezinformării: povestea lui Nicholas și a ideii care i-a adus Premiul I într-un proiect internațional

PressHub (Freedom House Romania) interviewed me about my passion for cybersecurity, how The Fake News Factory started as a school assignment, and the First Prize it won in the E-mpact media-literacy competition.

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Press24 Aug 2026

Grant My Passion, programul McDonald's care susține tinerii să-și transforme pasiunile în proiecte

Revista Biz covered McDonald's Grant My Passion and gave The Fake News Factory a dedicated section, with my story and a quote from me.

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Press7 Aug 2026

40 de granturi, sute de idei și o generație care are curajul să construiască. McDonald's anunță câștigătorii celei de-a doua ediții Grant My Passion

Republica featured The Fake News Factory among the McDonald's Grant My Passion winners, quoting me on turning a school assignment into a media-literacy project.

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PressAug 2026

40 de granturi, sute de idei și o generație care are curajul să construiască. McDonald's anunță câștigătorii celei de-a doua ediții Grant My Passion

HotNews reported on the McDonald's Grant My Passion winners, featuring The Fake News Factory among the funded youth projects.

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Press14 Apr 2026

Voleibalista Alexia Căruțașu, ajunsă în naționala Turciei, în centrul unei scrisori virale: „România a alungat-o!”

BusinessLounge picked up my open letter on talent leaving Romania and built an article around it, quoting my message.

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Press26 Feb 2026

Interzicem accesul copiilor pe rețelele de socializare? „Generația noastră trăiește online”

Romanian Television (TVR) covered the debate on banning minors from social media and featured my view that my generation lives online and that bans only push the problem out of sight.

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Press27 Feb 2026

Ce spun adolescenții despre interzicerea accesului pe rețelele sociale: „Măsura nu protejează pe nimeni”

A second TVR report gathered teenagers' views on the proposed social-media ban, including my argument that the measure protects no one and that young people should be part of the decision.

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Interview21 Sep 2024

Interviewing A UNICEF's Child Board Member

An in-depth English interview for the Wholesome blog, where I talk about representing the UNICEF Romania Children's Board, my favourite projects, youth mental health and how young people can get involved in advocacy.

WholesomeRead →

All the articles here are mine, published with my consent and remaining my intellectual property; they may not be reproduced or republished elsewhere without my written permission. Press materials written by third parties remain the property of the publications that produced them, and I reference them here only through short summaries and links to the original sources. To request permission to republish any of my content, please get in touch.