By Ribana Cristescu
Last Wednesday, on my way home from another meeting with the DEN community, I found myself reflecting on something that is difficult to explain in words, yet so easy to feel when you are there. What is it that brings us together, week after week, at the end of a full day?
We are all busy students, juggling lectures, seminars, assignments, part-time jobs and countless other commitments. Some of us spend hours travelling to university, trying to fit everything into days that never seem long enough. We certainly don’t have too much time on our hands, wondering what to do with it! And yet, somehow, we find the time to meet. Not because we have nothing better to do, but because we have discovered something worth making time for.
There is something genuinely special about walking into a room where conversations flow naturally, ideas are exchanged, laughter and applause fill the air, and people simply enjoy being in one another’s company. No expectations, no pressure to impress, just the freedom to connect, listen, share and be ourselves.
While all this is happening, there is someone quietly sitting in a corner of the room: Professor Farhang. He watches us interact, occasionally joins a conversation, but rarely needs to say much. Yet I cannot help thinking that, in his own quiet way, he is teaching us something that cannot easily be taught in a lecture theatre. Through his actions, he shows us that mentorship is not always about offering advice, delivering knowledge or leading a discussion. Sometimes, it is about creating the conditions in which people can discover, learn from and inspire one another.
Anyone familiar with university life knows that finding a room where students can meet regularly, particularly outside scheduled lectures and seminars, is not always easy. Yet Professor Farhang makes it happen, week after week. And he has been doing this for ten years! What he offers us is much more than a physical space. It is a sense of belonging, a place where connections can grow naturally, and where each of us contributes something simply by being there. Ten years of opening a door, bringing people together and allowing something wonderful to happen and grow. What an achievement, and what a beautiful example of how a seemingly simple gesture, repeated with care and consistency, can leave a lasting impact.
Maybe that is why my thoughts turned to the people who fill that room every week. We are all so different. I like to imagine each of us contributing to the overall picture with our own shades of colour, and I am referring here to the colours of our souls and spirits. Sometimes we arrive full of joy and enthusiasm, ready to share our excitement with the world. Other times, we silently carry worries, perhaps the weight of a difficult day, a disappointment, or an uncertainty about tomorrow. We wear shades of colour that are sometimes bright and vibrant, but at other times dull and matte. Yet those shades are equally part of who we are, and none of them makes us less valuable to the picture.
What is surprisingly beautiful is that, even on days when the shades we carry make us less inclined to interact, we can still find comfort and joy in the colours that others bring into the room. Their enthusiasm, energy and vibrancy can brighten our own shades, lifting our spirits in ways that are difficult to describe. Sometimes, simply being surrounded by that energy is enough to make a difference.
That, to me, is where the real power of DEN lies. We do not need to arrive feeling the same way, thinking alike or bringing the same energy. We do not need to hide our quieter shades or pretend that every day is a wonderful one. We simply bring whatever shades of colour life has given us that day. Somehow, through conversation, laughter, listening and sharing, those individual shades begin to blend into something bigger than ourselves: a beautiful, colourful and inspiring painting. After all, beautiful paintings are made from a mixture of shades and colours.
It brings to mind those wonderful paintings by Renoir and Monet, where people, light and colours come together to capture the beauty of everyday life. Different figures, different expressions, different shades, yet all belonging to the same scene. And to think that we manage to create that same vibrancy in a plain university room, without the beauty of nature surrounding us, or even food and drink to bring us together. It is, to me, insanely awesome!
I think that is what a genuine community should be about. Not a gathering of people who are alike, but a place where differences are welcomed and where everyone has something to contribute. A place where one person’s enthusiasm can brighten another’s difficult day, where a conversation can open a new perspective, and where simply being present can make someone feel that they belong.
And thinking about it, I realised that Professor Farhang has not been the one painting this picture. He has been providing the canvas and brushes, giving us the space and freedom to decide when, for how long, and how we add our own shades of colour. The most meaningful form of mentorship of all.
As I continued my journey home, I realised that what stays with me after these meetings is not necessarily one particular conversation, a memorable presentation, or something extraordinary that happened. Those are individual details, perhaps a brushstroke here or a splash of colour there. What remains is the feeling the whole painting creates: that wonderful vibration of having been part of something so simple and human, yet so meaningful and beautiful.
And there is one more exciting thing about this painting: it is a work in progress, constantly evolving. Every week, every year, students return with new experiences, different emotions and slightly different shades of themselves. Some faces become familiar for a while before moving on, while new ones join in. But each encounter adds another brushstroke to a picture that has been taking shape for ten years, and continues to do so.
Ten years of bringing people together, creating connections and allowing each of us to add a little colour to the lives of others. Ten years of shaping a living work of art that continues to grow with every person who becomes part of it. A wonderful reason to celebrate!
Happy 10th anniversary, DEN community!
