Damien Voyvoda

Biography

Author Biography

Damien Voyvoda is a starting author that is making his very first steps in the world of literature. Writing Avici, which is his very first published book, was a very challenging, but at the same time exciting experience. English being his third language and considering that he moved to the United States not a very long time ago, it was obvious that the path will be full of obstacles.

As a young student, Damien Voyvoda never thought of any possibilities of publishing a book. He has always showed love and interest towards literature, but never in the way of writing it. The story has been running around in his mind for quite some time; however, the idea of sharing it with the rest did not strike him until the beginning of the summer of 2014.

Damien Voyvoda has moved to the United States at the age of sixteen. After spending two years in high school, he was able to graduate and move on to a community college. Currently, he is studying Business Administration at a local community college. He has already applied to most of the UC campuses and is planning on transferring to a four year college in September of 2015.


Personal Note From Author

As you already have realized, I am a starting author. I cannot talk a lot about my experience as a writer, nor can I talk a lot about my experience and achievements in any other field. I am just making my first steps. Before I even start talking about myself, I would like to thank all the people who have read, or are reading my book. I would highly appreciate any feedback from you guys. May it be suggestions, questions, reviews, opinions, or critiques. Your opinion is the most important to me.

I was born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1993 and was raised there until I moved to the United States in search of better educational and professional opportunities. Currently, I am still in the process of finishing my education. As it was mentioned before, I am studying business administration in a community college and I am planning on transferring to a four year college in September. I started working not long after I moved here. As you can imagine, I have done various jobs. All of these jobs shaped me as a person and helped my adaptation to this county, which, I should admit, is still incomplete. At this moment, besides being a full time student, I also have two jobs. Living in the United States is not as easy as it may seem to people from outside. I have fallen into that trap myself and watched every single foreigner do the same.

The transition from Armenia to the United States was enormous. After so much time has passed, I am still not done with that process. To be honest with you, I am greatly thankful that I was not born in the United States. I was brought up in Armenia and I shaped as a person in the United States based on my upbringing in Armenia. One week after I moved here, I told myself: forget everything that you know. There was no other way for me to survive in that crowd. I am not talking about being good or bad at this moment. I am talking about the differences. The way of living, the morals, the thinking, the norms, and everything else of that crowd was awfully strange to me. I had two options. I could change myself and step in the crowd, or I could separate myself. Obviously, I choose the second option. I got used to being neighbors with the crowd very soon. Nevertheless, the hardest thing for me to get used to in that crowd was my own kind. The personification of an Armenian person that I had in my mind did not exist here. All of them, at least all of them that I have met, have stepped into the crowd. As an Armenian, I had guidelines and understandings set for me. I expected them to have the same guidelines. I agree, it was a stupid mistake from my side. I paid the price.

This country really does teach you independence. It builds good workers and producers, not necessarily good people. When I say “not good people,” I hope you realize that I am talking about the differences in morals and thinking. In reality, there is no “good” or “bad.” Those two, and many other ideas that people so heavily depend on, are relative understandings. Realizing that and being able to separate myself from the crowd’s influence, I was powerless to stay in control of the separation for long and separated myself from everyone around me. By the time that I finished the construction of the boundaries between me and the crowd, which did not take very long, I started working to be able to support my family. I volunteered a little to be able to get comfortable with the language. After a few months, I got my first job. It may be a little surprising, or not at all, but my first paid job was at the Community Development and Housing Division of the City I was living in. It was a spectacular experience and I am thankful for the opportunity. As the needs required, the jobs changed.

I can talk for a few more pages about myself. There is a lot I can tell, but I want to keep it short. I am not sure how well I managed to do that. Writing Avici was another stage in my life. I tried to share my experiences in that book and wrote it with one of my favorite styles, the style of hidden messages. I am not sure how much I was able to transfer to you through the book. You will have to judge me on that. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading it and I look forward to your feedbacks. Below are the ways to contact me.

Website:
http://damienvoyvoda.wix.com/author

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/damienvoyvoda

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/DamienVoyvoda

Instagram:
http://instagram.com/damienvoyvoda/

Google Plus:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/100659016784670978032/posts

Email:
damienvoyvoda@gmail.com

Where to find Damien Voyvoda online

Books

This member has not published any books.