1/7; One out of seven billion people

Nora Amina Meier. Swiss Civil Engineer student.

1. Your name is Nora Amina. Are you a Nora Amina; does your personality match your name?

My name is Nora Amina. Although almost everyone calls me Nora, I still prefer Nora Amina for myself. Whereas Nora’s signification differs from ”north” (Old Germanic origin) to ”bright light” (Arabic language) and a short form of ”Honora” from the Latin ”honor”, the origin and meaning of Amina is way clearer. It is an Arabic name which meaning is ”trustworthy, honest and faithful”.  As it is a bit harder to see the matching points between Nora and my personality, especially because of the meaning’s obscurity, I can identify myself pretty well with Amina. I set a lot of value on being honest and reliable – in my opinion those are two of the most important values.

2. You are from Switzerland; what do you think it means to be Swiss? Do you feel Swiss?

Sometimes I wonder what it means to be Swiss. In our country there are many different mentalities, which are probably partly connected to the four national languages. If you ask me it does not matter if someone’s mother tongue is French, Italian, Romansh or Swiss German, something that influences Swiss people strongly is our democracy. I have the feeling that many Swiss take for granted that we can discuss, decide and vote. Furthermore, in my opinion punctuality and ambition are two shared values in this country, but also the diversity of languages, not only the four national languages, also the different dialects we have, the diversity of mentalities and the way to combine that in one is something that belongs to us.

Nowadays, there are so many people who have origins in more than one country. Also most of my friends have their roots in Switzerland and another country. Mine are in Switzerland, so if I did not feel Swiss, I would not know what I should feel. But not only because there seems to be no other possibility is that country my nationality, also because I grew up learning those values, in this system, with this mentality. Still, there is a part of me that does not belong in Switzerland. It is hard to tell why exactly. I spent 7 months living in Paris. Those months have had a great influence on me and I guess that is the reason why I do not feel entirely Swiss anymore. I still carry the Swiss culture in me but I stopped calling Switzerland my only home.

3. What is it you like the best about Switzerland – and what’s the worst?

There are many things I appreciate about living in this country.
What I like best about the country geographically is the possibility of travelling in a short amount of time from the business of the city to the calm of the mountains. From a more general point of view it is the ability of a good education and of voting that every Swiss has.
   Paradoxically, it is also the last point in which I see a disadvantage. Our system is built in a way that every governmental decision can be questioned. To actually realise a new law or an idea it takes us so much time because everyone has the right to take part. It is not that I am against this system, from my point of view it is just lacking a bit in the rapidity which sometimes would be needed for certain decisions.

4. Three people who have affected you the most, intellectually?

Friedrich Dürrenmatt (Swiss author, dramatist, painter)

Steve McCurry (American photographer, photojournalist)

Claude Monet (French painter)

5. The three qualities you think every human being should have:

Ability to receive and give love

Honesty

Reliability

6. How do you explain art – and what role does it play to the world and the people in it?

Some say art exists because it is the only thing left after our deaths. I do not really agree. I think art exists because people want to catch their feelings, their impressions and their experiences. Art is the result of a feeling or a thought transformed into a painting, a phrase, a photograph or something else. That would also explain the diversity of art and the difficulty to define the word art.

Anyway, art definitely plays a huge role. Art can inspire, art can connect, art can educate, art can overcome boundaries, art can so much – we sometimes do not even realise what. In my opinion it is one of the greatest source of inspiration and this applies already existing art, as well as art every human being creates everyday.

7. What is your favorite quote?

I can hardly pick a favourite quote out of those innumerable good ones. So I chose one that I like more than most of the others.

”We are all broken, that’s how the light gets in.” – Ernest Hemingway

8. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

Summing up all the problems you can find on our beloved planet, one can easily forget about everything that works out. Although some of the problems might be connected to each other, it is still impossible, from my point of view, to break it down to one thing that provokes the rest. But if I had the chance to change one thing, it would be the lack of understanding. I strongly believe that the absence of comprehension leads to many problematic situations. The main point is that everyone should be enabled to keep his or her point of view and at the same time show understanding for the other one’s. People do not have to share one opinion but they should accept the fact that someone can have another way of thinking.

9. What is the meaning of life?

I have given much thought to the meaning of life. Being a person who constantly overthinks decisions and actions, it is unsurprising that I subconsciously try to connect and explain all that happens around me, whether considering things on a small or big scale. Nevertheless, I have not found the meaning of life yet and I do not know if I ever will. But even without knowing it, I believe that there is so much beauty in life albeit it seems miserable sometimes. And this beauty is what I try to treasure.