Different walls, different stories

 Before writing this blog, murals used to be only some beautiful pieces on the walls of Prishtina that caught my eye while I was going on with my daily life. Never having the chance to stop and observe what’s more into them. After wandering through the streets of Prishtina and catching glimpses even of murals that I hadn’t noticed before, I gained a new perspective about them. Every wall tells a different story and speaks through different colors and shapes. They tell us that there is more to them beyond eye pleasing paintings, they “speak” to us and we interpret them in our disparate ways. Each one unique on its own.

“Rruga B” Street

This was one of the first murals that I noticed and I laughed because me and my friends always joke around since I’m scared of dogs yet I get to see them every day in Prishtina and the reaction is always the same. I still liked this one because all the street dogs deserve appreciation.

“Agim Ramadani” Street

Next one, was this mural on a street that I used to walk on regularly back when I first started university, yet I never had seen this particular one. It reminded me of my dad because he enjoys playing chess a lot and at some point in my childhood I was also determined to learn it just to beat him, which I never made it. Neither, taking it up as a skill or winning against my dad. But after giving it another glance, it also gave me the feeling of loneliness, of having to face multiple difficulties on your life all by your own. Being alone may sound scary but it’s only yourself that will stick until the end with you.

“Bill Clinton” Street

Out of all the murals that I got to explore, this one is my favorite. Simple words, great message. For someone they might be some pointless words written on a wall but when I read this, it brightened my day and the words were stuck with me throughout the whole day. A little compliment never hurt anyone. Letting people know that even though life tests us all, we should never forget that we’re important, we matter and we’re doing amazing.

Next up, here I could interpret the feeling of freedom, just for several minutes forgetting everything going on in your life and dancing without a care in the world. This immediately came to my mind: “What if I fall?” being the question asked, “But what if you fly?” being the answer. Because sometimes everything depends on taking chances and pushing outside of your comfort zone.

And finally this last mural also spoke to me in several ways. At first, I could see a girl sleeping peacefully but when I dug further into it, it seemed to me as if she was using sleep as an escape from the harsh reality in our daily lives. I took a couple steps towards it after taking the picture and I noticed another thing above her, which to me looked like a person. I could sense the feeling of missing someone and them visiting us in our dreams.

As I told myself I was finished, after walking around Prishtina for 2 hours, I headed towards the bus station. I left with tons of mixed feelings and with a brand new admiration about this amazing form of art, murals. Colors bringing walls to life. Walls not just being able “to hear” but also “to speak” might just be my latest favorite thing.

Rukije Demiri