--- title: "About Me" author: "Jakub Ćwirlej" id: about-me language: en url: "https://jakubcwirlej.com/articles/about-me.md" page: "https://jakubcwirlej.com/" translations: pl: "https://jakubcwirlej.com/pl/articles/about-me.md" fr: "https://jakubcwirlej.com/fr/articles/about-me.md" nl: "https://jakubcwirlej.com/nl/articles/about-me.md" updated: 2026-10-14 words: 805 summary: "A personal portrait in which the author describes himself as someone who avoids fixed views, which he considers an asset for a journalist or researcher. He traces his path from his grandfather's art studio and an early wish to become a philosophy lecturer to 20 years as a reporter for Polish public television, and says journalism helped him overcome a fear of being judged. He also writes about his family, the books and music he loves, and his recent move to Belgium near Ghent." summary_type: editorial --- # About Me Jakub Ćwirlej · text language: EN · 805 words ## Summary (editorial) A personal portrait in which the author describes himself as someone who avoids fixed views, which he considers an asset for a journalist or researcher. He traces his path from his grandfather's art studio and an early wish to become a philosophy lecturer to 20 years as a reporter for Polish public television, and says journalism helped him overcome a fear of being judged. He also writes about his family, the books and music he loves, and his recent move to Belgium near Ghent. ## Key points (editorial) - He has lived in Poland for most of his life; his career began in a newsroom, as a journalist and video editor. - He never finished university and says his first app, OrsonAI, turned out to be a dud; he values the ability to pivot. - For him, creativity means building something entirely from scratch. - He names a lack of emotional intelligence as his greatest flaw. - He mentions Olga Tokarczuk's “The Books of Jacob”, Marcel Proust, Arvo Pärt, L’Arpeggiata and Bach performed under Philippe Herreweghe. ## Full text (the author's own words) Talking about myself has never come easily to me, mostly because I feel I still know very little about myself. I’m on the far side of forty and I still haven’t made up my mind about most of the things people consider “defining”. I always try to leave room for many points of view, and not to cling to any of them for longer than it can withstand the pushback of reality. Many people may see this lack of firm, fixed views as a flaw, but I think that for a journalist or a researcher it’s the greatest asset. I’ve lived in Poland for most of my life. My adventure with visual storytelling began in my grandfather’s art studio — a space that was almost sacred to me, where I understood how hard a single image can hit. My career, though, began in a newsroom, working as a journalist and video editor. That experience taught me every aspect of the television craft inside out and made me an all-round filmmaker. For 20 years I worked as a reporter for Polish public television, Telewizja Polska. Which is ironic, because throughout my childhood there were few things I was as sure of as that I would not become a journalist, the way my father had. I wanted to study philosophy and become a university lecturer. Life, and the need to find a job, had other ideas, but it was precisely my ability to adapt that turned out to be my most important trait. I found myself in the media, and found my feet there rather well. Journalism defined me. It taught me discipline and perseverance, but above all it worked like years of therapy: it cured me of my childhood traumas. For years I was afraid to speak to people I thought were cleverer than me; the fear of being judged paralysed me. Looking back, it was sometimes almost comical, but working with a camera and a microphone forced me to face that fear. I still value working in the media precisely because it lets me experience the world anew, again and again. It gives me the chance to keep redefining myself and my place in all sorts of contexts. It’s a never-ending adventure. To an outsider I might look inconstant, perhaps even incapable of delivering. After all, I never finished university, and my first app, OrsonAI, turned out to be a dud. But I firmly believe that in life you have to keep exploring possibilities and be able to pivot when circumstances call for it. Then again, I can throw myself completely into projects I see a point in — and the fact that I spent 20 years in one extremely demanding industry is probably the best proof that I take what I do very seriously. I like work that demands creativity. I know that sounds trite, and that “creativity” can mean literally anything these days, so for me the word has a very specific meaning: jumping in at the deep end and putting myself in a position where I have to build something entirely from scratch. That is exactly why I valued being a reporter so much. It can seem as if reportage keeps circling the same stories and the same human themes, but a good documentary-maker can tell them each time in a completely new, intriguing way. If I had to name my greatest flaw, it would definitely be a lack of emotional intelligence. I can’t “read the room” at all. If someone doesn’t tell me something directly, I’ll most likely miss it. That may sound rather funny, but this paradox means that, in this respect, I can be remarkably like an artificial intelligence. And outside work? My family gives me the greatest joy. Watching my children grow is a fascinating experience. But I blame myself for having given them too little time so far — it’s one of the main things I’m now trying to change in my life. I like reading books that give me a sense of continuity: books that show that, although eras and scenery change, at bottom we share exactly the same joys and sorrows as people who lived hundreds of years before us. Hence my fascination with Olga Tokarczuk’s “The Books of Jacob” and with the work of Marcel Proust. In fact, one of my great dreams is to learn French well enough to finally read “In Search of Lost Time” in the original. I love classical music — Arvo Pärt, the ensemble L’Arpeggiata, but above all Bach’s cantatas and Masses performed under Philippe Herreweghe. I recently moved to Belgium, not far from Ghent, so I very much hope I’ll soon get the chance to hear his interpretations live. And beyond that? I simply like listening to the rain and watching the grass bend in the wind. That’s quite enough for me. --- Jakub Ćwirlej — Journalist who builds with AI · on the site: https://jakubcwirlej.com/ Full context: https://jakubcwirlej.com/context/en.md · https://jakubcwirlej.com/llms.txt