It is easy for me to imagine closed doors because I feel and see many such doors around me. They are closed because I didn’t open them. Sometimes I didn’t want to open these doors, and sometimes I didn’t know how to open them. Now, I want to open the door to the United States. There are people, histories of the country, work, holidays, and books on the other side. English is the key to this door. I hope I can open it.
Ellada Zagainova was born in Ukraine and raised in Russia. She moved to New York from Moscow in September 2022. She is taught by Michele Persaud at the New York Public Library’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation branch. Ellada Zagainova writes, “I am very thankful to NYPL for the great opportunity to learn and for their help and support.” The site coordinator is Sherin Hamad.