Page 10 - The Mirror of My Soul. Vol. 1

Nicolai Levashov. The Mirror of My Soul. Vol. 1. Born in the USSR

evidence” by washing the dirt off my trousers and shoes in the nearest brook. Very often

I went home to dinner with my clothes wet, which she naturally noticed, and the
consequences were not long in coming. Frequently a lizard or a frog could be found in
my pockets. I brought home grass snakes or baby birds that fell out of their nests;
sometimes I “helped” them to do it. I also tried to nurse injured birds and animals that
were brought to me, and pretty often I succeeded.

Fishing was another of my enjoyable pursuits, along with modeling plasticine
figures of people and animals, which were considered very good.

I also liked studying on my own by sketching pencil copies of pictures by the old
masters. The works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Vasnetsov and Brullov
especially charmed me. Using either plain pencils or crayons, I tried to copy the old
painters with maximum precision. Modern art evoked no response at all in my soul. I
also invented and drew drafts of various devices and mechanisms, some of which were
awarded prizes. I enjoyed working with wood and still re-member how the surface of a
board felt after I treated it with a plane. At school I mastered wood and metal lathes quite
well. And, certainly, I read a good deal.

Somewhere, after my fourth year at school, I began to read avidly. Several times I
re-read my father’s library, which was quite good and pretty large for that time. I also
gobbled up everything of interest that I could find in school and city libraries, and what
my father, brother or sister brought me. Science fiction, adventure, historical fiction,
fairy-tales and just good books, regardless of the subject, became my friends.

However, my keen appetite for books did not interfere with my studies; on the
contrary it was very helpful, because I also devoured books on physics, astronomy,
biology, philosophy, history, geology, anthropology, etc. Besides, it took me less than
half an hour to do my homework. The only subject that did not touch my heart was the
English language. For me it was somewhat dead. All other subjects were extraordinarily
interesting to me.

It was enough to just listen attentively to a teacher’s explanation or read a textbook
once, and I could retain the information in my memory. Besides, almost all my teachers
were real educational specialists. I have never had problems with my memory, although
unfortunately (or fortunately), I did not have a photographic memory. Nevertheless, the
information I studied did remain fixed in my memory.

As early as my elementary school days I noticed the contradictions in the system
of concepts teachers used to explain nature. However, I didn’t think it meant anything
serious; I just assumed that elementary school education was nothing but a rudimentary
foundation and that only high school could give the whole picture of the universe.

* * *
After graduating from school I asked myself—where should I go further study? I
wanted to cover everything, which was certainly an impossibility. At that time I thought
that the physics department of a university was something beyond my reach, so not even
worth trying to enter. How-ever, since biology was second place on my list of interests,
I decided to apply to the biology program of Irkutsk University, which, I was advised,
was one of the best universities in the U.S.S.R, with one of the finest schools of biology.

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