Maria Romanenko

Hi! I'm Maria. I was born in Ukraine but studied and lived in the UK for a long time. I'm a psychologist, life coach, journalist, writer, and editor.

I read 28 books in 2020, but really, what I'm striving to do is to publish my own. I've nearly finished writing it but I'm looking for people to help me bring it to life.

Contact me if you can help, please, but stay here to read my stuff and sign up to my newsletter for free confidence tips and more!

Medium • 31st December 2020

You Don’t Need Another Goal, You Need A Strategy

“Strategy is the art of identifying and choosing realistic courses of action for achieving goals and doing so under adverse conditions, such as war.” — Gerard Egan So many times I have heard people say, “I want to start doing XYZ, but I can’t make myself.”

Elephant Journal • 7th December 2020

I Love Virtual Life—Perhaps More Than I Should.

Yes, 2020: We all get it; we all love to hate it. The endless Zoom meetings, and the absence of music events and other types of usual entertainment. But I’ve come to realize that I actually like the quarantine life. Should I be concerned about this fact? Maybe. But so far, I love it.

Thrive Global • 2nd September 2020

Taking Responsibility In The Time Of Uncertainty

How a meditation session led to me taking responsibility for my current life situation

Medium • 7th August 2020

These 5 Simple Steps Will Change Your Life For The Better

“I’m a failure”, “I need to change my life around.” How often did you hear somebody say these? Or, perhaps, you’ve been saying these, too? The truth is: nobody is broken. That’s one of the five fundamentals of life coaching.

Thrive Global • 17th July 2020

My Quarantine Dance To Megan Thee Stallion Led To My First Romantic Relationship

As the world was going mad with the coronavirus pandemic and I had just entered my 29th year of being single (and that’s my whole life), I found something I neither expected to find nor was actively looking for.

Medium • 15th June 2020

Why Personality Quizzes Are A Waste Of Time

This author is arguing that you can change everything about your personality.

Hromadske International • 24th July 2020

EXCLUSIVE: Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga on Ukraine's Zelenskyy, Donbas War, and Coronavirus

"We are no Switzerland," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to journalists during a press conference in May. This month, Ukraine has had a first visit from a Swiss president. Simonetta Sommaruga, the President of the Swiss Confederation, came to Ukraine for a three-day visit. She and Zelenskyy discussed humanitarian aid for Donbas, financial support, and cultural programs. Hromadske's Maria Romanenko sat down with Sommaruga on July 22.

Hromadske International • 18th June 2020

Surrogacy in Quarantine: Argentine Woman Meets Son Born to Ukrainian Surrogate Mother

Andrea Diez (L), her son Ignacio (C), and husband Fernando Montero on June 10 at the "Venice" hotel in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ignacio was born to a Ukrainian surrogate mother on April 29 but, due to quarantine and closed borders, the couple only managed to see their son in June. Andrea Diez and her husband Fernando Montero, from Argentina, dreamed of having a baby for almost a decade. “We tried for nine years to have a baby, we were not able to. We had a lot of treatments – like 12,” Andrea tells Hrom

Hromadske International • 31st July 2019

“I’m the Change”: What It’s Like to Be Feminist in Moldova, Armenia, Ukraine, and Russia

ODESA, Ukraine – One of the organizers of a feminist exhibition in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa Steffi Klein says that it shocked her that she couldn’t find any feminist groups in the city. “We were thinking of who might be interested in being part of [this exhibition] and we were wondering: okay, we can talk to a feminist group here. The manager from the gallery told us that they don’t have any. They are all in Kyiv,” she says.

Maria Romanenko is a Ukrainian-born British-educated psychologist, writer, and journalist.

In 2016, Maria quit her job at an NGO to pursue her dream of becoming a creative and writing about things that people enjoy reading about. Since then, Maria has written for The Kyiv Post, The Odessa Review, The Rational Online, Hromadske International and Thrive Global with many of her stories going viral. She has also appeared on ABC News Australia, CTV News, BBC World Radio, and Global News.

She is interested in the topics of self-growth and self-discovery.

Maria currently freelances for the world's top media outlets, but is always open to more work. Please find some examples of Maria's work on this website and do not hesitate to get in touch for any enquiries.

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