Croatia declared independence in 1991. But independence was only won after a bitter and hard fought war against Miloševic's Yugoslav People's Army, Serbian paramilitary forces and rebel Serbs. Now with peace, the people are free to pursue their own lives.

War is never pretty. And the war in Croatia was often particularly brutal. Ethnic cleansing often uprooted families and many were murdered by vindictive forces. This is a terrible environment for a young child during their formative years.

Now, picture a young 4 year old girl growing up during this time of turmoil. Life was nothing like you probably know it.

Young people who experience war and then freedom have their lives permanently molded by their experiences. The peace that ensues after war not only liberates the nation, but the creative energies of the people.

Young people whose early years are clouded by fear can experience a boundless sense of energy as they grow further. This is the case with a friend of mine.

I recently became acquainted with a young 21 year old lady from Croatia, Stella Stopfer. She recently had been studying physics and has now transitioned into architecture. She is currently studying architecture in Zagreb at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb. She wants to focus her attention on interior design.

Stella hopes to see interior design divided between design and implementation. She hopes to work in a studio that promotes developing new, creative ideas for interior design. She says that ideas are "becoming more and more important; ideas are selling and every market is becoming more competitive."

Not only is Stella studying architecture, she's also putting her knowledge and creativity into action by working to renovate a house owned by Saudi Arabian man. He was so impressed with Stella that he asked her to work on his house the same day he met her.

Stella enjoys meeting people from around the world. She likes talking with them and exchanging ideas. It helps that Stella can speak 3 foreign languages, French, English, and Italian.

Her outgoing personality is also helping her build an online business. She began investigating the business in October of 2007 and joined EDC in November. She says that what interested her was "thinking out of the box and applying different strategies, not all of the common things we are thought."

Stella indicated that the EDC opportunity providers her, as a young person, with a lot of freedom and gives her a new perspective on the life ahead of her. She says that "I like that it is broad, not focused on a single thing, that it is very creative. I was overwhelmed by the opportunities and the very creative, professional, energetic and friendly people that I get to work on a day to day basis and learn from." Her business website is RetireWithEbizStella.com. Visit it and see what she is doing.