Alexander Lukashenko has ruled Belarus for over 27 years. A nowadays generation does not know its homeland without the authoritarian president. What does it mean to grow up under these circumstances? What is it like to live in a country where the development of liberal democratic values is forbidden? Due to the ongoing repression, there are fewer and fewer people who rebel and resist. Those who remain have to adapt, take refuge in indifference or conserve freedom within. Passive, disillusioned, and at a loss, they have to come to terms with the rules of the regime. In my work I show young people who strive for individuality, which is not exactly accepted in Belarus. People who are being discriminated because of their political stance, sexual orientation or simply because of a different way of thinking and living. People who do not follow the state plan and go their own way - a different way than the one destined by society. Self-realization can obviously only take place in private space. In public space, on the other hand, people are forced to conform; there is a constant feeling of fear and surveillance. Secluded within their own four walls, they concentrate on their own lives, trying to block out reality and conserve the freedom within. Through intimate portraits of the people in their personal environment, I give an insight into the lives of the younger generation and show what it means and how it feels to live in this reality. The pictures for the series "While I was waiting" were shot in the time before the protests took place and show the living situation of the people: a hopeful waiting for change.