What I learnt living in Iceland [journal]
I just spent three and a half months living in a tiny, rural, secluded village in the north of Iceland, and I learnt a lot of things.
Even though I've been a very lazy updater of this mammoth adventure, I learnt a lot of really interesting things, and I'd like to share those things with you now. I'm sitting in an apartment in London and not a lot is happening and I feel like I can breathe. Peppered throughout this are some pictures I took with my parents when they came to visit, which I will post about at a later date (when my head is less confused).
1. We've got to stop romanticising Iceland
Every non-Icelander I talked to - and, yeah, I did this at first too - seems to think Iceland is this magical place of fairies and whimsy and people who are infinitely welcoming and kind and believe in elves. For the most part, this is true. However, Icelandic people are actually, you know, just people. As much as you can visit for a week and marvel at the amazing landscape, this is a harsh environment and these people are tough. Especially when you talk to people who live out of Reykjavik, you'll find they have a hard life. Like, really hard. There are things that I think are great about Iceland in general (their culture is sex positive, they have great access to information, Jon Gnarr is a pretty flawless example of leadership) but we're so wrapped up in thinking about Iceland and its people as perfect, that we forget that it's a real place with real people.
2. You've got to go to Iceland
No truly. Maybe this flies in the face of what I just wrote (I'm not sure), but you've got to go there. Don't go there to wander through the streets of Reykjavik to buy the same boring puffin-themed memorabilia that every other tourist does, but get out. I'd strongly recommend hiring a car so you can go at your own pace and, if you can, do the Ring Road. Go to the Westfjords. Visit some of their quirky museums. Go on the biggest glacier in Europe. Wander through lava fields. Stand behind a waterfall and get swept up in how impossibly magical it is to do all these things in two weeks. Talk to the people that live there, not because you've been told how kind and sweet Icelanders are, but because you're in their country and they know more than you.
3. Mother Nature is - literally - the baddest bitch ever.
Listen to the crack of a glacier calving, then watch that piece of ice drift out to sea and get washed up on the beach. Look at lava formations that resemble animals and cartoons. Feel insignificant as the Northern Lights are working their magic overhead. Forget about your own sordid problems for, like, fifteen minutes and remember that there's nothing in the world that beats this. That's a fact.
4. Prioritise creativity above $$$
Being in London for the last two days and catching up with Londoners I haven't seen since March, they all had the same question: "what did you take away from your time in Iceland? What did you learn?"
Don't feel the pressure to graduate high school or university and then plug your time away at a desk job you hate. Stop trying to make money for the sake of acquiring money, and just get out into the world and live cheaply and make things you love. Most importantly, make time for creativity, which is probably the most important thing you've got, and the hardest to get back once it's 'lost'.
I've never been able to wake up and just be creative, all day, every day. I might not ever get that chance again, and I might not get it again for a long time. If you've got a week, a day, or an hour, dedicate that to feeding your inner-child and just making stuff for the sake of making stuff. Some days I painted for 10 hours, other days I wrote 5000 word short stories, eventually I penned 40,000 words toward a novel. Do stuff on a whim while you can.
5. Humble yourself
Legit. Learn something from everybody. Recognise that, as smart and clever as you think you are, everybody knows stuff you don't know and you're wasting your time if you're not learning from them. If somebody wants to show you how they grow algae (true event), go up to their lab and see it. Get interested. If somebody wants to share their sordid, depressing failed love stories with you for six hours (true event), listen.
By the same token, don't be embarrassed to share yourself with people. Don't think that any story or skill you have isn't worth showing off, because it is. People are interested in people who are interesting, so be interesting and then be willing to show people how interesting you are.
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