So, three weeks have gone by and with them the remnants of who I was before I came — falling away like soft drifts of sand creeping across the desert, changing the landscape with every wind. Solace is found in the fact that those remnants were never really meant to be permanent anyway.
Hiking through mountainous terrains that pulled from my muscles the impossible not only challenged my body and built my character, but also afforded me visual treats that made me cry:
Iceland is swallowing me whole, chewing me up and spitting me out a better me. I’ve taken risks here I never would have at home. In the midst of frigid winds that burn the cheeks I stripped to practically nothing and dipped myself in a volcanic hot spring just to celebrate the trek we took to get there. I have a group of wonderful and supportive friends here never shy on encouraging the best out of me, and so I continue to challenge myself.
To pinpoint a single moment that has transformed me since arriving is a nearly impossible task because the entire experience thus far has been one nonstop succession of learning and teaching moments, all of which have dragged the best of me out to experiment and explore. Without question I couldn’t have made a better choice in coming here, and although I miss my family, the extraordinary allure of this place has me already growing nostalgic for what I’ll be missing once I get home.
-Sass Linneken