And now for a short intermision

So that was year one. By the end, we just packed everything down, including the memories, and left our symbiotic bubble by the Fjord, returning for three months to our very different lives. In my case, I am living by myself in a small apartment in the Danish capital Copenhagen. One thing that RCN does not allocate much time for is reflection. Between economics class, first aid training and trying to convince your roommate that it is totally okay to own skiing equipment even if your country is flat as a pancake, it is often left in the stack labeled “mañana”. So I think that some time to think about what we have all been doing for the last 10 months is quite in its place by now.

I have climbed a glacier, organized a school show, bandaged a drunken pirate (in a first aid scenario), performed songs that I dared not try to pronounce title of, listened to refugees telling their stories, confused myself by discussing the value of happiness, taught a Somalian boy how to swim and so much more. And that is without even staring to mention the experiences I have had just by sitting down to have lunch with a class mate. Half of my views about half of the world have been challenged, turned 180 degrees, rechallenged and then turned somewhere between 1 and 179 degrees back again. And as much as I would love to sumerize what I have learned, I can't!

One word that stands out though is “effort”. No matter what you do in life, those six letters seem to be playing an important role. When climbing a glacier you need four more: “Team”. You can go to hell in a handbasket trying to convince me to go on that thing alone! It is scary and huge and cold and full of holes, and the only thing keeping you safe is the line that is connected between you and your friends. And while we're at it, the same goes for organizing a show, or bandaging a pirate or performing a... You get the picture. One of the most valuable lessons that I can take home this year is how much I can actually do. And something that is even more important is how much people around me can do, and how much we can do together.

Life is about... Grilled chease and cupcakes for all I know?! But I do know that there is a lot of talk about leadership at RCN, and that someday, somewhere that is probably what I want to do aswell. I came here having a pretty good idea about what it means to be a leader. It means being strong, powerful and able to take the right decissions with the right timing. Then I realized that there is another definition: In a world with soldiers of peace and the problem of the weather getting better, it is not enough to just be an MBA or a CEO. There is a need for real leaders, the kind of people that can lead the way and change the world by just being who they are. Like my old naboughr Hans, who would shovel not only his, but all of our driveways, every snowy winter morning, every year. I have added three new adjective to my definition of a leader over the last school year: Caring, understanding and passionate.