Thirteen
Thirteen years abroad today, and my life elsewhere has reached its adolescence. It has some questions about the promises it was raised on. How can a place become so much of who you are while remaining unsure what to do with you?
belongingA collection of 13 posts
Customs to Declare
Where I grew up, toughness included turning up when someone needed a hand. In the Nordics, I found beauty in making that care a public promise. I want a society that offers both without making obedience the price of belonging. Perhaps steel, smoke and social democracy have more to offer one another than either of my homes suspects.
The world is larger than this room, folks.
We call trust, meaning and belonging soft while living inside their consequences. On Åland and beyond, dismissing unfamiliar ideas as “flummiga” can close the door on the learning we need. A reflection on storytelling, accountability and the courage to act before the future comes with guarantees.
The Phantom Steps Forward
“Everyone” must also include the person who asks an uncomfortable question. The person who wants her work to be recognised. The person who is trying to build a future here.
The Possibility Tax
A boundary framed as self-doubt allows the other person to retain his dignity. But it also allows him to continue negotiating. And that is the trap.