3 Things I Learned This Week
This week I travelled to Tartu, the student town in Estonia. My holidays lined up perfectly with the local student days. This week there are many activities. These activities include but are not limited to a night-time folk dance party, a silent disco and beer yoga. I participated in all three and have learned a thing from each one.
The night-time folk dance party was the same day I arrived in Tartu. The concept is rather simple – everyone dances. There are two podiums on which there are actual folk dancers who show what moves to do with what rhythm. The cool thing about folk dances is that you change partners with every repetition of the dance thus even when turning up without a partner, you could enjoy the event.
Upon arriving at the event I was caught off guard. We were slightly late and thus the dancing had already started. There were about 300 people dancing. It was disturbing that we did not know the choreography and because of it felt left out.
Once the first dance ended I was not convinced that I would care to join the dancefloor. Then a random person waved me over and said come on let's dance. That was the little push I needed at that moment. Having some kind of catalyst can ease the experiences during which we need to overcome ourselves.
The day after folk dancing was the silent disco. I spent the majority of my holidays preparing for this event. Last week I had three tasks per day, DJ'ing was one of them. Even with my training, I was stressed out – mostly because I was unsure if the music that gets people going in France is going to do the same for people in Estonia.
The hour leading up to the event my best friend and I were getting all sorts of doubts about our set. We were hyper-focused on meaningless details like a single transition for a two-and-a-half-hour set. It was great to do this with my best friend since we could just release the stress through each other.
Once we got behind the decks it took a few songs to get going and feel out the crowd but eventually, we got there. We put on a show and I am happy with how it turned out. Furthermore, we got positive feedback about our set – direct compliments and multiple times of people asking for the names of the songs.
It is only after the event that I learned that there were about 400 people at the event. I do not think I would have been as comfortable if I would have known that before getting on stage. The whole experience was such a high. The payout for the fear was huge.
Saturday at 1 P.M it was time for beer yoga. This was challenging because our group of friends had adapted to going to sleep around 5 A.M. and some of us got home at 7 A.M. I digress – beer yoga was in itself not a difficult activity but it required getting there on time. When we got out of the house I realised that I had not dressed up enough for cool weather.
I came to the logical conclusion that I should jog to the yoga activity. When running I realised the resilience of the human body – I had not had a good night's sleep for multiple consecutive days and I had been consuming alcohol almost daily. Yet I was able to run and then do yoga directly after. The human body and mind have no limits in sight is the conclusion of this third event.
So the 3 things I learned this week are:
- It's easier with a catalyst
- Do scary stuff, the payoff is bigger than the fear
- The human body has close to no limits
This Week's Suggestions:
🎬 Is Life Better in the USA or Europe?:
This is an interesting comparison of life in Europe and in the US through personal experience. I really enjoy Nathaniel Drew's filmmaking and storytelling – it is a coherent and pleasant watch. Check it out!
🎶 "Lost and Found Freestyle 2019 Nigo with A$AP Rocky & Tyler, The Creator":
This song was sent to me by my close friend. It is one of the few rap songs in my music rotation. I really enjoy the energy that both Rocky and Tyler bring to this song. Give it a spin!
Thanks for being here today!