1. Relaxing Doesn’t Mean You’re Doing Nothing

When I started my vacation in Iceland, I needed a break. The stress of applying to colleges was making me nervous, and what was supposed to be a 3 month summer vacation was turning out to be quite the opposite. And my time in Iceland was nothing if not busy. My family travelled with an active travel company called Backroads, so our itinerary was planned by them. I woke up at 7:30 am every morning and exercised every day. Activities ranged from bike rides to hikes to glacier walks.

At the end of each day, I was exhausted, but curiously, I finished my trip feeling relaxed and ready to restart the work that was giving me so much stress beforehand. Being able to simplify my life and live in nature allowed me to have the break I needed, even if I was active the whole time.

2. Life Needs a Balance

During a hike one day, one of the guides asked me, “What are you doing with your life?” At first, I was rather shocked, and certainly speechless. I was a student, was that not enough? The guide, however, was only 27 years old and had already accomplished so much. The question made me ask myself how I might respond in 5, 10, or even 50 years. Yes, I am a student who will go to college and then find a job, but at what point would I be able to truly live my life? Surely, I will continue to receive the best education possible and find a satisfying job, but it is important that I complement this with other experiences. I want to travel the world. I want to explore nature and roam cities. I want to cook and take photos, and find new passions too. In life, I need to find a balance between work and play, long-term objectives and short-term pleasures, because I do not want to go my whole life without finding this balance.

3. A Slower Pace of Life Has its Advantages

Being very caught up in the fast-paced life that I live as a boarding school student, seeing the slower lifestyle of the Icelandic people made me understand the importance of simply slowing down. During the week I spent in Iceland, I could relax and eliminate all of the distractions in my life. Even though it seems difficult and counter-productive to stop the fast pace of our lives and relax, it’s worth it.

4. Money is not Everything

There are many things in life that don’t have a price, but if we continue to only value those that do, we will soon think that value is defined only by cost. I am not saying that we should never indulge, but it is important to realize that experiences do not need to have a high price to be gratifying.