Two Years of Firsts
A Journal Of Firsts Inspiration
Reading Kristi Keller’s Journal of Firsts post really got me thinking.
We are nearly the same age, probably live on different continents and perhaps have had very different lives (or maybe similar, who knows?!).
The thing that really grabbed me was the idea of being in the moment and recording the moments in your life where you’ve tried something new or done something crazy/stupid/wonderful/amazing for the first time — even if it was boring.
About two years ago I completely changed my life.
I moved country. For love. (I am yet to write in detail about that process— it is coming! But I’ve written a little). It wasn’t the first time I have moved country; I’ve lived on three different continents in my life, but it was the first time in a long time.
Moving even within your own city or town can be challenging.
Moving country has its own special set of challenges. Even though I was moving for love to be with ‘a local’ it requires a great deal of energy to fit in and find your own feet.
Which has resulted in some serious firsts!
My ‘firsts’ list:
- Got my permanent residency permit in Finland
- Joined a band
- Had our first gig
- Built a sauna
- Drove a boat to Stockholm
- Got a teaching job — in my ‘other’ language
- Taught maths for the first time (in Swedish)
- Taught German in Swedish
- Studied to be a tour guide in Swedish
- Started work on a 116-year-old sailing ship (it’s a museum now)
- Had my first trip back ‘home’
- Had my first visits from family
- Had my first poem published
- Had my first collection of poetry published in an anthology
- Wrote my first song (lyrics) with my partner (he did the music)
- Published my first story on Medium
- Did my first NaNoWriMo — a Medium focused experiment
- Did my first poetry collaboration
There are probably lots of other small firsts — like my first day at my ‘new’ job of waitressing (I no longer do that job), my first day of relief teaching in my ‘other’ language — all those ‘first day’ kind of things that I was full of nerves about but did anyway.
The thing with trying things and being brave and putting yourself out there is that it becomes easier to do it the next time you try something new. Even the small things.
Which is why I like the idea of a Journal of Firsts — to mark the small things. The big things are easy to remember. The small things can get lost in the noise of life. So I will be making sure I note the small firsts. And documenting them.
Here’s to the first one!
Lisa is a writer and poet who moved to Finland two years ago. She is inspired by the beautiful natural world she lives in. She also writes satire (it’s a coping mechanism!). If you’d like to keep in touch, it’s not spammy at all.
Some other pieces:
This story is published in The Journal of Firsts, where we’re mindfully tracking life’s progress.