MYVG-STORY

In late August, 2017, I was road tripping through Sweden with a good friend of mine A few weeks earlier, I had received a reply from Uppsala University in response to my application to the Master's programme in Peace and Conflict studies. I was not accepted, but had been put on the waiting list. I had only signed up for this one programme, and at the ninth place in the reserve line, I had given up on getting accepted this semester. I decided instead to make the most out of the last weeks of summer before facing the harsh reality of unemployment.

So here we were, at the zoo in Orsa, Dalarna. We had been on the road for a few days and planned to be out for at least a week longer That's when my phone rang There had been no-shows and early drop-outs, and now they wanted to offer me a spot on the Master's programme “Can you be here in three days?” What a question – “No problem, I'll be there!” I said as my friend Oskar sped our old Volvo 850 out of the zoo parking lot. I had never been to Uppsala, I had no relatives nor anyone in my near vicinity that had ever studied at any university. To say I was unprepared, as I showed up in Uppsala three days later with a roller bag, no literature, no contacts nor place to stay, is an understatement. I stayed in a hostel for the first week, which I spent desperately trying to find a more long-term solution to my small housing issue and getting to know my new classmates

I quickly learned that most of them were internationals and had joined Snerikes (whatever that meant) After a more experienced classmate briefly explained the nations to me, I decided I should join VG I am, after all, a sucker for civil society organizations, and I did grow up in Gråbo. One could almost believe I wasn't literate, as I completely ignored the big banner and the signs that pointed towards the Inskrivning. Instead, I walked into First Curator Elin's office and asked to become a member. I also asked a question that I would consider one of the top three most decisive things I've uttered: “Is there anything I can do to get involved here?”

I've been active at the nation for five years now, and held some form of office or position the entire time I'm currently one month in on a five year mandate on the board of Stiftelsen, so one could say I'm only half way at the most in my nation career! Had you asked me in July 2017 what I thought I would be doing in the next decade, I'm absolutely confident I would not describe a future that included bartending, formal dinners, renovations, choirs, funerals, anniversaries, flags, lederhosen, or luke-warm Tuborg. I don't think I could ever have learned and experienced so many things in even double the time elsewhere (and I exclude my actual studies in that statement).

I guess that is both the beauty and the fright of the future. The potential is endless, but sometimes it comes down to events that send you off on a trajectory that you could not have anticipated or planned for It is calming to know however that the future is the most generous towards those who embrace opportunities, say “yes” without knowing what it means, and run with it

Anton Stjernmira Ruus