The Ring That Changed My Life
A bit over one year ago, my life was going through quite a few rapid changes. As part of that change, I decided to look at rings for the sake of it. I must have looked at every ring for sale in the entire country before deciding on one ring which, to me, was pure art. It was a little expensive, but the thought of having an art piece on me all the time motivated me to get it. However, before buying it, I showed pictures to a few of my friends and coworkers.
Every Monday, I meet my friend, the old man who has taught me the entire Icelandic language single-handedly. We don’t have any way to contact one another, though. When I found this ring, I went to meet him (we meet at my old workplace’s cafe). He didn’t show up for the first and only time ever. So, I went back to the first floor and spoke to my coworkers, showing them pictures of the ring and explaining my thoughts on it. When I decided to leave, there was one other coworker outside on a sun break. I showed her the ring, too, which led to a short conversation ending in her inviting me and another friend to a jazz concert that evening.
Our other friend couldn’t make it, so it was just me and her. We spoke. The jazz concert started. We continued talking. It ended. We were still talking. It was a very nice evening from which a very strong friendship began. We started hanging out quite a lot after work. One day, we went to eat, then got ice cream after. At that ice cream store, I was talking to her about rent costs and said, “I wonder what a space would cost to rent.” The woman sitting next to us at the table then turned and asked, “Are you looking for a place to rent?” I said I was, and lo and behold, she was on a walk to get hot chocolate and clear her mind while she decided what to do with this apartment she had.
I moved in with another good friend, finally leaving behind my crazy five-/six-person, shared-bathroom, shared-kitchen, food-in-my-closet place. Eventually, I asked my friend on a date — the first ever date of my entire life — which went well. But things didn’t work out, she left the job, and we ended contact.
A few months later, we started running into each other here and there downtown. Then, she invited me to meet to discuss opening an art gallery which I had explained to her previously as my dream. That meeting led to the founding of my current art project. I later asked her on another date which did not go very well. But from that point, we became incredibly close friends, and the project took off.
I’ll skip the details, but from there: I bought my current apartment, continued with other projects including opening and setting up an office/studio, and got involved in a mountain of community work. Fast forward to today, and we’ve been living together for three months, fostering a beautiful relationship as well as our business together. However, while I was setting up the office during the worst October snowstorm in Iceland’s history, I looked at my hand to realize my ring was missing.
It was a crazy chain of events which led me here, all starting with a ring. I wanted a ring; that led to me starting a friendship; that led to me finding a new apartment, and giving me space to buy my first home; that led to space to work on all kinds of creative projects; those projects led to building my relationship. My entire life today arose from such a small thing as a ring. The feeling of losing that ring was heartbreaking. But I guess it served its purpose. I have gained something far greater (and far more beautiful), after all.