Ytterjärna, Sweden. What is life like as a young person in today’s world? We asked around. Answers from Madison Shulkin from the US, currently a participant of the Youth Initiative Program in Ytterjärna, Sweden.
What do you worry about?
Loneliness. The loneliness of native forests as their rights are stripped, the hollow pulse of a people driven by money and success. I hear the lonely call of the remaining songbirds near fields of corn and grains, the lonely call of our lands and waters. The earth tenders working with little support, our earth fighters giving every vocal chord. Lonely college students, school teachers, tech bros, and frat brothers. The loneliness of our elderly, of our differently abled. The loneliness of the young children at the borders, at breakfast, at school, in war. The loneliness I feel as I walk into a store and watch people existing without any association with each other, all running on their own endless hamster wheels of success and capital.
What does “home” mean to you?
Home is a feeling, not a place, yet I have had many places that I called home. Home is the feeling when you wake up and smell the air you breathe, feel the water you bathe in, taste the coffee as it trickles down your throat. Home is a picture of peace, home is a picture of love and strength, and home is a place of ”You” and a place of “We.”
Do you have a connection to spirituality? If so, what does that look like?
My spirit sings to me in the silence, in a fast-moving car, at a train station, when I play my violin, when I look into their eyes, when I shoulder their cries. I feel the spirit in you and in my reflection. I find it in solitude and in a large community. It is not something I seek; it is something I uncover and recognize within the deepest essence of my being.
Translation Paula Boslau
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