On April 14th, 2010, my entire life changed in an instant. One moment I was joyfully riding through the sunshine. The next moment, metal, flesh and bones were spreading against the pavement in a thunderous crash. Another cyclist, biking carelessly, had cut me off and sent me supermanning toward oncoming traffic.
As if to symbolize the accident that had hit my life, another disaster also occurred on April 14th, 2010. It cost the airline industry $1. 7 billion. Ten million travellers were stuck for days. Economics all over the world were disturbed. This was the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, one of Iceland's many volcanoes.
However, volcanoes are not all bad. In fact, they are necessary. They are responsible for the birth of new earth, and for the creation of rich soil. This eruption gave off 0. 15 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere daily. But cancelling 48% of the world's flight travel saved about 2. 8 million tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, temporarily decreasing our carbon footprint.
Similarly, the accident had badly affected my emotion but it also allowed me to look more closely inside myself and discover things about myself I would never have realized. I learned how not to judge myself for my new limitations.
In 1973, another Icelandic volcano, Eldfell, broke out. Icelanders decided to bomb it with cold water until it froze and chose a different path. After their plan worked, they used the geothermal (地热的) energy for the next 15 years to heat their homes. A good example of life bringing lemons, and making lemonade! One must move on from misfortunes, focusing only on the present moment and being hopeful for the future.
I ran from April 14th, 2010, to every kind of escape. Eventually I ended up in university for a new-found love for Earth sciences.
