Five days X thirty people = one vision.

Even for our group of students it was hard to put all this math together, but in the end we managed. All it took was to forget to face it as a math problem, but as a creativity one.

We started the week thinking how to make Texel self-sufficient in 2065 by the eyes of 2016, we thought we were doing quite well, until we proposed what we aimed to do and understood that it was not possible. We could not solve the problems of the future thinking that they would face the same problems of the present. It took some days until we noticed this, but we finally did it.

I learned in Texel a lot about group work and synthesis, and I believe those were very valuable lessons, on how a team can get to an objective if everyone is dedicated to it, even if they are 30 different persons, having different backgrounds and ideas. This is a lesson that goes beyond this bubble week and I think many of us took it back to the mainland. Regarding synthesis, we had to put all this work together, and in two days we could materialize everything, quite impressive. Even more if you consider that we had to change our presentation approach, to transmit our ideas to anyone, independent of background.

But most of all, this week made me remember to aim always further, aim for the unexpected. A friend of mine said once something I never forgot: “If you aim for throwing a stone five meters away you will probably make it, but you will never go further; however, if you aim for one hundred meters you may even never get there, but you will probably make it until 30, 50 or 70”. This week in Texel made me remember to set my objectives further almost at an imaginary level, maybe I will not accomplish them, but in the way there I will get a lot done.

For all these reflections, I would like to thank here all my colleagues and tutors. Texel has taught me a lot, it was a very nice island by our bike lights, I hope to see it by daylight in the future.