The Bridge That Danced Like a Boat

I was really, really tired when I spoke with Fruitloop, but also very happy because my weekend was completely crazy in the best way possible. I had just come back from Austria, and honestly it felt like I was inside one Disney movie mixed with mountains, snow, beer, bridges, and a little bit of panic.

The trip started because of my father’s music group. One person from the group organized everything, so we went with a lot of people together. It was from Thursday morning until Sunday night, and after that I had exams immediately. Very evil timing, please. I thought I only had an economics exam, but surprise — I also had physics, and physics is usually one of my best subjects. The problem was that I completely forgot to study for it because my brain was still somewhere in Austria on a mountain. So the exam was… not amazing. Not catastrophic. But not amazing.

The mountains in Austria were honestly unbelievable. We walked on this enormous bridge between two mountains, and when Fruitloop asked me about it, I tried to explain that it looked completely safe from far away. But when you stepped onto it, the whole thing moved like a boat. I was trying to act brave, but inside my brain was screaming, “Oh my god.” There was snow on top of the mountains, which made everything look magical and terrifying at the same time. Very impressive. Also very scary. Perfect combination.

We ate a lot during the trip too. Like… a lot a lot. My parents also drank Austrian beer because apparently Austrian beer is “really good,” according to my father, who suddenly became a beer philosopher during the vacation. We also visited the castle that inspired Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. The outside looked exactly like the movie, and inside it reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. There were giant chandeliers and huge staircases, and I could completely imagine a princess dramatically running down the stairs into a ballroom while dramatic music played in the background. Fruitloop taught me the English word “chandelier,” which is almost the same as French, so I felt very intelligent for approximately three seconds.

One of my favorite things was the traditional music festival near the mountains and the lake. There was music, people everywhere, and this beautiful scenery that looked fake because it was too pretty to be real. Sometimes Europe is honestly showing off.

When we finished speaking about Austria, Fruitloop suddenly changed the subject and asked me about “playful thinking.” At first I thought she said “painful thinking,” which honestly also exists during exams. But then she explained that playful thinking means solving problems with imagination, spontaneity, curiosity, and creativity instead of being serious all the time.

Fruitloop told me about her son stuffing food into his mouth because she asked him to eat faster, which is technically creative but also maybe dangerous. Then she explained how she turns boring things into games, like timing herself while washing dishes. The whole idea was basically making life less heavy by turning things into little challenges.

That conversation made me realize I already do this all the time.

I confessed something extremely weird to Fruitloop: when I clean my room or study or organize things, I pretend I am filming YouTube videos for imaginary followers. I literally explain everything like, “Hello everyone, today I will show you how to clean your room effectively.” Then I continue talking to invisible subscribers while doing chores. Apparently I have been doing this since I was little because my mother found old videos of me introducing my house like a tiny chaotic influencer. “This is my bedroom, this is my bathroom, welcome to my house.” Honestly, future Sarah might become a famous YouTuber accidentally.

Fruitloop loved this idea so much that she said she wanted to try it herself. I told her, her entire family would probably start doing it in one month. Imagine everybody in the house speaking to invisible followers while washing dishes. Completely normal behavior, obviously.

We also spoke about procrastination, which is unfortunately one of my talents. I explained how I sometimes get so stressed about exams that my brain simply decides, “No problem. Future Sarah will deal with this.” Then Future Sarah becomes stressed too, and the cycle continues forever. Fruitloop admitted she used to do exactly the same thing in school, so at least I felt less alone in my academic chaos.

The funniest part was probably when we started imagining ridiculous situations. Fruitloop asked what I would do if I couldn’t use my hands to write. I immediately said I would use my toes because I already know how to pick things up with my feet sometimes. Apparently this is not considered normal behavior by society, but honestly people are missing out.

We also spoke about scouts and how time limits actually help people become more creative and organized. In scouts we have schedules for everything: tents, meals, sleeping, waking up. Each team has a leader who keeps everybody on time. Without limits, I think everyone would just wander around eating snacks and forgetting reality.

At one point, Fruitloop asked me what playful thinking would be if it were a plant. I chose a cactus, which sounded completely ridiculous at first, but then I became strangely philosophical. I explained that cactuses look strict and scary outside, but inside they are fresh and useful, like aloe juice. Imagination can seem strange or scary to strict people too, but actually it can help you relax and solve problems. Fruitloop looked genuinely impressed, and honestly I was impressed with myself too because I completely improvised that answer.

Then we imagined playful thinking as fashion rules. My answer was easy: no black and white clothes allowed. Only colorful rainbow outfits. Black and white are “too simple,” according to my artistic expertise from school. I told Fruitloop that black and white, was not in the vibe of my fashion code. Very serious fashion business, please.

Near the end of the meeting, Fruitloop asked what I would do if I had a magic wand that could solve problems playfully. At first I said I would delete school completely, which Fruitloop immediately criticized because apparently doctors still need education. Very annoying detail. So then I said I would make myself a genius and also know every language in the world. I think it would be incredible to speak with people everywhere — from New York to tiny villages in India surrounded by elephants and jungle.

Then, obviously, I also decided I would become rich and adopt a lion.

Not a dangerous lion. A vegetarian lion.

That is important.

I promised Fruitloop she could visit my future house and go on safari in my garden with my vegetarian lion best friend. She said I needed to train it first so it would not eat people, which honestly is fair criticism.

By the end of the conversation, my brain felt lighter somehow. I was still tired. I still had exams. I still had too many things to do in May with parades, traditional dances, festivals, and helping my mother sell flammekueche at night. But after talking with Fruitloop, everything felt more manageable.

Maybe that is the real point of playful thinking.

Life is still stressful. Bridges still move like boats. Exams still exist. But sometimes if you imagine yourself talking to invisible YouTube followers while cleaning your room, suddenly the world feels a little less heavy.