For the first five years, Sigríðar's family lived in Kópavogur and her parents built a house at that time in Hvannholm. My paternal grandmother and grandfather, Sigríður Karlsdóttir, a shopkeeper, and Einar Péturson, a master carpenter, ran Siggubúð (Björk) at Álfhólvegi 44, and Sigríður is very lucky to have many good memories from spending time with them. Maternal grandmother her and her grandfather, Gunnvör Braga, a radio operator, and Björn Einarsson, an engineer, lived a little further away at Meltröð 8, but they visited there regularly. Her parents were both outside workers, her mother Arndís Björnsdóttir was a physical education teacher in Kópavogur and not infrequently she was allowed to float to the gymnasium (or equipment storage) as childcare was scarce and in a different form than today.
"I started school a year earlier than my peers are able-bodied and ready. My father Pétur Einarsson was a lawyer by training and took over the post of aviation director when I was 9 years old, but we moved to the western part of Reykjavík when I was about 5 years old. My parents broke up when I was 10 years old," says Sigríður, who is lucky enough to have seven siblings in the following age order; Þórunn Wolfram (brothers, mother Anna Wolfram), Signý Yrsa, Einar, Arndís (full siblings) and the sisters Sigríður Theodóra & Jóhanna Vigdís (both co-fathers, mother Ragnhildur Hjaltadottir).
Sigríður spent one year at Vesturbærskóli, but went otherwise to Melaskóli, Hagaskóli & MR. The childhood friends were within reach in the neighborhood above Hringbraut, where the school was far away and the home neighborhood was actually a different world than the school environment, where few relationships were formed and bullying took place, according to Sigríðar. She practiced gymnastics at KR for years, ballet with Sigríð Ármann and at the Iceland School of Art, free sports in the summer, but never any ball sports. "I started working at the age of 8 distributing newspapers - I begged my mother to be allowed to deliver newspapers and I got it. All mornings started early in all kinds of weather and nothing stopped me", adds Sigríður and says that it was a profit from her upbringing, as she was financially independent from the beginning.
Childhood
0-10 years old
After high school, which I finish at the age of 19, I go to France for 2 years, one to Perpignan and the other to Grenoble. Both were to prepare for French exams, DELF & DALF, to be able to go to university in France. All my savings went into those two years, along with my parents giving me invaluable financial support. I pass the French exam in question, but later that year in the spring my appendix bursts and life-threatening peritonitis congeals my fate, in a remote location in Sardinia, Italy. So my father picks me up and flies me home to Iceland in the spring of 1996, thus saving my life. I met my husband the summer I come home and we were friends for a few months before Cupid shot an arrow in the heart and shot so hard that we have been together most days since. The dice are rolled.
Lack of work has never bothered me - I am able to find a job and during this period I often work several jobs at once - day work, after work, evening work - as is common when you are getting back on your feet - waitressing, cleaning, hotel work. .. ...everything counts and matters. I have been admitted to the French department at the University of Iceland and am completing a B.A. degree in French with flying colors and tried medicine several times as well as biochemistry/chemistry at the University of Iceland. However, I end up in the Faculty of Business Administration and finish my undergraduate studies from there, and then take an M.Sc. in management and strategy at the Faculty of Business Administration. Then the children arrive and a new season begins.
A young woman
21-30 years old
It became abundantly clear after elementary school that she started school a year before my peers. "When I attended the 3rd grade in MR, I was only 15 years old with 16-year-old teenagers and a few 17-year-old students who had failed and had also passed their driving test - there is a very big gap between 15 and 17 years old ," says Sigríður. Her parents' upbringing was loving but with strong boundaries, Sigríður was allowed to go to intramural proms and was driven and picked up every time. She did newspaper all through elementary school and worked throughout her high school years coaching gymnastics & server jobs. At the age of 16, she went to a summer school in Nice to learn French, which Sigríður says was wonderful nourishment for her interest in the French language and culture.
The formative years were pleasant for her and she made wonderful friends in MR who are part of her network today and for many years to come. She also had a boyfriend for the last two years, but her studies were going well and most of her time outside of school was spent working and saving money. "Looking at my boys today who are 13 and 19, I'm glad there was no social media back then. My sympathies go out to young people because of the endless data stimuli with mixed purposes. It's quite complicated enough to be shaping and developing even if imaginary social mirrors are not added," says Sigríður.
The decade was generally good for her and Sigríður is grateful for my parents' guidance and upbringing. "I was and am well looked after," she adds.
Formative years
11-20 years old
FROM CHILDHOOD
TO THE DAY TODAY
Sigríður finished high school at the age of 19 and then went to France for two years, one to Perpignan and the other to Grenoble. Both were to prepare for French exams, DELF & DALF, to be able to go to university in France. All her savings went into these two years, along with her parents providing her invaluable financial support. "I pass the French exam in question, but later that year in the spring my appendix bursts and life-threatening peritonitis congeals my fate, in a remote place in Sardinia, Italy. So my father picks me up and flies me home to Iceland in the spring of 1996, thus saving my life," she says. Sigríður met her husband the summer she came home and they were friends for a few months before Amor shot arrows in the heart and shot so hard that they have been together most days since. The dice were rolled.
Lack of work has never bothered her, "I'm good at finding a job and during this period I often do many jobs at once - day work, after work, evening work - as is common when getting back on your feet - waitressing, cleaning, hotel work ... ...everything counts and matters," she says. Sigríður is accepted into the French department at the University of Iceland and is completing a B.A. degree in French with flying colors and since her heart called for science, she tried medicine as well as biochemistry/chemistry at the University of Iceland. So it happened that Sigríður ended up in the Faculty of Business Administration and completed his undergraduate studies from there and in direct continuation of his M.Sc. in management and strategy at the Faculty of Business Administration. Then the children arrive and a new season begins.
A young woman
21-30 years old
After high school, which I finish at the age of 19, I go to France for 2 years, one to Perpignan and the other to Grenoble. Both were to prepare for French exams, DELF & DALF, to be able to go to university in France. All my savings went into those two years, along with my parents giving me invaluable financial support. I pass the French exam in question, but later that year in the spring my appendix bursts and life-threatening peritonitis congeals my fate, in a remote location in Sardinia, Italy. So my father picks me up and flies me home to Iceland in the spring of 1996, thus saving my life. I met my husband the summer I come home and we were friends for a few months before Cupid shot an arrow in the heart and shot so hard that we have been together most days since. The dice are rolled.
Lack of work has never bothered me - I am able to find a job and during this period I often work several jobs at once - day work, after work, evening work - as is common when you are getting back on your feet - waitressing, cleaning, hotel work. .. ...everything counts and matters. I have been admitted to the French department at the University of Iceland and am completing a B.A. degree in French with flying colors and tried medicine several times as well as biochemistry/chemistry at the University of Iceland. However, I end up in the Faculty of Business Administration and finish my undergraduate studies from there, and then take an M.Sc. in management and strategy at the Faculty of Business Administration. Then the children arrive and a new season begins.
A young woman
21-30 years old
Sigríðar's husband is Baldur Ingvarsson, a master builder raised in Akureyri. "He is a wonderful boy who loves three things, me, his family and having enough to eat," says Sigríður. They married on July 12, 2003 and after an ordeal with infertility, they have twins with the help of IVF. According to her, the decade between her thirties and her forties is spent having children, working incredibly hard, and the associated circumstances. They have the children Kolbein Sturla & Starkað Snorra (2004), Styrmi Snæ (2010) and Snæfríði Ísold (2014). All the pregnancies were difficult, according to Sigríðar, who says they brought them postpartum depression, which meant that eight out of ten years were spent in illness and reactions to them.
Styrmir Snær and Snæfríður Ísold fit in naturally and were both born at home. It's nice to note that Baldur is a surrogate father, but he welcomed Styrmi Snæ as midwives were not present and the baby was in a hurry. They were healthy before the pregnancies and after the pregnancies ended, but the period of having children proved to be difficult full of doubts. Baldur's parents and sister have passed away, and it is very understandable that harmony and solidarity have characterized the lives of Baldur and Sigrída with their children in first place, most precious of precious stones.
"My husband and I had a wonderful few years in Denmark with the little twins, leaving when they were 6 months old and coming home when they were 2 years old. I completed my M.Sc. in management and strategic planning with an exchange year at CBS – Copenhagen Business School – in Denmark, and Baldur studied engineering studies. Before we left, we sold everything we owned and moved out with the kids and the farm. We didn't necessarily plan to come back - at least finish our studies and see," says Sigríður and adds, "so we came home just before the crash and started the race for the quality of life in Iceland with two empty hands. The crash of 2008 naturally had a big impact on us as a family and we barely survived, sometimes only I was the breadwinner with a fixed income, but as before everything counts as income. Baldur went to Norway several times to look for job opportunities, but fate intervened, because the phone started ringing late in the spring of 2009 and hasn't stopped since."
A year after Styrmir Snær was born in 2010, Sigríður Hrund decides to quit his job and become self-employed. She went to an MBA program in HR and, according to her own words, this mixture of existence was thick and tough. With a small child, 6-year-old twins and a lot of work for both of them, it was possible. The decade was characterized by a lot of work, she says, but adds that since they were in their own business, the flexibility was greater and the office, working hours and home were all encompassing. "Deep down there was a decision to take care of myself, promote & support - after all, the mother is the center and if she is not well, many things go wrong," says Sigríður.
The children
31-40 years old
When Snæfríður Ísold started schooling at the age of 5, the couple separated their office and home where they were able to fix the purchase of a commercial property with the possibility of office space. Sigríður also made the decision to invest in herself after raising children for over a decade. "Social tithing has always characterized my journey, and I have actively participated as a volunteer practically everywhere I have been. In sports activities for children, school activities, the church, youth activities, etc. At the general meeting of the FKA - Women's Association in the Employment - in 2019, I had decided to finally take an active part in the association's work and volunteered for the business committee, but then volunteered for the board at the meeting itself with excellent results. I was the most voted into the board and totally unknown within the company". According to Sigríðar, the candidacy speech was composed at the meeting itself while she was listening to other candidacy speeches and contained three main points that were well delivered.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused Sigríður to resign from the board of FKA at the beginning of 2021, and take care of his family and business. The volunteer jobs were naturally the first to get out of the way and that decision turned out to be difficult, as a large part of her nature is to serve. Prioritization is a model. A little later it became clear that the then chairman of the board of FKA would not run for office again and she was encouraged to run for chairman of the board. After careful consideration, she decided to volunteer for the company. Why? Sure, because if she could do it, a mother of four in a multifaceted business with no experience of appearing in the media or on a public forum, then all women could. "I went for us, for the community."
"The learning was manifold and gratitude fills my heart for this sprint." It was a great challenge and far beyond my being to carry out this unpaid multifaceted serving role on top of all my day jobs & role. In the winter of 2023-24, I sat at the back of the international committee of the FKA and am there called a "Guide" as I don't want any loaded roles, only to serve and help, to lift women up and on relentlessly."
This winter, Sigríður is very happy to serve on the board of the university women's association as a deputy. But another community of women that has taught and shown her the power of women's solidarity is BPW, Business Professional Women, which is an international movement of women in business. "I have found relentless encouragement and support there. BPW women have invited me to sit at the front, meet women who have paved the way, speak at conferences, speak at the United Nations and there is nothing like being surrounded by women's solidarity. Nothing like it. It's like going on the accelerator of life. After all, I believe that the solidarity of women and with women will change and save the world," says Sigríður.
Her heart beats with Ísaksskóli, where all the couple's children have been allowed to go to school. She gives back to that unique community by guiding in Ísaksskóli's Science Workshop, which is a science hobby workshop for 6 to 9-year-old children that Sigríður founded with her boys and has run for 6 years in a row. There is an ideal behind showing social responsibility and allowing it to be reflected in what one does each time. "When I built Vinnupalla ehf., a company that my husband and I founded together and which I ran for seven years, that company constantly spoke into the present by reminding us of equality, diversity, different social values, how attitude is very important in challenges, the power of cooperation and solidarity to name a few. Vinnupallar supported Hugmyndasmídi in its first steps, but it is an innovative project of three women that teaches children about innovation and entrepreneurship (www.facebook.com/hegmyndasmidir). Long live the first time and it is my sincere belief that encouragement and support from the early years is the key to our success as a society," she adds.
It can therefore be said with truth that serving social leadership is a natural and normal part of Sigríði Hrund's existence.
Health always comes first. Sigríður exercises body, spirit and soul and has gone to detox cleanses many times over the past decade and calls it her lifestyle. She keeps herself pure in thought, word and deed as best she can and practices universal exercises that support and strengthen the purpose. These include, among others, walking, swimming, tai chi, qi gong, floating, tone healing, mass wandering, sea swimming, strength exercises with weights. space for love," Sigríður explains, adding that her wealth, her family, is the closest and most precious gem to her heart.
"Love reigns, grace and peace," Sigríður says finally about this structural chapter of his story.
Structure
41 years old - today
Writing down your comments is a very good reflection of the soul and calms you down, says Sigríður, and has a phrase that lives on in stories "if I don't succeed in this decade, I'll just train harder in the next one".
"Life is a journey and we are not meant to live it half-heartedly, in shame, lingering regret or conflict. It is appropriate to regularly lighten the backpack, travel light, healthy and have a good attitude in every respect. Attitude is power and choice is power," says Sigríður, but she just wrote a column about the backpack that you can readhere.
"The only thing I am sure of is that all my days are written and that I only have to live them. Enjoy your precious days with peace in your heart. That's how you get peace in the world," Sigríður concludes.