Last week at Now Bar my friend asked me, "No regrets?" and without a second of hesitation I replied that I had absolutely zero regrets about coming to Korea. And that is the truth: I've loved just about every minute of being here. It is really difficult to express how I feel about this country and how much admiration I have for the people and culture in Korea. Perhaps it is one of those things you have to experience for yourself but there is something incredibly liberating about cutting all ties, flying around the world, and setting up a whole new life for yourself amidst a foreign culture. And this isn't something you're constantly aware of; most days have become "the norm" and walking down the street doesn't feel any different that it would walking down S. Division or N. Greenview. But there are some moments where I mentally take a giant leap backwards and realize how fantastic of a place this is and how fortunuate I am to be here. I sincerely love Korea now and at this point in my life I cannot imagine being happier anywhere else.
It is funny, right now I can't really think of all that many examples of these types of moments but I just know that every now and again I find myself smiling ear to ear with the knowledge that if I had stayed in Chicago I never would have had "X" experience, I never would have met "Y", and I never would have learned "Z" about myself. Everyday there are more X's, Y's, and Z's. Before when someone said "You can do anything you put your mind to" it would sound like lip service to me, now I actually believe that. I mean, come on, if we can navigate the Seoul Subway map, order food in restaurants without pictures or English, and basically just survive in Korea with a smile on our faces then what can't we do?
I've even learned to embrace the frustrating aspects of life here. The language is hard, but learning it has been a true pleasure. The kids can be brats, but they also make me smile and teach me things I could never learn from anyone other than a 10 year old. I miss my friends and family, but I'm making new friends from all over the world and learning more from them about the world than I ever could from people in Hemlock. There is nothing I cannot handle so if I approach every obstacle with that attitude it allows me to search for the good in bad situations and learn and grow at every hurdle. I've developed a new world view and a had a really profound realization that while the U.S.A. is the greatest country on Earth there is a lot we can learn from other cultures to make it even better.
I think this blog is quite disjointed and all over the map. I must say it is more difficult that I initially imagined to express how I feel in words because my life here has pushed and pulled me in so many directions that giving each their due time in a blog would take years to compile. I guess I will say this: I've learned that life is tragically short and doing anything other than following your dreams is a terrible disservice to yourself. I really mean that, you're cheating yourself if you're not doing everything in your power to make yourself happy. If you're not happy with what you're doing, change. And don't change next year or next month, do it now or you might wake up 50 years from now wondering what might have been. Don't follow the well-beaten path just because it is the one of least resistence or the one that is most highly traveled. Don't be afraid to blaze your own path, even if that means cutting down some trees along the way. Ask yourself what do you have to lose? If you are unhappy then I would say you're not risking a whole hell of a lot if you go out on a limb, quit holding back, and go for it. Don't live your life to satisfy other people's dreams. Your dreams are the only ones that really matter so drop everything else and follow them. Even if those dreams take you to uncoventional places or ends (say, teaching English in Korea?) don't be afraid to take a chance on yourself. Good or bad, you won't regret it. I know I haven't.
Take it easy, but take it.
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