The Journey Continues

"What we do now echoes in eternity." -- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Alas, my journey in Korea is at an end. I leave tomorrow for a 2 week adventure in Australia and New Zealand, and I am really sad to be going. I said the last of the goodbyes to friends today, and it admittedly hurts a lot. I'm really lucky to have had these last few days in Seoul with friends I've made at all different points in my life. Jim and Ben Welp and Bill Richeson, dear friends who are all related in various ways to my friend Laura Welp, came from all over the world for a visit. Sam and Emily Maclean, two really awesome world travelers who I met in Prague are working in Korea now, and we went out for a night and caught up. A good handful of my coworkers were here too. It was the most fitting sendoff I could have possibly imagined, and I enjoyed everyone around me so much.

I finally admitted to myself tonight that it's the end. I took the night off from going out and stayed in to process my thoughts, and I went for a nice walk in Hongdae to get my last taste of Korea. It's been great, but it's over, and an incredible next chapter is ahead.

With that next chapter, The Jeju Chronicles end, and a new blog is born. I started this past year in Jeju by reading Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. It's full of great wisdom and advice, but the quote above really resonated with me. What we do now in this life, in all of these singular little moments, leaves an impression on the world. What you do with your life isn't a waste, and it doesn't go with you to your grave. The people you affect in your life, and the people you meet and change as they change you, all resonate into the cosmos of infinity. Each action has a consequence leading to a subsequent action and consequence. My life since college has lead me to believe so firmly that things happen exactly as they are supposed to, and in the only way that they ever could. I'm not saying that our lives are predetermined for us, just that things tend to have some crazy way of working out, and that our actions truly define us. What we do leads us to who we are, and while that might sound like a bunch of mindless rambling, it's become somewhat of a creed (I miss you, Lucas Dines) for me. I control my own future. I met Emily and Sam in Prague last year, and it really felt full circle when I saw them here in Korea. I felt some weird interconnectedness and purpose to the crazy night of dancing we had. I hadn't seen Jim or Ben in 2 years or so, and here we were in Korea exploring and having a great time. It felt like things had to go exactly as they have. It was too perfect. This whole year and its ending make me feel like I'm going in the right direction with my life.

Thus, I chose this title for my blog. I suppose it's also very fitting that I'm headed to Rome and Marcus Aurelius was a Roman! It's a bit more versatile than The Jeju Chronicles, so it can last to Rome and beyond. Maybe I'll be lucky enough for my words to truly make an impression at some point for someone somewhere, and they shall echo into eternity. One can only hope. As always, thanks for reading, and I'll try to work in an update about Australia and New Zealand when I'm home before I leave to road trip with Mikey. Have a great June, everybody!

-Ryan