Hello dear compadres!
Happy New Year! Currently writing from my living room in St. Louis, and it's incredibly weird to me that I was in Korea a week and a half ago, and I will be back in Korea in 3 days. A ton of travel! Twenty-something hours on planes each way, and I have to work as soon as I get back. I hope the kids are feeling merciful. It's been an incredible trip home. I got to see my cousins Liz and Catherine in Los Angeles on a long layover, as well as my old friend Joel Schmidt who I haven't seen in at least three or four years. That was a great start. Then, I got back to St. Louis to see my family, went to Chicago for a few days to see my Beazley family, Brad and Kim Zandstra, and countless other friends. Now, all of my friends are in St. Louis for Alex's wedding, and it's been a few amazing days of catching up. I am loving home, but in a way, I'm also excited to get back to Korea after the beautiful wedding celebration tomorrow. As the year has wrapped up, I wanted to take some time to reflect and look forward.
2014 started much like this year has. I got to see some great friends on New Years, including my dear Laura Welp, and it was a blast. Last year, I couldn't wait to get back to Loyola to finish up my last semester and enjoy the final stanza with my friends. The year was one of lots of ups and downs. The spring was truly one of the best of my life, and I felt like I grew and learned a lot about myself and what I want out of myself, others, and life in general. I had a pretty concrete plan for life after college. I was pretty confident I would get hired for a job in Rome; I was relatively ready to try to make a long-distance relationship work; I was way overly confident in just about everything I imagined would happen to the point of naivety.
To make a long story short, in a matter of a week, I didn't get the job and had a break up. I hit a low in the next few weeks after that, and I kind of felt like the floor was pulled out from under me in one of the most important transition periods of my life. I remember saying to Alex that I felt like my foundation for the future was pulled and that I felt lost.
At the beginning of June, Mikey and I left for a month-long trip to Europe, and the day before I left, I found out I would be taking a job in South Korea beginning in the fall. As I rushed to get my documents in order for Korea, I hopped on a plane with Mikey, and suddenly my life had the pace and direction back that I needed. The good times I had with Mikey brought me back up, and the fear and anticipation of Korea made me both ecstatic and completely crazy at the same time. I had no idea what to expect, and I was proud of myself for taking the leap into the unknown.
The first semester of Korea has been filled with ups and downs also, but overall, it's been really incredible. The island is gorgeous. I've made great friends. The job is good (besides when the boys drive me insane). I've traveled to Seoul, Hong Kong, and U-do Island. I've accomplished all I want to and more. I've missed home like never before, and for the first time, I really feel like I'm a whole world away. I've learned how to be more independent. I've learned how to move on and move forward at the same time instead of dwelling in my defeats. I've truly felt the importance of family and friends in a sense much deeper than I've ever known before.
I return to Korea hopeful. I decide in the next few weeks if I go back for another year, and I've decided I'd like to if the school will give me the opportunity. My last few days in the States will be well spent, witnessing the marriage of the two people who are more in love than anyone else I've ever seen, two of my best friends. I'm truly honored to stand next to Alex as her marries the love of his life, and I'd have traveled home three times for it if I had to.
2014, there were days I thought you would stand as a reminder of defeat. You taught me that control of my life lies with no one but me, and turned out to be one of the best years yet. 2015, you've got a lot to live up to.
Finally, my New Years resolutions, because if you put them in writing on the Internet, you have to fulfill them:
1. Lose 40 pounds by the beginning of school next year.
2. Do more nice things for people for no reason.
3. Maintain the relationships that matter, no matter where I am in the world.
4. Prioritize what's important, and treat it as such.
5. Uphold my own ideals. Love, forgive, and listen to others.
Thanks for being the best, folks. Happy New Year.
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