Seasons of Life

All things come in cycles.  Especially the seasons.

First, you have winter.  It's cold and dreary.  You're probably sick at some point even though you got the flu shot and have been eating vitamin C like candy.  Every once and again, you get a good snow day, which a lot of people love - but I hate (hate the snow, love the snow day).  Of course there's the joy of Christmas and all that jazz to brighten this least favorite of the seasons.

Second is spring.  The snow starts to melt and out comes the pollen.  I'm literally allergic to everything, so I'm, once again, sick, but thank God that the sun is out.  You sit outside in your lawn chair (hammock) and soak up all of those rays, probably resulting in a good old sunburn.  It's the best.

Third, we have summer.  Glorious, summer.  No school, no work.  Internships, travel, etc. fill the docket of this wonderful month.  This time around, I'll be headed to the other side of the world to see what they think about this season.  I'll get back to your with those details.

Finally, we have fall, or, as some of you more erudite readers may like to call it, autumn.  The leaves start to change, you pull back out those long sleeve shirts and the like, and there are bonfires. I'm, again, sick because of all the vegetation changes.

What have we learned?

I'm sick literally all the time.

No, what I wanted to provide there was the image that, like the seasons, all things change.  I'll say it again, my life has changed drastically over the past year.  When I started out on this journey though, I had a picture in my head of just what these changes would look like.

Funny thing is, nothing changes in quite the way you think it's going to.  It's so funny how we say, "Oh, I'll do this and then everything will fall into place," or "I'll just make this tiny change, but everything else will remain the same." No. No. No.  Not how it works.  Ever.

In my life, I changed one major thing, and it was like a domino effect.  I have experienced changes in my personality, my desires, my thought-processes, my attitudes, my political affiliations, my ideas about social constructs...literally everything.

A lot of the time, these changes excite me.  Currently though, they overwhelm me.  It's obviously a struggle with contentment, but when everything is changing, can a person be content?

Maybe you've made some changes lately, maybe you are thinking about making some.  Maybe those changes are going your way, maybe they are not.  Either way, it's important to remember that all things come in cycles.

Keep trudging through the snow because, eventually, spring is coming.

Lessons from Korea

The next day in Korea was filled with cultural learning.  We toured a museum, learned to play the drums and do a traditional mask dance, and then we traveled to Korea's very own version of Disneyland.  The park was awesome despite the fact that I was still super sick.  Later that day, while still at the park, it began to snow.  What a crazy Spring Break!

My final day in Korea was spent in closing ceremonies, finishing up some last minute shopping, and going out one last time with some great friends.  This was definitely a trip that I will never forget.

Some things I learned:

1.  Don't be intimidated by people.  We are all human, we all have positive and negative qualities.  Being able to see past those and to love people for who they are is what can set us apart.

2.  Don't exaggerate accomplishments.  You've done something cool?  Great.  It isn't necessary to one-up, just be proud for others.

3.  Embrace new experiences.  Best case scenario: you find something you love.  Worst case: you find something that you don't love, and you're able to definitely say so.

4.  Always, Always, ALWAYS, bring medicine with you during international travel.  Pack a variety.  Sinus, headache, stomach, anything you can find.  Antibiotics are priority, but only if attained legally, of course.

5.  American snacks are also a must.  Don't get me wrong, international cuisine is one of my favorite things, but there is just something about the richness of American food that I was missing.  My peanut butter and crackers worked well, but I would have loved to have packed a few other things.

6.  Jet lag kicks tail.  The past two days, I have literally taken at least two naps.  My time clock is still backwards, and it doesn't seem to be evening out at all.  It doesn't help that I have three tests this week.  Ah, c'est la vie.

Being in Korea, I didn't only learn about Asian culture.  I learned to appreciate and embrace all that we have here in America.  Yes, Asia was incredible, but I'm pretty fond of the good, old USA. 

I had an amazing time, but I'm glad to be back.