Shallow Pockets Brimming with a Change in Perception

 

The sun was finally shining in Macc.

I have been living in the UK for a little over a month now. Forty-four days, to be exact. And I have finally reached the point where I no longer feel like I'm simply on vacation. The idealized, honeymoon period I have been living in abruptly left me this past weekend and this whole experience became very, very real. I'm not sure if it was the reciept of my first paycheck [and thus financial stability- because man has that been lacking] or my first consecutive weeks without hopping on a plane/train or a bit of a reality check in regards to the working world or simply a sufficient amount of time passing... but something hit hard and with a vengance.

Thanks to the suggestion of one of my dad's closest friends, Kate, I went ahead and bought a [way overpriced] journal to keep record of not only the events of these six months but also the very personal growth and changes that occur within me during this adventure.

 

I already feel like I have learned more life lessons in these past forty-odd days than my entire last four years of school.  Not that I'm knocking my education- it's been extraordinary from a book-based perspective.  In fact, I wish I had been a bit of a better student in those less interesting, introductory courses. They're actually incredibly relevant.  No, what I mean is... I think the best lessons are taught through personal experience, especially with people. Those are the lessons we should address in school- office politics, people handling and when to listen to inhibitions.  Courses like that would be invaluable.

But this experience in and of itself will prove to be invaluable, I think.  Instead of focusing on seeing Europe [and I still will, just to a smaller extent] I think my focus will shift inwardly. I have ample time here- something I was always short of at Tech. I've always wanted to become a more adventurous cook. To learn another language. To actually keep up with a journal.  There are so many books I want to read. So much to learn about the Peace Corps and the time it takes to get through that application process. So many scholarships to look for. Other internships to apply for. There is plenty, plenty to do. There are vices to address and redeeming points to enhance... This is a transitional time- or at least it can be if I allow it to be. I was a bit stir-crazy in Atlanta.  I see now that it had nothing to do with my location, but more to do with a restriction within myself. A lack of internal exploratin.

So that has become my new purpose for this trip- get to know myself more wholly and allow for the necessary changes.

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.” -James Allen

I wish never to be bound. Well...at the very least, I wish never to be the cause of my limitations.