it's real! new pursuits in shanghai

'allo, friends!

sorry it's been a minute--i've been a busy girl this month. just kidding! i've been addicted to the show call the midwife. i can't stop watching it! every episode begins with me smiling and ends with me crying. it's a lot like my relationships (whayyy!). there are so many wonderful insights in that show about life and love. i've truly never enjoyed a show more. but then, i'm a girl. i don't think boys would love this one (or admit to it, at least).

but really, i have actually been somewhat busy.

i was accepted to a program to teach english in CHINA!!! it's real, guys!! as of mid-august, i'll be in shanghai starting a whole new life! i'm terribly excited, and feel so unbelievably lucky that i'm able to do this.




 (these images are all on my pinterest)


i can't say i'm not a bit scared, though.

what's more, many of the episodes of my new favorite show call to my attention the role that love plays in our lives. that love is what makes life meaningful. i agree with that, but is that all?

and here i am, running halfway across the world, leaving everyone and everything i know behind. it's only for a year, true, but it raises a lot of questions in my mind. what is really important to me? what do i expect to find there? what is the value in leaving one place, full of those you love and cherish, to be all alone in a new one?

i guess what it comes down to is this: love isn't everything. it is not the end all, be all of life and creating meaning in your life. but it is pervasive, and incredibly important. i know i can leave, travel across the world and back, and my family and friends will be here and still love me when i decide to come back. a year, five years. it's all the same. being surrounded by unconditional love provides me with a security that say, 'hey! it's okay. you go be you, do what you need to do. grow, explore, mature. we'll be here waiting, and love you just the same, if not more, when you get back.' and that is so, so powerful.

and the great thing about real love is that it makes you grow. it does not restrict you; it expands your boundaries. it pushes what you know to be possible.

i can't really say what is so important to me in creating meaning in my life, though. i don't know. exploration, experiences, adventure. i am drawn to them, and only feel alive when i am exploring. amidst the unfamiliar. ridden with curiosity of the novel, i seek out new experiences, and among them, happiness. nothing kills my soul like the mundane, the routine. and that's not to say i won't find routines or mundanity anywhere. but at least in a new city knowing not a soul, i will experience something new every single day, whether i like it or not.

so, i have a lot to look forward to in the coming months!! excited to get started on sorting it all out.

have a great weekend!

Comments

  1. I loved China so much. Enjoy it and make the most of being somewhere so fantastic. Definitely make sure you find time to travel in China too.

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    Replies
    1. That's so great! I'm so excited to go--I want to travel all over while I'm there. Sorry for the late response, and thanks for the comment!

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  2. AnonymousJuly 07, 2014

    China is going to be amazing for BOTH of us... I love what you said about love... it's scary to pick up everything and leave, you know? But it's gonna be a m a z i n g! xo

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