When Kyle decided to join the army I knew that I couldn’t just stay idle. I needed to do something for myself. I needed to follow my own dreams. I never quite understood why he was taking such a risk especially during a time of war until he asked me one night: “Isn’t there something out there that you have ALWAYS wanted to do?” There was no doubt in my mind that the answer to that question was a resounding yes and I finally understood the yearning in his heart to go and do something he has been dreaming about since he was a little boy.
I have always wanted to live in another country. I love America and all, but I want to see the world. I want to learn about other cultures and I want experience what other people experience. I never got a chance to take a semester abroad because I was busy fulfilling another dream (playing college softball for the University of Michigan). I’ve only been to Europe once and I was 13, in eighth grade, and definitely didn’t fully appreciate the historical value of a place that has park benches older than our country.
My whole life I have depended on others. No matter what stage of my life I went through I always had someone in my life to lean on. I wouldn’t have survived college if I didn’t have the best friends in the world. I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t have such a supportive family. And I definitely wouldn’t be who I am today if I didn’t have Kyle there for me these past two years. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful life surrounded by the most amazing people. According to Kyle, I’ve lived in this sheltered bubble my whole life, which I’m of course not complaining about. I like to think that people are inherrently good and that life is made out of rainbows and sunshine. But I want to see what else is out there. I want to witness some adversity. I want to be on my own and discover that I can depend on myself and not just on others.
Which is where Thailand comes into the picture. I quit my job and I’m moving to Thailand for at least six months, maybe longer. I don’t know anyone and I barely even know where I’m going, but I’m going to make it and its going to be my own.
And now this is my new life…my new self….from here on…