The webs we weave

As I packed my suitcases for China, I thought of the countless other suitcases I have packed (and unpacked) over the years. Every suitcase is another story, another opportunity for new experiences and meeting new people. I think about the many people I have met along the way and how their stories have influenced and changed mine.

My first week in China was no exception. I arrived to meet a group of excited and engaging individuals (most of which have only just graduated from college and so have the anxious "get-up and go" mentality we all did when it was time to start our first job). The week was full of events where we got to know each other and started to become familiar with the country we will be calling home.

It is fun to look back at how much I've changed (and grown) since I graduated from college. Even more remarkable is how much I've changed since high school. Now that I'm surrounded by high school students, I am reminded of my own college application process and all the expectations and dreams I had for my life. I remember the hopeful expectation that my life would change, and what those changes would encompass.

I was, like so many high school students, convinced I knew more than most and that everything would go swimmingly. My senior year in high school was just the beginning of what would be an amazing journey (but certainly not an easy one). Senior year was full of ups and downs. I made new friends, I lost old ones. I faced the reality that things would never be same after graduation and had to grow up a bit when adversity afflicted my family. I learned that its the things you don't plan for that end up having some of the biggest influences on your life. I learned that who you are is actually tied into where you grew up and the people who surrounded you then. I learned that saying good-bye doesn't have to be forever and that having a few really good friends is more valuable than having many acquaintances. High school was what it is for so many of us, a blur of emotions and moments that I don't really want to experience again, but am glad happened.


Over 11 years later and 7000 miles away, those lessons are with me still. What started as a naivete, turned into stubbornness and eventually became acceptance. My life certainly did not turn out the way I pictured it back in high school, but I can honestly say I don't regret any of it. I grew from it all and it has all added to who I am today (and if I do say so myself, I think I'm better person than I was back in high school).