On coming home

I still can’t believe I actually got to visit Southeast Asia—it’s been my dream for a long time. I’m even more astonished at how different I feel now that I’m home. In some ways, it’s been difficult. It’s not easy to return to your normal routine after almost a month of exploring and learning and moving! I keep myself busy, but few experiences are new. This is partially a complaint, but mostly, I’m grateful that this trip sparked such a craving for new experiences. I used to hide behind the safety of the known, but now I feel brave and capable enough to let myself live.

Traveling, especially somewhere so far and different from home, means pushing boundaries and trying new things. I’ve done so many strange and wonderful things that I couldn’t—and wouldn’t—have done in the US, and with relative success. As a result, my self-efficacy skyrocketed, which greatly impacts my life at home. I now understand that I can handle most tasks and situations—and more importantly, if I do make a mistake, it probably won’t end my reputation, career, or life. I feel pretty confident that if I want to do something, I can do it. It’s the stuff of motivational kid’s shows, but it took a pretty big adventure for the idea to resonate with me.

I find myself saying ‘yes’ to more things, approaching intimidating situations with a sunny outlook, and making fewer to-do lists with time restrictions. These are all gifts from a culture across the world, and I am so grateful.

The lessons I learned can’t be tested, only felt. In the eyes of many, this makes them less relevant, but I disagree. We go to school with a guarantee of learning hard, tangible skills, but are often left on our own to develop soft skills and a sense of personal and cultural awareness—that’s what makes experiences like this one so important.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

-Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad