This summer has been crazy for me. Lots of "in limbo" time, lots of "just me" time and a lot of adventure. I've decided to do a post about what I have learned since in the past 4 months. It's more for me to just process it all, but I figured someone might be able to get something out of it too so I'm posting it online :) Here begins the list of my lesson and then how I learned it.
1. Flourish when you are given opportunity:
This summer I was given a job at the Community Laison office in the US Embassy in Quito. They coordinate fun activities for all Embassy employees and family and assist them with a transition over seas. Little did I realize how much I would grow with this opportunity. At first I just was sort of doing it to pass the time till September when I leave for Ukraine, but let me tell you, I have learned a TON not only about work related things, but about myself. I have visited many places all over Ecuador due to the opportunities with this job. Never turn down an opportunity. Even if you don't think you'll learn much.
2. It is OKAY to not follow the same path as everyone else:
Taking essentially 2 years off to live in Ecuador and serve a mission in Ukraine is big. I've realized just how big it really is. That is a LOT of time- nearly over 10% of my life so far. Everyone else is continuing with school and getting jobs that will better serve their careers and I'm not. For a while I thought that school/work was what the world expected of me. In the LDS church it is pretty common for young adults to serve a mission, but it is not an expectation for the girls, like it is the guys. So it's kind of rare that someone just drops life for a while and does something else like a mission but I think it's okay. It's better than okay- it's GREAT. I have learned more in 4 months than I think I ever have and I don't know that I would have had I been staying on that school/work path. It is OKAY to not do what the world expects of you.
3. This world is incredibly beautiful:
After having the opportunity to travel to Shanendoah national park and see a 360 panorama view of the Appalacian mountains; after traveling to the Amazon and ziplining over 400 foot gorges; after traveling to the coast of Ecuador and seeing blue footed birds and humpback whales from 20 feet away... I have determined that this world is so incredibly beautiful. For me, there is just no way it was created from an explosion in space or random occurance- it's just too magical. I want to see so much more of it.
4. It is OKAY to make friends even if you are leaving/they are leaving:
I have had quite a few transitions in my life. Moves (mine or theirs) are hard to deal with sometimes. Usually I coped by not getting too close to people if it was right before a move. This summer I got over that. I have met some AMAZING people in DC and here in Quito. It is OKAY to feel sad about transitions, but don't let that stop you from developing friendships that may last a lifetime. Shoutout to Nghia Tong, Kate Jefferson, Rachel Banen, Jeffrey Dahlby, the Richardson family, and the Lusters. There are great people all around the world! :)
This is one of my favorite quotes for now from Whinnie the Pooh: "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." Perfection.
5. Learning a language takes patience, courage, and hard work.
One of my goals for 2013 was to be fluent enough in a language to hold a reasonable conversation. I HAVE DONE IT! Learning Spanish has been stressful, wonderful, rewarding, and tiring. Sundays are the hardest because church is in all spanish and I end up tuning out after a while. But, I can say that I have had many "reasonable" conversations since being here. I'm not as fluent as I would like to be, but I'll have another 4 months after my mission to continue learning. Many people have told me my Spanish is great, many more have said that they are happy that a foreigner would take the time to learn Spanish and talk with them. These are all great lessons for me before I ship of to Ukraine and start a much more difficult language. But I can do it!
The other lessons I have learned are hard to formulate into words, others are personal, and others I still have yet to learn. But for now, I'm so grateful for this "limbo" phase this year and can't wait for the next chapter.
