My big step

Less than four years ago I quit my job in a prestigious institution , packed my suitcases and migrated to another country.

Gaining the opportunity to travel to this country was such a privilege that I didn't think twice about quitting my job, which by the way, had a few benefits and didn't pay half bad. My father tried to caution me against my decision, but there was just no stopping me. For me, there was really nothing to think about. I was being given an all expenses paid opportunity of a lifetime and I was going to take it.

Looking back now, I still believe that I made the right choice. I've written about 6 academic papers in less than four years, traveled all over Asia, learnt a functional level of Japanese, gained a bucket load of life lessons, maintained a stable, loving relationship for a few years, gained a lot of confidence and self reliance, made friends from all over the globe, among other equally important things.

 In the beginning, I only thought about the degree and the traveling that I would get to do. Then came the homesickness. Bouts of nostalgia knock me down every year but I always bounce back to the present. In addition, a lot of things didn't go according to plan and I found myself struggling like never before to simply face the day sometimes, but it has all been worth it. If I die today, I would go knowing that I truly lived. However, it's not my time to die yet, because after getting a taste of what life really has to offer, I want to see more and I have realized that it's all possible. So I am looking forward to the next journey already, even though this one hasn't really ended yet.

(Photographs are not the property of this blogger.)

That Flickering Bulb

So, I've been away for a while. I got really busy, mentally :) with things of a less interesting nature than blogging.

I just realized that after three and a half years the light sensor in the kitchen at school finally got fixed. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the kitchen and the light that usually just blinks rapidly, came on and brightened the room to brilliance never before seen :). It made me think of my current situation and gave me some hope. If after three and a half years someone remembered that flickering light bulb in the tiny hole of a kitchen, then all is not lost. Mind you, if the bulb had gone out completely, it would have been fixed a long time ago, but because it failed to surrender, it was left to struggle for three and a half years.



Maybe sometimes the struggle can be avoided. Who said life is supposed to be hard or easy? Sometimes we struggle for a long time because we simply will not put up a white flag or ask for help. Many times I get lost using maps but I don't ask for help until I've circled the entire area at least once. For the light bulb, going out would have been easy, however, I would have never noticed it. I would have never learnt a lesson from it being fixed today. It would have never made an impression on me. The same goes for us, I think. If I get lost while trying to find my way, I, inevitably learn about the area. I learn road names, coffee shop names, paths that leads to train stations, paths that lead nowhere, and eventually the path that leads to my preferred destination. All the other stuff that I learnt while I was lost will help me to find the destination again in the future and may help with other things as well. If I simply ask for help immediately, I pass up the opportunity to learn on my own, with my own eyes and feet. The experience weakens when you throw your hands up too quickly.




After a while though, the preferred destination becomes more important than the journey to finding it. At that point, if you are not closer to finding it than before, you should definitely seek help.  At a certain point, the light bulb will actually need to work to be of use. Three and a half years is a long time, but the good thing is now it's fixed which brings other things to my attention that were unknown to me before. I now get to appreciate the details of the kitchen that I couldn't see before.










Source of pictures: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=flickering+lightbulb&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=DDD6143695A9FEEB93FA1191F8283CB24EAC1FF4&selectedIndex=8

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=getting+lost&FORM=HDRSC2#a