Reflections

I’m getting ready to leave Korea so I’ve been thinking a little bit about my time here, how it has changed me and what my goals are for the next part of my life. Before I came here I had three goals for myself:

1.) Pay off some debt. I don’t feel that I have done that well in this area. I’ve paid off about $7,000 in credit card debt, while making my regular payments on my student loans and storage unit. I also paid off a small medical bill that was in collections from when I was 18. I didn’t realize how much I would want to travel and that my actual income would be worth so little in dollars. I know if I just spent one more year here I could make a big dent in my student loans, but I don’t think it would be worth it.

I’m glad to be out from under the credit card debt and I can always get a forbearance on my student loans if I need to.

2.) Teach! My goal was to simply see if I would enjoy teaching, and I do! Now I know I can go back to school to get a Master’s in Education without feeling unsure about spending the money.

3.) Be more creative. I’m not sure if I’ve really accomplished this goal. I guess writing could be considered creative… I don’t know if dancing in the club to bad Korean pop music counts but I’ve done a lot of that. I still want to continue working on this!

Living and working in Korea has taught me so much about myself and, as cliché as it sounds, life really. I’m now so far away from my childhood and adolescent situation, I am really a completely different person. Inside I will always have those memories, but now I know I can change and be different and become whoever I want to be. I’ve achieved so many goals, it seems like yesterday I was making the goal to attended high school at least 70% of the time (I skipped A LOT). Living here was so frustrating at times that it really brought out the silly side of me. In some situations I could scream, cry or laugh and I discovered laughing is by far the best choice!

The friends I’ve made here have had a big impact on me. I’ve never really had friends that were so adventurous, fun and smart before. We all did some stupid things, had embarrassing moments and because we’re all in the same boat we helped each other through it, or just laughed about it. I think I take life a little less seriously now because of them and it feels great. I love them and I will miss them!!

My goals for the future:

1.) Find my passion. I really want to find some way of helping to change the world for the better. There are so many things I care about, but I’ve just never found that one issue that was my cause. I want to find it!

2.) Further my education. Working sucks, I want to stay in school forever.

3.) See more of the world. South America, here I come!