As far as overseas schools go, this one had the best school spirit without a doubt. Sometimes I find myself missing my old school. Taking photos at all of the games, getting to personally know a lot of the teams, getting to hear the loud cheers as we scored a goal, made a touchdown, or sunk a basket. For people who weren't often there more than a few years, Seoul had the best school spirit.
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Sometimes I get really homesick for the last house we owned in Oregon.
Sometimes I get homesick for the 4 acres of Christmas trees. Sometimes I get homesick for the openness of our old home and the personalization that had gone into it to make it warm and inviting. Sometimes I get homesick for the gorgeous view of rolling mountains. Sometimes I get homesick for the way our 5 acres looked when blanketed in snow. Sometimes I get homesick for the wide open space we had; where I learned to drive. Sometimes I get homesick for the "country" feel to the property. Sometimes I get homesick for a homebase. So this one time, my truck battery died and it took two trucks to jump start my truck...
Needless to say, I've never let my battery get that low again. This place was a country of growth and a country of decay.
This place was where I found my first love; where I felt my first real heartbreak (a few actually); where I gained my independence; where I discovered my limit; where I picked up a handful of good habits, and a few bad ones too; where I learned how to deal with people who are by nature "bad". It's a place that I loved but am thankful that I left. While it held quite a few of my best memories, it also holds most of my worst memories as well. It was a place where some parts of me grew and some parts of me decayed. It was a place of my past. Books have always been an escape for me. When I'm tired or sad or angry or lonely I grab a good book and read until I fall asleep. When I'm happy or love-y or cheerful I grab a good book and read until I fall asleep. Books are a constant in my life; they're a whole different world that I can get myself lost in. They open the mind and have the potential to change a person. They have so much potential and I miss having the time to read without neglecting something else. Take me back to when I was a kid and could read the week away.
Coffee shops are so cliche. It doesn't matter what country you're in, if you walk into a coffee shop you're bound to find the same type of people: a student chugging coffee and studying furiously, a couple shyly talking unsure what to do on a first date, a businessman typing away on his keyboard and sipping at his coffee. Korea has the best coffee shops I've been to though. They have coffee shops that rise multiple floors (this one had three plus the roof) and are filled with all kinds of people. Coffee shops that are movie-like in that you can sit there and waste the whole day away. Whether you're studying, or writing a story, or drawing, or sipping coffee and smoking a cigar on the roof; no matter what you do you feel at peace and almost as though time itself were suspended. Coffee shops in Korea are one of my favorite places to be.
Once upon a time I had a best friend...a best friend who became more than a best friend...a best friend who became a lost friend.
Once upon a time I had a crush, a crush that developed into a relationship, a relationship that potentially had love. A relationship where we watched cartoons together on Sundays and went on dinner dates just because. A relationship where he brought me flowers just to see me smile. A relationship where trust was broken and optimism began to outweigh reality. A relationship where everyone involved was confused. A relationship that ended a great friendship. A relationship that I look back on and smile...but sadly. A relationship that I don't miss but that I acknowledge as important. Traveling has been in my bones since I was one. I've spent literally half my life overseas in various countries (Germany, Korea, Japan, China) and I've loved every minute of it. There's something about traveling regularly that changes a person. It's not just the familiarity of airports, or being used to playing charades to try to have a conversation; it's the different cultures that open your mind to things you never even thought about, it's the human behaviors that (no matter where you are) stay the same, it's the adventure of finding your way when you aren't automatically at an advantage. Traveling is something I want to do for the rest of my life...but until then I'll just browse the travel section of Powell's Bookstore.
There's a beach in Oregon that I've been going to since I was little. I started climbing the sand dunes when I was in third grade and haven't stopped; just found more difficult paths. So many good memories have been made here; splashing in the ocean with my family, celebrating my birthday with a sandy picnic on the beach, splitting a tiramisu with beer soaked lady-fingers with my dad, making new friends as we climb treacherous paths. It's a place I've been wanting to take him but hadn't gotten the chance to yet.
I've always wanted to do a follow me photo, and of course with us it's a little switched from the stereotypical version. This is our first, adventuring through the dunes of Cape Kiawanda, hand in hand, enjoying the gorgeous coast. Since it actually came out looking decent, there will most likely be more. Maybe one in Boston while we stroll through the city, or Mt. Hood as we spend the day shredding the mountain, or a big party with all our friends and family and rings to replace our promise rings. Who loves Jenga? Well Jenga is even better when you play with engineers who have created a life-size Jenga game. When stacked regularly the Jenga pile was nearly as tall as me (a little over 5'). If that's not intense, I don't know what is.
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way back when...
October 2017
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