The Joys of Flying

Well what a better way to start the day off then with a 3:30am wake up to get to the airport by 4:30 for my 6am flight only to find out once you’re checking in at the airport that your flight itinerary has been completely changed and now I do not leave Philadelphia till 12:40. That info would have been much more useful as I was trying to shake off anxious jitters this morning while my body screamed for more sleep.

Such is life.

The jitters are starting to fade and the zombie like insomnia is already starting to set in. Who knows what I’ll feel/look like after this excruciating 28 hour traveling experience.

I do feel bad for the person stuck next to me on this long flight though. I realize I am a fellow passenger’s worst nightmare seeing my large body come ducking down the isle and turned sideways so my shoulders fit. I sense the glares from people already sitting and their silent cheers as I pass by the empty seat next to them. Airplanes are not built for the big or tall and unfortunately I am a combination of the both. I apologize in advance to my seat mate every time I fly, and often they become sympathetic for my long legs after they get battered by the attempt of a recline from the person in front of me or they comment on my large feet after they are run over by the drink cart.

Oh the woes of traveling. But life is good! I’ve taken the first step towards the future and soon I’ll be flying again, both literally and figuratively.

Hope you all are having a great day. Many of you are on my mind and I miss you already.

It’s Time to Collect the Harvest

Who are we but a culmination of all our experiences?

The routes in my life I have chosen to take and the many detours that were forced upon me have led me to where I am today. Highly weathered trails from New Jersey to West Point to Arkansas to Africa and back to New Jersey have left me thirsting for more traveling.

My last semester of college at Rutgers consisted of many countless hours (often during class) of perusing eslcafe.com looking for just the right opportunity to let me spread my wings again. My dreaming mind and searching fingers landed me on the homepage for HESS International based in Taiwan. After a short process of writing, interviewing, and waiting, the e-mail came welcoming me to embark on the opportunity to teach in Taiwan. The celebrating began.

The following months were filled with great moments that I will continue to cherish. The friends I have made during my travels the past years are held dear to me. It always hurts to part ways, but I know the strength of these bonds are the type in which distance does not even begin to affect my friendship with these people.

I put my time in with my wings at bay and slowly found my way to finish college knowing that this day would come. I have been mentally preparing myself for this trip long before I knew it would actually come to fruition. Here it is at hand, 3 days away. So much to see and so much to experience. So much good in this world to delve into and I am ready to soar off into a new chapter of my life.

So cheers to the adventures to be had!

Here is what I say:

Get busy laughing uncontrollably. Get busy smiling. Get busy meeting a complete stranger and learning their story, for we all have one to share. Get busy passionately loving another. Get busy filling your palate with exotic tastes. Get busy drinking your cup down to the bottom and filling it up again. Get busy dancing like a fool, close your eyes and let the music take you. Get busy living this life to the fullest, for we only have one to live my friends and there is just so much good to not take advantage of it!

Our existence is fragile and our time is limited. This life is not promised to anyone.

This world is a place overflowing with opportunities waiting to be experienced by anyone who dares to reap.

It’s time to collect the harvest.