This picture is my favorite. OG for lyfe |
Honestly, I never thought this day would come. In August it seemed so far away, as if I had a lifetime between leaving and coming back. And in a way, I did. It may have only been four and a half months but the things I did span experiences that altered my point of view and will stay with me forever. Another post on some of my favorite memories to come.
Great moments coming from altered plans |
Meeting people from Australia to Guatemala and everywhere in between opened my eyes to the sheer number of people and cultures that we are part of. An individual is nothing special. As awful as that may sound, I think it's the truth. You can do nothing by yourself. Independence is really great and being able to do things by yourself makes you stronger, but in the end I don't think that you can live a wholesome life alone. We're all drops and together we all form one larger community that evolves and helps the members become more self-actualized.
Maslow said that to become a self-actualized person we must first fulfill basic needs like food and housing but I disagree. In order to know how we want to fulfill our basic needs or whether we want them fulfilled at all, we must first know ourselves. Living abroad helped me gain a deeper understanding of who I am underneath the Bean Boots and leggings and a deeper confusion of what I want to do. Is the path I'm on really the right one? Am I doing things right? Is my behavior in line with my goals? But in the end, I just need to trust that everything will work out eventually.
After four months, I'm ready to go back to the land of drive thrus and Thursday Night Football. Where I can not feel like a jerk for speaking English and where I have a schedule for every day of the week. I am extremely fortunate to live the life I have for the past few months and will always be grateful for the people I've met and things I've experienced. I never thought that southern Sweden would be home, but Lund will always have a special place in my heart.
While I am ready to go, I don't want to leave the person I am here behind. We become different people when we move and must trust that the best versions of ourselves are still to come. Every experience alters us in a new way and the best ones we take with us forever. With that being said, I can only trust that I bring the good aspects of my character in Lund back with me to Denver and not pack the bad ones in my suitcase.
So Lund and Sweden, this isn't a goodbye but a "see you soon." I'll be back. I'll be a different person when I return but I'll come back for your fresh sil, fika, schnapps, lake skating, and some 3pm sunsets.
Vi ses snart,
Em
*Hej då på svenska means goodbye. A little play on words because who doesn't enjoy a good pun?
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