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Your Text: Insert Slimies » Insert UBB Code » Close Last Tag \| All Tags UBB Help	I'll use the fact that you included "others" in your respected persons list as an excuse to post. Here are my thoughts on the subject. When I was a few years younger than yourself, I decided to take a big chance with my life. I was about to graduate from university and wasn't too happy with my options--either go directly into graduate school or attempt to get a job with a major in English and Creative Writing. So I chose a third path: leave the country on little more than a whim and a prayer and see where they took me. In short, I decided to come to Korea to teach English. I had no real plan, and things were very rough at first (you can read [url=http://www.liminality.org/writings/backstory/]the longer version of this story[/url] on my website if you want). Now, ten years and change later, I have a much more stable life here, and I'm glad I took the road I did. I can't imagine how my life would have turned out if I had stayed in the States, but it probably would have been far less exciting (and maybe not as painful). Considering the path I have taken, I'll be the first person to say "follow your dreams!" But I'll also be the first person to say this: finding happiness and contentment in life is [b]not[/b] about following your dreams. You can indeed find happiness by following your dreams, but the former doesn't necessarily follow from the latter. True happiness comes from being able to accept who you are as a person and where you fit into this world. If you can't do that, you will never be content, no matter how many dreams you chase after. When I left the States I had problems. Not big, life-threatening problems like the stuff WS talks about, but things that were preventing me from being happy nonetheless. I wanted to leave everything behind and make a fresh start, so I did. But after the initial excitement of being in a new place subsided, I was faced with a chilling realization: my problems had followed me halfway around the world. It was a moment of utter despair for me, to realize that no matter where I went, my problems would always be there. I've met people in my travels who can't stop hopping from one place to another because if they stay too long in one place their problems catch up with them. So, rather than face their problems, they travel around the world and tell themselves that they're "living their dreams," but all they're really doing is trying to stay one step ahead of their nightmares. When I came to this realization, though, I couldn't just continue on my merry way. I only had a one-way ticket to Korea (and I had to sell my computer to buy even that) and no funds. I was stuck here for the time being. Fortunately, by the time I had enough money to move on I realized that I needed to stop running and face my problems. I realized that if I was going to be happy, I needed to be happy [b]here[/b] and [b]now[/b]. If happiness for you is some distant goal, know that you will never reach it--if you're not happy where you are, you will never be happy. I'm not saying that I've necessarily found true happiness and complete contentment, or that I've reached some lofty place of enlightenment. It's an ongoing process for me, and will probably continue until the day I leave this earth. But it's important to come to this realization, and it's important to remind yourself of it from time to time. So there you have it. Maybe it doesn't apply to you, and maybe I'm just talking out of my butt, but that's my two coppers. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do. Petskull Edit: UBB [small](Edited by [url=http://www.ozoneasylum.com/user/418]Petskull[/url] on 01-24-2007 23:28)[/small] Loading...
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