This past week, we were challenged to create and share our vision of our Global Citizen Year. My vision of my future self is as follows:
By April, I will have a new place to call home. I will have added six new members to my family and I will have become another sister and daughter. I will have another support system to turn to… new friends to rejoice with and new friends to cry with. I will have made meaningful, life-long connections.
By April, I will have learned a new language. I will be able to speak confidently without relying on my dictionary. I will have also taught my home language to many people of all ages.
By April, I will have farmed and learned skills that will last a lifetime. I will have worked hard to plant and harvest crops. I will have been an active member of my new family and new community.
By April, I will have traveled to places that cannot be found on a map. I will have climbed a volcano, traveled in the rainforest, and swam in the Pacific Ocean.
By April, I will have tried foods that do not exist back home. I will no longer classify myself as a “picky eater” but rather a grateful one. I will have eaten enough potatoes and rice to feed an army. I will have tried cuy (guinea pig). By April, I will no longer have to question the water I drink, but will have purified aplenty.
By April, my now-blank journals will be filled with stories, worries, and thoughts. I will have tons of pictures and film to share so that by April I will be able to put together a “snapshot” of my year.
By April, I will have let go of the “old me” and become a “new me.” I will have grown in ways that I cannot even imagine now. I will know how to say “YES” and not worry about the “what-ifs.” I will know what it means to be challenged. By April, I will know how it feels to hit “rock bottom,” BUT I will have also learned how to overcome that feeling and work my way back up.
By April, I will have found a passion (or two). I will have discovered my purpose and meaning in the world. I will have meditated. By April, I will be aware of myself and my environment and will know what makes me happy. I will have a new normal. I will be able to look back and say “WOW.” By April, I will no longer be sad about missing loved ones at home, but sad to be leaving loved ones at my new home.
By April, I will have cried, laughed, struggled, questioned, prayed, loved, danced, experienced, thrived, learned, overcame, and endured, but most importantly I will still be me.
