Living abroad, I guess among the biggest thing you 'lose/find' is your sense of self. I am a much, much different person in the grey city skylines of London, than the person I am in the neon city lights of Kuala Lumpur. Here's the absolute truth: in more ways than one, I was living in a completely independent bubble in England. I was on my own time, my own schedule, in my own house and kitchen, doing my own activities, managing my own money and above all, catering to my own company. Spending extended hours with your own mind, far away from the culture and people you've grown up with, changes you immensely. By far, the most profound gain of studying in a faraway land wasn't so much as the quality of education or flourishing in the culture, but in finding another side to yourself you would never have formed if you hadn't gone away.
You are changed. Without doubt, you have now seen things and lived through occasions that not a lot of people in your home life understand. It both surprised and bewildered me how upon my return everything is still almost the slightly the same; the wonderful hangouts at neo hipster cafes together with its fantastically halal food, my amazing friends who've done so much in their lives while I've been away, the physical objects at home, the glorious evening sunsets, and, oh my - the late night freedom of driving on highways. And within all this, something in me was definitely different. I'd left this beautiful bubble of my life in Malaysia, created another bubble in UK, and I am forever altered by this other element. What is generally believed to be "Superfun Amazing Life in London With Lots of Friends and Travelling", in bright flashbulbs and sparks, is mostly, truthfully, "Coming Home to Empty Apartment, Cooking for Myself, Watching Movies on my Laptop, Cleaning, and Occasionally Travelling around Europe", in solid, steel lettering.
I've found skills I never thought I had, endured and preserved through events I've never thought I'd encountered, found myself in corners of Europe I'd never even heard of. And this is it. This is the life I'd wanted. This one of learning, discovering, exploring, experiencing. Negative and positive.
You are changed. Without doubt, you have now seen things and lived through occasions that not a lot of people in your home life understand. It both surprised and bewildered me how upon my return everything is still almost the slightly the same; the wonderful hangouts at neo hipster cafes together with its fantastically halal food, my amazing friends who've done so much in their lives while I've been away, the physical objects at home, the glorious evening sunsets, and, oh my - the late night freedom of driving on highways. And within all this, something in me was definitely different. I'd left this beautiful bubble of my life in Malaysia, created another bubble in UK, and I am forever altered by this other element. What is generally believed to be "Superfun Amazing Life in London With Lots of Friends and Travelling", in bright flashbulbs and sparks, is mostly, truthfully, "Coming Home to Empty Apartment, Cooking for Myself, Watching Movies on my Laptop, Cleaning, and Occasionally Travelling around Europe", in solid, steel lettering.
I've found skills I never thought I had, endured and preserved through events I've never thought I'd encountered, found myself in corners of Europe I'd never even heard of. And this is it. This is the life I'd wanted. This one of learning, discovering, exploring, experiencing. Negative and positive.
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