final thoughts...

After writing and re-reading my last blog, I felt the need to add some of the lasting impressions Thailand has blessed me with. I may feel a slight disconnect from my trip and my experiences out there, but there are a few sentiments I have brought home with me and I want to share them with you... and I think it will help to bring a sense of closure to the journey that I made.

THAILAND. I had envisioned an exotic and exciting adventure, one that would challenge me to escape the box that I had molded myself to fit after crawling into it a couple years ago. My life had become one rigid routine, and I was convinced that living according to this fixed schedule would bring a sense of order and control to my "chaotic" and stressful life - something that gives my mind a feeling of comfort. I learned, however, that though my life might have been more manageable and productive, I had lost a sense of who I really was. I started to live my life on auto-pilot, void of pure emotion and passion for things that had once brought such joy to my life. I didn't realize how far I had drifted away from my true identity, until I arrived in Thailand. Removing myself from the daily "To Do Lists" and endless planning for the future allowed me to regain the perspective that I had lost sight of. I was surrounded by gracious and selfless people, eager to serve and share with us their cultural and national pride, and it touched a part of my heart that I had neglected since I left Africa 2 years ago. This trip gave me so much more in return than I could have ever paid for in Baht, and for that I am grateful. I have a renewed spirit and am now in a place where I feel confident in myself to accomplish that which I am destined for. I know that traveling will forever be a part of my life, as I grow and learn and gain appreciation for the diversity of the world that we live in. So many places to see and people to meet and wounds to heal, whatever and wherever that may be! I hope that one day I will return to Thailand, and to the surrounding southeast Asian countries, as I really have fallen in love with the culture and the people (and the food!). Until that day though, I will carry with me the fondest memories of a enchanting, far-away land....