How do you say goodbye to a place? Especially a place as unique as New York. It’s simple, really. Just hop on a plane and leave. Don’t think about the smell of breakfast in your house when you first wake up, or the sounds of your friends’ laughter. But of course it isn’t the physical place that makes you miss it so much; it’s the people you shared the memories with and that you have to leave behind.
Sitting in the JFK airport, I still can’t believe that I’m beginning my gap year. It didn’t hit me when I was packing my luggage, or when I was saying goodbye to my friends and family. I know what I’m supposed to be feeling; I should be excited for the upcoming adventures and scared to be in a foreign country all by myself. Yet, as I sit and write, trying to decipher my feelings, all I can find is a mild trepidation for the quickly approaching monsoon season that will be hitting Taiwan.
But maybe it will hit me when I arrive in the Taipei airport and remember I don’t speak Mandarin, or when I’m out with friends and want to pass out in my bed but realize that it’s halfway across the world. However, it’s more likely that it won’t hit me at all, not until I’ve met a lot of new people, seen beautiful landscapes, and eaten a ton of food. I won’t realize how far I’ve come until my heart beats in sync with this new way of living.
I am going into this with no expectations, but in this time I hope to experience places in all of their complex layers of history, people, and culture; I want to unlearn everything I’ve been taught and simply immerse myself in everywhere I am. I’m not scared of losing all motivation of going to college once this year ends. I want this year to give my life more meaning to derive inspiration from and to drive me to seek greater possibilities with deeper understanding.
All of this lies just beyond all of the horizons I’ve known thus far. And I’m ready to chase the sun, wherever it may lead me.