Thanksgiving Refections from the Road in the USA

 

I left the U.S. on August 1 for a grand adventure.  Many thought I was foolish.  Others thought I was unique.  Some told me that they were a bit jealous.  And, a few saw me as just plain crazy (including myself, at times!).  There have been those who support my journey and those that dismiss it.  However, for me, this trip has been more than seeing amazing things and meeting incredible people—it has been a chance to remember who I am again.

Perhaps, I lost myself a bit in shuffling papers, endless meetings, and making lists of local parking garage rates for my superiors.  Maybe, it was in all of the negativity that I heard from many of my “friends,” particularly on social media, about everything I worked for while in politics.   It could have been some of the uncomfortable moments during which I lost respect for many of those that I should have admired and looked up to.  Or, maybe it was just the days filled to the brim with things to do that were never actually accomplishing much of anything.  While there were moments of me in the midst of this, I feel that they were fleeting and overpowered by everything else that swirled around me.  Life seemed to become one long to do list that I never made much headway on.  

Making the decision to go was not an easy one.  I had what seemed to be a good job.  I had real friends who I was sad to part with.  I lived in a city that I loved.  My family wasn’t too far away.  I had built a good life for myself.  But, it wasn’t enough.  There were too many things that I was not satisfied with.  There were too many days that I felt were wasted.  There was something more than the life I was living.  And, knowing this, how could I stay?  Despite the difficulty in leaving, I knew that something had to change.

Flash forward four months…  Life on the road has been far from life in the U.S.  The longest that I’ve stayed anywhere in the past few months as been seven nights (and that only happened once) and usually it’s just two nights before I’m off to the next place.  Every day is a challenge.  Nothing is easy.  But, life is amazing.  While I don’t experience a life changing moment each day, every day I’m inspired.  Some days by natural wonders.  Other days by ancient ruins.  And, many more, by the kindness and compassion of the people around me.

Rather than traveling to find myself, this journey has enabled me to remember who I am.  I am freckle-faced dreamer who loves adventure and can’t stay in one place for too long.  I love life on the road, not knowing exactly what’s going to happen next.  I love photography and trying to capture just a moment of all that is wonderful (and not so wonderful) in the world.  I love to be surrounded by those who are defying norms and changing the world and doing what I can to be a part of their work.  I love to be “in the field”, side by side with those who are thinking of new ways to challenge poverty and injustice in our world.  I love spending every day with the person I love—from sunrise to sunset, when I’m at my best and when I’m at my worst.  In all of this, I remember what it is to be alive.  To be a part of the human race.  To be fighting for a better world for all of us.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for so many things and also sad that I am not with my family and friends in the U.S. who do mean so much to me.  But, most of all, I’m thankful for this opportunity to travel the world and thankful that it has helped me to remember who I am.

Happy Thanksgiving from Turkey,

Foreign Loren

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