Some lessons learned
Before I left, many people parted some words of wisdom with me that have kept with me very well. Though I appreciated and accepted each word with eagerness and open ears, none have resonated better or have made more sense to me than those shared by my dad: “You will feel the loneliest you’ve ever felt and learn more about yourself and the world than you had ever truly anticipated. But take it with a grain of salt, and live it to its fullest, ‘cuz it’s only going to happen once. Once it’s over you’ll think, wow that went by fast” You know, I’ve held a lot of animosity towards my dad for moving away when I was younger, and more recently for opting to move to the Middle East for a second time. More and more, I’m discovering that in an ironic turn of events he has been one of the individuals in my life that has understood what this process feels like. As a result, I’m discovering a sense of guilt about making him feel blameworthy for all these years. It’s pretty funny wha