no place like home

I went back to visit my old home in Stony Brook, NY. Very bittersweet indeed. Here are some of the memories I tried to snatch up. 

It's rough feeling like you've left a piece of your heart in so many different locations. It creates a constant sense of anticipation or perhaps a better way to put it is just a lack of peace. I'm in a transitional phase of life. Its awkward and uncomfortable. It's hard being a homebody who doesn't even seem to have a real home. But I accept it as a challenge and adventure. And an adventure it shall continue to be.

When life gives you lemons, you paint that shit gold
-sharon

wanderlust

Lately I have been struggling with the desire to travel. Being cooped up in a dorm room gets pretty old when there are things like Aurora Borealis and kangaroos to be seen! My wanderlust wouldn't be such a struggle if I wasn't in the middle of getting a degree. And at times I can't help but feel that since I am not out in the world, my current season of life is insignificant. But while reading the book Anonymous by Alicia Britt Nicole, I came across this quote:

"Abundance may make us feel more productive, but perhaps emptiness has greater power to strengthen our souls."

Although getting a college degree is not exactly unproductive, it can definitely leave one feeling weary and worn out at the end of the day. There are moments when it truly leaves me empty. But when I came across that quote I was strengthened.

In America, when we sit down at a fancy restaurant there are usually a few courses leading up to the entree - Salad, bread, appetizer. However... in China, though there are many many courses, the first course is just as satisfying and spectacular in itself as the last course. That is how I've learned to view life. My years of youth are not simply an appetizer to the years ahead of me when I have a real job and family. Where I am at now is just as significant and impactful as where I will be in 10 years. 

We all walk through seasons of life that leave us feeling empty and unimportant. But remember that it is those challenging seasons that shape us for the seasons to come. 

Carry on bravely.
- sharon
 

lovely people: christie part one

Christie, 15, NH

Bookworm - Lover of Chipotle  - Chaser of dreams

Press play. Enjoy. 

"Two roads diverged in a wood. I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference"

There is something spectacular about people who intentionally go against the current and accept the fact that swimming up stream will not always be comfortable and will never be easy. Christie is one of those few. Everything about her tells a story. She is a beauty inside and out... even with a stocking on her head or when she feels the need to bust a move to some dub step in the kitchen "white girl style" :]

Christie teaches me to look beyond who I feel I have to be, and to search for the inner courage to be whoever I want.

For whatever we lose

(like a you or a me)

It's always ourselves

we find at the sea

~e.e. cummings~

Shine on.
-Sharon

PS. Part 2 coming soon.