Come & Go / Reflections
I spent the larger part of the day on the internet, looking through old photos and speaking with friends. Also hand washing clothes, as it’s far too expensive to do anything in the hotel.
My mother has a phrase that she uses to describe life, that goes something as follows:
“Life is like a train, people get on and get off to ride it. Some are there for the whole ride, whereas others are there for only a few stations.”
As I look through the past memories I have had in my 4 exchange programs and in having lived in the 6 countries.. I do realize the punctual truth to this phrase. I have had numerous moments and interactions with people from many different nationalities, socio-economic backgrounds (ranging from the poor in Cambodia to millionaires in Paris), and ways of thinking. Across this entire spectrum, I have forged the undeniable truth into my outlook that every person is a human being, and the true value of one’s worth is not in their bank account, but who they are as an individual. It’s not if they possess pounds, euros, and dollars in the Cayman Islands and various Swiss bank accounts, but rather if they demonstrate such characteristics as compassion, altruism, generosity, passion, etc.
Indeed, there are those who we spend time with in different settings, whether that be in the professional or personal context – some of them stay in touch, others go on to do other things in their own way.
I am of course a firm believer in staying in touch with a maximum amount of people as possible, although in the end this is of course not possible. As I turned 24 years old, I look back on those experiences I had pre-university, and have understood that since then the process of filtering friends, and determining those who are compatible is a maturing experience. There are simply those who have their own lives, and choose to live the way they do.
One remark I made to myself recently was that of all of the exchange students/people I met during my exchange programs and university semesters (in the thousands), those who are still expatriates outside of their home countries I can count on two hands.
I’m not sure what that says about my choices thus far, but I definitely feel no regret in anything that I have done, and look forward to the future, despite all of the uncertainties in the world economy~
-Matthew/매튜
