Illumination

It has been about two and a half months since we returned from Hong Kong. I still keep in contact with my friends there; we share moments on Snapchat and message each other on Facebook. Although it has been a while, I still find myself thinking about the trip as if it happened just yesterday. I think back to when we conquered the steps to see the big Buddha, or the view from Victoria Peak, or when we were at the final banquet dinner sharing strange foods. It’s not just the big moments that run through my mind. More than anything I think back to the small moments. Fragments in time that dance around in my mind comforting me with their trivialness, but also entertaining me with their nature; waiting in line for the bus, gazing at the coast, walking to the canteen for food, the feeling of sand between my toes.

I am graduation in December, and I have found myself doing a lot of reflection and introspection recently. I think it is mostly because I am ending my journey as an undergraduate and now I’m trying to figure out what it has gotten me. It is as if this experience has been a long trail of seeds that I have been following, picking them each up, and putting them all in a big sack. I’m near the end of this line and I am taking a peak in my sack, thinking- Wow, that’s a lot of seeds! I wonder what I’m supposed to do with all of this.

I feel like the skills and knowledge I have gained from my experiences are valuable, but to who? Since returning from Hong Kong I cant stop thinking about how little I actually know. The world is so much bigger and full of riches than I ever thought. I want to know everything, I want to do everything! Hong Kong was an incredible and overwhelming experience, but I feel that I can now say with confidence that I hope it was only the beginning.