Trying New Things

1^st January 2020

It’s a new year. It’s a new decade. It’s a new era for me. My 17 years of schooling from kindergarten to college came to an end in December 2019. It’s unbelievable to me how much I have done, how much I have learned, but I ask myself could I have done more, could I have done better? I knew I could have done better, but that is the past now. For the next six months until I start work in June, I want to do things differently. I don’t want to become a totally different person because I am happy with who I am, I just want to try new things. I want to pick up on things that I just didn’t have the time to do during my school years, I want to travel, and I want to document everything in this journal. Writing has never been my forte, but as part of my “trying new things” goal I want to try it out. I want to document the journeys that I go on, the people that I meet and how they impact me, and just simply the interesting things that happen. Just to put it out there, I am not a very consistent person when it comes to things that I pick up on. I have started books and never finished them. I have paid for online courses and never started them. But I hope that this new thing of mine, journaling, is not added to that list. Yes, I am starting to journal for the benefit of myself. I find it intriguing how 10, 20, or even 80 years down the line I can look back at this journal and relive the memories of my life through these words that I have written. I am also journaling for possible future descendants of mine. I have always been a person of great interest in history and I find it interesting to learn what it was like to live in the past. Maybe my kids, or grandkids would share this interest with me, and they would find this journal as a gift for their curiosity.

Moving past introductions let’s get onto what happened today (I think that’s what people write in their journals based on television shows and movies that I have seen). New Year’s Day was really just like any other day in my home, nothing special, but it was peaceful. The only thing we had done differently was that the four of us (Mom, Dad, Sister, and Myself) went out to watch a movie and had dinner at an restaurant which doesn’t happen usually. It was nearly 10pm by the time we got home, and the car ride back was just full of conversation of the first trip of my 6 months I was planning. I am planning on doing a 20-day trip to Greece. My mom was the one who had brought up the idea about a month ago, but with final exams and all I didn’t give it too much of a thought. Only for the past day or two did I truly get more serious about it. The only thing holding me back on going was that the group tour that I want to go with is leaving in 5 weeks and I don’t know if I have enough time to do historical research on the sites that I would be visiting. For trips like these people book them about a year beforehand. I am leaning on towards saying yes and going but a part of me believes that I am making a rash decision. I am not usually one who makes rash decisions but that is why I want to make this rash decision, it’s all part of the “trying new things” goal. 

8^th February 2020

Well todays the day, there’s no turning back now. My flight to Athens is at 5pm. I am afraid, I have never traveled by myself. What I am afraid of is not coming back. Anything can happen when you travel, and I can’t even imagine the pain that I would cause my family if I was not too return. I kind of feel selfish for going. I do believe that it is God’s will for me to go and all I can do is pray for God to keep me safe. If I were to die, then I know it was my time. But still I would not want to cause my family that type of pain. I boarded the plane and I departed. Looking down on the world from the plane was so magical, so calming, and I felt so small. I wished I could live my whole life from up there. Being up in the plane made me feel so distant from all the worldly things that I have to deal with. 

26^th February 2020

I’m back home. I have never been away from home for so long and looking back I don’t think that I missed it too much. I did miss my family at times, but I didn’t miss the environment. I didn’t miss my sleepy town that I just could never connect with. It’s crazy how being away takes away all the worries. I miss the daily adventures that I had, I miss learning, I miss the people that I met and bonded with, I miss being in places with so much history. But at the same time, I am excited for whatever my next journey may be.

Before I had left for the trip the coronavirus (COVID-19) was just starting to take off but now it is getting much more pervasive. I am concerned that if things continue getting bad with this virus if I will be able to travel, for my next journey I am thinking about traveling to Poland and Belgium. In the meantime, until I start planning for my next trip, I am going to start other things to keep myself productive.

14^th March 2020

As time goes on and as the coronavirus stretches to every corner of the world it’s seeming less likely that I will be able to travel any more. Tonight, the President of the United States closed the borders to Europe to slow the spread of the virus. Europe will most likely reciprocate. I don’t think it will be possible for me to travel for the next two months at least. By the time June rolls around, I will have to start preparing for work and I don’t think it will be possible that month as well to travel. These types of viruses are so rare, they happen once in a blue moon, and out of all the time periods that it had to happen why now. Why in the six months that I had off. This was my chance to spend time out there in the world when I am completely free, but quite the opposite has happened. The entire world is shut down. Even if I step outside there is a constant fear that what if I get sick, worse, what if I transmit the virus to my family. I don’t find it fair, but I know that is life and I have to accept that. I do know that things could be worse. I could truly be sick like the hundreds of thousands of people out there. Things are not going as planned but I am still blessed with a lot. I am one who believes that everything happens for a reason and I know that there is a reason from God on why things turned out the way it has. 

21^st March 2020

I started to volunteer with the coronavirus effort. I got the idea sometime last week as things got worse. I am volunteering at the local drive thru testing. In my last entry I had questioned why this virus happened now out of all the times that it could have occurred. But I believe I know why now. It was so that I could help out in the effort to combat this virus. Things always do happen for a reason. I am proud of myself to be useful during this fearful time. I am glad to be by the side of the people that are scared, and hopefully I can take some of the fear away by being by their side. I do fear for myself, but if I were to die, I would know that I was doing the right thing, by servicing my community.

21^st June 2020

I have done some extraordinary things these past six months. In the beginning I could not have imagined all the endeavors that I would have. And the best part is that I journaled every day of the time that I had. This journal is kind of like a close friend who you can tell everything and anything to. You can tell your joys and your sorrows to this person, and for me that person is this journal. I wanted to try new things and I believe that I have during these months. But the best thing that I have done is start this journal to document the sorrows, the triumphs, and the history.