Wow, what else can I say about December 8th, 2010? It will certainly be a day I won't soon forget. So much excitement, happiness, loneliness, restlessness, wondering, and comforting along with a whole other assortment of emotions all wrapped up in one day. I had made it my goal to try to make the day as easy as possible for my mother and to make sure she could handle the emotions positively. I hope I succeeded.
My day began with waking up early in the morning with my mother to go to church. She's an avid church goer, I am not, but I knew that it would mean an immense amount if I asked her to go with me. I think that she enjoyed it. We attended the morning mass at a nearby church from where I grew up named St. Martin de Tours, some of you may know of it. It had been a very long time since the last time I stepped foot in a church, and even longer since I had been to this one. We sat down towards the front of the church, which I found to be especially creepy. At the top of the alter there is this statue-like Jesus hanging while nailed to a cross; the artist did an amazing job at conveying the feelings of pain this dude must have gone through as his face looked to be in agony, but the best part about it is that his head and eyes are tilted to make it seem as if he's starring right at you. The whole time I felt as though I was sitting at a principal's office after getting in trouble and waiting to be handed a punishment. Rightfully so?
It seemed to be quite the coincidence, the preacher's sermon was about the importance of celebrating mothers as he related it to the Virgin Mary. After he ranted on for about 20 minutes, I felt like the biggest sack of shit on the face of the earth, but nevertheless, who am I kidding? All in all, I was extremely impressed with his delivery and conviction as a public speaker. I really didn't hurt all THAT much to sit in there for about an hour, especially because I knew it meant a lot to mom. When the service finished, I knew it was time to truly start my day. I then began running a few errands in order to make sure everything was ready to go so I could be on my way. TJ came over to watch me pack my last few things, and once noon came around we drove over to my uncles house where several of my family members were getting together to host a 'goodbye' lunch for me. It was my last home cooked meal, and holy shit was it ever delicious! That was definitely a good way to send me off. I felt like the bad news bearer as after having lunch and conversation for about an hour with everyone it was time to say farewell, almost everyone cried haha.
Perhaps one of the best parts of today was the fact that it was a small reminder to me that I actually have a place to call home and many people that care for me. I am extremely fortunate and privileged to be able to say that, and I mean it with all my heart as I will be missing everyone in my own little way. After lunch I went back to mom's one last time to triple check I had everything, upon conformation, we loaded up and drove me to my recruiter's office to drop off my bags. We were given about an hour to grab coffee somewhere, we did, TJ left, and then it as just my mother and I. She drove me back to the station. This was the hardest part...
After awhile, my sergeant drove me to my current location where it is currently 1:34AM. I woke up about 2 hours ago after being able to sleep for only an hour and a half. I've been tossing and turning ever since and thinking about a million things at once. I continuously come up with various scenarios about how my life could possibly play out these coming months, and the only thing I'm left with afterwards are even more questions. Maybe I just need to stop thinking so much, or maybe....I don't know. What I do know is that I have a list of things I would like to accomplish in the near future and it goes something like this (in no particular order):
-Immerse myself as much as possible in the culture of whatever country I end up in.
-Learn my 4th language, proficiently.
-Save up as much money as I can, while at the same time making smart investments for myself.
-Find a local bar I like, frequent that bar (not too much), become familiar with the regulars and staff.
-Surround myself with positivity, and positivity only.
-Get back to the best shape of my life: Achieve a sound mind, sound soul, sound body.
-Make countless friends who I can learn from and will assist me in developing as a person.
-Find a Masters program I feel comfortable with, begin my Masters degree.
-Visit as many places possible on my travel list.
-Take care of my family, even from afar.
-Maintain an open-mind while exerting who I am and the many things I offer onto the world around me.
Just a quick list of the many things I have in mind. I know many of you are wondering what's next. It is now 1:50AM. I have to wake up at 4:30AM to get my day started. I will go in to do my processing in the morning, do my oath, and get to the airport sometime later in the day. If all goes well and as planned, at this time tomorrow I will be in Columbia, SC to do some further processing (and hopefully sleeping!) There I will have to go through some medical screenings and shit to have some shots administered, do even more paperwork, get my finances squared away (NIGGA GOTTA EAT!) hopefully find out exactly where I'm going, and a series of other bureaucratic things. When I'm done at Fort Jackson, I fly off to Europe and things begin anew.
I would like to tell those of you that I wasn't able to see before I left, sorry...maybe next time? If I didn't talk to you, I probably wasn't able to for whatever reason, and maybe didn't want to or didn't care to (except you Ly! I called you tonight and I saw you returned my call but I was asleep.) Most importantly, my sincerest appreciation to my closest friends and family that made my transition as easy as it was and who took time to see me off. It means a million and I'm excited to come back to you all with many experiences and stories to share. Thanks for reading, I'll update as soon as I can!
-WanderingTerp
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