When it all ends....

What a risk it was. I still remember the moment when I left what I used to know as my home. It was really one of the hardest moments in my life. That day... my closest friends spent the night with me, and we did nothing but play board games, and they supported me in my packing endeavors. The night didn't last long, because as you know in times like these, it all moves in fast forward. Then came the trip to the airport with my friends. The long tearful goodbye. Never have I ever faced something so difficult, because I was leaving everything I knew in my life to start a new chapter. A chapter I didn't know what to expect.

The time in Korea, just like my last night, moves in fast forward. However I have accumulated so many memories within this past year, and I have grown as a person. I think back and I think of all the relationships I made and lost. The crazy times that I have had. The things that I learned.

This journey has always been about me and fulfilling my dreams of traveling, and this opportunity have opened the doors. Coming from the background I come from, lower middle class boy from Mira Loma, it's not really in his future to do the things I've been doing today. And the journey is not even close to being over.

In two months I'll be finished with my teaching contract, and I will go back to the place I left. The place that will always probably be what I call "home". I'll see the family, and I will see the friends. And it feels so surreal. My life back in California seems like another life, and although I know I'm the same person, I almost feel like a different person is going back. But in the end I'm not. I'm still Andy. Andy who is aware that if your not laughing at life you're not living it. Andy who appreciates everything that comes his way. Andy who is unafraid to take risks.

I may be cheesy about this all, but what the hell that's me, I'm a cheesy person. I had a rare gem of an experience and it's not quite over yet. I decided to do another year here in Korea, but at a different place. I didn't quite accomplish all the goals I wanted to while I was out here. There is still more growing and learning this boy needs to do before he goes back to his reality.

When it all ends... that was the names of this blog. But it's not over yet; the journey is not over. A part of it closing, but another part is opening!