Fairy Tale Endings...

So yesterday a friend of mine told me a story...it seemed so incredulous it made me laugh. I guess things like this happen in real life as well...I don't know whether to feel better about life or worse about it.

Once upon a time, there was a woman named (for privacy sake I'm gonna change her name) Nutmeg (her real name is similar...) She was a cupcake baker. She made the most amazing cupcakes. From what I've heard, she was one of the sweetest people in the world. Her business was successful and people kept coming back for more. The only problem in her life was that she had settled for a husband she wasn't happy with. In hopes of reviving her marriage, they took a trip to Italy. While she was there, she had a seizure of some sort and the whole trip was a mess. When she came back, she was still feeling sick and her marriage wasn't doing any better. The doctor told her she had salmonella. Somehow within all this mess, she was suddenly divorced and sick. Then one day, she got a call from an old professor for hers that had been in love with her. He had found out about her divorce and wanted to be there for her. He is a rich man with many real estate properties in CA. He offered her a new penthouse in CA by the beach. He even told her she didn't have to live with him, just as long as she would give him a chance by coming out to CA. Now, they're living happily in sunny CA with more money than she could ever imagine. He wants to help her open her own restaurant and they're going to Paris for Christmas. HOW INCREDULOUS IS THAT?! She must be an incredible woman for him to give her everything... I hope that they live happily ever after...just because things like this don't happen often and when they do...the hopeless romantic part of me wants the happily ever after.

nothing like that will ever happen to me, nor do I want it to...however, just one time in my life I wish something would work in my favor exactly like I wanted it to instead of getting thrown off into the deep end.

Gambling

Sometimes you might decide that something is worth the risk...so you throw yourself in front of a bus hoping to survive. Bam... you're hit. When you come to, you realize you're still alive. It hurt like hell but you survived. Then you just dust yourself off and check yourself out of the hospital. Minor scratches, a mild concussion, and slight disorientation. Best not do that again. You think to yourself, you must have been crazy to do that...so you put on some music and lie in bed until your sanity comes back.

Taking Chances...

is it worth the risk?

This is MY life.

“This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV. If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love. Stop over analyzing, life is simple. All emotions are beautiful. When you eat, appreciate every last bite. Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things and people, we are united in our differences. Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them. Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself. Some opportunities only come once; seize them. Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating. Live your dream, and wear your passion. Life is short.”
-Holstee Manifesto

I'm beginning to realize that my life is mine for the taking. I refuse to lose to the dark side. I believe that if I try hard to do my best in everything that I do, eventually I'll be living my way into some sort of success. Although I am lost about my future plans, I know that my immediate future will consist of trying to do as many good things in my power. Even if something may seem as small as giving up my seat on the bus to helping students find their passions in life. I honestly do believe that life is about the people you meet because if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have lasted through these last few months of rapid change. I was able to find more of myself and realize what I wanted in life when I met people who shared their passions with me. I am grateful for everything that has happened. From the moment I realized my mistake, to the decision I made to go home. I'm even grateful that I lost my wallet when I did because it made me rethink the way the universe helps you grow along the way.


I am happy to have met the people I have along the way. I will be so sad to leave them, but it won't be goodbye this time. It'll be see you later because I know that I will make an effort to include them in my life and hope that they will include me in theirs. I missed spending hours just talking about the future, thoughts on life and discussing life in general. However I was recently reminded that these kind of conversations can still exist. This has led me to decide that the next 3 months of my life here in Korea will be working on improving myself as a person. I'd like to see everything more positively and through helping others, letting them help me. I'm going to live my dreams and enjoy everything that life has to offer whether it be positive or negative. You can't grow without making mistakes and you can't realize happiness unless you've suffered. I should be grateful I was born into opportunity. I was lucky enough to have been born into a family that valued education and given the opportunity to think about life. Some people don't get the chance to sit around and ponder because they're too busy trying to make money to survive. I'm just gonna seize the moment and I'm gonna pay it forward, live positively and be inspired by the people in my life.

LIFE IS SHORT.

Life Experiences in Korea

I'm about two months away from hitting my 5th year mark in Korea. While I was here, I met many people from around the world. I've met more people here in the last five years than I'd ever met back home in the States. I've met Europeans, Taiwanese, Canadians, South Africans and other travelers or expats that enjoy being some place other than their home country. I also got to meet some of the coolest Koreans that helped shape and change my life along the way. It has to be the greatest and worst years of my life. I've finally made the decision to leave this place in January once my contract is up because as much as I have grown up in this country, I've grown out of this country. I enjoy the comforts of life here, but I realize there has to be more to this life than this. I'm going to do some traveling and more soul searching before I go back to school.

The next chapters of my life, including the rest of my chapter in Korea I hope will be filled with great experiences, more amazing people and  lots more blogging. I have my Europe trip to blog about from the summer as well as my fall trip to Taiwan. I think the winter will be spent in Thailand doing some Muay Thai training.  My weekends are spent in Seoul doing research and guest blogging for my guesthouse in Hongdae so if you ever wanna hang out, meet up, chat about life in Korea...hit me up. Send me an email or a comment. I love to meet new people!