It’s double ten day here in Taiwan, also known as Independence Day. I sit on the floor of a train on my way back to Taichung from Hualien as I write this, both exhausted and happy that we were able to escape for a little while from the daily busyness of work and routine. This weekend was my first time to the Hualien and Yilan, after hearing from countless people that it was a must to visit and see it for myself. They were certainly right!
Of all the places in Taiwan I have been thus far, the east coast has been the greenest, purest, and most relaxed. Despite some of the rain that we ran into here and there, the views never disappointed. We even got to see the sunrise on Qixingtan beach, which produced good photos and the overwhelming calming feeling of being bound by no measure of time, no responsibilities, and nowhere to be but there in that moment.
Hualien was more than just exploring, but it was a time to cleanse. Thoughts have been racing through my brain lately that I wasn’t formerly able to tend to, things that were not given a proper analysis from far away, whilst removed and emotionally untied to them. And I was able to look at it how it needs to be approached: unemotional and logically.
There’s no mistake that the things, people, situations in life all pick us for a reason. Or maybe we pick them for a reason. We choose the paths we take, accepting whatever may come next and understanding that we might not like the outcome. Too often, we always choose others and their happiness over ourselves. But it was time to stop, smell the roses, and realize choosing myself first was important.
With a camera hanging around my neck and my fanny pack on my waist this whole weekend, it was the first weekend in a long time that I let go. I forgot about the bullsh*t, and I just existed. I was happy and still am happy. I was again able to understand more of what makes me happy, which I don’t think we ever really stop doing throughout our lives. I didn’t overthink it. I didn’t worry. In the midst of this weekend, I found the spark that September had taken from me, and I’m running with it. No one in this world can take it away from me now, not a single soul. Because I know what I want now, and I know what I have to do to get there. From now on, I’m walking through this world with my eyes wide open, heart unguarded, and mind ready for all that lies ahead.
While I’m sad that we are enroute to go home, there’s time to return and get lost again on the beaches or in the midst of the gorge, find what I may have lost, or find something new I didn’t expect. Going home is the start of a new mentality, a new approach: fearlessness. Whatever happens will happen, but it’s time to do everything for the only person I should ever worry about impressing: myself, as it should have been done a long, long, long time ago. But it’s never too late to start anew, it’s never too late to make your life what you want it to be.
