In the Spirit of Giving

Christmas time is one of my favorite times of year, right after Thanksgiving which is equally as thrilling for me.  Both holidays embody what I love most: family and friends.  It’s all about giving and spending time with those you love, no matter how far and wide your circle of comrades spreads.  And while the idea of spending Christmas in Chicago next year is exciting, I couldn’t help but get a little nostalgic thinking that this was my third and final Christmas spent on the island of Taiwan.

In the spirit of giving, I have been thinking a lot about all the things Taiwan has given me over the last two and a half years.  It seems like such a short amount of time, but I see the differences when I look back at all the little things: my journals, my photos, and more importantly, my surroundings.  I came here thrilled to be abroad, explore, and discover more to the world than I already knew.  What I found was so much more.  I believe that for whatever reason, my coming to Taiwan was something that had to happen.

Laying eyes upon the city of Taichung on May 10th, 2016, I felt the burning desire to come back.  The aching in my frame to uncover more of this island was too great to ignore.  It made every moment working under the hot Midwestern sun worth it, up until I packed my bags and found myself in Taipei, ready to start new.  Taiwan gave me quite the puzzle to solve during my time here.

I became the Yes Woman, trying everything once at the buffet table of opportunities.  Nothing was sworn off until I tried it first.  It worked out nicely, too.  Taiwan widened my palette across the board.  There are so many cringe-worthy memories, and yet so many bright moments.  Taiwan gave me the wisdom to look beyond the surface and understand the person in front of me.  This experience showed me the power of giving, but most importantly, the strength you can carry if you open yourself up to the world.

I don’t want to imagine what my life would be like without Taiwan.  I can’t picture my life without the wonderful people I have met, the memories I have made, and the newly shaped goals of mine that I have altered over the course of my time here.  I came to discover Taiwan, but the isle of Formosa, instead, showed me everything I needed to see, and all the things that I wasn’t able to see so clearly before.  When you turn away from everything you’ve ever known, you will be able to step into the space where everything you need is waiting.

So, Taiwan, thank you for all you have given me.  Thank you for the friends who have turned into family.  Thank you for all the laughs I have had in my classroom.  Thank you for the confidence I have gained while standing in front of dozens of kids, cracking jokes and explaining grammar patterns.  But most of all, thank you for giving me exactly what I needed to evolve.  Of all the most amazing gifts in the world, my time on this island has given me the one gift that can never be replaced: me, my true self, and trust in who that person is staring back at me in the mirror every morning.