March 9, 2021 Time of the Season When I arrived in Florida two years ago, I was convinced that I was going to stay here forever. I lived in Taiwan long…
February 12, 2021 Of Fernweh and Fast Cars Fernweh. I remember first hearing that word in college in Pittsburgh, sitting next to a teammate of mine who had just about as much of the travel bug as I did back then. We were no more than nineteen or twenty, sitting and staring at maps, language books, and googling flight prices. The literal meaning of the word is something I have experienced many times in my life: far-sickness.
October 23, 2020 Why We Need to Listen to Our Nostalgia As the end of the year draws closer and closer, it is becoming more apparent just how insane this year really has been. To be…
October 5, 2019 Redefining What Homesick Means A year ago, I sat in my apartment in Taiwan, staring out at the concrete jungle. Part of me felt completely at ease eating my Bento boxes, writing every morning before work, teaching kids English, but another part of me felt this pull back to America. Like I knew I needed to come back for my next chapter. Truthfully, I was homesick.
May 25, 2019 The Great Divide On the curb outside of Pine Elementary School, Annabelle sat tying her shoelaces. Her hair remained in the braids her mother had put in earlier that day. Over her shoulders, her backpack carried more textbooks than the day before, but for a rather exciting reason: it was the last day of fifth grade.
March 6, 2019 Taking on Taiwan: To All I Leave Behind Well, we’ve made it to the end of the blog series! As you read this, I will be home in Chicago, being greeted by my family at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to head home, begin anew, and start the next chapter of my life. But I’d also be lying if I told you that I wasn’t upset about leaving behind Taiwan, a place I call home.
February 24, 2019 Taking on Taiwan: Ch-Ch-Changes Recently, I explored some old posts of mine, just to see if I think the same way I did back then about things. It was rather interesting, reading it and remembering exactly how I felt. At the same time, however, I have to admit, I have trouble associating with who I was back then. Just remembering the things I used to see daily in university and back home compared to the things that I am used to now makes me realize how truthfully different my life has become. If you want a glimpse of it, check out this post. Contrasting them is trippy.
December 30, 2018 New Year, Same Me 2018 flew by in the blink of an eye. It honestly feels like I woke up and it was January, blinked a couple of times, and here we are in December, right before New Years’ Eve. I’m so grateful for all that has happened in the last year. I started a fitness routine and kept up with it, I wrote three books and published two of them before the end of the year, I visited home and saw most of my family and friends, decided to move home, and now, as you are reading this, I will be preparing for my NYE celebration in Hsinchu with two of my best friends.
October 21, 2018 In Seconds The slam of my locker was a blessing. It was finally the end of the school day and I could gladly spend my free time tonight with my best friend, Anna. “Hey, stranger,” an angelic voice said from behind me. I jumped when she spoke and she giggled. There stood a girl with a huge smile on her face that made me smile in return.
October 7, 2018 Fall is for Family Of all the seasons, my favorite is autumn. Part of that is due to the beauty I saw growing up around this time of year. In the Midwest, the leaves would change color, turning from vibrant green to rusted colors. The trees would shed themselves of summer’s fragments and everyone would find their way to the orchards, ready to pick out the recent harvest: apples, pumpkins, fruits, vegetables, and then finish off a day in the fields with a drink of apple cider with mitten covered hands.
