The last post had a lot to say about my learning experience in Germany and finding myself through my journey here but it wasn't clear and I felt like I wanted to share what those things were with my readers . Here's an excerpt of what would have ended up in my own personal diary if it weren't for the fact that I felt like maybe someone else could benefit from it too ...
Dear Diary,
You don't see time, you don't feel it; It passes sometimes slowly, but often too fast. Suddenly you look up from where you sit waiting for your bus and you think, I've lived , I've lived quite a lot and yet ... where are the moments in between. Why does it seem like yesterday, just yesterday, I knew not where I was . You find your surroundings familiar, your interaction with that that surrounds you natural but when at what point in time did it become that way. What was it like to not understand what was spoken around you? How did it feel to be lost not 20 minutes from home ?When did a building six months ago alien become home.
I don't remember what it's like being at the very beginning of my journey I can no longer understand how I lived or functioned, the only thing left is the lessons I've learned, some of which I'd like to share with you.
"Make it your goal to FIND what makes you HAPPY before you make GOALS to achieve what you THINK will make you HAPPY"
Being happy is important to everyone the way we go about achieving this is different. I've found a whole different way to go about it since being in Germany. I realized that I was doing things backwards and that would never be able to work for me if I wanted to be truly happy. I placed being happy as an endpoint as if one day I would wake up after law school and an amazing internship and say well I'm happy now. It doesn't work that way, while all my days may not be happy I am now resolute to live my life with 50% instant gratitude and 50% future aspirations. More importantly I urge everyone to really dedicate time while they are young to exploring different realms of life and figuring out what makes them happy because if not we just end up on that long mill of students with the same dream , theirs no individualism in that and consequentially their isn't much happiness either. I know from now on that a life dilute of intercultural relations will not due it for me. Sure I don't know exactly what I want to do with my life yet but at least I know what direction I'm going towards and that is yet another reason to be happy.
"Get to the LEDGE of LIFE whether you RUN and JUMP or CRAWL and LOOK it is always more interesting."
The unphilosophical truth behind this piece of advice is that no matter how you get there you need to live beyond the boundaries. Staying put in a safe and comfortable place your entire life is boring. Find something that scares you (find your ledge) whether it's a sport or taking on a whole new country then find a way to get there that works for you (crawl or run), once your there take advantage of it in a way that will stick with you (jump or look). Living in Germany has been one ledge after another some I've run through others I've crawled towards and some I haven't even attempted quite yet but I know I will . What works for one person will not work for everyone but whats important is that you get the experience out of it .
"People will RESPECT your 'NOs' when you SAY 'YES' more OFTEN"
Our virtues and morals are influenced by many things throughout our lives and it's important to stand by them since they constitute a great part of who we are but it's also important to decipher what those morals and values are and what are really just routines. I've been doing this a lot lately , I ask myself why do I believe this ? Why do I do this? What are my reasons for this? I'd bet it has something to do with how accustomed I became questioning the reasons behind cultural differences at the beginning of my stay here; I eventually got bored and turned the questioning towards my own values . I never want to be surrounded by people who think exactly like me, what a boring life that would be. The views of others challenge me and through understanding them I have changed some of my own beliefs and some have been made stronger still . The point is you can't question things without experiencing them or sitting down with someone who lives them, therefore say yes to everything that you can bare in hopes of finding something yourself. If you always say no your nos become closed minded if you say yes the day you have to say no it will be respected and even if it isn't you at least will be at peace.
Lastly ....
"Don't be AFRAID of your FEELINGS "
Good , bad, spiteful, your human nothing beyond that and in order to find the good in ourselves we need to deal with the bad. Deal with negative emotions on an open realm, rather than suppress them recognize them and figure out why without putting yourself down.
Yours Always ,
Amanda
Dear Diary,
You don't see time, you don't feel it; It passes sometimes slowly, but often too fast. Suddenly you look up from where you sit waiting for your bus and you think, I've lived , I've lived quite a lot and yet ... where are the moments in between. Why does it seem like yesterday, just yesterday, I knew not where I was . You find your surroundings familiar, your interaction with that that surrounds you natural but when at what point in time did it become that way. What was it like to not understand what was spoken around you? How did it feel to be lost not 20 minutes from home ?When did a building six months ago alien become home.
I don't remember what it's like being at the very beginning of my journey I can no longer understand how I lived or functioned, the only thing left is the lessons I've learned, some of which I'd like to share with you.
"Make it your goal to FIND what makes you HAPPY before you make GOALS to achieve what you THINK will make you HAPPY"
Being happy is important to everyone the way we go about achieving this is different. I've found a whole different way to go about it since being in Germany. I realized that I was doing things backwards and that would never be able to work for me if I wanted to be truly happy. I placed being happy as an endpoint as if one day I would wake up after law school and an amazing internship and say well I'm happy now. It doesn't work that way, while all my days may not be happy I am now resolute to live my life with 50% instant gratitude and 50% future aspirations. More importantly I urge everyone to really dedicate time while they are young to exploring different realms of life and figuring out what makes them happy because if not we just end up on that long mill of students with the same dream , theirs no individualism in that and consequentially their isn't much happiness either. I know from now on that a life dilute of intercultural relations will not due it for me. Sure I don't know exactly what I want to do with my life yet but at least I know what direction I'm going towards and that is yet another reason to be happy.
"Get to the LEDGE of LIFE whether you RUN and JUMP or CRAWL and LOOK it is always more interesting."
The unphilosophical truth behind this piece of advice is that no matter how you get there you need to live beyond the boundaries. Staying put in a safe and comfortable place your entire life is boring. Find something that scares you (find your ledge) whether it's a sport or taking on a whole new country then find a way to get there that works for you (crawl or run), once your there take advantage of it in a way that will stick with you (jump or look). Living in Germany has been one ledge after another some I've run through others I've crawled towards and some I haven't even attempted quite yet but I know I will . What works for one person will not work for everyone but whats important is that you get the experience out of it .
"People will RESPECT your 'NOs' when you SAY 'YES' more OFTEN"
Our virtues and morals are influenced by many things throughout our lives and it's important to stand by them since they constitute a great part of who we are but it's also important to decipher what those morals and values are and what are really just routines. I've been doing this a lot lately , I ask myself why do I believe this ? Why do I do this? What are my reasons for this? I'd bet it has something to do with how accustomed I became questioning the reasons behind cultural differences at the beginning of my stay here; I eventually got bored and turned the questioning towards my own values . I never want to be surrounded by people who think exactly like me, what a boring life that would be. The views of others challenge me and through understanding them I have changed some of my own beliefs and some have been made stronger still . The point is you can't question things without experiencing them or sitting down with someone who lives them, therefore say yes to everything that you can bare in hopes of finding something yourself. If you always say no your nos become closed minded if you say yes the day you have to say no it will be respected and even if it isn't you at least will be at peace.
Lastly ....
"Don't be AFRAID of your FEELINGS "
Good , bad, spiteful, your human nothing beyond that and in order to find the good in ourselves we need to deal with the bad. Deal with negative emotions on an open realm, rather than suppress them recognize them and figure out why without putting yourself down.
Yours Always ,
Amanda
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