26 years young

Been 26 for three days now and I really don't know if I ever felt 25. I've always felt like I had to act older than I was and now that I'm actually 26 I want to act younger. The other side of the twenties... where people are flourishing in their careers or post grads, marriages and families.

I'm in the middle of deciding whether I should come back to Gwangju for another year in February. A few of my friends have decided to do a second year, but fortunately for them they are 22 years old. LOL I guess I started this journey a bit later than everyone else. It was getting a little tiring of constantly meeting people who just graduated at 21 years old and are just doing South Korea as a buffer between Uni and something better.

They don't warn you about this part when you sign up for the job. They tell you the great pay, pension (that I don't get lol), experiences, culture and learning opportunities. They neglect to mention that you will meet great friends and probably never see most of them again. I'm all for technology but I'm a in person friendship type of person. I have had to say goodbye to a few people so far, and I have always attached to people to easily. I still miss my co-workers from York University who I only worked with for less than 9 months.

This is the first time this year that people that were actually close have left. There aren't that many who leave before me. A few in the next two months... it really makes me sad. It makes me question whether I want to do this a second year, the same cycle. I've caught a bit of a travel bug here and I want to continue to roam and discover.

A friend recently told me about volunteering experiences in developing countries that sounds really amazing. The idea of doing this for the rest of my life is strangely alluring. Doing years of teaching English in Asia interchanged with volunteering missions.

I do miss my family and friends back home and it has been hard to keep involved in the past 9 months. Blame it on schedule or time differences or even on my need to disconnect, I'm not sure I would want to stay abroad for years. There is so much I want to do for myself, I want to become certified in Korean, I want to expand my event planning experiences, support my parents, and travel Europe. I feel like my goals and dreams have changed so much since a few years ago. If I had come to Korea fresh face it would have been a one year deal, if I had finished my Bachelors in one shot, I probably won't even be here. I would be a social worker...still on my buckets list!

After looking at my choices and dreams I do feel 26 years young, and limitless (horrible movie). Lets hope I stick to my guns and don't settle for comfort! I'm going to get so much crap for this after a few people finish reading this lol

Lyrics

"The One That Got Away"

Summer after high school when we first met

We made out in your Mustang to Radiohead

And on my 18th Birthday

We got matching tattoos

Used to steal your parents' liquor

And climb to the roof

Talk about our future

Like we had a clue

Never planned that one day

I'd be losing you

In another life

I would be your girl

We'd keep all our promises

Be us against the world

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say

You were the one that got away

The one that got away

I was June and you were my Johnny Cash

Never one without the other we made a pact

Sometimes when I miss you

I put those records on (Whoa)

Someone said you had your tattoo removed

Saw you downtown singing the Blues

It's time to face the music

I'm no longer your muse

But in another life

I would be your girl

We'd keep all our promises

Be us against the world

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say

You were the one that got away

The one that got away

The o-o-o-o-o-one [x3]

The one that got away

[Bridge:]

All this money can't buy me a time machine (Nooooo)

Can't replace you with a million rings (Nooooo)

I should've told you what you meant to me (Whoa)

'Cause now I pay the price

In another life

I would be your girl

We'd keep all our promises

Be us against the world

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say

You were the one that got away

The one that got away

The o-o-o-o-o-one [x3]

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say

You were the one that got away

The one that got away

"Mirror"

(feat. Bruno Mars)

[Lil Wayne:]

With everything happening today

You don't know whether you're coming or going

But you think that you're on your way

Life lined up on the mirror don't blow it

Look at me when I'm talking to you

You looking at me but I'm looking through you

I see the blood in your eyes

I see the love in disguise

I see the pain hidden in your pride

I see you're not satisfied

And I don't see nobody else

I see myself I'm looking at the

[Bruno Mars:]

Mirror on the wall, here we are again

Through my rise and fall

You've been my only friend

You told me that they can understand the man I am

So why are we here talkin' to each other again?

[Lil Wayne:]

Uh, I see the truth in your lies

I see nobody by your side

But I'm with you when you are all alone

And you correct me when I'm looking wrong

I see the guilt beneath the shame

I see your soul through your window pane

I see the scars that remain

I see you Wayne, I'm looking at the...

[Bruno Mars:]

Mirror on the wall, here we are again ([Wayne:] Yeah)

Through my rise and fall ([Wayne:] Uh-Huh)

You've been my only friend ([Wayne:] my only friend)

You told me that they can understand the man I am ([Wayne:] they can understand)

So why are we here ([Wayne:] misunderstood) talkin' to each other again?

[Lil Wayne:]

Looking at me now I can see my past

Damn I look just like my fucking dad

Light it up, that's smoke in mirrors

I ain't even look good in the broken mirror

I see my momma smile that's a blessing

I see the change, I see the message

And no message could've been any clearer

So I'm startin' with the man in the...

[Bruno Mars:]

Mirror on the wall,

[Lil Wayne:]

MJ taught me that.

[Bruno Mars:]

Here we are again

Through my rise and fall

You've been my only friend

[Lil Wayne:]

Take 'em to Mars man

[Bruno Mars:]

You told me that they can understand the man I am

So why are we talkin' to each other again?

[Lil Wayne:]

Uh...

Mirror on the wall, here we are again ([Wayne:] yeah)

Through my rise and fall

You've been my only friend ([Wayne:] Any questions?)

You told me that they can ([Wayne:] I come to you) understand the man I am ([Wayne:] You always have the answer)

So why are we here talkin' to each other again?

[Bruno Mars:]

Mirror on the wall.

[Wayne:]

Ay, B.P.

Looks like I did take 'em to Mars this time

[Bruno Mars:]

(So why are we talking to each other again?)