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