Happy One Year to Me!

One year ago, I was on a plan bound for Korea. I had Pookie at my feet, and headphones in my ears. What movie I was watching or what music I was listening to isn't important, though a part of me wishes I could remember. I kind of hate it when you consciously decide that something isn't important enough to remember, then after some time has gone by...you wish you had deemed it important enough. Among many of the movies that I watched, I know one of them was a Matt Damon movie, because really, who could forget him? Anyway, everything felt very dream like. A part of me didn't believe I was on a plane to Korea, and it wouldn't sink in for a few months after I arrived. The biggest part of me however held so much hope that Korea would fix everything wrong with me.
I thought of Korea as some sort of hard-to-get-to therapist. I kept thinking that Korea would give me a chance to "find myself," save money, lose weight, decide what job I wanted in the future, travel and be happy. Everyone has read a least one book in which the writer goes on some extravagant vacation to "get away" and "find themselves" (cough cough, Eat Pray Love). And who doesn't want to travel somewhere awesome and discover true happiness along the way? I certainly did. So I gambled by coming to Korea in hopes that once I got here, everything would be okay.
In a lot of ways, everything is okay, more than okay actually. I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. I've met the love of my life. I've made incredible, long-lasting friendships. I've traveled through a lot of Asia. I've found a job that I enjoy. While my circumstances have changed, I have not. I'm still a lazy, unmotivated, procrastination-loving, messy, undisciplined girl. That might sound a bit harsh, but it's definitely true. The core of me hasn't really changed. No matter what country I'm in or what friends I have, I will always have these traits as long as I don't try to change them. And since I'm being honest, I really haven't given a lot of effort to change these things about myself. Sometimes I even wonder if I should try to change them at all or just accept them and move on. I've recognized that it's easier to be happy because everything around me is ideal. But what will happen if these things are taken away from me?
Okay, this took a completely different road than I intended. While I recognize that there are some things I need to work on still, my one year in Korea brings me a lot of...pride. I consider it an accomplishment that I've worked at the same place for a year and have only had one sick day. I love that I can go to work and feel confident in the material I'm teaching. I know now that I'm a strong, independent woman (cue Destiny's Child "Independent Woman") who can handle anything that is thrown at me. And I'm proud of that.
I would say that my gamble paid off. My hard-to-get-to therapist did a good job on me and I think it's time that I find a new therapist...in the "Empire State of the South" (Georgia).
Happy One Year to Me!