First Impressions
After finishing off the tasks and creating a visual narrative map, I realized just how influential external and internal burdens of my personal life shaped the way I am today. How a person thinks, acts, and expresses themselves were all congregating into the person of the present. And to end it all, perhaps I put too much expectation on my “Home” knowing that my choices which led me to today, has changed the meaning of “Home” itself.
Retrospect of the Past
I remember having a huge argument with my family, especially my parents about pursuing my education in this university. Stigmas, stereotypes, and fears of the “West” were enveloping them: that I would change into an unrecognizable form after my time here.
To be fair, that might be true. But change doesn’t always mean it’s a bad thing. Sometimes, and actually a lot of times, to take a step further in life is to bask yourself into a pool of change and come out differently. What’s to gain if one never steps away from one’s own “Circle?”
Introspecting Present
Now that many things have happened, years passed, slowly bit by bit I convinced them that this was the path that I wanted and I needed. True, it wasn’t as smooth as I had hoped, but the adrenaline from the roller coaster was the thing that made this journey fun.
To quote myself as composed is not hitting the marks. It’s more like, when you’ve seen quite a lot yourself, and survive those moments, you realize “Oh, I can do this”. > Sure, there will always be fear of the unknown. But being brave isn’t to move forward by vanquishing fear, its moving forwards despite having fear.
Closest phrase I can get was: Full of Conviction
The more I realize about this, the more I can keep myself, and the world composed. Yet, I also realize the systematic layers the world has, and those who have the power to manipulate it to their own agendas.
With recent policies and atrocities happening in my own “Home”, I began asking questions regarding the injustices and how basic human rights were not present in my past. This in turn, made my peers and families also realize what a benefit it is to move into another lake, where humans are, well–guaranteed to be humans.
Discerning the Future
At the ultimate end of my time here on campus, I realized that its that phase again I experienced in the past: when you are moving into a new phase of your life. This time, however, the major difference is that I am in full control of my wheel.
The metaphor that I drew was hence two things: A crossroad and a car.
The paths that I can take are all dependent on me, and it all, in the end, ripples like throwing rocks in a pond. I know that coming “Home” will be dangerous, my dreams are to settle in a new home. But if the ripples of my own action results in coming back, although scary, I will still have to face it. I am sure my time here will help me.