A dear friend of mine recently published a Facebook status update that encapsulated many of the hopes but also fears of a generation that is about to or have just graduated college. An excerpt from her post read: Everyday I am a traveler. In Hong Kong, I was my best self-- fearless and willing to say anything, do anything. I got to know my waiters because they were in a new country, I looked in awe at the trees because I would never see them again, I kissed all the boys because my time there was short. But we are travelers in our lives! Even in State College, or wherever you are, our existence is temporary. We are only passing through, so doesn't that mean we are just traveling everyday too? Talk to the waiters, look at the trees, kiss the boys; wherever you are. This is something I have also been investigating in my own time in State College, Pennsylvania. It is a place notorious for its college town vibes and populous, but if you look even a bit closer, there is so much more. There are so many opportunities to be your best self. What I believe my friend, myself (sometimes) and many others lack in their daily lives is the willingness to stop being lazy and to go out and find things that will make us our best selves. Places of greater fulfillment, whether they be quirky coffee shops, intelligent people to learn from, or a new hobby all exist. Sometimes we are out greatest opposition when it comes to breaking out of our bubble or every day routines. It is sometimes hard to break habits or to seek things of greater fulfillment to be our best. Sometimes it is scary or requires more confidence than we are used to, but these should be treasured moments of growth. This past semester I did something that I found very scary. From the advice of a grad student, I started taking interesting professors, grad students, and just general people out for a cup of coffee or to have a beer, all to have a conversation. The amount of intellectual stimulation and sense of companionship that this provided did an excellent job in slaking my thirst for more. I also began to teach myself things. I would read books and do research to find more and also be educated when I spoke with some of the greatest minds in the world. In this finding of more I also became more; being more well read translates to a better ability to write and communicate. It also assists in how problems and ideas are approached. Additionally, when speaking with such great people, I felt inspired to dress well and exhibit outstanding manners, among other things. As my friend stated, you do not need to be in Hong Kong to be your best self or to find more. All you have to do is simply look.
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Author: Allyson DitizioGeographer, yogi and occasionally creative writer. Archives
September 2016
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