Life, Language, and Purpose

I started this blog more than 3 years ago, while I was attending the University of Utah studying Chinese Language and Literature as well as Asian Studies (with an emphasis on history). I didn't know what I was going to do with Chinese... I certainly didn't speak it with any degree of fluency. I just knew I was attracted to the language, the culture, and the girl that I had met when I was 17 years old.

After I finished that year, I worked for a summer, living with my childhood best friend, sleeping on a couch, and frequently working 10-12 hour days at Subway (the sandwich place) in Evanston, Wyoming. Through lots of sacrificing fun activities, I managed to save a few thousand, buy plane tickets, get a passport and visa, and then flew to China to meet this beautiful young lady who had my heart.

Looking back at it, it's simply amazing nothing went wrong.

My luggage was full of Chinese text books, a couple sets of clothes, and a variety of Chocolates. In my heart, I felt peace. It was as if it were the most correct thing in the world to fly across an ocean to meet a girl and her family. I arrived at the airport, met the lady who I had been chatting with nearly every day for two years, with whom I had exchanged phone-calls, photos, videos. For the first minute that we spoke, we kept it simple. She gave me some options to choose from, such as eating, exploring, or just going to our hotel and sleeping (we each had our own rooms). I just wanted to explore.

Five minutes passed. We were on a bus taking us to the center of Pudong district in Shanghai.

I was in a completely different country, different language, and different culture, but at that moment in the short span of my life, everything felt completely normal and at peace. It didn't matter where I was, but only who I was with. And I was near the person with whom I was meant to be with. That's all that mattered.

More to come later.