Let's start with the obvious: 2017's been a hell of a year.
This time last year, I was still prepping for my final take of the GRE. Amidst all that, my applications for graduate school. When the smoke finally cleared from all of that and I was able to move on, I packed my things and moved yet again. The destination this time: San Francisco, finally.
It was fortunate that it didn't take long for things to settle there. A job, a room to sleep in, and ideas about how to continue making progress helped with the transition. Eventually, I went from looking for a sense of stability to enjoying myself fully being back in the Bay. Marathon training was going strong again, I caught up with old friends, I was just close enough to family again, and most importantly, I was close by the woman I love. But it didn't take long again before things were shaken up.
In the first week of May, in the middle of teaching class, I got my letter, the one I'd been waiting for for about two years. After the hard work of going through the application process twice, I was finally accepted into a program that I had interest in attending. But oh the bittersweetness. My career was moving forward again, but during a time that my relationship and sense of being rooted were finally firm. A spontaneous trip to NYC and much discussion finally brought me around, I would go. With that, I had only to finish up my job and spend as much quality time with the people I loved as possible.
In September, school finally started. I admit that I came to New York with reservations. The people, the atmosphere, the culture, the weather, all of it I worried about and more. It was luck that I found a tribe so quickly. My cohort partner, a soon-to-graduate hiking buddy, and classmates around my department all helped make my first semester back in school an enjoyable one. That's not to say that living in the city didn't frustrate me, or that my earlier trepidation was unfounded. But experiencing the city from the ground and truly being in it helped me gain a lot of perspective. I've grown to enjoy being on the East Coast much more, as well as the people who live along it.
Now I'm at home again, as I usually am this time of the year, but things are different. The house is getting unusually quiet, or at least a lot quieter than I remember. Minh is still in MD, Kien is finishing up in Berkeley, but planning to stay, and now Cang is joining me in NYC. To top it off, there's been so much happening with the family. This year, though filled with joy and things to be grateful about, was also filled with pain and fear. More so than ever before I've been feeling the weight of responsibility for myself, my finances, the future of my brothers, and the future of my parents.
Yet, even in contrast to that, I also spent my first holiday season with a family other than my own. It was an incredible experience. Life has a way of finding balance, balance between all things good and bad. Who knows what good and bad things are in store for next year. If it's anything like this year, though, it'll be one hell of a ride too.
This time last year, I was still prepping for my final take of the GRE. Amidst all that, my applications for graduate school. When the smoke finally cleared from all of that and I was able to move on, I packed my things and moved yet again. The destination this time: San Francisco, finally.
It was fortunate that it didn't take long for things to settle there. A job, a room to sleep in, and ideas about how to continue making progress helped with the transition. Eventually, I went from looking for a sense of stability to enjoying myself fully being back in the Bay. Marathon training was going strong again, I caught up with old friends, I was just close enough to family again, and most importantly, I was close by the woman I love. But it didn't take long again before things were shaken up.
In the first week of May, in the middle of teaching class, I got my letter, the one I'd been waiting for for about two years. After the hard work of going through the application process twice, I was finally accepted into a program that I had interest in attending. But oh the bittersweetness. My career was moving forward again, but during a time that my relationship and sense of being rooted were finally firm. A spontaneous trip to NYC and much discussion finally brought me around, I would go. With that, I had only to finish up my job and spend as much quality time with the people I loved as possible.
In September, school finally started. I admit that I came to New York with reservations. The people, the atmosphere, the culture, the weather, all of it I worried about and more. It was luck that I found a tribe so quickly. My cohort partner, a soon-to-graduate hiking buddy, and classmates around my department all helped make my first semester back in school an enjoyable one. That's not to say that living in the city didn't frustrate me, or that my earlier trepidation was unfounded. But experiencing the city from the ground and truly being in it helped me gain a lot of perspective. I've grown to enjoy being on the East Coast much more, as well as the people who live along it.
Now I'm at home again, as I usually am this time of the year, but things are different. The house is getting unusually quiet, or at least a lot quieter than I remember. Minh is still in MD, Kien is finishing up in Berkeley, but planning to stay, and now Cang is joining me in NYC. To top it off, there's been so much happening with the family. This year, though filled with joy and things to be grateful about, was also filled with pain and fear. More so than ever before I've been feeling the weight of responsibility for myself, my finances, the future of my brothers, and the future of my parents.
Yet, even in contrast to that, I also spent my first holiday season with a family other than my own. It was an incredible experience. Life has a way of finding balance, balance between all things good and bad. Who knows what good and bad things are in store for next year. If it's anything like this year, though, it'll be one hell of a ride too.
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