There She Grows!

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
--Aristotle

I chatted with a fellow volunteer not too long ago, and she said, “I’m sure you’ve done a lot of growing.” As cliché as it may be, she is absolutely right. Call it growing or simply learning more about myself. Whichever. The idea is that I’m figuring myself out a little bit more each day.

I love to travel. I love to learn about new cultures and see different ways of life. I discovered the joys of traveling about four years ago, and I will continue to travel for many years to come. In fact, I’m already planning my next excursion. Traveling makes me feel really alive. Some people do drugs or have babies. I want to get on airplanes and jet set across the world. For me, life is all about the hunt: for new treasures, new ideas, new experiences, new thrills.

But, to travel to a place and to live in a place are two very different things. The thrill of Africa has faded over time for me since living here now for 6 months. My initial visit to Africa was new and exciting. Very exhilarating. On the other hand, this longer stay has exposed a different, less appealing side of Ghana to me. Cultural and educational norms, that I strongly disagree with, surround me. It’s the feeling of helplessness that is tough to shake. This, along with a sense of sadness that this world will likely never ascend the mountain of potential that it’s capable of climbing. But, being the growing woman that I am, I am slowly learning to let go of things that are out of my control. All I can really do is try my best to influence the choices of my students and colleagues. Whether or not they take my advice is out of my hands.

Day-to-day life is just day-to-day life. Not every day is a safari day. I spend a ginormous amount of time alone here, and the lack of a social life has been far more difficult than I was anticipating. What I’ve learned during all of those hours alone is that my relationships with family and friends are very very very important to my well being. Not that I didn’t appreciate everyone before I left, but it’s the old saying, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” My level of appreciation has heightened tenfold. In fact, a thousandfold. As independent as I claim to be, and as ok as I say I am being alone, I need people more than I am often willing to admit. All you need is love, right?