The hardest decision of my young life was just presented to me. One in which there was no bad option, but where two extremes tugged at my heart in a way I had never known before.
On the table were my options. Choice one: ramble about South America for as long as my legs, and funds, could carry me. A constant up-hill battle that would hopefully yield more rewards than tribulations. Choice two: accept a standing job offer in Korea, a land that I have grown to love more than the one in which I was raised, and continue to explore in a personal sense, perhaps finally finding what my story is, beyond a life-long traveler(that part has always been clear).
In the time since my return from Korea, I had little doubt that wandering about the southern persuasion of the Americas was the only option. That a, “thanks, but no thanks,” would be the easy response and that Korea could be something for another day. This feeling persisted for quite some time. Two months in America, a job lined up for the summer in Ecuador, and Korea was still on my back-burner.
Yet, like a quick Asian slap to the face, I suddenly found myself entertaining the idea of Korea, again, for the first time. No longer thinking about it as something for later, but rather what it could offer me now, and what I still wanted to accomplish. The sudden switch was concerning and easily threw me for a loop.
For more than two weeks time, I seldom slept, knowing I would have to choose between the unknown and that which I wanted to know better. It tormented me and I could not even explain why.
Finally, I reached a point where something had to be done. Though not the smartest man around, I knew enough that, for my own sake, a decision had to be made, or else sanity would always elude me. With that, I forced it all in front of my face, and had a long, very long, talk with myself. Turns out I’m a pretty interesting guy. But beyond my exploding ego, I also walked away knowing what had to be done.
My entire life, nothing has ever pulled at me harder than my urge to always move on. Find a new challenge and chase the horizon towards anything new and unknown. After speaking with myself, it turns out that in truth, there is something that affects me even more. I can not live with the feeling of unfinished business. And so:
Following my summer spent living on the Galapagos Islands, and hopefully a quick stop in Peru or Argentina, I will be heading back to Korea. Time will tell if I chose wisely.
South America’s not going anywhere, is it?
