everyone is asking (and which has been bugging me at the back of my mind):
why do you wanna do this?
the usual (and true) reasons i give:
1. I've always wanted to do an overseas voluntary trip but somehow didn't manage to join one of the YEPs
2. I need a breath of fresh air and hopefully gain a new perspective
3. I wanna work with these kids who aren't even half as priviliged as the children here
when i think about it when I'm alone, there is no clear cut answer. sure, the above are a few truthful answers which I give in response matter-of-factly, but deep down, I'm also searching for the one true reason.
maybe there isn't any one true reason per se. maybe all we need is just a gut feeling to just go? often we feel like we should do something, like take up art classes, take that bus ride to nowhere, book a solo beach holiday, audition for a play etc etc...but we don't. something stops us in our tracks. the mundanity of daily life, the easy excuse of having no time, other obligations etc. we get bogged down, and as time passes, we let that dream go, and we gradually lock it up and store it at the furthest end of our minds where it collects dust.
so this time, i've decided to just do it. now is the best time. i'm fortunate that i have the support of my parents and friends, and although i'm not filthy rich, i am lucky that my family does not desperately need me to work to supplement the household income. after 20 years of that paper chase and a year of ungratifying slogging, i guess i need a breath of fresh air.
this is the time to go. i don't wanna just let it go like that, like how i have for too many other things.
regarding this trip, some have been supportive, some bewildered, and a few find it illogical. to those that are less than supportive and even doubtful, i know where you're coming from. but if you think about it, many things around us are illogical; there are too many things/people which we turn a blind eye to, or we do not make time for, and we just cruise along. i'm guilty of that myself. so i'm seizing the moment and i just hope to gain some perspective during this journey. and i hope you do too, on every one of your journeys.
