It all started with Kung Fu Panda 3.
Truthfully I haven’t even seen the movie. The kids just asked to watch it so I turned it on for them. The thumbnail of the movie is the panda holding a pork bun.
I immediately remembered how much I love pork buns but hate admitting that it’s the only time I can’t resist pork.
It then turned to missing the easy accessibility to street food in Penang, Malaysia. Which then turned into missing my teammate, Allison, and all the food adventures she always took me on.
Then I remembered all the great conversations we had over new experiences and the conversations that challenged me to my core. It made me miss our shared experiences of faith and doubt and all that comes with the beauty of living in the tension.
It then made me miss simplicity, cultures and exploring.
Basically that pork bun turned into reminiscing of last year and now it hangs heavy over the rest of my day.
That’s how it happens usually.
It’s usually something silly like pork buns on the tv that turn me into a pile of a mush that misses and longs so much for that year of my life.
It’s hard to explain really.
How do you explain to people what that year meant that much to you? They think it’s cool that you traveled and all that but how do you explain that it literally changed the fabric of your being?
The traveling was amazing. The new sites are engrained in mind forever. The natural beauty allowed me to feel so much closer to everyone and everything around me. The cultures and customs made my head spin in learning so much about the uniqueness of the world. But that wasn’t it.
Everything about myself changed on the Race and I can’t even share that with people in a coherent sentence or better yet blog post. How can you even explain that this year of your life is the reason you are who you are today?
It affects the amount of clothes I have in my closet. It affects the things that I buy. It affects the books I read. It affects the articles I read. It affects the way I talk to people. It affects the conversations I have about justice. It affects what I want my community to look like. It affects what I want to do with my future. It affects the way I live my everyday life but to everyone else it was just a year of my life.
I don’t expect people to understand. I don’t expect people to really even care. But it blows my mind how much more the World Race is. It’s not just a year of your life. It’s about people and relationships that change and challenge you. It’s foundational in who you are as a person. It shapes you and allows you to question your understanding of the world. And creates a new way of thinking and being in you that you can’t quite understand. I’m so thankful for that year. It was crazy beautiful horrible all wrapped in one.
Thank you for making it happen for me.
