What Comes Next?

The day before I got married I was speaking with my future father-in-law about how quickly everything seemed to be moving and how my year to plan the wedding was suddenly less than 24 hours. He said something I’ve never forgotten – “When you’re planning for something, no matter how far in the future, eventually it happens.” Time and time again, I’ve found these words to be true – a new job, a new city, a new house, or even taking a year away from work. When I arrived in South America with ten whole months stretched before me to spend as I chose, it felt like it would be forever! But of course, the trip had been planned out in general terms, including how it would end. Now I find my ten months whittled down to ten weeks and it’s time to enact the portion of the plan that covers returning to life and work in the United States.

In some ways, ten weeks seems like forever – ten whole weeks! When I left, I put all of my belongings in storage, sold my car, took my cat to a friend, left my job, and left the country in approximately ten weeks. The reverse should be easy, right? Approximately ten weeks to find an apartment and a job, to reclaim my cat, to unpack my belongings and spend time eating all my favorite foods in the company of my friends. In reality, finding an apartment and a job are time-consuming, frustrating, and slow to reach completion without the added obstacle of being in a different country, meaning these next ten weeks will begin to test the personal development I have achieved over the past months in South America.

In order to manage the anxiety of knowing I have no place to live, no job, no car, and a deadline to rectify all of these items, the skills I focused on during my trip will be critical. I will need to be patient, flexible, and adaptable. I will need to manage my expectations and assumptions as I move from one culture to another, especially since I’ve spent ten months idealizing ‘home’ in my mind and my conversations. I will very much need moments when I allow myself to be still, to breathe, to relax, in order to overcome the numerous obstacles that surely await me when I step once more onto American soil. I will most likely not need to speak Spanish, but I will need the ability to change points of view and assess problems from multiple directions, a skill that speaking a foreign language enhances.

Once the needs above are addressed, I will have to continue utilizing and enhancing my skills in order to bring my best self equally to my pillars of career, travel, and friends. The productivity culture of the United States is ever present and ever more insistent. Whether I return to my previous employer or find a new opportunity, there will be shrill and persistent demands upon my time and my attention. There will be pressure to work longer, work harder, do more things at once, be more PRODUCTIVE. It is up to me to be patient, flexible, and adaptable with myself and others as I look for a balance that maintains a high standard of productivity while allowing me to live my life in a way that brings joy and meaning. It is my responsibility to both myself and others to question norms and assumptions that may not increase productivity and balance for everyone. It is essential that I continue taking moments to be still, breathe, and relax.

As I continue into the future that has suddenly arrived, all I can hope is that my new skills help me live in better balance to create a much healthier, happier, and more meaningful life.