When You've Seen The Colors Of The World

Greetings from the States!

No more saying "America" coz its not a country. Its a continent, hahaha. Such a common but wrongful phrase.

I really thought I would visit Europe first before stepping on the Uncle Sam country. It sounds much easier and realistic with all the visa thingy, distance and my obsession to go to Italy. But yeah, no one can predict the faith. Furthermore, I'm here for a leadership camp, not a leisure trip full of shopping and sightseeing.

So I've been to a lot of places with a lot of different colors this year. I started the year in Singapore with Luluk. I had an adventurous Easter getaway to South Sulawesi with Metta and followed by a trip to Manila just two weeks after. The summer holiday was really exciting and fun. I visited South Korea and Japan, which was just amusing. Doing all the stuff that I imagined when studying the Korean language. Another wonderful time was Youth Leadership Summit. OH, my mind is still attached with the summit. Keep cherishing and remembering the precious moments like everyday.

All those trips clearly make a different in my life. I'm now walking to new places and start comparing things. I no longer have the fresh and empty mind waiting to be filled with amusement of walking on the new roads that I've never visited before. I even said that the road in DeKalb is just like the highway between Riyadh and Jeddah, but the temperature is much better - of course.

It's not crowded after you've seen Tokyo from the above

I was really disappointed with my Japan trip because I felt like I've seen it all. The roads were just like in Singapore. The buildings weren't as pretty as in Seoul. The market wasn't as dynamic as in Thailand or Vietnam. Even the foods, we have it all in Indonesia. There was nothing special except the KitKat.

The Manila trip could've been worse if only they don't get super cheap stuffs. I still amazed with how cheap a large Dairy Queen Blizzard can be. The old town looked like those in Saigon. Fort Rotterdam was much better, I think. But we never ever have Kultura and yeah, I wanna go back to the Philippines. Not for exploring nature but for exploiting my wallet. It's more fun in the Philippines. Such a true tagline.

So now, after the tour to Chicago... I asked myself, "why wasn't I feel like super excited for this super limited chance to explore Illinois and a country that is a dreamland for millions populations in the entire world?" I was using my rational mind and emotional memory this time, not spending money on a piece of clothes with fancy label. The label is the magnet, never the clothes. I kept reminding myself how a magnet here could buy me 5 cool pouches in Ben Thanh Market, Vietnam.

Thank you Leaderonomics and Laugh For What

Even with the leadership program itself.
Thanks to SEALNet, I'm now used with all the project thingy. I didn't know anything about Community service or community project a month ago. I even mentioned that my goal during the summit is to learn what is community service. But now, I can give you 5 pages of guideline and hours of talk if you ask me about identifying local needs, planning, proposal making and such.

Our group was the fastest to finish the project simulation activity - simply because we knew the rule. Or, I knew the rule.

On the top of everything, I'm reallyyyyy grateful for all the opportunities that I've got this year. And yeah, I will look for more chance to see more colors of the world. Colors are still pretty and interesting even after you've seen it like everyday, right? You just need to make some comparison and refresh it so you won't get tired of the colors. Otherwise, you'll have your world in monochrome or black and white.

Maybe I should think less and start enjoying things like its the last day of my life.