Sarah recognizing how she's changed....

It’s sort of depressing to think no one’s really reading these blogs any more…no one besides us at least.  That period of our life is officially over.  While I am certainly nostalgic, and I can’t say I wouldn’t accept a plane ticket back, I am at peace with our experience.

We’ve all grown; we’re all forever a part of each other, linked through a period in our lives that changed everything.   There are little parts that do escape my mind every now and then.  We presented our symposium a couple of weeks ago, and memories that slipped my mind flooded back.  Within the presentation, there was a picture of me kneeling in front of a newly organized bookcase, filled with books we raised back in the U.S.  Some how, I totally forgot we did that.  Or at least I hadn’t thought about it in a while.  Being together obviously sparks those memories and calms my fears that I’m some how compartmentalizing everything I learned.

I’m starting to realize, though, I really haven’t compartmentalized everything as much as I thought.  Sometimes it’s hard for me to see change in myself, but if I really step back and look at myself, I really have changed so much.  I’m not being challenged every day like I was in South Africa, which is one of the most depressing parts about being home.  I remember calling my Mom from Loch Road at the end of a day and telling her a lot of times my head would hurt after thinking so much for so long.  Every little thing, from taking the mini-bus to school, to deciphering an Afrikaans accent, to connecting injustices in a new democracy to a democracy that has been in place since 1776, my brain was constantly on over-drive.  Here, things are pretty mundane.  I am, however, able to think about the mundane more critically now, to see past the little life I live thanks to my experience in South Africa.

I saw Brittany a couple of nights ago, and she said something that kind of stuck with me and pretty much summed up how I feel about the friendships we’ve formed.  She said she loves seeing everyone, because it just reminds her that life is good.  I guess written down it seems a little simple, but that’s exactly how it feels.  Every time I see someone from our group, a flood of memories just comes rushing back.  Not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for my opportunity, and I know I will take it with me where ever I go.