Do-It-Yourself Postcard. So during my trip abroad, I had planned to send off in the neighborhood of like 40 postcards... I only finished like 20 or so. And I didn't exactly go in like order of priority or anything, so if you didn't receive a postcard from me, it doesn't mean you're not important to me, it just means you weren't lucky enough to be randomly selected off of my address book. Well anyways, to make amends, this post is designed as a do-it-yourself postcard. (Aside from a few personal touches here & there, most postcards I wrote followed the same basic mold.) You can make your own customized "message from DW while abroad"- one to your liking. Choose somewhere between five and ten of the snippets below (however many fit on a postcard) and arrange them in any order that makes sense. Snippets need not be used in their entirety...

Hey _______,

1) Singapore was amazing. So many memories & experiences that words & pictures would not do justice. As simple as it sounds, study abroad really makes you realize that life actually DOES go on outside the US.

2) I guess one of the most important lessons I've learned is to not be so afraid to step outside your comfort-zone, otherwise you might never have known what you were missing.

3) If you ever get a chance to study abroad or otherwise spend an extended period outside the US, definitely go for it- it's very eye-opening.

4) "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
~Shakespeare's Hamlet; Act I, Scene 5

5) I feel like I've learned a lot here- 99% of it outside of the classroom, I should add.

6) I encourage you to take a look beyond your current horizons. I've seen and learned so much from my travels, yet I feel like I've barely even scratched the surface.

7) I'm still trying to straighten out in my head everything that I've gained. It's like when you read a trippy book or watch a very "artistic" movie, and afterwards you're not completely sure what you just saw.

8) You get so much more of the culture when you talk and interact with the locals compared to when you visit relatives and they baby you.

9) This notion of "culture" is so much deeper than I would have imagined just half a year ago. Some things are universal, but every country, every person has small things that make them unique. "Same, same, but different," as they say in Thailand. Sounds simple, right? But until you've been there and SEEN it, LIVED it, it's all just lofty talk.

10)I'm thankful that this trip has allowed me to better appreciate the college experience before it's truly over. Helped put things in perspective. Savor these days while they last.

11) You don't realize what you've got until it's taken away. I miss foods, friends, and that feeling of familiarity... and firewater of course, heh.

12) It's also made me realize that we HAVE grown up. We may not notice it, but for better or worse, we are NOT the same people we came into college as. (Ignorance is bliss though, I still say, heh.)

13) "I can still recall old Mr. Barnslow getting out every morning and nailing a fresh load of tadpoles to that old board of his. Then he'd spin it round and round, like a wheel of fortune and no matter where it stopped he'd yell out 'Tadpole! Tadpole is a winner!' We all thought he was crazy. But then we all had some growing up to do." ~Jack Handey

14) I came here wanting to run away from real-life, but instead I think I've FOUND it.

(random letter-ending comment),
-Daniel

*Optional extra credit assignment: If you wrote your customized message out on paper, turn it over and draw a fish's tail connected to a lion's head. Now draw water coming out of its mouth into a river in front of it. Draw several skyscrapers in the background and write "SINGAPORE" across the top.

Trip Reflections. This past half-year was the longest I’d ever gone outside the US at one time. And though it was a blast and on the surface level I definitely didn’t want things to end, on a deeper level, I knew it was about time to come home- I had reaped about all the benefits I could out of the trip and it was probably for the better letting things end on a good note.

When I got home, I wasn’t depressed like I had feared I might be. In fact, I finally felt like I truly knew what it meant to feel infinite for more than a fleeting instant. I don’t know how to put the feeling in exact words, but it felt kind of like the world was there and I was there, and we were both just cruising along and neither could hurt the other. I felt like I could accept what had happened and what was going to happen, and no matter what, things would be ok. And though I know that feeling of peace & tranquility can't possibly last, I’m savoring it for as long as it'll stick.

I went into Singapore an emotional mess, and came out feeling... pretty alright. During my junior year, for a combination of reasons that kinda snowballed dramatically, I found myself suffering from depression. Singapore gave me a chance to pick myself up, put the past behind me, and finally move on with my life. It restored my faith in the general decency of human beings and a lot of my self-confidence that had been missing. It helped me prove to myself again that I could connect with people socially/emotionally on some level, that it wasn’t just me by myself against the world.

But yea, I think it was also a chance for me to grow a bit emotionally. I realize now how in the past, I have at times been emotionally immature and a bit of a drama queen. I don't know if I’m "cured," per se, but admitting you have a problem is the first step towards recovery, right?

It also made me re-evaluate what things do and do not matter in life. Grades do NOT matter to me anymore (famous last words, I’m sure =P). At this point, I just wanna graduate and do some real work; I’m done with this school thing for awhile. I discovered that every once in awhile, you need to take some time out for yourself; whether it be to explore the city, or just to explore the depths of your own mind and thoughts- it fosters that sense of calm and self. I learned that when considering whether to seize upon an unlikely opportunity, consider how difficult it would be to get to the same place again should you choose to decline. Friends are extremely important; you don't miss 'em till they're gone. And not being able to help out a friend in need has got to be one worst feelings ever. Come hell or high water, you look out for your clan, even if it means sticking your own neck out on the line. (Looking back, the few times I’ve lapsed on this philosophy have been among the greatest regrets in my life.) “It’s all in the tribe,” and for the clan, your comrades, your true blue scoobydoos you do what you gotta do. We can't always help out everybody, but we always look out for our own.

Over the course of this trip, I had a chance to see a lot of underprivileged people and countries. And even when I did give donations and stuff, it just seemed so futile and powerless to sway the course of things. I couldn't help but think of Motorcycle Diaries; I saw roughly the same thing on my travels, but it didn't change me in the same way (i.e. it didn't turn me into a Communist revolutionary). I think all it did was make me very cynical about the ability of international economic policy to save people from their plight. Some things in life are not fair, and though I wish they could be changed, I feel like that power is so far out of our hands. There are just so many injustices that cannot easily be righted. Makes you think for a sec and realize how much we take for granted. =/