Goodbye::Hello

I have four hours left before I fly from Boston to Japan, on a one-way ticket, beginning the first segment of my six month journey. This past week, I have been busy "closing down" life in Boston, saying "good-byes" to close friends, and experiencing what could be considered many "lasts." You cannot have a beginning, without an end; last week, I said goodbye to a job where walking into work meant walking in to be greeted by friends; I said goodbye to a church which a mere year-and-a-half ago opened its doors and welcomed me in; I said goodbye to close friends--my new found family. You cannot have a beginning without an end. I said "goodbye" in order to say "hello" to a journey which has been at the back of my mind for a long time...a journey which I often found myself daydreaming about, a journey which has kept me awake countless nights.

Four hours, and I get to start this journey. I embark on this journey to see the world, to experience humanity, to become closer to God. I travel without a destination in mind, without a set route, or an itinerary. It is the journey itself that I am excited about--the plane rides, the train rides, the bus rides, the ferry rides; the opportunity to start in Asia, and make my way to Europe, seeing the landscape and the people slowly change as the environment changes. I travel to reflect on all of this change with hopes that I too will be changed.

Prehaps Rosalia de Castro put it best when she says: "I see my path, but I don't know where it leads.  Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it."