You always gotta write something when something is done

4th year students and teachers

So I graduated from ACC. I got a nice diploma with my Chinese and English names on it to prove the hell that I went through. But despite getting up at 6 AM every morning, despite studying thousands of Chinese characters, despite it all, I already miss the ACC life. There's something reassuring in knowing what your're doing, why you're doing it, and where it's taking you. But now all those short but big questions are creeping back out and their shadows are once again obscuring clarity. Already.

Thoreau wrote, "Simplify. Simplify. Simplify!... Simplicity of life and elevation of purpose."

I write, "Elevate your life by simplifying your purpose."

I have a friend who before I left told me, "I hope you change a lot while you're abroad." At the time I feigned being offended. (Who likes being told that they need to change?) But in my heart I agreed. I hoped I would change too.

So here I am. I'm picturing myself stepping off the plane- the plane that just took me miles from the six months I spent in Beijing. I step off wearing my black, Italian-style, fitted suit, leather shoes, a black dress shirt, no tie, sunglasses, and a look of confidence. My head's shaved like my little brother's. Maybe even a little smirk because I know that I've got a tattoo on my upper back that nobody can see.

But what is change?

Change is a noticeable difference between two points in time. But I'm beginning to believe that we've all got this core that is unchangeable. Or maybe I'm just not capable of changing it. Sure I've changed, I have more knowledge and less hair, more languages and less words, more friends and less time for them all, more experiences. But then again it's always like that. Do we ever change or are we always in the constant progression of life?

We come and go. It must all look so random from the bird's eye view. We meet to part and part to meet.