BEYONDexistence

I love reading the little fortunes inside of fortune cookies. Sometimes they’re not really fortunes (like my sister’s “the rubber bands are heading in the right direction”), but sometimes they’re really nice; and in either case I get to smile.

Maybe a week before I left to volunteer in Leyte, Philippines, January of 2014, our family had a Chinese food night so of course I was excited to open my cookie! The paper inside read, “Sorrow of parting will bring happiness of reunification.” I thought it was really fitting. Some of my friends had been telling me over the last weeks that they’d miss me, which is nice to hear, but my response is usually, “me too! but I’ll see you ……..” Whether I say I’ll see you next week, next year, or simply I’ll see you, my years at sleep-away camp as a kid and as a counselor has taught me “it’s never goodbye, just see you later.”

I was touched by that nights fortune, but in the hectic days to come I forgot all about it.
I planned to stay in the Philippines for 10 weeks, but couldn’t come home when the 10 weeks were up. I applied for two extensions while I was there and stayed until May. Four nights before I would finally get back on the plane headed for NY, one of my best friends and I took a long walk, and stopped for ice cream at Jollibee. We had been good friends for the whole 3.5 months we’d known each other, but during our last three or four weeks together we were almost always together; the idea of leaving him, along with my other best friends from all over the world was hurting my heart. I opened my wallet to pay my 25 pesos and a little piece of paper fell out. I didn’t know what it was at first, but when I looked closely I saw those familiar words I had pulled out of my fortune cookie in January. I hadn’t thought of it since before I left home… I didn’t even know I’d kept it! And out of all of the hundreds of times I had opened my wallet in the last 17 weeks, this was the first and only time it fell out.

Leaving the Philippines was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. I fell in love with that Country, and filled my heart with the most amazing friendships and experiences. I don’t know if I’ll go back, and I don’t know who I’ll see again, but I know that no matter what happens those friends and memories will always be a part of me.

To experience the world means to experience people “coming and going,” and thats ok… as long as you never say “goodbye.”