(Expected) Changes of Living Abroad

While searching for a few resources for moving abroad online, I stumbled across a list on this blog. Reading through the "17 things that change forever when you live abroad" sparked an even bigger reflection on what actually constitutes a "life." For the last three years, I have acquired things and built my life around them. I have paintings, furniture, dishware, coffee mugs, bedsheets, towels, decorations, etc. that defined "my life." These items became a part of my "value." A direct reflection of my personality, of who I am as a person. Is that a bad thing? I don't believe so, no. I do; however, believe it to be a reflection of the type of life I anticipated living. An expectation that this "life" I was working to build would travel with me no matter where I went. Pack it up. Put it in a moving truck. Drive it to wherever my next destination happened to be. This, of course, was a narrow minded assumption that driving to my next home would be possible. Not to be overly critical of my thought process, but retrospectively, I wasn't actually thinking critically. Whether I attended an international medical school or not, my goals have always included moving for a period of time to a different country to practice medicine. What would I have done then? Likely reflected on this same idea in a different context, and with different tangibles. Now, all of these objects that I used to build my life are packed in a box and will remain in boxes for at least 15 months. My life and home are no longer defined by them. I will build a new life with new things nearly 3,000 miles away from the place I have always called home. This time; however, my emphasis will no longer be on those tangible commodities, but instead on the people I meet and the experiences I have.

To say that I am not afraid of how my perspectives and attitudes about life will change, or the fact that the lives of my friends and family will continue on as usual without me being here, would be a complete lie. On the other hand, knowing that this experience will open doors that I didn't even know existed, is one of the most exciting and liberating pieces of information I've personally uncovered in a long time.