Log #7

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” It was the quote I loved the most when I left myself purposeless when getting admitted to college, studying away from home. Instead of finding myself in the unknown field, creating my own self was exactly how I made up for my lost part.

Brooklyn, written by Colm Toibin, was what I’ve read recently. The reason why I chose it was because I could see my own reflections from the character, named Eilis, who was an Irish immigrating to America to find works. Her feeling was exactly how I had when I stayed far away from home to pursue academic development. Loneliness, helpless, lost were what we both shared together. We seemed to be nobody in the new environment, without friends and family; it somehow became a torture for me, for being isolated by the whole universe. Lost in where we were not familiar with, both of us still strove to survive the best of us.

Brought up in the countryside, Yunlin, never had I experienced the life in a fast-pacing, rapidly-growing city until I got admitted to college in Taipei. Although everything seemed to be new and fresh to me, there was always lack of something－a sense of security from friends and family. At the very first beginning, without friends and family, even purposes of my life, I would rather choose to be a ghost wandering in this unfamiliar city. However, two years have passed. Little did I realize that there actually existed many people who faced the same situation as I did. It’s the same story that sometimes not finding myself is merely an excuse to isolate myself in the ivory tower.

Within these two years, I have been lucky enough to meet some like-minded friends who always encourage and share the similar purposes of life with one another. Surrounded by them, I found the sense of security back. Moreover, I’ve even grouped up with some of them to attend an entrepreneurship program which is actually far from my profession. Getting to know these friends seems to be a direction of my life, dragging me out of the unfamiliar field. Instead of finding myself, I’ve believed that I create a new one.