my first weekend living in a modern city in japan has opened my eyes wider than i could have imagined. it was more than just the physical aspects, like the social options and conveniences of living in a big city, that affected me. and it had more to do than changing jobs from a teacher to student. the move to okazaki was merely a catalyst to an overdue self reflection, and helped bring about a readjustment of perspective on who i want to be and what i want to do with my life.

i feel like an entire layer of confusion has been peeled back to reveal the person i used to be. i lived an entire year caught up in self-inflicted hardships while complaining about it the whole time. i went one year staying clear of technology and the software industry only to realize how much i miss it. and i spent an entire year pushing myself further down the rabbit hole of adventure, all the while not noticing how far ive pushed myself away from my friends back in the states.

JET was supposed to be my sabbatical; i was burnt out from two crazy years of full-time grad school and full-time work and needed a break to sit back and relax my brain. but somewhere along the line i got caught up in the web of my own adventures and lost sight of the things i really love most.

to the friends out there who have almost given up on me for being a selfish masochist who pointlessly seeks out new adventures just to complain about them to the world: i hope you can understand that i needed to come here and do what i did, but that i realize now what it cost me. i plan on finishing up these two months of study and then getting back to the things i love.