When Treacherous Storms lead to Sunny Days

Pt. 1: The Treacherous Storm

(An excerpt from my journal, written July 22, 2016)

"...When I planned to move to a new city two months ago, I would have never imagined how stressful and difficult it would end up. It was mentally trying to have to find out that I'd be starting my career before moving into an apartment. It was exhausting having to go from one motel room to the next, leaving my belongings in my car, sharing limited space in a cramped single-bedroom, and reduced to sleeping on a cold, hard floor every night for two weeks. It's like my internal compass always points in the happy, positive direction, but the little things just pile up to cause me to be frustrated everyday. Even yesterday, my car unexpectedly stopped running in the morning, and I thought to myself "I don't deserve a world of stress. How could the universe hate me so much?..."

(An excerpt, written September 6, 2016)

"...it feels like I have no one here like me. I don't understand how someone as social as myself could feel alone. No one likes the things I like here, or has the sense of humor like I do, or is willing to dedicate time to being social. At first I thought "Am I too social? Is everyone else normal and I'm the one with something wrong?" And then I went to Atlanta for labor-day weekend and I realized my previous inference proved false.

But is still is so lonely. I can't trust anyone with my bad days, laugh out loud the same way I did back then, or go on long trips with these guys like I would with a close friend..."

January 7, 2017 (Present Day)

In three weeks, I will be leaving Iowa, and two days after that, I will begin my journey in Puerto Rico, where life as I've known for six months will not matter, and the life I will have will be more than satisfying, but life-changing.

This entire time that I've been here, I've been searching for the reason I was brought here. As a believer in God, I put my trust in him for things that I cannot understand. And yet, I still try to find the reason. "What if I'm meant to change someone's life here?", "What if I find something here in Iowa about myself that I couldn't discover in Atlanta?" I would have these thoughts because of my situation, The Storm.

It is truly a test of a man to deal with feelings of loneliness, neglect, and frustration from the ones around you. When you have a boss that can't seem to give 5 minutes towards your professional development because he's too busy; when you have a white co-worker who brags about himself to boost his ego and says racially insensitive comments but claims he "respects everyone"; when you have young people at your job who are not into a single thing that you are into, and you don't have your close friends nearby to hang out with; when the great world you once knew seems so dark at times, it is harder to see a beacon of light.

But today is the last day that I dwell on the darkness, because the storm is over...


Pt. 2: The Sunny Days

On December 12, I got a call at work saying that I was headed to Puerto Rico in February, and I couldn't have been happier. On social media, I just focused on the excitement. "I'm moving to Puerto Rico guys!" was my headline, because that's what I wanted most people to see. What they couldn't see was how much it truly cleansed my soul to be free of the negativity of Iowa. It truly was seeing a bright rainbow after being soaked in heavy rain.

The bright and sunny days are ahead, and to that I say "Thank you God". Thank you for allowing me to be surrounded by better people, better weather, and giving me my life back. Thank you for allowing me to explore my passions after not being able to explore them since graduation.

And now, as I explore a new culture and look forward to PR, I focus on positive outlooks only, because that's where my internal compass directs me.

(More about PR to come, as I actually start living there)

---

First Post

This is a place for DON members to share pictures, videos and stories about their life.
Think of it as an extension of Facebook except you can post anything on here.