The past year flew by faster than previous years. Today marked the last day of my last summer vacation during my academic life, in which was spent working. I can only see the pattern of what's to come.
I was discussing with one of my newfound friends (who subletted a room at our place for a week, but turned out to be quite friendly) all the places I've visited. It struck me that while I groan and moan about being 23, I've done quite a bit for someone my age. Traveled all over Europe, visited Morocco, bits of China and Japan, Venezuela, and soon enough, St. Petersburg, Russia and South Korea. In terms of countries, I've visited more than I can count on my hands and feet and that is much more than normal people at my age. However 1/3 of my 20's has disappeared, and I am still without fully paid career or job. Oddly enough I truly think whatever I do I'll enjoy it with my heart and nothing less. People say they see a weird spark in my eye when I say the word "space". And when I say it, I think about all the ways space applications can help people and how countries can form collaborations and further their cooperation. I revel in the political sillyness and bureaucracy involved, though I have to stick my hands through it all since space is heavily tied to politics, not science.
I remember those days in China when I would look up in the sky and see a star (or maybe it was a satellite) and upon that star, I'd wish I'd see another star. Sometimes I wonder how I didn't grow in the countryside where I could lay back on a large rock in the middle of nowhere and look up to the sky.
