Forever Paroikia

I have never been happier.

I know people say that. I know I've said that. But this time is different.

I don't have all the money in the world. I'm not with the ones I love. I don't have a lot of worldly possessions in my reach. I'm not, at all, sure of my future.

But I have the realest peace of mind. The truest joy. I am the most calm and content Arielle I've ever seen.

It took having the most heated confrontation with the One I love the most, to get here. But that anger and frustration is what fueled this fire. This fire of humility and joy and gratefulness.

I am so grateful.

Nothing matters, other than each day I'm given. I'm not anxious for the future. I don't dwell on the past. I don't hold myself to impossible standards that only lead to guilt and self-deprication.

All I see is the day in front of me. Everything else...is smoke.

And I could not be happier.

These months. This island. This experience. These people. They've changed me. My relationship with this place has been loving and hating. Pushing and pulling. Giving and taking. I am forever changed. For the better.

There will always be a place in my heart for Paroikia. For this school that taught me how to learn and how to live; more than any class I've ever taken in America. For the view of the shorefront and Market street when I'm walking to class everyday. For the local shopowners who will sit and have three-hour conversations with me. For the heart to hearts I have with the friends, who were only strangers a short while ago. For the hurricane-like winds that blow everything to shreds but sing me to sleep every night. For the tears cried and the words yelled. The falling in love while being 5,200 miles apart. The fear of not being sure of myself. The challenge to write what I know; all that I know. The white buildings that are blinding in the sunlight. The sound of the ferry's horn at the port. The way of life in Paros.

For the brief moments of divinity.

I'm different.
I didn't think it would happen.