Since my last entry I spent a month in Thailand as an escape from the seemingly never-ending cold of last winter, got promoted to official full-time work status and transferred to a location in North York, bought a beautiful new car and re-kindled a musical relationship that was always full of promise but never seemed to deliver any tangible successes.
After a pretty miserable birthday forced me to reflect on some of my choices in life, I made some very important decisions that I've been unable to make for years. Had I only re-read my own blog (public diary?) perhaps it would've opened my eyes to myself, but I tend to do things the hard way first. The unhappiness had been building in me for a long time, but came readily to a head as birthdays now tend to force a reflection of where you're at vs. where you want to be and where you're headed. I'm a very lucky guy and have a great supportive family that are helping me actualize my plans for a positive forward-thinking exit strategy.
It is amazing how much I can consciously forget, yet have it remain boiling deep down in my psyche. My exit plan for the BS is to save up money for the next 6-8 months by selling my car and living frugally. During this phase I will attend French classes and hopefully become relatively fluent by the time I move to France for 6-12 months where I will work to become fully fluent. To support myself there I will either homestay with a French family, work in a hostel or cafe, teach English, or perhaps even volunteer at a farm in exchange for room and board. With the money that I've saved up I will take weekend/weeklong trips throughout Europe satiating my travel bug while providing stimulating subject matter for photography. Depending on how graduate school applications go and whether or not a French girl steals my heart, I would most likely return to Canada in the fall of 2015, eventually seeking work in social policy or social work, perhaps in some capacity for the government or a university.
A lot of tough work lies ahead, but I finally feel prepared to make those bold steps, and accomplishments stem from taking step after step and not letting small setbacks falter your determination.
Healthfulness, intellectual and social improvement, artistic expression, professionalism, life experience, happiness... these are my goals.
