FIVE THINGS I LEARNED 1. Come Out of Your “Happy Place,” the Comfort Zone: Times in which you feel alone, insecure, nervous, shy, scare are the moments in which an individual grows substantially. You come to a realization that you can do so much more than you ever thought of doing in your life. 2. Give Strangers the Benefit of the Doubt: Some people genuinely want to be your friend. It is not a coincidence that he or she began talking to you simply “because.” Everything has a reason. And most of the time that reason is a good one. 3. Do Not Be Too Quick to Judge: If you really want to know what something is like, then go out there and experience it for yourself. Take the time to really know a certain something. 4. Take Risks: Life is not about getting by, it is about getting things that have never been done before, accomplished. 5. Be Happier: Worry only about what is important to you; you will be happier than you have ever been.

GOOD TIMES DO NOT LAST FOREVER I know that life wants me to enjoy the things I can when it is going good. After all was said and done, my travels to the far west of China along the historical Silk Road to Dunhuang were finished. My experiences living in the homes of multiple ethnic minorities in China were lived: After life-long friends were made in a timespan of less than a day; after eating foods that sometimes made me cringe just by looking at them were digested; after tears were shed, some out of sadness, others out of joy, and some out of frustrations, because Mandarin Chinese was just that difficult; after losing train tickets and flights alike; after struggling to put food on the table and finding creative ways to make money under the table just to feed myself; after taking hundreds of photos with random people, simply because I was different. So many miles upon miles were walked all around the country of China: from Beijing in the North East, to Shanghai in the South East, to Xi’an in Central China, to Dunhuang in the West, and to Kunming in the South, and many more places which I was able to experience. I thoroughly loved every second of that sometimes inconceivable country. Not only did Beijing become a second home for me, but China found its way into my heart to show me many things which I will forever hold dearly.