Travels Through Turkey: What I've Learned About Living in the Moment

I will be the first to admit that I am terrible at living in the moment. I love to reminisce about my favorite memories from when I was a kid and all the fun times I've had at Prep and with my friends. And I love to dream about the future and all the adventures it's going to bring me. And there isn't anything wrong with remembering the past and dreaming of the future. The past is there for me to look back on and remember how great things have been when things are hard and the future is there for me to imagine all the crazy things I will get to do.
But there comes a certain time when remembering and dreaming gets in the way of living. I think many times when I was in the US, I spent so much time thinking of different times that I forgot to really live in my present and I probably missed some really great things because of that. So when I came here, I told myself that I was going to live fully and completely in the present. I understood how short a time I would get to live here and so I knew that I didn't want to miss a minute of it thinking of things that are no longer here.
Saying that was one thing. Doing it was completely different. Because when you are away from your family and your friends and your home for this long, sometimes you need to escape to a different time to escape how hard the one you are in is. Sometimes the only thing that could make me feel better was dreaming about being home again after my year was over or remembering all those days spent laughing with my friends at home. I sometimes needed to escape the present for just a few minutes so I could come back and live in it again.
And now that I've been here for so many months, I still haven't mastered the art of staying fully here all the time. But I've gotten better. Because I don't want to miss that moment when I'm laughing during a Backgammon game with a friend. I don't want to miss that beautiful sunset. I don't want to miss all the Turkish flying around me. I don't want to miss that moment when I'm dancing with the other students during dinner on our trip. I don't want to miss all these moments of complete and utter happiness.
I only have 3 1/2 months left living here. 3 1/2 months of memories waiting to happen, of happiness waiting for me to enjoy it. But at the end of those months, I'm going to go back to the US and I'm going to make myself live in the present there too. Because good memories and happiness are everywhere and I will find wonderful moments there just like I have here. And I don't want to miss those either.
So for now, I'm still working on staying present, but I've learned just how important it is while I've been here. If you spend all of your present living in the past and dreaming about the future, you aren't going to have anything to remember later. Here's to another 3 1/2 months in this wonderful life I've been given and another 3 1/2 months of happiness.