The Greatest Adventure

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At this moment, I am on a flight returning from a glorious and relaxing ten day trip to the United Kingdom. Having moved to Washington, D.C. from Chicago for the past year and a half, London I realized is a magnificent and slightly familiar place. For a city of over 8 million people, I was astounded by how clean, safe, efficient, and aesthetically gorgeous it is. There is much that American and global cities can learn from not only London, but from British structure and English traditions.

The weekend before I was supposed to leave for England, I was extremely nervous and for the first time in years, I felt… scared. I used to never be afraid, of anything. I left for Syria a day and a half after I had a plane ticket, I moved to Chicago when I was 18 having spent no more than 24 hours there before, and I started a new life pursuing a career I had very little (if any) experience in across the country in Washington, D.C. I am almost never afraid, especially of life. I truly believe it is best lived through personal agency and through free will, the most exciting moments and best decisions made on a whim.

What does scare me are attachments. Personal attachments make me irrationally believe that they will infringe on my freedom. But that, as I should know by now, is absolutely not true.

I went to England (again) to see someone that I met almost four years ago in a classroom in Damascus, someone who at that time would prove to become a stronger extension of my heart.

We’ve always been close. He is unlike anyone I had met before, and embodies so many things that I love about life. And after this lovely trip, I’m sure he can say the same (see also Feisty Latina). For some reason though, a few weeks ago I was so afraid to see him again after over two years (a shameful amount of time), which for that matter was the last time I was in England and out of the States. What I realized is that the more we stay in one place, the more comfortable we become and forget what real living is. Being comfortable in your 20s is a terrible thing, and a few weeks ago I was dangerously close to that. And that is why the fear and the doubt set in.

Back tracking to summer of 2011 in Damascus: in our first few conversations together what I initially felt besides awe and wonder was something I have rarely felt since- freedom of the heart. I realized that I could see another side of the world through a different set of eyes. I wanted to share in those experiences now that I knew it was possible. What I didn’t know at the time but figured out a bit later was that Mikey makes that happiness, exploration, and all else true to my heart possible; through him am I free.

A part of me had always known this, but for some reason over the months of moving, studying, and delving deeper into the opportunities of my legal career, I forgot. So when March of this year rolled around and I realized I had a ticket to London, I being so deeply entrenched in my new life in Washington could not remember why I bought the ticket. I lost sight for a brief moment what brought us together, and hence who I really was. I panicked.

But after we spent many hours talking and wandering throughout Hyde Park and Kensington, I slowly started remembering. Remembering our friendship (that has blossomed into a beautiful and gratifying relationship), remembered what made us fundamentally close- two free, kind-hearted yet kindred spirits who thrive on adventures, foreign places, last minutes decisions (where we assume will be great stories later) and mostly living life fearlessly. I don’t think Mikey ever lost sight of that, but I did. Because right now, we are each caught in a unique, albeit boring, chapter of our lives- one that is focused on the professional development of budding careers. But we are at the right places to pursue it, as we are entitled to. The cornerstones of these careers now will allow us to live free later. I can see that his work is wearing down on his spirit and especially his body, and no doubt when this plane touches American soil I will be thrown back into my busy life and endless obligations of law school.







But when the busyness subsides, who we really are remains the same. What we have (and have always been, I think) transgresses relationships known in the familiar sense: I want him to travel as far and wide as he can possibly go, always, and whether he openly admits it or not, Mikey has given me his heart. For two free young souls, I’m not sure there is anything more we could ask for.





There are many incredible adventures in life, many opportunities that come forth- some worth pursuing, some not. But love, I am learning, is the grandest adventure of all. And it is worth pursuing.

So to England- my potential home, you’re beautiful as you are rich in culture, history, power and global influence. To the unforgiving English ( 😉 )- you’re so incredibly kind and I am slowly (ever so slowly) learning the nuances of your ironic culture…

And to my better, exhausted, unbelievably patient and kinder half- I’ll come back crazy, so long of course as you’ll have me.

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