Where I've Stood. Where I stand.

I have made mistakes, gotten my hands dirty, bloodied my knees, and paid a ticket for a left turn in a straight lane. Yet, I'm all the better for it because I learn. I avoid making the same mistake. I'm smarter for it. I will get my hands dirty, but I'll file my nails down first. And as for those darned old bloody knees, I just need to strut more carefully on ice while sporting stilettos, especially when debuting new jeans. About that ticket, it's been my only ticket since I was 16, and I still turn left when I'm not supposed to. It feels good to be a little rebellious. And I will continue to make new mistakes.

Physically, I've put my footprint all over the globe, from Asia, Australia, and Europe to St. Thomas, St. Lucia and Aruba (inconclusive list). I've also been imprinted. My passport is my most prized possession. It is my gateway to experience. Though I don't discount the opportunity for experience in my backyard (don't really have one right now), being a foreigner allows me realize entirely new perspectives. To cause a child to cry by lifting my sunglasses and revealing blue eyes makes my world so much bigger. To be drugged in a club and rescued by friends makes my world so much scarier. To speak Spanish to a Brazilian to speak Portuguese to an Italian while standing in a place where the Roman language was created makes my world so much fancier. I've got a pin in a map for every place I've been and lived. I want to explore so many more places that the paper becomes too obscure.

Emotionally, I've explored many foreign territories as well, some places I wanted to go, and some places I'm just better for having gone through. Taking all experiences in stride requires a good mixture of catch steps, leaps and some falls. I find betrayal the most painful, learning to embrace its paradox (the fortunate in misfortune) the most difficult, and relief that a firm determination is the most consistent. I'm a lover not a hater, so when someone pre-judges my absentminded smile as plastic, my solid ambition as conceited, or my open to anything attitude as reckless, I get sad. I always wish the best for everyone.