A strange sleeping pattern
My eyes don’t shut when I will them to.
It’s currently 1:16 a.m. in Madrid and I can’t sleep. Naturally, I flip
my computer open to see what’s going on in the world of my American loved ones. Here I am, scanning the ever-superficial Facebook
newsfeed, struggling to grasp at a segment of life in the old EEUU
(that’s how the United States is abbreviated in Spanish).
Every time I do this, however, I find myself asking myself, Why?
I’m in a completely different country in a different corner of the
world. Why am I resorting to Facebook to pacify my homesickness? It doesn’t do anything other than make me blind of what I
have right here in this culturally rich city.
Reading updates about family and friends at home is instant gratification, but it can’t fill the void that moving away from home leaves.
In order to soften the homesick feeling, I should focus on creating
a life and identity here, in the moment. Instead of looking upon
the past and smiling at memories, I need to embrace the right now
with courage in my step.
Maybe my eyes don’t shut when I want them to because I need to
keep them open. Perhaps it’s necessary that I keep my eyes peeled
in order to identify any opportunity that presents itself.
I suppose I should sleep with one eye open just in case a once-in-alifetime experience threatens to pass me by.
by Rachel Morgan, English and Spanish ‘13
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