Everything in life is a bit of a balancing act, whether it’s eating a balanced diet, balancing work/school with one’s social life, time with a significant other and time with one’s friends, and a myriad of other situations. That balancing act is magnified about 10 times when one moves to another country. There are days when you feel 100% certain that you made the right choice in moving and that you are perfectly and completely happy in your current country, but there are other days where all that is stopping you from booking tickets back home is that voice of reason in your head that says, “Stop being silly, you are made of tougher stuff than this. Remember, the only way out is through.” For me, this balancing act is tested annually during the fall and winter seasons. This past weekend when I went up to Taipei, the supermarkets were stocked with fat orange pumpkins and Halloween candy graced the shelves. Seeing the beginnings of Halloween season caused the dreaded worm of homesickness to begin wiggling its way in to my heart as I reminisced upon brisk fall days complete with red and gold leaves, apple cider and pumpkin products, football, and the smell of campfires. With my mother and three of my favorite women coming to Taiwan in less than a month, I know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but seeing them will be a bit of a double-edged sword in the fact that with their arrivals, the reality of what I passed up to stay here in Taiwan will be staring me in the face. It is a time that I am both desperately yearning for and slightly afraid of.
I’ve never been a good decision maker, mainly because I tend to obsess over what may happen as a result, I tend to argue both sides of any case, and I also tend to look back on things and wonder what could have been. I know in my heart that when I move back to the States, I will look back upon my time in Taiwan with only the fondest of memories but at the moment, it’s quite the struggle to remind myself of that fact. In my ballet class, we’ve been working on pirouettes and chaine turns and a key technique to proper execution of these is not losing your center. So, please bear with me while I find my own center and pirouette off in to the next stage of my time here in Taiwan 
And a Happy early Halloween to all!
