Dear Diary...

My little sister once said something pretty profound regarding relationships. She said the whole point of having relationships (friendship or otherwise) is to have a witness to your life. To have someone there to see it, validate it and in a sense, make it real. The same sentiment was later echoed in the film Into the Wild by Christopher McCandless who wrote, "Happiness is only real when shared."

I have met amazingly wonderful people here in Japan, people who are now apart of my life on this continent or any other I happen to find myself. To have met them and have them witness this chapter of my life has been nothing short of a blessing.

The dust is still settling after having my bestie with testes visit from Chicago, and there is something so specific, so special, about having someone here that knew me before, that knows me and all my isms, witness my life here in Japan. Having Matt here in some ways did make my experience here more tangible. In a sense it woke me up from the seemingly unreal, dream-like state that I've found myself going in and out of since touching the ground last April.



Having him here reminded me that I am in fact living in Japan, that (despite myself) I've learned some Japanese, that I can get around without an ounce of fear, that I've learned a great deal about the culture, and most importantly about myself. In short, I've done something...well, big. And by God (truly by God), I've done it well. It takes a witness sometimes to realize those things about ourselves, especially for me as I often focus on what I've yet to accomplish and not all the the stripes I've earned.

I'm so very thankful for him,
and all of the witnesses of my life here and abroad.
Thanks for making my happiness real.