I guess I can call myself a pretty safe person in general. I don't take many risks in life as I think I should be. But that all changed my second year of college when I had this gut feeling inside me telling me that I had to take some risks and doing things that are completely out of my comfort zone in order for me to live my life to the fullest.
The idea that I ended up going with was to become someone's pen pal. Yeah I know that it probably sounds childish and you're probably thinking "You are a girl who's in your twenties, why in the world would you do something like this?" but hear me out.
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I wanted to meet people around the same age as me who I could have a few things in common but also enrich myself in a culture that is completely different from my own. I felt like I needed to put myself out there in order to get the most of the one life that I was given. Putting myself out there in the open to a bunch of strangers is one of the scariest things I have ever done, especially because I like to be in my own bubble sometimes.
Honestly, becoming someone's pen pal and having a pen pal ended up being one of the best decisions I have ever made. It started as simple as sending emails to one another every so often to exchanging phone numbers and texting every day to exchanging social media info in order to make sure that neither of us was being catfished (which thank God wasn't the case) and eventually Skype chats that would sometimes go late into the night. Over time, we shared everything we felt comfortable sharing about college or university life, hobbies, etc. I even picked up a little bit of the local language because I wanted to explore this new experience to its fullest potential.
Sometimes, people who are thousands of miles away can make you feel better than the one's right beside you.
We've both gone through some tough times but we haven't been alone. We supported and been there for one another through thick and thin. We laughed, cried, and been our most ridiculous selves to one another. We've also given each other some pretty good life advice when we needed it the most. Sometimes you just meet someone and you just click --- you're comfortable with them like you've known them your entire life and you don't have to pretend to be someone or something you're not. Although are time differences and countries that separate us, we have created a bond that cannot be broken. Needless to say, we are stuck with each other whether we like it or not. Its been a little over two years now since that first email was sent and we are still just as close as when we first met. This experience has not only given me a pen pal but a best friend for life.
