It’s funny how it’s already almost September and the realization is starting to hit: I’m moving to Korea in less than three months. A whole new life is waiting for me, and honestly? I’m curious to see what it will look like. I’m most excited about the time I’ll finally have for myself to figure out what life really means to me, to get to know myself better, to rest my soul (in Seoul – you get it 😉), and maybe, just maybe, to find out what makes me truly happy.
But reality is creeping in too. Slowly, my apartment is turning into half-packed boxes and empty shelves. I’ve started selling furniture, and sometimes when I walk through the rooms, it feels so strange. Like one part of my life is already ending while another hasn’t quite started yet. The other night, I walked around and shed a few quiet tears. Four years in this place and now I’m leaving a piece of myself behind. It’s the end of a chapter, but also the start of something I’ve been dreaming of for so long.
If I’m being honest, deep down I don’t know if I’ll ever come back. Of course, it depends on how I feel once I’m there, on the people I meet, on the experiences I’ll have. But something tells me this move will change my life in ways I can’t even imagine yet. Maybe I’ll stay in Korea, maybe I’ll take more time off afterward, maybe something else entirely. I don’t know. And that’s exactly what I want to figure out.
What makes it even more real, though, is thinking about my friends. The ones I see all the time now, the ones I text for dinners, brunches, gym sessions or random walks. That’s going to change. The other day I told one of my closest friends how strange it will be not seeing each other once or twice a month anymore. And she just laughed and said she’d be waking up to my endless reels and memes instead. So nothing will really change. And she’s right. Random meetups may not be possible anymore, but video calls are. Dinner dates across time zones, or even study dates with me practicing Korean while my friends focus on their own things. It’s all still possible. Just different.
Still, I know it will be hard to say goodbye. Not only to my friends, but also to the person I’ve been while living here, in this apartment, in this chapter of my life.
If I had to put it into one word, it would be this: bittersweet.
matcha latte on a rainy night 