Body and Soul
My body tells me to do one thing and my soul tells me differently. My body yells at me to sleep and recuperate from this journey I have been on but my soul tells me to take in every moment and to come home without any regrets. There are times when my body and soul are not connected but they agree on the fact that Greece is a place I must return to.
My body has carried me through the long walks to see the Acropolis, the many stairs I climbed at Mystras and the frigid swim in the Aegean Sea. I reminisce the weeks spent in Athens and the amount of walking we did every day. The first night in Athens, the class walked through the town. The next day, a group of us were feeling adventurous and went for an even longer walk to explore. Being in a new part of the world means an enormous amount of exploration and I am in love with that. My body has walked through multiple museums, and down the streets of Symi. Not only has my body taken me to these extremes, but my brain has grown as well. This January, I have started my Greek vocabulary and learned am immense amount in the classroom and on the streets.
While in Greece, I have had an experience like never before. My soul is content and never wants to leave. I have somehow managed to laugh harder every day to the point of tears. Khadijah and I can just look at each other and start to laugh. Happy does not even have a strong enough connotation to explain how I have felt the past three weeks. I have been to a country that was on my bucket list and eaten a true souvlaki from a local Greek vendor. My soul not only has allowed me to take every opportunity and run with it, but it pushed me to apply to a study away program. I don’t think about what is possible from my body, if my soul feels like it is something that should be in my near future, then it is meant to be. This can sometimes take a toll on my body.
Together the soul and the mind have carried me through Greece with a joyous heart. At times, it has been easier to ignore my mind in Greece. At the flea market, I tell myself that it doesn’t matter if I buy this scarf because who knows when I will be back in Greece. At home, I listen to my more practical mind. Every day since the very start of this journey, I get into bed and think to myself that it has been a very good day. I fall asleep with a smile on my face. Back home in Washington, I have many memorable days, but I can’t say I am as pleased with the day as I fall asleep. Being in Greece has given me the chance to see how a tired body and a blissful soul can work together to equal one blessed girl.