Mission Accomplished

Well, it arrived: my approved application for visa renewal. So yippee skippy i get to stay in this country another year. The letter also suggested I apply for residency within the next year so that is encouraging. Something to think about, right?

In sadder news, my uncle passed away recently. I'm not too sure what to feel right now, it is so hard when you're away from home. Of course I had the typical Nicole breakdown, tears, and the like, but this whole situation really started me thinking about how precious life is. I know it sounds cliche and that everyone says that when someone they love dies...then three months later they begin to take things for granted again, but it's the truth. This life is so short...too short to be miserable and not doing the things we love. For those who didn't know my uncle, he was a good person, but unluckily handicapped from childhood and unable to walk without crutches. He suffered from many different illnesses his whole life, never deserving what came his way. It is things like that, people who endure so much, who inspire me to get over the petty issues of day to day life. For instance, I have to get a tooth pulled soon. I was freaking out about it. To be honest, after considering everything my uncle went through, i'd be glad to have my tooth pulled...hell take all of them...as opposed to what he went through. This whole thing also makes me think twice about what i'm doing here, away from my family and home. I'm missing such key times in my life. I'm missing out on seeing people who I may never see again. Missing out on my nieces and nephews growing up. Missing out such precious and crucial time to spend with my parents and other family members. Will I look back thirty years from now and regret missing these times? I guess I just feel so selfish...I feel as though i've abandonned my family. Like I've left them behind. And I hate that, because I think about them every single day, probably more than I did when I saw them every single day. I just hope they are aware of how much I miss them.

How do I follow a paragraph like the above without sounding fruitless and frivolous. I suppose I can't. There are a lot of new things to tell but for now, I suppose the best thing to do would be leave it at that. More to come sometime.

-NMK