Because of Taiwan, I know who I am, as myself. I know my ties to land, people, and my body. 

To the outside world, and to describable English, my path makes little sense. I am decently confused and disoriented yet deeply directed and purposeful in my core. There is a sensation beneath my rib cage, somewhere in my chest, that indicates that I am doing just as I need to be doing in this moment. While my work is not lucrative (yet), I am working.

Holding my sign up high, I put up my thumb. And then I was off.

Noah Kahan has a song describing small town energy: “The intersection got a Target // And they’re calling it downtown.” Replace Target with FamilyMart and that about describes the village I am in.

That is to say, the village is villaging. 

I am settling. Adjusting at a good pace. 

More and more of my headspace is being allocated to the external details of my environment. I am studying how my body interacts with space. This is a good sign— an indication that perhaps I am pushing outside the six-year tornado my brain has been nonstop producing.

So here I am, back in Taiwan ready to revisit the places where I was most vulnerable. To stand where I once stood with a new confident stance.