In life, I experienced many epiphanies that would put me in a state of confusion, realizing what I have become. That transition from Point A to B without any way to see how it changed in between except to realize that life goes downhill, no steps on the way, just a steep slope. My life has changed so drastically over the years, and it went by so fast that sometimes I am unable to process the change. That process became my story, as I took a leap of faith.

As a child, I was oblivious of my surroundings. In Yangon, Gazing through shiny blue painted iron gates, I took my hometown for granted, as my father spoiled me, with everything in the grasp of my hands. I lived like a panda in a bamboo jungle, sitting there as I took life by the roots, stuffing it down my throat. However, all good things must come to an end, as everything I ever took for granted blew away like ashes on the palm of my hands. My maids packed my bags for the last time, stuffing it with clothes and half of the toys I had in my room. I remember bidding farewell to my Burmese cousins and family, even to my own mother, as though I was to never see them again. Waving at them until they became a spectacle in my visions, I left Myanmar with my father and older brother.

We arrived in a small town and life as we know it was turned completely upside down. It was an urban place filled with clusters of one story buildings, uneven roads, and polluted air from a dirt mountain that was right in front of our new home. My father started a backyard sale, selling piles of things that we did not need any more in exchange for sums of cash. I stood there, on cold pavement watching him stack piles “junk” on top of each other. Opening the rusted gates wide for neighbors to roam in, he mentioned that we too could throw away things we didn’t need. It was easy for me, stuffed toys, cartoon themed school bags, they meant nothing as I stacked them outside, writing prices of my choice on Post-It notes and sticking it on each item. It had to be done as our finances were down, and we needed the money desperately. At the point, I came to the realization that I was selling my old life away, making room for a new life with my father. I immediately stared at every single thing I threw on the pile, and all of them became valuable like alchemists turning metal into gold. I finally saw myself from a third person point of view and realized how spoiled I used to be, unable to differentiate my needs from my wants. I became more wary of the environment I lived in, struggling to get used to what I was in for. However, those next 10 years, before moving back to Yangon, were the best years I’ve experienced in my life.

I reshaped myself through discipline and responsibility in the common life. I grew a conscious of the world that accepted me, one that deserves my effort. And with all the years I have experienced, through different cultures and families, I plan on using it to represent myself as that individual who made it out of the island with just a hatchet and a rock.