November: The Month of the Oxymoron

1–2 minutes

Dear you,

November was when that feeling hit: the realization that it would all be over soon. That this new version of me would have to return to reality, to be placed back into a life that no longer felt familiar.

It’s strange. I spent all of October missing home, but in November, I wanted an unlimited amount of time to experience everything the country had to offer. The feeling was both exciting and terrifying. The best way to describe it is an oxymoron: hoplessly longing for home while grieving a place I wasn’t ready to leave.

The idea of going back made me scramble, making lists of everything I still needed to do. I wanted to capture as many moments as humanly possible. I needed to experience everything that this current state of in-between could offer. I decided I no longer want to be cursed with missed opportunities.

We quickly planned a trip to the capital, Bogotá. It was a short trip, but the feeling of everything coming to an end was too strong to pass up any chance to explore more of the country. We travelled up to Monserrate, to its mirador overlooking the city. It was beautiful. All the lights flickering in the night looked like the sky itself. From up there, I could see millions of lives being lived within those lights, each one a story unfolding at the same time as mine.

Even though it was only a weekend, and I was barely awake from the travel, it was worth running on just two hours of sleep, for that view alone.

When we returned to Cali, we explored even more of the city, discovering places we had never been before. We fully embraced tourist mode, visiting every landmark and event we could find on Google. We wanted to create more memories, to experience everything we could before December came. Before it was time to leave.

From,

Cali