#after graduation
My Odyssey started after a major battle had been won. I left school with my diploma as proof of my victory in my hands and the ghosts of past friendships trailing behind me. Blood and sweat still covering my sore body, exhausted from the fights in and outside of me, the losses I had to witness and ashamed of the deceit I had to employ to reach this point I struggled to no longer look back. I was on a mission. My great task of finding my home. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the route and how many obstacles I would have to conquer. And more devastatingly, the knowledge that I would eventually reach it had not been granted for me. However, likewise to my enduring battle I had no choice but to attempt it with all my might. Saying failure was never an option would be a lie. It solely was an option I tried my best to avoid, driven by my longing for my home after all my battles had been fought. So I sailed on the wide sea of billions of options, struggling to recognize the one suited for me. Soon enough I saw land and after a tiring journey of seeking wasn’t this exactly what I was looking for?
In retrospect, no. It wasn’t. But I made that choice, confident in the fact that settling down would soon bring me the expected joy of a home. This feeling didn’t come and gradually I decided that something was missing. Therefore, I prepared my boat to explore the different options the world might present to me. Too naive to consider the dangers lurking in a sea of strangers I failed to recognize the monsters before they started to drain me. Scylla and Charybdis appeared as friendly companions before one used up all my energy and passion for their own good and the other picked apart what I had left and took it for herself, only to disappear not once repaying me for all my struggles.
After my misfortunes I looked for a better alternative, when the promise of a lovely home popped up in form of brilliant letters with catchy tunes. Enchanted by enticing advertisement, singing of the best offers I attempted my luck with these options. Only for me to realize that these beautiful marketing sirens had been a disguise for abusive companies luring in unsuspecting sailors like me. Withstanding seeds of doubts, I managed to rip myself away from this toxic environment to continue my journey. Despite hard times plagued with losses of friends, certainty and partly sanity, I carried on through numerous obstacles. Those of true love remained by my side as I stayed by theirs. And together we found our home, at least temporarily.
