The more things change the more they stay the same.

I always debate with my friends whether an individual can change.

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A year after returning home I’m still not sure.

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July marked our one year anniversary of being back and I still have a difficult time looking at the pictures  that I took. When I do look at them, it takes me back in time.

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My most favourite photos help me remember  moments with individuals that we shared  experiences with. Whether it was dinner in Argentina, a tuk tuk ride in Thailand or visiting Versaille and learning about Louis XIV and Napoleon.

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These personal experiences bring back the fondest of memories.

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Returning to work was extremely difficult. Don’t get me wrong I love my job and I do believe I am good at what I do ( but that’s a biased opinion. ;) ), but sitting at my desk after a year of roaming free was tough.

Things changed quickly though.

Within a month of returning to my workplace, it was like I never left. It’s truly surprising how quickly you can re-acclimatize  to “the norm.”

I had a conversation with a friend shortly before I left. He explained to me that his circle of friends has been together since public school. He was not to keen on making any new friends because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to trust them.

Since I returned I have visited, partied and had dinner with a few friends, but the truth is that my circle of friends has shrunk exponentially at home. Thanks to Facebook, my friends in the global community have increased. I Skype with friends in China and email others in India, Argentina, France, Jordan and many other places .

My new friends have exposed me to things that allow me to feel  compassion when an event or a breaking news story occurs. I can relate to the individuals involved in that faraway place on some level because of the individuals I met in the place .

DSC_0304After one year of traveling and one year of being home, my experiences have changed me in so many ways. Hopefully my experiences have made me a more complete individual.

So can people change? Maybe they can, maybe they can’t,  but you’ll never know if you don’t open yourself up  to the challenge
“One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now.”
– Paul Coelho