The Next Right Thing

Pictured: This sand sculpture was featured at the American Sand Sculpting Championship and it reminds me of Olaf from Frozen

I love Disney!

Two months ago I went to Disneyworld with my family and I was struck by how I still felt the Disney magic. Despite being an adult who has been to Disney countless times, the fireworks really had me in my feels, and I left feeling the magic of life.

But then…life hit again. Despite having a great vacation, I got thrown back into life way too quickly. Starting by being trapped on a broken-down Greyhound bus in the middle of the highway for way too long (but that’s another story). When I finally got home adult life made its way back to the forefront…Bills, I need a new job, my daughter needs to start preschool, my family would like to move, there are always dishes in the sink, and I really should schedule a physical. I quickly forgot about life’s magic and have been stuck in the daily grind. But, a few weeks ago I watched Frozen 2 with my daughter and had another magical moment that I’m hoping to make a part of my life.

Without giving away any spoilers, I thought that Frozen 2 was a great movie. It had a lot of the charm that the first one had, and although it’s a children’s movie, it dealt with a lot of difficult subjects. The movie starts with the lovable Olaf and his obsession with the idea of getting older, now that he’s a magically enchanted snowman that can never melt. He questions Anna about what it means to get older. In particular, he worries about how to know if he’s doing the right thing. As I watched him, I couldn’t help but relate.

I’m now in my late 20s and I’m starting over. I don’t regret my expat life, but I also know my life would probably be a lot simpler if I had never left the country. The simple fact is that moving means starting over. The greater the distance, the greater the changes; and when you move all the way around the world (literally), well you have to start all over again.

I’m glad to be back again, but I’m also terrified.

I feel like Olaf.

Here I am getting older, and I still have absolutely no clue what I’m doing.

But, I loved Anna’s response to Olaf.

She told him that 1) Some things never change and 2) The best thing you can do is the next right thing.

Although my life is going through a major transformation, everything is going to be okay. At the end of the day, I have to remember I have the support of my family and the important things in my life will always be here (whether I’m in South Korea or the U.S.). But more than that, I have to remember that it’s okay not to have everything all figured out. I don’t need to have a perfectly mapped out plan to live my life. I just need to try to do the next right thing.

Everyday…one foot in front of the other…one moment at a time… forget about the mistakes of the past….and just focus on doing the next right thing.