SYA ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT - My Life Abroad Project

 Full Trees

The skies are grey above my head. Tall trees fill them with color, radiating the feeling of new possibilities and symbolizing the seasons slowly changing. It is not fall yet, but it is not summer either. It is a weird in-between period of seasons changing, stagnant and bemusing. I feel hot under my coat; I underestimated the heat of September. My face blushes from a blend of warmth from my heavy jacket and discomfiture. The coat around me feels uncomfortable, and my alien skin sticks to me like wet clothes. I look down at the shoes that walk on foreign earth and notice no one beside me. The feeling of loneliness is heavy on my shoulders and forces my feet to drag. My family is 3,500 miles and 260 days away from me. I never realized what missing someone felt like. It is an unshakable feeling of claustrophobia that clouds my lungs. The grey skies above my head, the ground under my feet, the tall trees around me, and the discomfort of being a foreigner are now my home for the next nine months. I wonder if the skies will ever lighten or if the skin I wear will feel more like myself again. I wonder if my feet will drag in rhythm with someone next to me eventually. I lift my head. The leaves on the trees have not fallen yet, but I feel bare. 

Leaves Falling

The sky is clearing. I can see my breath in the autumn air, and my coat is comfy and warm around my body. I am not dragging my feet. I step from red leaf to red leaf and hear both crunch. I smile. The trees that stretch tall above my head are now losing their leaves. However, the leaves of my tree are growing. I am experiencing new things, gaining new friendships, and making memories with my host family. I am growing my roots deep into the coarse soil below me; I feel strong. No one is beside me, but that is okay because I choose to walk alone now.  I can breathe; apart from the cigarette smoke that lingers in the air. My family is still far away, but their support makes it as though they are waiting for me inside as I walk the path I walk every day home. The word ‘home’ melts on my tongue and it tastes sweet. The path I walk is becoming a constant, and Rennes is no longer as foreign to me. I still may be covered in alien skin, but I don’t let that define me on the inside anymore. I am just a girl walking along her path, sprouting every step. 

Barren Trees

The skies are still grey above my head and the sky behind them is darkening. It is the same time as I usually walk, but the days have now become shorter and nighttime comes faster. The clouds are now clouds of stress. Not only do they loom above my head that is still hung, but they hover around my brain– creating a thin layer of fog. The trees are now completely bare. They appear sad and empty. I too, feel a sense of the same feelings. I have not seen my family or friends in three months. Their messages to me are kind and understanding, while my responses back are short and brief. I wish I had more time to talk to them, but I will count down the remaining days I have to wait to be back in their presence. Though I have these feelings, I look around me and feel a wave of gratefulness ooze from me like sap. My branches have sprouted bright green leaves of memories and friendships. My roots are growing further into the soil of Rennes, my home. I am walking the same path as always. My coat is snug around me. It is comforting to me. I lift my head at the barren trees above me. Though they might be devoid of their leaves, I am the opposite, blooming with leaves.