I’m currently reading “By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept,” by Paulo Coelho. His book “The Alchemist” helped me to get where I am on this journey. In the current book I’m reading he speaks of “The Other” as this emotion in the form of a spirit. That emotion is fear. Every now and then, when there is a lull in preparing for the move, I feel a self crushing sense of fear. I hear myself saying, “what the hell are you doing? I can’t believe you are leaving the country. You can’t do this. It’s not too late to change your mind, huney.” Then I read the story of “The Other” and it all made sense: “…What is the Other? The Other is the one who taught me what I should be like, but not what I am. The Other believes that it is our obligation to spend our entire life thinking about how to get our hands on as much money as possible so that we will not die of hunger when we are old. So we think so much about money and our plans for acquiring it that we discover we are alive only when our days on earth are practically done. And then it’s too late….I’m just like every else who listens to their heart: a person who is enchanted by the mystery of life. Who is open  to miracles, who experiences joy and enthusiasm for what they do. It’s just that The Other, afraid of disappointment, kept me from taking action.” I do not want to spend my life working to have money in my old age and then be able to do nothing with it. Why wait to experience life when I can do it now? I’m looking forward to the valleys and the peaks of this journey. I’m in the process of getting documents authenticated for my visa. It’s hard to believe how fast it’s going. Oh shit, I’m moving to another country.<insert dramatic face> Now I have to face the fear that I have to let go of my books…….tragic. -Teaching While Black