It finally dawned on me that doing things I am afraid of simply to vanquish fear and see what happens, choosing to live among people seemingly very different from me in various places around the world, and thrusting myself into unfamiliar situations in order to learn and grow, however painfully and awkwardly - is not necessarily normal behavior. These life choices have, in many ways, led to a feeling of membership in the vast human family - but at the cost of belonging to any particular community. What a strange tension there is in being alone in a crowd. Yet consolation lies in coming to understand that I would have it no other way. Rather, if I were to go back and do it all over again armed with everything I have now experienced, the only change I might make would be to opt for greater conviction in my own life path.