Vacation’s Over Sweetheart

Jack Rupple
Jul 22, 2017 · 3 min read

Just like that, it’s over.

After six months wandering foreign and familiar landscapes, I am finally coming home.

Six whole months since I’ve seen my mother, father, brother and sister, my friends from home, uni and elsewhere, my bedroom, backyard and stomping grounds.

Six whole months…

Only a mere six days remain until I am back in my quiet hometown kicking a football with my pupperonis. I have to admit, I am excited.

Looking back, over the course of the last six months I have learned loads, worked tirelessly, and enjoyed myself more than I realize. Along the way, I saw the desert by camelback, swam in the Persian Gulf, flew over the mountain ranges of Iran, met folks from every corner of the world, moved back to my favorite city, and enjoyed every step.

This experience has been something I could only have dreamt of and taught me so much, as traveling always does. You learn certain things about yourself and the world that simply cannot be explained second hand.

Most of all, you learn about people. About how people around the world aren’t so different after all. How people everywhere need food and water, value their own culture, and seek comfort and human companionship.

How people everywhere can be determined, hard working and successful. How people everywhere can be creative, intelligent and thoughtful. How people everywhere will sacrifice it all for something they love.

You learn that people are in fact mostly all the same, only the cultures and surroundings that influence them differ.

Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends. — Maya Angelou

Traveling is an experience in many ways. It is fun, exciting, refreshing, sometimes crazy, and sometimes disappointing. But above all, it is enlightening. If you come back from a trip thinking you would have rather stayed home, your eyes were closed.

Sometimes, it is pretty scary to travel. I know that as well as anyone, I decided on a whim that I would leave a comfortable and consistent job to work for a start-up with everything to prove halfway across the world. On top of that, I was informed I would be living in my boss’ home the whole time.

To put it simply, I was scared as hell. But I decided the risk would be worth it.

While my fairytale is dwindling to an end, it’s not over yet and I plan on enjoying every last moment. I am really excited to take a pit stop at home for a bit though. See you soon Uncle Sam.

Where…
It was as real as those dreams you have from time to time. The dreams that force you to search for the blurred line between reality and imagination. The dreams you wake from and still feel that foreign feeling…

The lush grass between your toes, tickling your heels. The wind calling to you between the gaps in the trees. The sweet, pungent scent of life moving in all directions around you. Never knowing where you’ll see it.

An indication that the scene is genuine or some fabrication of your mind. Searching frantically, you can’t find it yet you know it must be there. There has to be a way to know if it’s real. It has to be somewhere.

Where do you draw the line?
— Jack Rupple

Jack Rupple

Written by

A random amalgam of stories, experiences, music, poetry, and whatever else, as told by a crazy person.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade