don't read the bible, read the beatles

That's my graduation advice.
I left Wes at 10 a.m. this morning and am staying in New York for a couple of days. I arrived in the city and went out for lunch with Ivy and Keith at a Mexican restaurant. It's a small cosy place, red and blue alternating on the walls and on the tables. The man working at the burrito bar, who I assumed owns the place, suddenly started singing. I couldn't make out what language he was singing in, but his voice was surprisingly good. He reached all the high notes, while still having the male raspiness. When he came to our table with the food, I told him how much I liked his voice. He asked if I was a singer. I laughed, assuring him that it's one of the things that I could never do: I'm terrible with pitch and always sing out of tune. He later came back to the table and asked me: What do you want to do in life? I was struck that someone would ask me that question just a few hours after I left college, but I didn't want to take it very serious so I just laughed again and replied: definitely not singing. The man, still looking at me in the eyes, said: That's ok, but look deep into yourself and ask what you really want to be, and let it be. And you can only be good at it with lots of practice, it takes hard work, but let it be, be yourself. You know the Beatles' song? Let it be. Don't read the Bible, read the Beatles.
Thank you for your words of wisdom.

Mexico, here I come?

So far the internship in Mexico is the best after-graduation option for me: the job seems stimulating, the commitment is not long, and I get paid, not much, but enough to get by on a budget. Normally I'd jump up at the chance to go anywhere, and I've started the paperwork - and it might not go through - but I'm actually not that thrilled this time.

This is my second bout of travel guilt. I distinctly remember the first one. I was in Hawai'i; I had hardly started traveling back then, but I was at the high of my idealist militancy, and I felt like I should have gone home and got myself integrated in some kind of social movement, started building network, etc. instead of bumming around. All of this was weighing down my mind until I met an old hobo from Cali on a bus ride in the Big Island. I confided in him and he gave me his words of wisdom: it's ok - you're going to places and meeting people and learning; it will enrich you as a person and you will be more of help to others later in life.

His assurance has helped me got through the past few years with few moments of doubt. I've constantly told myself: I'm young, I want to see the world, I want to learn from other people. And it's true. I owe so much to the relationships that I've built and/or kept while being away from home: old friends that stay with me, new ones that I've made, strangers that take me in, feed me, look out for me. They encourage, inspire, essentially shape me into who I am. I've learned tremendously.

But at this moment, I really don't know if I can use the same "excuse" to justify spending 5 months in Mexico City, doing something that I'm interested in but not as a career. I just feel like once I graduate, I should head-dive right into the chosen path, learning more skills in either a social service or a policy setting. But maybe 5 months is not terribly long, summer will come and I'll head home? Maybe I can afford some procrastination?