Metamorphosis

Exchange is metamorphosis. It's a constant change affecting you physically, mentally, and emotionally. It tears you down and tests your endurance, but never fails to build you back up. It brings you into an entirely new mindset.  And most of all, it is the change that transforms you into something entirely new.

Metamorphosis is no easy task. Just ask all the caterpillars out there, who dream of beautifully spanned wings and the experience of flight. Those caterpillars know that they aren't going to spontaneously transform into a beautiful butterfly. It takes hard-work, dedication, frustration, and preparation to be able to persist through various challenges and attain a new identity.

Back in America I was a caterpillar, anxiously awaiting my spontaneous transformation into a butterfly. I saw the pictures, heard the stories, but never FELT what this change would be like. I knew what I was and what I wanted in America, I was a confident young caterpillar.

But every little caterpillar must endure the pain, frustration, and loneliness that comes with the time in the cocoon. First of all you're upside down so that makes everything harder, plus everything inside of you is changing. Everything is different. Everything is difficult. Everything takes a lot more effort. But what a goal you have to become a butterfly. And that's what makes it all worth it.

Right now it is tough. There are days when my world is upside down, where nothing makes sense, and where I don't feel like I belong. There are times when I feel like I am stuck in between two identities, who I was and who I want to become. It's very hard to have to evaluate myself in such a way, thinking about what I want in life and who I am. Caterpillars surely do their fair share of thinking while in the cocoon.

But then things turn around. The physical changes will begin to transpire. I will dress like the others, do my hair like the others,  and speak like the others. As this happens I will begin to understand what life is like, the way people act, and my role in society. Lastly, my emotional changes will leave me feeling satisfied with who I have become and why all of the challenges made me what I am. That's why the exchange is worth it.

I can't wait to be a butterfly. But no butterfly becomes a butterfly without enduring metamorphosis.




Thank you to my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade teachers who drilled the idea of metamorphosis into my brain.  Creds to you.