Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Subterranean Homesick Blues

Come gather round people wherever you roam,

Things Have Changed.

Well, of course they have, change is constant. That is fact, but it hasn´t stopped me from raging against it for most of my young life. I have finally aligned myself with this truth and I now realise that it is the true beauty of life. That said, it still takes some working on.

Eric - my guide, roommate, Spanish teacher, and good friend - is gone. He is continuing his adventure on a different path to my own. He has left SLP to search for peace and happiness in Chicago. I am happy for him but I do miss my friend.

I have never been one for homesickness but I guess if I was going to feel it then now would be the time; it´s been a quarter of a year since I departed from my home and now the person closest to me here has moved on. All things considered I thought now was the time to share some thoughts on homesickness, change, and perspective with you fellow exploradoras...

Congratulations, you are on the road, following your heart and living your dreams, so what the hell is the matter with you now?!

Sure, you may not be working on Maggie's Farm no more but that doesn't mean you are never going to feel nostalgic and sick for the home that you have left behind. Tangled up in the blues? Finding it tough going in these a'changing times? Are you a (wo)man of constant sorrow? For your sickness, I prescribe lashings of Bob Dylan.

Broken up with your girlfriend? (check): "admit that the waters around you have grown and accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone, if you're time to you is worth saving".

Feeling all alone, with no direction home? (check): "How does it feeeeel to be a rolling stone?"

Wrongly convicted of armed robbery and murder?: "Here is the story of The Hurricane..."

See what I mean? The answers, my friend, are blowin' in the wind, oh the answers are blowin' in the wind.

Although, to be honest, you should probably seek consular advice if that last one applies to you.

The point is that it is OK to feel sad, that's life. Sometimes you need to wallow in it and sometims you need to snap out of it quick sharp. So, there is a time and a place for sitting alone in your room playing Whitesnake's 'Here I Go Again' while your guitar gently weeps but, sometimes you just have to rock out a sick intro like Guns N' Roses' 'Sweet Child O' Mine' and get to new beginnings.

Perspective is key, if you can gain 360° of perspective you will gain infinite understanding. Recognise that life is about balance, you have to know yourself. With knowledge comes wisdom, when you apply the wisdom you gain understanding.

And if it really seems just too much to take, escape for a while, find yourself some Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 and have some fun.

Life is short, don't miss a day.

Positive Energy Activates Constant Elevation

Tom Wiseman hails from Oxford—the area, not the University—and is spending the year teaching English in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. His blog, "The Tao of Teaching," appears regularly on Gradspot.com.