Dang, I haven’t written like this in a minute, so bear with me.
Everyone loves a good Marvel movie these days. The stories, the CGI, the grandiose of the storytelling, there’s usually something for everyone. My favorite parts of a Marvel movie are all the callbacks that the writers make to previous films. Whether it is a cleverly hidden easter egg or an entire character hidden from audiences during the promotional trailers, I love it when I’m watching a movie and can find the moments that connect to the past and remind me of the joy I had in those other stories while simultaneously writing a new one based off of that history.
I am in my callback right now.
2016 was a franchise-launching movie with 3 main acts: Miriam, Chick-fil-A, and Thailand.
Continuing with the Marvel metaphor, that was the beginning of “Phase 1” for me. It set the foundation for subsequent years of incredible growth brought on by incredible successes and sensational failures. I met the person who changed my life completely. I grew professionally in ways I never imagined. I met lifelong friends that span every corner of the globe.
As I get ready to step into a 2 year period of some of the fastest and most intense growth I have ever experienced, I find myself going through “See you one day soon” letters that my Medialight family wrote to each other in Thailand. As I read each letter, I am reminded of the growth that that season offered me and spurred in the years thereafter. I am reminded of the good people saw in me even when I couldn’t see it in myself. I find myself on the floor with letters scattered around me and memories of that season breaching the dam of time and flooding this moment.
This is not necessarily an homage to a few months in Southeast Asia over 6 years ago. Instead, it is a reminder of the ignorance of looking back. Not looking back and hoping to harness Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to beat back time and travel back to a memory, but looking back to callback to a space in time that led to the present moment and can help shape the narrative of what’s to come and how I approach “Phase 2” of my story.
If this all makes little sense, that’s okay, I’m not writing this for a grade. This is just a reminder to me to never forget the situations, relationships, and experiences that led me to this moment and the importance of calling back to those things as I prepare for this next phase.
