…..require Chinese fortune bracelets.

This is not the first wooden bead Chinese bracelet I’ve bought in times of change…hope…whatever it is I am feeling.

My first was purchased November 2008, just before Thanksgiving. I had been housesitting in Malibu with Rob…where I had essentially locked myself in the office to finish my Princeton in Asia application. After a few days, it was done and we drove down to Mailboxes Etc. to see off the application together. At the register there were wooden bracelets with Chinese characters that meant good luck. It seemed like a sign, so I bought one and vowed to wear it until I got through the PiA application process. As we walked out hand in hand, I beamed with excitement to have the application out of my control. Right in front of the store on the sidewalk by Starbucks, the bracelet snapped. The string holding all my good luck beads together in a nice little wrist-sized circle broke, causing me to scramble to the ground and collect them before they rolled out of my life forever. Shoving the beads into my pocket, I looked up to Rob as my eyes turned to puddles. I felt like a little girl whose world had been shattered. This was a sign, I thought…a sign that all my efforts were in vain. Oh how dramatic I can be. The moment we got home I found a needle and thread to mend my broken luck. I proudly had Rob retie it on my wrist, determined to make my own luck and become a PiAer! To prove that even when something goes wrong, you still have the ability to make it better. I wore it from that day forward, through my interview, my acceptance, choosing a country and soaking in final days with friends. It was not until I was comfortably living in China that it had to be laid to rest–the tattered mess it had  become.

I tell this story because I am at another crossroads in my life. I have had an offer that I am extremely excited about. I am having those PiA feeling all over again…where I can’t stop smiling and imagining the possibilities, yet afraid of what I will lose. Making the decision to move and make a change is never easy. I adore China and think of it as home. It’s hard to imagine leaving. I, also feel that if I keep going rather than return to LA, I get even farther away from things I really miss. As I strolled through an antique street one Sunday in Shanghai, I asked some higher power for help, guidance. At that moment I looked down at a pile of jewelry to see bracelets. There is was. The sign I had just asked for. Wooden bead, good luck characters and all! I immediately purchased it from one of the sweetest women to own a shop in Asia. It’s been on my wrist since. Like the first bracelet, I had to fix it (which I take as a good sign). Things really worth doing or having are not easy. Bracelets break, sometimes you have to mend them. To achieve what you desire, you have to put in effort and take the bad with the good.

Author’s Note: Since writing this post and wearing the bracelet good things have already happened! I am officially being flown to Dubai and put up in a fancy hotel. Wish me luck!