At the moment of writing this first post, I have been in Cape Town for exactly 1 month and 18 days — with each one of those moments being more or equally as memorable as the previous. It’s hard to fully express in words what being in this place, at this time, means to me. You see, I came to Cape Town on a gut instinct. There was no contemplation, no weighing of options, and no pros and cons lists. There was only Cape Town. From the moment I saw I was able to attend school here for a term, I knew I had to be here. And it was a risk, I’ll admit, to come here without knowing a soul. Without knowing what to expect. Without knowing not much of anything, to be honest. But I think that’s one of the funny things about life — the greatest risks often carry the greatest of rewards (or the greatest of punishments). I can certainly say, however, that coming to Cape Town has been the single greatest decision of my entire life.
People often ask me, “Zach, what is it about Cape Town that makes you love it so much?” To them my answer is, “well, I’m not sure.” That isn’t so much a lie as it is me neglecting to tell the whole truth. Don’t get me wrong, Cape Town, as a city, is truly wonderful. With an abundance of gorgeous natural wonders, such as Table Mountain, its placement on the ocean, and the inspiring array of cultures the residents of this city hold, there’s a lot of good to say about Cape Town. Similar things could be said about South Africa as a whole. But what draws me to this place isn’t so much the city itself, but it is everything else around me. It’s the people I’ve met. The conversations I’ve had. The things I’ve learned. The things I’ve done. It’s the combination of each one of these aspects that has made this experience so unique and so captivating. Never in my life have I been in an environment that can excite, entertain, captivate, and motivate me simultaneously. And this environment I find myself in is indeed a rare and temporary one. For I know my time here is finite, and I know this place cannot be permanent. So with those things in mind, let me tell you where I’ve been.
For the past month and a half, I have begun my personal journey through this new land. Back in Vancouver at UBC, I have always been a devoted and committed student — almost to the point that university had taken up 100% of my life. I pushed away friends, neglected my health, and let the weight of the world crush me. I worried constantly, even about the most mundane and unimportant aspects of my life at UBC. But at the University of Cape Town (UCT), everything is quite the opposite. All of a sudden it seems, I now have time for just about everything I’ve ever wanted in my life. I can be social. I can be healthy. I can be happy. And I’ll admit, this description may seem idyllic — and that’s because it is. Finally, I have found a place where I can be who I want to be, and not have the world doing everything it can to take that from me.
So that’s what this blog is here to convey. This blog exists because I am on a path that I have been searching to find for as long as I have lived. This blog exists because I know many others are on that same path, and because many others are still looking for that path. This is where I am, and I can’t wait to share with you where I’m going.