For some reason, I used to be deadly fearful of taking public transportation alone as a kid. It wasn’t until I was forced to take the bus in high school for outings before I got comfy with commuting to strange places far from home. When I got here in Hong Kong, I was reminded of that uncomfortable lack of familiarity.
I sort of figure that since I’m turning eighteen in a few weeks I should outgrow this childish fear or at least do something about it. My mom likes to stay with her parents (my grandparents) far from my uncle’s and I like my uncle’s place, so I have much more time alone to go and do (more or less) wherever and whatever I want. This doesn’t sound very exciting, but I’ve also got quite a bit of pocket money from my aunt and godmother to get something nice for myself. I have spent a day or two (as well as bits of time in between subway and bus rides) shopping around for a particular model and colour of headphones. And since I’m paying for it myself, I’ve put extra effort into checking out every possible store for the lowest price.
I decided it’s about time I started getting used to managing my own money and being smart about it too. I won’t have my parents around next year to watch how I spend my money for me while I’m away. This pair of lime-green, retro-styled Panasonic headphones is a perfectly good reason to hone both my shopping and exploring skills. That, and I expect I will have a much more personal satisfaction with what I get after I myself went to all that trouble to snagged exactly what I was gunning for. Anyway, I am now quite comfy with heading out to strange and familiar places all the same if I have directions. I actually kind of like being somewhat lost and eventually finding my way. Makes me feel spiffy and daring!