Letting go

As I was getting out of the Army, I got rid of my soccer shoes. I had lost the ability to run because of multiple sclerosis, so I didn’t need them anymore. It was sad, but it was time to face reality and let go.[That post]

In preparation for our move to Germany, I am doing more of the same, though both the nature of the baggage and the reasons for throwing it away are a bit different. I’m throwing away my Army leadership books, my Chinese books, and my Japanese books.
The reason I’m getting rid of my Army books is because I am beyond the point where they are useful. I bought them for my time in company command, but I’ve since retired and I no longer benefit from keeping them as references. Plus, having written my own book that (in my own, humble opinion) supersedes them, I feel that I’ve effectively internalized many of their lessons anyway.
The reason I’m getting rid of my Chinese books is that I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that I will never need them. I studied Chinese as part of my China-focused MBA 2005-2006, but since then I have never had a job that could utilize those skills. (可是我还很喜欢中文.)At different points, I have had opportuntites to became a diplomat or an Army Foreign Area Officer, but things didn’t work out that way. Given that I’m now closer to the end of my career than the beginning, and there are better learning materials available now anyway, it’s time to let them go.
And the reason I’m getting rid of my Japanese books is that -- after over 25 years of hoping to live and work in Japan – that dream is fulfilled. I studied Japanese at the College of Lake County and the University of Hawaii (both Hilo and Manoa) in the 1990s, and used it when I worked in Waikiki. I considered the JET program after graduation, but instead went to Korea in 2003. In 2011, I studied on my own in the hopes of getting some foreign language incentive pay, and took the DLPT (didn't get the money, though). In 2015, I ranked an assignment in Japan as my #1 choice (although I ended up assigned to Hawaii). Finally, in 2020, I was selected for a GS job in Camp Zama.

For 25+ years I’ve been holding on to my Japanese language materials thinking that they might be useful someday. As my time here in Japan is coming to an end, I feel a sense of satisfaction that they’ve done what they were supposed to do. I studied Japanese, and I used it while I was here.

And now it’s time to let them go.