They say that all things come in threes. And it made me think about my three years in the UK (or more specifically, three years away from New Zealand).
If you've read the Lord of the Rings books, or seen the Godfather or Star Wars movies, you would've noticed that they involve the same characters or settings, connected by common themes or epic adventures. Strangely, or maybe coincidentally, my time spent in the UK has been like an epic trilogy. Well, the three years I've spent here have certainly been an epic adventure, but let me try to convince you how it fits into a trilogy-like structure, which I've, rather lamely, titled The Consultant. Runner. Aaron. Trilogy. Here's how my adventure so far boils down into three movements.
In the first book, the protagonist is introduced. Looking forward to new and exciting beginnings, he quickly finds himself a home and gets a feel for life in a new and different setting. The honeymoon period starts to kick in, and grand adventures and new experiences shortly take place. New characters are introduced and interactions happen. Some are memorable but fleeting, some more meaningful than others. There are conflicts, both personally and professionally, but the character resolves these without too much difficulty. All is going well and the main character is seen enjoying these new experiences as best as he can.
Then halfway through the first book, the protagonist encounters his biggest conflict yet - a seemingly impossible decision. He struggles immensely with this for a time as this means he leaves behind all that he has worked towards. With no way out, the protagonist slowly accepts the inevitable and is forced to give up almost everything he has.
In the second book, and probably the longest book in this series, the protagonist starts life again in a new setting. But this time, a much darker side of the protagonist is shown. It is clear early on in this movement that he does not belong in this setting, no matter how hard he tries to resolve these conflicts. Eventually he gets a second chance and returns back to the original setting, but this time it feels different to the one described earlier in the first book. Things are not the same as before. He meets some new characters, a few of them revealing themselves to be antagonists conflicting with the main character's beliefs and ideals. And along the way the protagonist makes some wrong and highly costly decisions. The theme of hard decision making returns later on when the only way to right those wrongs of before is to repeat the same painful action done earlier in the first book.
This time the decision paid off greatly, much more than the protagonist realises. In a new setting however, the protagonist returns to the same honeymoon period experienced in the first setting. More new characters are introduced, both allies and antagonists in a personal and professional sense. For a time it seems that this is the setting where the main character wants to spend a significant amount of time in. What he does not realise, however, is that this setting is a distorted view of reality, that upon making the painful decision a second time he drank from the poisoned chalice. The longer he stays in this surreal setting, the more dangerous it will become!
In the third and final book, the protagonist realises that this is not the kind of setting he wants to live in and tries to look for a way out. He receives a third chance and returns back to the first setting and, learning from some of his mistakes made earlier, relies on his old friends and new friends from earlier on to help him get re-established again. Knowing what he wants based on his experiences in the first and second books, he takes great action to secure his future in the first setting, and to be with the characters that mean the most to him.
Still, the final book contains new conflicts and situations that occur right after the protagonist's return. For example, after securing his future in the first setting, a new conflict occurs that threatens the very decision he has made. But the protagonist is able to resolve these situations by drawing on the experiences of the past and knowing inside of himself what he wants for the future. Newer characters are introduced, forming lasting friendships, mutual interests and themes for future stories. It seems that as the final pages of the third and final book in this trilogy are played out, the protagonist has come full circle and ends on a high note.
Obviously I've greatly condensed my three years into 6 small paragraphs, which doesn't do justice to describe exactly how much I've experienced during my time here. But at least I hope to illustrate how those three years have played out for me at a very very high level. Wouldn't it be awesome to play out another trilogy starting in the new year! I hope that the new year, and the years to come while I am still in the UK, will play out just as eventfully..... only without the impossible decisions, though I'm sure that as people grow older they'll get more of them heaped on their already full plates.
If you've read the Lord of the Rings books, or seen the Godfather or Star Wars movies, you would've noticed that they involve the same characters or settings, connected by common themes or epic adventures. Strangely, or maybe coincidentally, my time spent in the UK has been like an epic trilogy. Well, the three years I've spent here have certainly been an epic adventure, but let me try to convince you how it fits into a trilogy-like structure, which I've, rather lamely, titled The Consultant. Runner. Aaron. Trilogy. Here's how my adventure so far boils down into three movements.
In the first book, the protagonist is introduced. Looking forward to new and exciting beginnings, he quickly finds himself a home and gets a feel for life in a new and different setting. The honeymoon period starts to kick in, and grand adventures and new experiences shortly take place. New characters are introduced and interactions happen. Some are memorable but fleeting, some more meaningful than others. There are conflicts, both personally and professionally, but the character resolves these without too much difficulty. All is going well and the main character is seen enjoying these new experiences as best as he can.
Then halfway through the first book, the protagonist encounters his biggest conflict yet - a seemingly impossible decision. He struggles immensely with this for a time as this means he leaves behind all that he has worked towards. With no way out, the protagonist slowly accepts the inevitable and is forced to give up almost everything he has.
In the second book, and probably the longest book in this series, the protagonist starts life again in a new setting. But this time, a much darker side of the protagonist is shown. It is clear early on in this movement that he does not belong in this setting, no matter how hard he tries to resolve these conflicts. Eventually he gets a second chance and returns back to the original setting, but this time it feels different to the one described earlier in the first book. Things are not the same as before. He meets some new characters, a few of them revealing themselves to be antagonists conflicting with the main character's beliefs and ideals. And along the way the protagonist makes some wrong and highly costly decisions. The theme of hard decision making returns later on when the only way to right those wrongs of before is to repeat the same painful action done earlier in the first book.
This time the decision paid off greatly, much more than the protagonist realises. In a new setting however, the protagonist returns to the same honeymoon period experienced in the first setting. More new characters are introduced, both allies and antagonists in a personal and professional sense. For a time it seems that this is the setting where the main character wants to spend a significant amount of time in. What he does not realise, however, is that this setting is a distorted view of reality, that upon making the painful decision a second time he drank from the poisoned chalice. The longer he stays in this surreal setting, the more dangerous it will become!
In the third and final book, the protagonist realises that this is not the kind of setting he wants to live in and tries to look for a way out. He receives a third chance and returns back to the first setting and, learning from some of his mistakes made earlier, relies on his old friends and new friends from earlier on to help him get re-established again. Knowing what he wants based on his experiences in the first and second books, he takes great action to secure his future in the first setting, and to be with the characters that mean the most to him.
Still, the final book contains new conflicts and situations that occur right after the protagonist's return. For example, after securing his future in the first setting, a new conflict occurs that threatens the very decision he has made. But the protagonist is able to resolve these situations by drawing on the experiences of the past and knowing inside of himself what he wants for the future. Newer characters are introduced, forming lasting friendships, mutual interests and themes for future stories. It seems that as the final pages of the third and final book in this trilogy are played out, the protagonist has come full circle and ends on a high note.
Obviously I've greatly condensed my three years into 6 small paragraphs, which doesn't do justice to describe exactly how much I've experienced during my time here. But at least I hope to illustrate how those three years have played out for me at a very very high level. Wouldn't it be awesome to play out another trilogy starting in the new year! I hope that the new year, and the years to come while I am still in the UK, will play out just as eventfully..... only without the impossible decisions, though I'm sure that as people grow older they'll get more of them heaped on their already full plates.
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