Megan Unbounded

While I have lived in a few places around the world thus far, moving to South Carolina was the biggest culture shock I have had in my life.  Please remember, these are my experiences that I would not forget due to how they made me feel.  To remember my attendance at school in South Carolina in my adolescent years, it was a time that impacted me a lot because of the great differences I noticed in the education system.  In fact, it was my first time time entering a school with metal detectors and police officers at the doors, students required to wear identification cards on lanyards, and a few pregnant teens roaming the school.  I was in shock to see that at the age of 13 there were some girls already pregnant... Weren't we still saying that boys had cooties? As I navigated my first week at school in South Carolina, I made a new friend in band class! We both played the flute and she seemed nice since she tried to help me get situated. When lunch came around, I sa...

I have always felt hesitant to share my own struggles with race in America because of backlash I received in the past.  But with more attention to #blacklivesmatter around the world, I think now, more than ever, is the moment to share my story. I have waited for a long time for people to want to push for change on a large scale since I have been silenced in the past when I have tried to raise my voice about these issues.  I want to make a disclaimer that these are my experiences which are unique to my perspective due to my upbringing. Now, it seems everyone of all races wants to be apart of this movement,  so I ask anyone who reads this to reflect upon yourself and share your racial histories with others too in aim of positive change. To start, I was born and raised in Minnesota where my parents met and decided to settle near my father's family in the suburbs of St. Paul/Minneapolis. So you know, I am mixed race because my dad is white and my mother is black. Actually, I ...

Over the past three years, I have been exploring different laser clinics and dermatologists in Busan, South Korea! For me, I have found it challenging to find laser clinics that have the latest technology to deal with darker skin tones since IPL lasers can leave scars and increase chances of hyper-pigmentation. Remember that when doing these treatments, don’t go to the Saunas or take hot showers 1 week before, no body scrubs days before and after, no drinking the night before, do shave the day before your appointment, and avoid the sun or tanning. They should tell you that every 6-8 weeks you should have an appointment because of our hair growth cycle. These are some clinics and treatments with prices for their services from December 2017- June 2020. Sometimes they have specials for the seasons if you’re lucky to be around! RYN CLINIC, Centum City  This clinic has nice clean facilitates and compared to Zen, they seemed to have way more customers. They...

PART IV It is crazy but exciting to think that after all of the ups and downs we have been through, we would be at this point in our lives. Finally, we're getting married! Well I guess you pretty much assumed correct of the end result since the last story! We have worked really hard to get us to get back to how things were like in Panama and relationships are no walk in a park. 😆  Much of the beginning of 2018 was like going on as many " 50 First Dates"  as we could.  Although many have said that we would never make it this far; Javier was crazy to come half way across the world; and even our countries denying us visas to be together, this journey that our love has taken us on has been one of the greatest adventures that I would relive over and over again. Sometimes you wonder why do events happen in your life and the path you thought you would take actually ends up changing. In my opinion, that is what makes life a little more interesting. ...

PART III I had shown up about 6 hours early to the airport because I was that excited and anxious to see him. I had slept a little on some couches at the airport and remember that his flight was delayed about two more hours because of the weather! I was even more nervous when then, I received a phone call from immigration in South Korea. "Hello?" "Hello. This is immigration at Incheon Airport in Seoul. Do you know Ja-bier Alexis Cruz Caba-lero?" "Yes! Where is he?..." "He is here and ........." I was so nervous, I could not pay attention to what she was saying. I was thinking in my head, he does not know that much English! They probably stopped him! What if they are sending him back? We were so close! 😭😭😭😭 ".... does he have a return ticket?" "Uhh.. YES! YES! I have it." "Okay.... (She says something else but I can't recall because of nerves.) -He is on his way." I still remember the ...

PART II While the signs were leading us to accept defeat, Javier encouraged us to not give up.  I am so grateful for Javier. I came up with a new idea and we agreed that I would try once again to get a teaching English job in Asia and send for Javier after. This time, we learned from our previous errors and decided to focus on South Korea due to a higher salary, lower cost of living, and a better chance for visas in comparison to the other options that had failed. Plus, my step-dad wanted me out NOW and South Korean employers were offering me free housing too. It was still risky but was worth a shot to try.  What did we have to lose? I felt more motivated and focused because we created a new goal that seemed not impossible, however, it was not going to be easy either. Javier was still in Panama and I was back at my parents house working part-time jobs. To add, returning back to the USA and searching for a job was not easy because many people expected me (and...