As I sit here, less than 48 hours from my solo journey to the other side of the world, I cannot help but wonder what the next year has in store for me. What will I learn about myself? What will I learn about other people? And, even more importantly what will these people that I meet teach me? The unknown excites me like a child that is still discovering what is real and what is not real in this world. I feel invigorated by this lack of knowledge of where I will be a month from now, 6 months from now, and even a year from now. I also greatly look forward to the challenges that lie ahead as those experiences will hopefully be times to learn and grow.
The trials and tribulations that come with being in a foreign country by myself are exactly what this experience is all about. It will allow me to connect with people who see things from a completely different worldview. Hopefully, these views will open my mind and leave a mark on my perception of everything around me.
Although there may be some bumps in the road over the next year of my life, I truly believe that they will only help to reinforce one of the main reasons why I decided to do this in the first place: to see what I am made of and how I am able to adapt to change. While I certainly will miss my family, my friends, and the Georgia Bulldogs; I also realize those things will be here for me when I get back. However, this opportunity will not be here forever so I am taking a leap of faith and hoping the world will catch me.
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” -Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
Oh, The Places I'll Go! 