Pre-Departure thoughts and hopes...

I’m sitting on my bed with everything that should be packed splayed out around me in organized chaos. It hasn’t quite sunk in that I’m leaving in less than 4 days. When I started counting down to this moment it was four hundred and something days ago. I was hardly the same person that I am now and I’m certain that six weeks from now I’ll be a different woman than the one sitting here watching “Golden Girls” in a pile of travel sized toiletries. To say that I’m excited isn’t quite the whole truth. I’m elated, nervous, confident and absolutely terrified. I made this decision over a year ago because I wanted to see the world; to travel and collect unique experiences. Now that this adventure is so close, I find myself in a different place. I’ve spent the past year learning where my strengths, weaknesses, and passions lie. I’ve learned that there is no better way to learn than to teach and I know that I will learn more and get more out of this experience than I could have projected. I’ve been told by several people that I can’t change the world – and maybe they’re right. I know I can’t change the whole world and everyone in it, but I hope I can have the opportunity to change someone’s whole world. I hope I can teach a child to write their name or help a child learn to read. I hope I can be a friend to someone who needs a companion or an extra pair of hands where hands are needed. I hope I find myself completely out of my comfort zone and I hope that I will eventually feel at home. I hope to make new friends, new memories, collect new experiences, and come back with a better understanding of how I fit into a global society where different languages create bridges instead of barriers.
I understand and appreciate that I’m about to embark on a once in a lifetime journey and I know without a doubt that I couldn’t do it without all of you. Just by reading this you’re showing immense support and I can’t thank you enough. I hope that you will continue to check into my blog, I will do my best to update it as often as possible. Please feel free to leave me messages or drop me an e-mail at l8egrace@hotmail.com. As excited and ready as I am, I know I will find myself homesick at some point or another and will find great comfort in reading your encouragements!
Asante sana!