It’s 2:23 am on Saturday, February 4th 2017. In a little while the rest of my family will roll out of bed, groggily get dressed, and shuffle off to the airport to drop me off for my 7:30 am flight to LAX that will then connect to Australia. Perhaps it is odd, but the idea of me spending such a long time away from home and away from all the people I love still seems like a dream, only existing within my imagination. The feeling of separation anxiety only kicks in sometimes for a brief moment as I engage in incredibly mundane activities that, although they live for just a moment, bear a significance that words alone cannot adequately describe. Moments like having lunch with my OCA family, experiencing the company of the kids that I teach, driving around with my mom, chasing my dog around for the pair of socks that he just stole from the laundry bin. It’s in these sort of moments that I am reminded of the reality of my situation.
When asked about my excitement to anxiety ratio I have recently been responding that I’m 97% excited and 3% anxious for my travel experience. Most of that anxiety is actually due to the long haul traveling itself. I am constantly thinking about when, how, and where to check in and print all of my boarding passes so I can make sure that I don’t miss any connecting flights. I am also getting nervous for my first night in Australia – alone, in a foreign country, with my nearest emergency contacts being people whom I have never once met. But, as I have been reassuring my mother, everything will be okay. Whatever will be will be and I just need to trust in myself and trust in the universe that everything is going to work out just fine.
Now I am quite excited as well. I am about to embark on an experience that I will probably never be able to replicate. The opportunities that are going to present themselves to me are going to be one that change me permanently (and hopefully for the better.) Not only am I excited for the chances that I am going to have while in Australia, but while I am getting there and once I am back. I just bought three different books that I can read while I am traveling or once I arrive at my hotel, John & Hank Green have an endless list of YouTube clips that I can watch while I am waiting in the airport, and I will be able to spend my 12-hour layover in the luxury of Delta Sky Club (#blessup).
Until Next Time…