Thursday, August 21, 2014

Just the Beginning

As I sit here typing on my laptop at the kitchen table, I am letting the reality sink in that I will be boarding a plane to fly half-way across the globe to a country where I've never been to before to live and go to school with people I've never met and jump into a culture that I'm not all that familiar with... in just 2 days, 10 hours, 30 minutes, and (currently) 34 seconds.
Wow.
I'm not sure if it has fully hit me yet.
Am I excited? Hell yes, who wouldn't be?!
Am I nervous? More than you can imagine.
But if I wasn't nervous, then I wouldn't really be ready to embark on this next journey of my life.
I am about to open up to a fresh page in my life and start writing a story that I will be able to tell to my friends, family, one day my children, hopefully their children, and anyone else in the world who is curious enough to know about my adventures! By the time I return, I will be able to sign my name on the last page of that book, store it in my archives for the rest of my life, and pull out in those moments of nostalgia to reminisce on a rainy day.
A very wise individual once said "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." -St. Augustine
This exchange isn't just about sight seeing and taking pictures of the old buildings I'll get to walk by on the town square or learning a few tid-bits of information here and there about the history of my country; for me, this is about opening my eyes to new truths around the world; it's about touching the lives of the people I meet and humbling myself enough to let their thoughts and stories touch me; it's about truly living and getting the chance to see what's really out there on the other side of the walls I grew up behind.
This is just the beginning.
"To live would be an awfully big adventure." -Peter Pan (you're never too old for fairy tales!)
Wish me luck!
Dovidenia na Slovensku!
(See you in Slovakia!)

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