Departing thoughts

     In one week I'll be in Africa. I keep repeating that to myself, but it still hasn't really began to make sense. Wasn't I just a junior in Madison stressing out about the application and my last year of college? Now I'm a graduate. I have my degree. I'm off to Tanzania for 27 months. I am about to reach a goal that I've been dreaming of for years, and I am so excited for what is coming my way. Sure there will be an immense amount of difficulties, but everything that comes out of the next two years will be so worth it. 

     The only thing that makes this feel real is the onslaught of goodbyes that have been happening over the past month. I've said goodbye to college, my roommates, most of my closest friends, my father, and soon I'll have to say goodbye to the remainder of my support system. The goodbyes are hard, but they help remind me how important these people have become to me. Following the goodbyes are two years full of hellos. 27 months of opportunities. Not only for myself, but for everyone around me. 

     This last week is going to be a difficult one, but it's also the only thing standing between me and the start of a very important time in my life. A lot is going to happen in the upcoming years, but I'm ready to see where this takes me and how it shapes me.