In exactly one month I will embark on my journey abroad, and experience the world in ways that I never have before. Even though I got my acceptance letter from Syracuse University in Florence months ago, it hasn’t hit me yet that on August 31st I will be boarding a plane and kissing all that I know goodbye…for now anyway. “Excited” is the one word that seems to come up the most when I talk to people about my plans for this upcoming fall, but then again the words “nervous” and “petrified” creep into my mind shortly thereafter. I was going over flights and travel details with my mom last night and, as always, I started to get a little nervous and overwhelmed. I said to her, “The airport is going to be so confusing. What if I get lost?” At the time I thought this was a legitimate question, and one that I so desperately wanted an answer to; however, thinking about it now I don’t really want an answer anymore. So what if I get lost? Who cares? That’s the whole point of going abroad isn’t it? To get lost. If not to experience a place you hadn’t planned on, then to enjoy the ups and downs of finding your way back. I think that’s what excites me and scares me the most about going abroad…getting lost—literally and figuratively. Feeling lost without my parents an hour-long car ride away from my dorm, getting lost and having to whip out my map (note to self: put map on list of things to get) to find my way back to my apartment, feeling lost in this great big world we live in. In the moment I know these things will feel like the worst thing in the entire world, but I know I’m ready to experience them. I’m ready to be put in vulnerable positions and have to figure things out for myself. I know it may come as a shock to those who know me well but I want to have these experiences. I like to think I’m more cultured than the average 19-year-old but the reality is, my life has not changed much on a macro level. Sure my style has changed a few times and I’ve certainly grown up (a lot), but I’ve lived in the same house my entire life and pretty much had the same friends since 6th grade. My life feels static and unchanged. I am so ready to be influenced by all that Italy has to offer me and am willing to embrace the changes that come with my journey abroad. So Italy, I shall see you soon. I cannot wait to get lost with you.
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Megan JonesTaking it all in one pasta shape, and one gelato flavor at a time. Archives
December 2015
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