Goodbyes

Today my family celebrated my birthday early (I'll be turning 20 in June) and it's probably the last time I'll see some of them for a long time. I still don't think the fact that I'm actually leaving the country by myself has hit me yet. I still feel like it's going to be another long, boring summer.

Three days from now I'll be driving to Charlotte and boarding a plane that lands in Paris, France. I'll spend a few hours at Charles de Gaulle and then I'll switch to another plane that lands in Brussels.

I don't know a soul there. I don't know the people I'm living with. I don't know another person going. I don't know the language that the majority of the people speak. I feel like I should be feeling nervous or terrified or something, but I'm feeling nothing right now. Probably the night before, or the morning of my departure, I'll be wracked with nerves. But now, I'm just looking at my situation with a clear head.

I'll be going on my own adventure and I'm going to be completely dependent on myself and my own abilities. Moving to another country 3,000 miles away by myself will be the largest challenge I've faced in my life but I feel that I need to do this to find more self-confidence and to become proud of myself and to discover who I truly am. I've never felt like I knew where my place in this world was, and I think through the experience I'm about to go through, I might just find it.

Three days and counting...