T- 3 days

I'm three days away from leaving.  Only three days. Reality is starting to set in, all of those little things I've procrastinated on are now catching up to me. I'm not ready to go yet,  but in a way I am.

Right now, it's the unknown that I fear the most. I'm gone for about 18 weeks, give or take a few days. Who am I living with? Will I learn the language well enough to communicate? Will my classes be worthwhile? Who am I going to meet? How will study abroad change me? Will anything drastic change at home while I'm gone? (There is a valid concern for this one: the last time I left the country for an extended time, someone died.)

I have little things to do, and major things to do. Small things, like getting my hair cut, picking up a pay check, getting reading material for the flight, those will be done tomorrow. Bigger things, like saying goodbye to family and best friends, will happen at some point. Some goodbyes I've already done, friends from DC, friends who are already abroad, and friends already back at school. There are other stupid things I have to do, as well. The video I made at the end of last year needs to be uploaded to my website. I need to register my own domain name so I can think about internships in the world of multimedia journalism. I need to write a basic coverletter that I can adapt to the different internships I want to apply for. I need to update my resume. I need to get ready to leave. I need to go say goodbye to dogs and surrogate parents. I NEED TO PACK!

I am very excited about going, it's just a lot of nerves at this point. I'm not afraid of flying, I'm afraid of idiots who fly on the same flight as me. I want to see the world: it's one of my dreams in life. I'd love to be a foreign correspondent for a major news organization, to live for years in a foreign country, working for the New York Times, CBS News, the BBC, at this point it doesn't matter!

I can't wait to start really traveling. Ireland, London, Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Budapest, Barcelona, Berlin, Warsaw, ROMA!  Although I won't make it everywhere on my list this time, I'll be back. But before I plan that, I need to pack.