8.26.08 - leaving

Three months, fifteen days, four hours and some odd minutes ago, I started a countdown on my computer. I had months to comprehend the idea that I really would, in fact, be leaving for a year in China. I've been excited from the beginning, but nervous nonetheless. Having attended boarding school in high school, I've lived away from home eight months out fo the year since I was fourteen, but my family has never been more than a hundred miles away. Will I be able to manage six thousand plus?

Six hours, thirty-five minutes, and some odd seconds remain before my plane takes off. I've said "see you in a year" to friends and family, afraid goodbye might mean much more. I'm nervous of what's to come. A type of nervousness that pushes me to step beyond what is normal and comfortable; a nervousness that makes me want to both vomit and smile at the same time. But though I've readied myself to leave, I've yet to truly say hello to the life I'll live for the next year. Tennessee Williams advised, "Make voyages! Attempt them... There is nothing else." And so my journey begins.