Going to school in Lincoln, England come January is finally beginning to sink in. People are constantly asking me when I leave, what's the count down and how excited am I? I always have the same response, "Eh, I don't think about it." Which is completely true. Most people would think it's all I think about, but it's almost never on my mind. Of course I'm excited and looking forward to the incredible new experience but why waste away my time here thinking about something that I will have 4 months to think about while I'm actually doing it.
I say it's bittersweet for a few reasons. I'm excited to be there, but I'm not excited to leave.
For the bitter:
1.) Packing for a weekend gives me anxiety, let alone packing for 4 months.
2.) Leaving my family will probably be a lot tougher than I imagine.
3.) Moving out of my house at school in the middle of the winter and needing to have an organized mess at home in order to sufficiently pack. Although, I am incredibly thankful I was able to find a sub leaser for the semester.
4.) My friends mean everything to me and I don't want to miss out on an entire semester with them.
5.) My boyfriend is pretty rad and I'd take him with me if I could.
These things will all be tough, but then I think about the benefits and excitement of experiencing a different culture for over 4 months. Not many people get that opportunity and I am so grateful.
Yesterday was the day. I purchased my one-way plane ticket to England. January 14th, 2014 I will be Lincoln, England bound. I met the others that will be going with me on this adventure and I'm very excited to get to know them. Knowing I will have great people to experience this with makes it even better.
With that being said, now for the sweet:
1.) I'M GOING TO SCHOOL IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY!
2.) I am going to meet so many new people and meeting people is one of my favorite things to do.
3.) I love clothes. I love fashion. England is a very great place for both of those things.
4.) I am only taking 12 credits and have no work obligations while I'm there. Talk about living the dream!
5.) There will be so many travel opportunities and I'm already trying to plan my first trip. It costs almost nothing to travel to different countries in Europe and I will be taking complete advantage of that.
So now when people ask me about going to England, I won't have a boring monotone answer. I'll probably cry, cheer, hug and make my many signature facial expressions. But somewhere in that response I'll tell you how excited and grateful I am for this opportunity of a lifetime, because this truly is a dream come true.
