It Just Hit Me

It's the final countdown. I'm leaving for a little under four months to live in another country in 2 days, 17 hours, and 34 minutes.

I can remember working crazily on my study abroad application that was due last April, when the actual experience seemed like it would never arrive. And now here it is, less than a week away. The preparations for my venture to London have been so hectic, I never really stopped to think about what I was leaving--until now.

-Passport (with the most unattractive picture ever taken of me)--Check!
-Student Visa--Got it!
-Subleasing my apartment in Happy Valley--Finally done :)
-Shopping for clothes/shoes that won't make me a dead giveaway of a tourist (a.k.a. no Uggs, flip-flops, or those big, comfy sweats we Americans love!)--Let's hope so
-Successfully packing my 2 suitcases and 1 carry-on--Ehh not quite

In the midst of snapping out of holiday mode and all the running around, it wasn't until earlier, when my dad gave me a going away present that my emotions got the best of me. Later today, I'll have a farewell lunch with 2 of my best friends who will be studying abroad in Italy and Spain. As my high school friends leave one-by-one to go back to school, I can't help but to feel a little bit of sadness for what I'm leaving behind.

While it seems like I'm leaving so much, what I've realized is that there's an incredible world of excitement only a few days away, and I can share it with everyone I'm missing at home through Skype (which will probably become my parents' best friend). And although leaving my parents before going through customs at JFK on Sunday will probably turn into waterworks central, I can't wait to begin the experience of a lifetime.