Ventuno Giorni

I am a mere three weeks away from departure. I'm finally done with the semester and it's great to have time to relax. With every day that is passing I feel so much more excited. It feels more and more real that I will be leaving for the Eternal City in less than a month, and living there for the following three and a half months.

For the past few weeks, I've just been trying to prepare for my trip. I talked to my communications adviser, my psychology adviser, and the psychology internship coordinator in order to tie any loose ends before my departure. With my communications and psychology advisers, I wanted to discuss with them my progress in each respective major. Considering that I'm double majoring, it can get somewhat confusing as to what requirements I've already fulfilled, what else needs to be fulfilled, and how much time I have left in order to fulfill every requirement asked of me for both majors. Since I will be entering my senior year the semester following my study abroad trip, it's very important for me to plan everything quite meticulously to ensure that I won't have to stay an extra semester or so after my senior year. Especially with the internships, it's necessary for me to plan things out even further ahead of time than everything else. This is due to the fact that it's required of me to apply for course approval and search for internship sites all on my own before the semester I plan on doing them. Along with that, I must also track down certain course professors to request recommendations from them. So much to do in so little time!

I also had to make sure I have prepared every necessary document I need. Two copies of my whole passport, two photocopies each of my passport's face page and visa page, two copies proving international insurance coverage and a set of four passport photos. I finally have all the necessary documents together along with a simple weekly budget of how much I'm should spend on a weekly basis while abroad. The next thing I should do is compile a priority list of countries/cities I want to visit while I'm there and determine what would fit into my budget. I definitely have a few things to keep me busy til the time comes for me to leave!

Nonetheless, I am quite excited for what the expected future holds. I can't wait to experience everything that Europe will have to offer me in the following four months. I'm excited to return from my trip and live back in the city as a 21 year old with company I enjoy. I love my family and appreciate the support they give me, however I think that it is time to exercise my independence even further. A lot of positive, amazing things lie ahead of me and I want to get a full grasp of them. I feel that I've become more inspired and motivated to live my life to the fullest in recent months.

If you, dear reader, had met me a year ago or perhaps even no more than six months ago, I couldn't tell you what drove me to live or move forward. Now, I can say that I want to experience as much of the world as I can. I want to see things I only know from movies. I want to experience just as much as the next traveler. I want to fill my life with experiences and stories that I can pass on to friends, family, lovers, and strangers. I want to further and strengthen my curiosity. I want to learn more about myself through learning about my surroundings and the places that reach further than what I currently know!

As you can tell, dear reader, I am impassioned by the future. I like this feeling. I want to hold onto it as long as I can.

Until next time,
KC